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Over the past decade, countries have strived to develop a global governance structure to halt deforestation and forest degradation, by achieving the readiness requirements for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). Nonetheless, deforestation continues, and seemingly intact forest areas are being degraded. Furthermore, REDD+ may fail to consider the crucial ecosystem

Designing high-rise buildings is a complex and challenging task involving several parameters and variables. Recently, there have been major attempts to design the overall form of these buildings based on optimization approaches. This paper introduces a multi-objective optimization framework based on Genetic Algorithm, namely Energy Efficient Form-finder (EEF), consisting of four main steps of Form

Prostate cancer (PCa)is one of the first three causes of cancer mortality in Europe. Screening in asymptomatic men (aged 55–69 yr)using prostate-specific antigen (PSA)is associated with a migration toward lower staged disease and a reduction in cancer-specific mortality. By 20 yr after testing, around 100 men need to be screened to prevent one PCa death. While this ratio is smaller than for breast

Purpose: The purpose of the study, upon which this paper is based, was to contribute an improved understanding of the vertical extension of buildings, by presenting a development process for its implementation in which the key aspects to consider when planning such extensions are highlighted. Design/methodology/approach: The approach is based on linking the diffusion of innovation together with ca

Laminin is a well-defined component of the airway basement membrane (BM). Efficient binding of laminin via multiple interactions is important for nontypeable Haemophilusinfluenzae (NTHi) colonization in the airway mucosa. Here we identified elongation factor thermo-unstable (EF-Tu), L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Protein D and peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein P6 as novel laminin-binding protei

Maps of the MT-saturation as derived in FLASH-based multi-parameter mapping (MPM) are largely corrected for effects of flip angle inhomogeneity. Here, we present a heuristic model for residual effects of B1+ that is rooted in the dynamics of macromolecule saturation. Model parameters were validated for brain tissues by variation of the MT-pulse flip angle in an established MPM protocol. White and

Study design:: Prospective cohort study with a repeated measures analysis. Objectives:: To measure the effects of the Active Rehabilitation (AR) training programme for community-dwelling individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Botswana on physical independence, wheelchair mobility, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, level of physical activity and community participation. Setting:: The inaugura

A long defect (15 mm) in rat sciatic nerve was repaired with a bioartificial nerve graft composed of a silicone tube and seven synthetic filaments of five types (polyamide, catgut, polydioxanone, and two types of polyglactin, normal and quickly-absorbed) inserted longitudinally into the tube. In all cases in which filaments were used a regenerating bridge was obtained in the tube after three month

A biological bank has been developed to extend the biochemical and molecular research base for a prospective study on diet and cancer in the city of Malmo, Sweden. The study entered individuals 45-69 years of age, of which 30,382 individuals (45%) participated. Each individual entering the bank has stored samples of viable mononuclear leukocytes (MNLs; -140°C) and granulocytes (GRANs; -80°C) or bu

Controlled invariant set and viability regulation of dynamical control systems have played important roles in many control and coordination applications. In this paper we develop a \textit{temporal} viability regulation theory for general dynamical control systems, and in particular for control affine systems. The time-varying viable set is parameterized by time-varying constraint functions, with

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by widespread oligodendroglial cytoplasmic inclusions of filamentous α-synuclein, and neuronal loss in autonomic centres, basal ganglia and cerebellar circuits. It has been suggested that primary oligodendroglial α-synucleinopathy may represent a trigger in the pathogenesis of MSA, but the mechanisms un

The selectivity of preparations of α-chymotrypsin immobilized on Celite or polyamide and carrying out syntheses of di- and tripeptides in acetonitrile medium were studied. The study concerns the effect of mass- transfer limitations on three different kinds of selectivity: acyl donor, stereo- and nucleophile selectivities, defined respectively as the ratio of initial rates with different acyl donor

Coimmobilization of biocatalyst and substrate was studied as a method to increase the conversion rate in systems with substrates of extremely low solubility in water. The system studied was the conversion of hydrocortisone to prednisolone by Arthrobacter simplex. As a matrix for coimmobilization, alginate turned out to be superior to agar and agarose. After the reaction was complete, the beads wer