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Bioclimatic indices for use in studies of ecosystem function, species distribution, and vegetation dynamics under changing climate scenarios depend on estimates of surface fluxes and other quantities, such as radiation, evapotranspiration and soil moisture, for which direct observations are sparse. These quantities can be derived indirectly from meteorological variables, such as near-surface air t
While the literature on failed Olympic bids has grown recently, not all failed bids have received attention. This article fills some gap in the literature. The aim of the study is to explore why the cities of Oslo and Stockholm – capitals in countries which are scoring high on various democracy indexes - choose to withdraw their Olympics bids. This is explored by drawing upon literature on urban g
High salt concentration has been shown to induce increased electrochemical stability in organic solvent-based electrolytes. Accompanying the change in bulk properties is a structural ordering on mesoscopic length scales and changes in the ion transport mechanism have also been suggested. Here we investigate the local structure and dynamics in highly concentrated acetonitrile electrolytes as a func
Pathological nystagmus is a symptom of oculomotor disease where the eyes oscillate involuntarily. The underlying cause of the nystagmus and the characteristics of the oscillatory eye movements are patient specific. An important part of clinical assessment in nystagmus patients is therefore to characterise different recorded eye-tracking signals, i.e. waveforms. Approach. A method for characterisat
Background: Compression of the greater occipital nerve (GON) may contribute to chronic headache, neck pain, and migraine in a subset of patients. We aimed to evaluate whether GON decompression could reduce pain and improve quality of life in patients with occipital neuralgia and chronic headache and neck pain. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, selected patients with neck pain and headac
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, which is the most common cancer in women worldwide (excluding non‐melanoma skin cancer). Furthermore, breast cancer patients with obesity have an impaired prognosis. Adipose tissue is abundant in the breast. There-fore, breast cancer develops in an adipose‐rich environment. During obesity, changes in the local environment in the breast
Objective: The complement system is activated in human atherosclerotic lesions and may hence aggravate local inflammation. We studied the presence and localization of C4b-binding protein (C4bp), the major inhibitor of the classical complement pathway, in human atherosclerotic lesions in relation to complement activation products and protein S, which circulates in complex with C4bp. Methods and res
In this study, effects of a dust hole and its location on the flow structure, endwall heat transfer and friction factor in a U bend channel used for a gas turbine blade tip cooling are numerically studied. The dust hole is placed on the endwall of a U bend at different locations. The U bend channel without dust hole is considered as Baseline. The Reynolds number ranges from 50,000 to 440,000. Resu
AIM: To assess the results of a urinary diversion in patients who already have a colostomy or simultaneously require a (rectum) colon resection. The diversion is created from the distal part of the transected colon with a simultaneously created new colostomy contra-laterally (if necessary). This procedure is known in our institute as the 'colon shuffle'.MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients who unde
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Failure to respond to systemic chemotherapy is considered an exclusion criterion by some institutions for treatment with cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). However, it is unknown if these patients benefit from HIPEC treatment. This study aimed to report on outcomes of HIPEC in patients who failed to respond to adjuvant systemic c
Background and aims – Agricultural intensification and loss of farmland heterogeneity have contributed to population declines of wild bees and other pollinators, which may have caused subsequent declines in insect-pollinated wild plants. Material and methods – Using data from 37 studies on 22 pollinator-dependent wild plant species across Europe, we investigated whether flower visitation and seed
In this work we discuss a gradient plasticity formulation which relies on the introduction of higher-order gradient contributions as additional arguments of the free energy function. These gradients can be interpreted in terms of the local geometrically necessary dislocation density. This gives rise to physically well-motivated kinematic-type hardening models in contrast to purely phenomenological
RATIONALE: Neutrophils likely contribute to the thrombotic complications of human atheromata. In particular, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) could exacerbate local inflammation and amplify and propagate arterial intimal injury and thrombosis. PAD4 (peptidyl arginine deiminase 4) participates in NET formation, but an understanding of this enzyme's role in atherothrombosis remains scant.OBJECT
HER2/ErbB2 activation turns on transcriptional processes that induce local invasion and lead to systemic metastasis. The early transcriptional changes needed for ErbB2-induced invasion are poorly understood. Here, we link ErbB2 activation to invasion via ErbB2-induced, SUMO-directed phosphorylation of a single serine residue, S27, of the transcription factor myeloid zinc finger-1 (MZF1). Utilizing
AIM: Mortality after curative surgery for rectal cancer is increased if surgery is not performed within a week of completed short course radiotherapy. A link to the suppression of leucocytes after neoadjuvant radiotherapy has been suggested. This study investigates the effects of radiotherapy on peripheral leucocyte counts, complications and survival. METHOD: Patient data variables from a retrospe
Rationale:The innate immune system and in particular the pattern-recognition receptors Toll-like receptors have recently been linked to atherosclerosis. Consequently, inhibition of various signaling molecules downstream of the Toll-like receptors has been tested as a strategy to prevent progression of atherosclerosis. Receptor-interacting protein 2 (Rip2) is a serine/threonine kinase that is invol
Efficient and suitable daily landfill cover is considered the most important aspect for minimising the negative impact of landfills on the local environment and population, especially in arid and semiarid countries. In this study, numerical model, HYDRUS-2D/3D, was used to investigate the impact of landfill cover type, cover thickness and antecedent water content on the quantity and the rate of co
The dynamical theory of X-ray spectra due to Nozieres and De Dominicis (ND, 1969) is evaluated here numerically for numerous model systems including cases where the core-hole potential possesses a bound state. It is shown that the resulting emission spectra obey the final-state rule rather accurately. An approximate but analytical derivation of this rule is given which provides insight into the me
The local magnetic field inside and around an object in a magnetic resonance imaging unit depends on the magnetic susceptibility of the object being magnetized, in combination with its geometry/orientation. Magnetic susceptibility can thus be exploited as a source of tissue contrast, and susceptibility imaging may also become a useful tool in contrast agent quantification and for assessment of ven
In light of heightened interest in the response of pollen phenology to temperature, we investigated recent changes to the onset of Betula (birch) pollen seasons in central and southern England, including a test of predicted advancement of the Betula pollen season for London. We calculated onset of birch pollen seasons using daily airborne pollen data obtained at London, Plymouth and Worcester, det
