We analyse the relationship between international sourcing, measured as imports of intermediate inputs, and the technical efficiency of firms in the information and communications technologies (ICT) manufacturing industry in Sweden. Using stochastic frontier analysis, we provide evidence that global sourcing improves firms’ capabilities to combine and re-combine inputs in productive ways, thereby

The first checklist of the odonates from Guyana is presented, including 46 new species records. Literature sources are provided for all species and for the new records full locality data, color scans or field photographs, taxonomic and biological notes, and maps for those species whose distribution range is increased considerably.

Apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) provides cardiovascular protection. Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) spectroscopy was used to analyze the dynamic solution structure of the apoA-I protein in the apo- and HDL-states and the protein structure conversion in HDL formation. Wild-type apoA-I protein was compared to human variants that either are protective (R1

Photoreceptor-specific nuclear receptor (PNR/NR2E3) and Tailless homolog (TLX/NR2E1) are human orthologs of the NR2E group, a subgroup of phylogenetically related members of the nuclear receptor (NR) superfamily of transcription factors. We assessed the ability of these NRs to form heterodimers with other members of the human NRs representing all major subgroups. The TLX ligand-binding domain (LBD

Enhancement and control of forced convection heat transfer is important in many engineering applications and ducts of various surface complexity are used. Surface modifications like rib-roughening, grooves, dimples, protrusions, etc., are commonly applied in applications such as compact heat exchangers, electronics cooling as well as cooling in gas turbines and aircraft engines. This chapter gives

We present the use of capillary driven flow over patterned surfaces to achieve cheap and simple, but powerful separation of biologically relevant particle systems. The wide use of microfluidics is often hampered by the propensity for devices to clog due to the small channel sizes and the inability to access the interior of devices for cleaning. Often the devices can only be used for a limited dura

Electric vehicles (EVs) are increasingly seen as a desirable sustainable solution for the transport sector, and public procurement is often highlighted as one tool to stimulate a market. In this paper, we analyse the role of Swedish municipalities in relation to public procurement and especially whether and in such cases how municipalities in Sweden use public procurement as an instrument to enhan

Background: Methyl mercury (MeHg) is a well-known neurotoxin and evidence suggests that also low level exposure may affect prenatal neurodevelopment. Uncertainty exists as to whether the maternal MeHg burden in Norway might affect child neurodevelopment. Objective: To evaluate the association between prenatal mercury exposure, maternal seafood consumption and child language and communication skill

A precise age scale based on annual layer counting is essential for investigating past environmental changes from ice core records. However, subannual scale dating is hampered by the irregular intraannual variabilities of oxygen isotope (δ18O) records. Here we propose a dating method based on matching the δ18O variations between ice core records and records simulated by isotope-enabled climate mod

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Genetic and environmental factors are believed to cause type 1 diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of maternal BMI and gestational weight gain on the subsequent risk of childhood type 1 diabetes.METHODS: Children in the Swedish National Quality Register for Diabetes in Children were matched with control children from the Swedish Medical Birth Register.

Biogeochemical cycling of elements largely occurs in dissolved state, but many elements may also be bound to natural nanoparticles (NNP, 1-100 nm) and fine colloids (100-450 nm). We examined the hypothesis that the size and composition of stream water NNP and colloids vary systematically across Europe. To test this hypothesis, 96 stream water samples were simultaneously collected in 26 forested he

By understanding laws of nature as geometrical rather than linguistic entities, this paper addresses how to describe theory structures and how to evaluate their continuity. Relying on conceptual spaces as a modelling tool, we focus on the conceptual framework an empirical theory presupposes, thus obtain a geometrical representation of a theory’s structure. We stress the relevance of measurement pr

We studied the risk for diabetes of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD65Ab) and islet cell (ICA) autoantibodies in non-diabetic pregnant mothers and their children. Pregnancy and cord blood sera were collected in 1970-87 from about 35,000 mothers who delivered a child in the city of Malmo, Sweden. A total of 42 mothers were identified in 1988 who, 1-18 years after their pregnancies, had developed either

Objective. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of celiac disease (CD) in children and adolescents at diagnosis of insulin- dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) before insulin treatment was started. Material and Methods. At diagnosis of IDDM, and before treatment was started, 115 children and adolescents were screened for IgA-antiendomysium (EMA) and IgA-antigliadin antibodies (AGA

This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of coeliac disease in children and adolescents with Turner syndrome. Eighty-seven children and adolescents with Turner syndrome were screened for IgA- antiendomysium antibodies (EMA) and IgA-antigliadin antibodies (AGA), 5% (4/87) being found to be EMA-positive, and 15% (13/87) to have AGA levels above normal. Of the 10 patients who were eith

Background The majority of coeliac disease (CD) patients are not being properly diagnosed and therefore remain untreated, leading to a greater risk of developing CD-associated complications. The major genetic risk heterodimer, HLA-DQ2 and DQ8, is already used clinically to help exclude disease. However, approximately 40% of the population carry these alleles and the majority never develop CD. Obje