The marriage squeeze in China, whereby the sex ratio imbalance leaves many males without a marriage partner, is not only about numbers, but also about how the institution of marriage is socially, economically, and politically underpinned. This paper uses the concept of ecology of choice in mate selection to demonstrate how different social processes and practices have ramifications on who can marr

Rapid and reliable observations of soil electrical conductivity are essential in order to maintain sustainable irrigated agriculture. Direct measurement of the electrical conductivity of saturated soil paste (ECe), however, is tedious andtime consuming. Therefore, there are needs to find efficient indirect methods to predict the soil salinity from other readily available observations. In this pape

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We report on a time-resolved study of the fifth harmonic generated in xenon by 140 ps pulses from a Nd:YAG laser in the 10(13) W cm-2 intensity regime. Absolute timing between the driving laser pulse and the harmonic pulse could be determined by means of reference harmonics generated in non-linear crystals and a single common streak camera. Above a certain laser intensity the centre of the observe

Galiellalactone is a potent and specific inhibitor of STAT3 signaling which has been shown to possess growth inhibitory effects on prostate cancer cells expressing active STAT3. In this study we aimed to investigate the effect of galiellalactone on prostate cancer stem cell-like cells. We explored the expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) as a marker for cancer stem cell-like cells in differ

BACKGROUND: Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury is a pivotal mechanism in critical illness and in the development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, in which the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation plays a central role. Intestinal I/R injury initiates the extrinsic tissue factor or factor VIIa-dependent pathway of coagulation, also of importance in multiple organ dysfuncti

The pig is becoming an increasingly used non-primate model in experimental studies of human retinal diseases and disorders. The anatomy, size, and vasculature of the porcine eye and retina closely resemble the human counterparts, which allows for application of standard instrumentation and diagnostics used in the clinic. Despite the many reports demonstrating immunohistochemistry as a useful metho

Identifying and building on children’s questions and everyday situations is often discussed as a basis for science learning in preschool. With a starting point in such questions and situations, children should be given the opportunity to investigate and search for answers. What questions and situations do preschool teachers identify as possible bases for science learning? What science content is p