The Cd-114(Ca-48, 6n gamma) reaction at 215 MeV has been investigated using the Gammasphere spectrometer to study the high-spin structure of the nucleus Er-156(68)88. Many new transitions have been established along with 68 definitive spin-parity level assignments from a high-fold angular-distribution analysis. In addition, absolute B(M 1) and B(E 1) strengths have been inferred from measured gamm

Molecular imprinting is one of the most efficient methods for preparing synthetic receptors that possess user defined recognition properties. Despite general success of non-covalent imprinting for a large variety of templates, some groups of compounds remain difficult to tackle due to their structural complexity. In this study we investigate preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers that can b

Abstract in UndeterminedThe recent contribution by Benjamin Sovacool proposes 20 dimensions and 320 indicators of energy security in Asia. However, the method for identifying these dimensions and indicators – 64 semi-structured interviews – has three shortcomings. First, Asian policy makers responsible for energy security are absent from the pool of respondents dominated by academics. Second, no p

Two main topics are considered in this thesis: Machining with industrial robots and optimal control of road-vehicles in critical maneuvers. The motivation for research on the first subject is the need for flexible and accurate production processes employing industrial robots as their main component. The challenge to overcome here is to achieve high-accuracy machining solutions, in spite of strong

Based on high-resolution (R approximate to 42 000 to 48 000) and high signal-to-noise (S/N approximate to 50 to 150) spectra obtained with UVES/VLT, we present detailed elemental abundances (O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Zn, Y, and Ba) and stellar ages for 12 new microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars in the Galactic bulge. Including previous microlensing events, the sample of homogeneously

The use of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of biofuels will be unavoidable if liquid fossil fuels are to be replaced by renewable and sustainable alternatives. Ethanol accounts for the majority of biofuel use worldwide, and the prospect of its biological production from abundant lignocellulosic feedstocks is attractive. The recalcitrance of these raw materials still renders proposed pro

Objective: To compare mortality rates between immigrant and native-born residents of Andalusia between 2006 and 2010, and to characterize mortality by cause. Material and methods: The data consisted of deaths from mortality statistics by cause, and the aggregated populations registered in the lists of inhabitants by country of birth in the case of native-born individuals and immigrants (with immig

A high degree of meniscal body extrusion on knee magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to be strongly associated with development of knee osteoarthritis. However, very little is known about meniscal position in the asymptomatic knee and its natural history. Hence our objective was to study meniscal body position and its change over 4 years in asymptomatic adults.

A recursive algorithm by Aho et al. [SIAM J. Comput., 10 (1981), pp. 405-421] forms the basis for many modern rooted supertree methods employed in Phylogenetics. However, as observed by Bryant [Building Trees, Hunting for Trees, and Comparing Trees: Theory and Methods in Phylogenetic Analysis, Ph.D. thesis, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1997], the tree output by the algorith

AimOral mucositis is a common and debilitating side effect of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Our study investigated parents' and children's experiences of oral mucositis treatment and whether the parents' perceptions accurately reflected the children's views. MethodsWe analysed 71 questionnaires completed by the parents of children who had undergone haematopoietic stem cell transplantat

Based on a known observation that symplecticity is preserved under certain Sundman time transformations, adaptive symplectic integrators of an arbitrary order are constructed for separable Hamiltonian systems, for two classes of scaling functions. Due to symplecticity, these adaptive integrators have excellent long-time energy behaviour, which is theoretically explained using standard results on t

Quinoa stalk (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) from agricultural crop residue, totora (Schoenoplectus tatora) and o-macrophytes (aquatic flora) from Lake Titicaca (on the Bolivian Altiplano) were studied in a wet anaerobic co-digestion process together with manure front llama, cow and sheep. Anaerobic semi-continuous experiments were performed in (10) 2-1 reactors at a temperature of 25 degrees C with 3

Very old persons (80+) are often described as "frail", implying that they are particularly vulnerable to adverse health outcomes. Elderly Persons in the Risk Zone was designed to determine whether a preventive home visit or multiprofessional senior group meetings could postpone deterioration in frailty if the intervention is carried out when the person is not so frail.

Heterostructure nanowires have many potential applications due to the avoidance of interface defects by lateral strain relaxation. However, most heterostructure semiconductor nanowires suffer from persistent interface compositional grading, normally attributed to the dissolution of growth species in the common alloy seed particles. Although progress has been made for some material systems, most bi

The thermal stresses in a concrete bridge are affected by the surrounding climate. Varying temperature will produce movements which, if restrained, may induce stresses in the structure. To predict the thermal stresses in box cross-sections, FE simulations have been performed with extensive climatic input data to simulate the temperature and resulting stress fields in the hollow concrete arch of th

Using tracking radars, we investigated the variability of flight directions of long-distance nocturnal passerine migrants across seasons (spring versus autumn migration) and sites at the southern (56A degrees N) and northern (68A degrees N) ends of the Scandinavian Peninsula (Lund versus Abisko). Whilst most migrants at Lund are on passage to and from breeding sites in Fennoscandia, the majority o