Proof load testing may be performed to confirm the reliability of the bridge for an existing classification or to prove the reliability for a higher classification.In this paper, a probabilistic decision analysisapproach is applied to the scenario for the evaluation of target proof load in the situation where information on the bridge resistance model is lacking. In this case, the resistance model

The invasive Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris) is an important pest species in agriculture and horticulture in Europe. In the last decades it has spread across the continent where it outcompetes native slug and snail species, thus posing a threat for biodiversity. A popular anecdote suggests to promote Roman snails (Helix pomatia) in gardens because they are able to control A. vulgaris. We examined a

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Atherosclerosis, a chronic pathology directly related to the circulatory system, develops due to an interplay between several molecular events. Atherosclerotic plaque build-up can lead to a reduction in arterial blood flow and finally, myocardial infarction (MI). To prevent or slow down of the CVD progression, it is impo

BACKGROUND: Autonomous cortisol secretion in patients with adrenal incidentalomas is associated with increased mortality, but detailed information about the risk associated with specific levels of autonomous cortisol secretion is not available.OBJECTIVE: To measure the association between mortality and levels of autonomous cortisol secretion in patients with adrenal incidentalomas.DESIGN: Retrospe

New digitally enabled modes of food provisioning are being developed. The aim of this paper is to examine, empirically illustrate, and conceptualize how and under what conditions these digital food platforms become routinized and what this means for the enabling of sustainable food consumption.Drawing on an ethnographically inspired study of three digital food provision platforms - i.e. meal box s

Audio description (AD) provides access to audiovisual materials for people with visual impairments and blindness (BVI) and offers a richer and more detailed understanding and experience. The cognitive approach to AD concerns perceptual, cognitive and meaning-making processes underlying production and reception of AD. By meaning-making, we mean multimodal textual and contextual processing, understaAudio description (AD) provides access to audiovisual materials for people with visual impairments and blindness (BVI) and offers a richer and more detailed understanding and experience. The cognitive approach to AD concerns perceptual, cognitive and meaning-making processes underlying production and reception of AD. By meaning-making, we mean multimodal textual and contextual processing, understa

How can we make visual art accessible for audiences with visual impairment and blindness? Can audio description help blind and visually impaired (BVI) audiences to understand and experience art? Which ingredients must AD contain to evoke and stimulate the creation of vivid internal mental images? Can AD engage the target audiences and contribute to their aesthetic experience and enjoyment? What ot

Bacteriophages vB_YpeM_fEV-1 (fEV-1) and vB_YpeM_fD1 (fD1) were isolated from incoming sewage water samples in Turku, Finland, using Yersinia pestis strains EV76 and KIM D27 as enrichment hosts, respectively. Genomic analysis and transmission electron microscopy established that fEV-1 is a novel type of dwarf myovirus, while fD1 is a T4-like myovirus. The genome sizes are 38 and 167 kb, respective

Streptococcus pyogenes is a major bacterial pathogen in the human population and isolates of the clinically important M1 serotype secrete protein Streptococcal inhibitor of complement (SIC) known to interfere with human innate immunity. Here we find that SIC from M1 bacteria interacts with TLR2 and CD14 on monocytes leading to the activation of the NF-κB and p38 MAPK pathways and the release of se

Using different measures of how the Covid-19 pandemic progresses, the article confirms that the level of credit risk among US blue chip companies increases in tandem with the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The credit risk escalates dramatically during the pandemic but is still short of the levels seen during the 2008–09 Global Financial Crisis. In addition, the weekly ups and downs in credit risk a

Chromosomal inversions contribute substantially to genome evolution, yet the processes governing their evolutionary dynamics remain poorly understood. Theory suggests that a readily measurable property of inversions—their length—can potentially affect their evolutionary fates. Emerging data on the lengths of polymorphic and fixed inversions may therefore provide clues to the evolutionary processes

RelA-SpoT Homolog (RSH) enzymes control bacterial physiology through synthesis and degradation of the nucleotide alarmone (p)ppGpp. We recently discovered multiple families of small alarmone synthetase (SAS) RSH acting as toxins of toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules, with the FaRel subfamily of toxSAS abrogating bacterial growth by producing an analog of (p)ppGpp, (pp)pApp. Here we probe the mechanism o

In the cell, stalled ribosomes are rescued through ribosome-associated protein quality-control (RQC) pathways. After splitting of the stalled ribosome, a C-terminal polyalanine 'tail' is added to the unfinished polypeptide attached to the tRNA on the 50S ribosomal subunit. In Bacillus subtilis, polyalanine tailing is catalyzed by the NEMF family protein RqcH, in cooperation with RqcP. However, the

Bacteria have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to deliver potent toxins into bacterial competitors or into eukaryotic cells in order to destroy rivals and gain access to a specific niche or to hijack essential metabolic or signaling pathways in the host. Delivered effectors carry various activities such as nucleases, phospholipases, peptidoglycan hydrolases, enzymes that deplete the pools of NADH

The target of zero emissions sets a new standard for industry and industrial policy. Industrial policy in the twenty-first century must aim to achieve zero emissions in the energy and emissions intensive industries. Sectors such as steel, cement, and chemicals have so far largely been sheltered from the effects of climate policy. A major shift is needed, from contemporary industrial policy that ma

This thesis has investigated three different diagnoses where cardiac microvascular disease is suspected: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), systemic sclerosis (SSc), and patients with suspected microvascular angina (MVA).Study I of this thesis investigated patients with HCM. We investigated the myocardial perfusion (MP) using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in young patients with HCM or t