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4-α-Glucanotransferase (GTase) enzymes (EC 2.4.1.25) modulate the size of α-glucans by cleaving and reforming α-1,4 glycosidic bonds in α-glucans, an essential process in starch and glycogen metabolism in plants and microorganisms. The glycoside hydrolase family 57 enzyme (GTase57) studied in the current work catalyzes both disproportionation and cyclization reactions. Amylose was converted into c

Using data covering 38 countries across the 1965–2005 period, this paper shows that former British colonies tend to exhibit higher levels of carbon dioxide emission than other countries.

Polarity Theory suggests that worldview controversies spanning areas such as morality, politics, epistemology, and metaphysics are ultimately rooted in the clash between humanism, which portrays human nature as intrinsically good and valuable, and normativism, which portrays human goodness and value as contingent upon conformity and achievement. Previous research has shown that humanism and normat

Pollination is an essential process in the sexual reproduction of seed plants and a key ecosystem service to human welfare. Animal pollinators decline as a consequence of five major global change pressures: climate change, landscape alteration, agricultural intensification, non-native species, and spread of pathogens. These pressures, which differ in their biotic or abiotic nature and their spatio

Background: Nonmedical prescription drug use (NMPDU) is a growing problem in many countries. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to report correlates of and compare different subtypes of NMPDU in the Swedish general population. Methods: Data were drawn from a Swedish national household survey conducted in 2008-2009. A stratified sample of 58,000 individuals aged 15 to 64 was randomly sele

Alloreactive memory T cells are major barriers to transplantation acceptance due to their capacity to accelerate rejection. Here, we investigated the effects of combined treatment with arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) and blocking monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against CD154 and LFA-1 (anti-CD154/LFA-1) on graft survival as well as changes in pathology and immunological responses in mice with adoptively

This paper investigates how hyperspectral reflectance (between 350 and 1800 nm) can be used to infer ecosystem properties for a semi-arid savanna grassland in West Africa using a unique in situ-based multi-angular data set of hemispherical conical reflectance factor (HCRF) measurements. Relationships between seasonal dynamics in hyperspectral HCRF and ecosystem properties (biomass, gross primary p

This study describes an atrial fibrillation (AF) detector whose structure is well-adapted both for detection of subclinical AF episodes and for implementation in a battery-powered device for use in continuous long-term monitoring applications. A key aspect for achieving these two properties is the use of an 8-beat sliding window, which thus is much shorter than the 128-beat window used in most exi

We present a non-incremental approach to structure from motion. Our solution is based on robustly computing global rotations from relative geometries and feeding these into the known-rotation framework to create an initial solution for bundle adjustment. To increase robustness we present a new method for constructing reliable point tracks from pairwise matches. We show that our method can be seen

The use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients undergoing elective direct current (DC) cardioversion of non-acute atrial fibrillation (AF) can potentially shorten the time from initiation of anticoagulation treatment to cardioversion, compared with warfarin. The safety of this strategy needs to be investigated. Data from subgroup analysis from clinical trials with DOAC do not clarify wh

SEM-EDS techniques are used to study minute-sized crystals of HFSE minerals in an evolved batch of fluorine-rich granite. The batch separated due to buoyancy from the bulk magma before fluid separation was reached. Fluorine acted as the main complexing agent in the magma, facilitating the transport of many elements. Enhanced concentrations of elements like Nb, Y, REE, Th and possibly Be gave the g

This study investigates agglomeration effects for classical music production in a wide range of cities for a global sample of composers born between 1750 and 1899. Theory suggests a trade-off between agglomeration economies (peer effects) and diseconomies (peer crowding). I test this hypothesis using historical data on composers and employ a unique instrumental variable - a measure of birth centra

Background: Prospective studies on insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) risk are inconclusive. Data suggest risk associations vary by tumour characteristics. Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) to evaluate IGF-I concentrations and EOC risk by tumour characteristics (n = 565

Hepatic fibrosis is considered as a physiological wound-healing response to liver injury. The process involves several factors, such as the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), which restrain hepatic injury and facilitate the reversibility of the fibrotic reaction in response to an acute insult. Chronic liver injury and sustained inflammation cause progressive fibrosis and, ultimately, organ dysfunctio

The 'trade-off' hypothesis for virulence evolution assumes that between-host transmission rate is a positive and saturating function of pathogen exploitation and virulence, but there are as yet few tests of this assumption, in particular for vector-borne pathogens. Here, I show that the infectivity (probability of transmission) of the tick-borne bacterium Borrelia afzelii from two of its natural r

The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and severity of low back pain (LBP) and the influence of sciatica and neurological deficits in old men.