This article describes how natural geothermal soil temperature gradients in Iceland have been used to study terrestrial ecosystem responses to soil warming. The experimental approach was evaluated at three study sites in southern Iceland one grassland site that has been warm for at least 50 years (GO), and another comparable grassland site (GN) and a Sitka spruce plantation (FN) site that have bot

An ultra-high performance liquid chromatogra-phy (UHPLC) based method for the analysis of D-xylonate was developed using an amide column in combination with an evaporative light scattering (ELS) detector. Separation of D-xylonate from other components of the fermentation medium was achieved. The dynamic range of the method was 0.2–7.0 g/L.

The application of geophysics may assist in solving environmental, geotechnical and exploration problems. One commonly used method in such applications is electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). In order to interpret the results, inversion is needed to create models estimating distribution of resistivity in the ground. Several inversion programs are available for geophysicists to use. It is there

Reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus subspecies vary considerably in bill size and shape and seem to be at an early stage of speciation, in which bill might be indirectly causing reproductive isolation. Hence, we evaluated whether bill size, as well as age and sex, are associated with foraging niche in three west European subspecies of reed bunting: the thin-billed schoeniclus, the intermediate-bille

p53, a tumor suppressor protein, has important roles in DNA repair, cell cycle and apoptosis, is a one of the key events in cancer development. Coix lacryma-jobi seed has been used as a food and traditional medicine plant with anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and anti-diabetic effects. In currently research, we identified the most potent p53-increasing compound among 4 compounds (1-4) found in Coix lacry

The constant need for higher performance and more advanced functionality has made the design and manufacturing of modern electronic chips highly demanding. Moreover, the use of smaller transistors in modern chips has increased their sensitivity to aging and faults, hence the need to constantly monitor the correct operation of these chips. To address the challenges and requirements, it has become c

Soot has a pronounced effect on the cryosphere and experiments are still needed to reduce the associated uncertainties. This work presents a series of experiments to address this issue, with soot being deposited onto a natural snow surface after which the albedo changes were monitored. The albedo reduction was the most pronounced for the snow with higher soot content, and it was observed immediate

Difficulties in emotion perception are commonly observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it is unclear whether these difficulties can be attributed to a general problem of relating to emotional states, or whether they specifically concern the perception of others’ expressions. This study addressed this question in the context of pain, a sensory and emotional state with strong social re

We introduce a scheme for preparation, manipulation, and read out of Majorana zero modes in semiconducting wires with mesoscopic superconducting islands. Our approach synthesizes recent advances in materials growth with tools commonly used in quantum-dot experiments, including gate control of tunnel barriers and Coulomb effects, charge sensing, and charge pumping. We outline a sequence of mileston

Divergence in sexually selected traits in allopatry should affect the degree and direction of hybridization. However, few studies have established the causes and targets of sexual selection during secondary contact. Common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) from north-central Italy have highly exaggerated male sexual traits compared to populations in Western Europe. Using experimental populations, we

The determination of the net charge and size of microgel particles as a function of their concentration, as well as the degree of association of ions to the microgel backbone, has been pursued in earlier studies mainly by scattering and rheology. These methods suffer from contributions due to inter-particle interactions that interfere with the characterization of single-particle properties. Here w

Efficient conjugation between biomolecules and electrode materials is one of the main challenges in the field of biosensors. Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is a monomeric enzyme, which consists of two separate domains: one catalytic dehydrogenase domain (DHCDH) carrying strongly bound flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) in the active site and a cytochrome domain (CYTCDH) carrying a b-type heme conne

Isolation barriers work at different instances during the mating process in odonate insects. In territorial damselflies, heterospecific interactions are mainly precluded by sexual (visual) isolation, while in non-territorial damselflies, heterospecific interactions are mostly precluded by mechanical isolation and sexual (tactile) isolation. In this study we investigated the strength of three prema

The study presented concerns the dermal exposure risks during harvest work in greenhouses after fungicide application. The contamination of the fungicide vinclozolin on clothes, overalls and gloves, worn during harvest after application was investigated. The fungicide was extracted from the cloth with 1-chlorobutane and finally determined with HPLC. The average amount of fungicide found on the clo

Scope: 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a furanic compound produced in heat-processed foods by nonenzymatic browning reactions. HMF has been demonstrated to be hepato- and nephrotoxic in animals with a link to its metabolite 5-sulfooxymethylfurfural (SMF). To date little is known about either the formation of SMF from ingested HMF or the formation of DNA adducts in animals or human beings. Methods

Laser-induced grating spectroscopy (LIGS) is an experimental method in which two pulsed laser beams and a continuous-wave laser beam have to be superimposed under well-defined angles to generate a coherent signal beam. In this Note, the possible effects of different forms of misalignment are examined. This includes the overlap of the pump lasers as well as the influence of the probe laser alignmen

The emerging new psychoactive substances made available for recreational drug use have recently started to include designer benzodiazepines. As a consequence, the routine immunoassay drug testing for benzodiazepines may become less effective, due to an increased occurrence of 'false negative' and 'false positive' results. This work aimed to extend the knowledge of analytical cross-reactivity of 13