Water balances for a re-vegetated xerophyte shrub (Caragana korshinskii) area were compared to that of a bare surface area by using auto-weighing type lysimeters during the 1990-1995 growing seasons at the southeast Tengger Desert, Shapotou, China. The six-year experiment displayed how major daily water balance components might vary for a bare and a re-vegetated sand dune area. Evapotranspiration

The relative strength of different types of directional selection has seldom been compared directly in natural populations. A recent meta-analysis of phenotypic selection studies in natural populations suggested that directional sexual selection may be stronger in magnitude than directional natural selection, although this pattern may have partly been confounded by the different time scales over w

Traditional measures for improved traffic safety need to be complemented by modern technologies in the struggle to reduce the consequences of traffic accidents all over the world. This thesis introduces the Loyal Speed Adaptation (LSA) function based on recent developments in the area of Intelligent Transport Sys-tems to support the vehicle drivers in not using inappropriate or excessive speeds, w

OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of symptoms from the eyes and the upper and lower respiratory tract, lung function, and immunological sensitisation towards isocyanates in pipelayers exposed to thermal degradation products from methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI)-based polyurethane (PUR). MATERIAL AND METHODS: 50 presently active and 113 formerly active pipelayers were examined. Also, 65 unex

Cystatins regulate tumour-associated cysteine proteases, however, their role in tumour progression is not clear yet. To assess their relevance in the progression of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) the protein level, cysteine protease activity (CPI) and localization of type I (stefins A and B) and type H (C, E/M and F) cystatins were defined in tumours and control lung counterparts from 165 patie

We tested the hypothesis that populations in small habitat fragments remaining in agricultural landscapes are maintained by repeated immigration, using three grassland butterflies (Aphantopus hyperantus, Coenonympha pamphilus and Maniola jurtina). Transect counts in 12 matched sets of semi-natural pastures, and linear habitat elements proximate and isolated from the pastures showed that population

The sand-steppe is a vegetation type mainly found in the southern Baltic region on calcareous sand dominated by vascular plants such as Koeleria glauca, Dianthus arenarius ssp. arenarius and Astragalus arenarius. Eighty-eight plots representing most sand-steppe sites in Scania, southernmost Sweden, were analyzed with respect to bryophytes, pH and exchangeable phosphate in the topsoil. The most com

We assessed the prevalence of families with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Finland; and we studied, in patients with type 2 diabetes, the association between a family history of type 1 diabetes, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibodies (GADab), and type 1 diabetes-associated human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DQB1-genotypes. Further, in mixed type 1/type 2 diabetes families, we investigated whe

Svensk rapportering med sammanställning av försöksresultat från Bologna, Lausanne, La Plata, Karlsruhe, Delft och Tohoku i Japan.

Popular Abstract in Swedish Bröstcancer är den vanligaste cancersjukdomen hos kvinnor i västvärlden och årligen nydiagnosticeras omkring 7000 patienter, bara i Sverige. Antalet nyinsjuknade ökar för varje år medan dödligheten sjunker och de främsta orsakerna till detta tros vara förbättrad diagnostik via mammografiscreening och nya behandlingsmöjligheter. Bröstcancer behandlas primärt med kirurgi,It is well-known that a majority of breast cancers are hormone-dependent, making endocrine therapy an important adjuvant treatment after surgery. Susceptibility to endocrine treatment is determined by the presence of estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) in the tumors. Tamoxifen is the most well-established endocrine treatment available, inhibiting tumor growth and improving surv

As stakeholders struggle to reconcile calls for accountability and pressures for increased patient safety, criminal prosecution of surgeons and other health-care workers for medical error seems to be on the rise. This paper examines whether legal systems can meaningfully draw a line between acceptable performance and negligence. By questioning essentialist assumptions behind 'crime' or 'negligence

A new method for extracting seasonality information from time-series of satellite sensor data is presented. The method is based on nonlinear least squares fits of asymmetric Gaussian model functions to the time-series. The smooth model functions are then used for defining key seasonality parameters, such as the number of growing seasons, the beginning and end of the seasons, and the rates of growt