Aim To understand the role and significance of the reindeer, Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758), as a specific indicator in terms of late Quaternary biogeography and to determine the effects of global climate change on its range and local extinction dynamics at the end of the Ice Age. Location Late Pleistocene/early Holocene range of reindeer over all of central and western Europe, including south

When others show sexy tails or sing elaborate songs, many animals use the language of chemistry to attract potential mates. A study provides insights into the evolutionary conundrum of how new chemical signals can evolve in an established communication system.

In 2006 ESO Council authorized a Phase B study of a European AO-telescope with a 42 m segmented primary with a 5-mirror design, the E-ELT Several reports and working groups have already presented science cases for an E-ELT, specifically exploiting the new capabilities of such a large telescope. One of the alms of the design has been to find a balance in the performances between an E-ELT and the Ja

The naphthalene decomposition in a corona radical shower discharge (CRS) was investigated, with attention paid to the influences of voltage and initial naphthalene density. The OH emission spectra were investigated so as to know the naphthalene decomposing process. The by-products were analyzed and a decomposing theory in discharge was proposed. The results showed that higher voltage and relative

Lipoxins (LXs) and their analogues are known to display potent anti-inflammatory actions. Previously, we reported that lipoxin A4 (LXA4) possessed powerful anti-inflammatory properties in acute pancreatitis in rats and that it may ameliorate the concomitant acute lung injury by reducing cytokine generation and inhibiting neutrophil activation. Considering that the vascular endothelium plays an imp

This study investigates elite coaches' attitudes toward eating disorders (ED), knowledge about ED, and early intervention skills when confronted with possible ED in their female athletes. We interviewed 18 coaches in Sweden responsible for athletes representing national teams in the three sports categories most at risk for ED: aesthetic, weight class, and endurance. The interviews revealed that, a

The combination of autograft, BMP and bisphosphonate has been shown to produce strong calluses. In this study, without autograft we investigate the effect of bisphosphonate treatment on BMP-induced calluses, both in bending and in rotation. Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 42) underwent femoral osteotomy and BMP-7 treatment. At 2 weeks an injection of saline or bisphosphonate was administered. The animals

To verify and re-emphasise the efficacy of the max electrogram-guided approach for ablation of cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI)-dependent atrial flutter (AFL).

The influence of lattice-melt-induced resistivity gradients on the transport of mega-ampere currents of fast electrons in solids is investigated numerically and experimentally using laser-accelerated protons to induce isochoric heating. Tailoring the heating profile enables the resistive magnetic fields which strongly influence the current propagation to be manipulated. This tunable laser-driven p

BACKGROUND/AIM: Compression anastomoses might represent an improvement over traditional hand-sewn or stapled techniques. Herein, we describe a novel concept of sutureless colonic anastomosis named compression anastomotic ring-locking procedure (CARP).MATERIALS AND METHODS: The surgical device consists of two anastomotic rings and their associated helping tools, facilitating the placement of the ri

1. Quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation distribution and abundance from sedimentary pollen records provides an important baseline for understanding long term ecosystem dynamics and for the calibration of earth system process models such as regional-scale climate models, widely used to predict future environmental change. Most current approaches assume that the amount of pollen produced b

The role of the mitochondrial protein frataxin in iron storage and detoxification, iron delivery to iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis, heme biosynthesis and aconitase repair has been extensively studied during the last decade. However, still no general consensus exists on the details of the mechanism of frataxin function and oligomerization. Here, using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and X-ray

We report the experimental studies on megaGauss magnetic field generation using a 35 femtosecond laser at relativistic intensities. The polarization change of the self-generated harmonics was recorded to estimate the magnetic field. A parameter scan was performed by varying the input laser intensity as well as the contrast ratio. External optical probing diagnostics were performed using the second

Results of a search for supersymmetry via direct production of third-generation squarks are reported, using 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2012. Two different analysis strategies based on monojetlike and c-tagged event selections are carried out to optimize the sensitivity for direct top squark-pair production in the dec

This study explores the influence of long-range intra-protein electrostatic interactions on the conformation of calmodulin in solution. Ensemble Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is measured for calmodulin with a fluorophore pair incorporated specifically with a donor at residue 17 and an acceptor at position 117. This construct was generated by a combination of solid phase peptide synthesi

This study investigates the association between Ronald Inglehart's materialist/postmaterialist index, a psychological aspect of the material pathway to inequalities in health, and health locus of control and psychological health. The data used is from the 2008 public health survey in Skane, a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study with 28,198 respondents (response rate 54%), conducted in south

To realize the potential of microRNAs (miRs) as fine-tuning regulators of embryonic neuronal differentiation, it is critical to define their developmental function. Mmu-miR-134 (miR-134) is a powerful inducer of pluripotent stem cell differentiation. However, its functional role during embryonic, neuronal development is unknown. We demonstrate that mature, miR-134 transcript levels elevate during