Life-history theory predicts that individuals should adjust their reproductive effort according to the expected fitness returns on investment. Because sexually selected male traits should provide honest information about male genetic or phenotypic quality, females may invest more when paired with attractive males. However, there is substantial disagreement in the literature whether such differenti

We evaluated the seasonality of CO2 fluxes simulated by nine terrestrial ecosystem models of the TRENDY project against (1) the seasonal cycle of gross primary production (GPP) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) measured at flux tower sites over different biomes, (2) gridded monthly Model Tree Ensembles-estimated GPP (MTE-GPP) and MTE-NEE obtained by interpolating many flux tower measurements with a

Patients with vascular dementia (VaD) exhibit particularly elevated levels of plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) compared to patients with other psychogeriatric diseases.

Vikings routinely crossed the North Atlantic without amagnetic compass and left their mark on lands as far away as Greenland, Newfoundland and Baffin Island. Based on an eleventh-century dial fragment artefact, found at Uunartoq in Greenland, it is widely accepted that they sailed along chosen latitudes using primitive Sun compasses. Such instruments were tested on sea and proved to be efficient h

We have re-investigated the organization of ocelli in honeybee workers and drones. Ocellar lenses are divided into a dorsal and a ventral part by a cusp-shaped indentation. The retina is also divided, with a ventral retina looking skywards and a dorsal retina looking at the horizon. The focal plane of lenses lies behind the retina in lateral ocelli, but within the dorsal retina in the median ocell

We have investigated the effects of strong confinement in wurtzite InAs0.85P0.15 quantum dots embedded in wurtzite InP nanowires using microphotoluminescence spectroscopy. Strain-dependent k . p calculations were used to model the quantum dots, and it was found that the electron effective mass was increased by a factor of 2 and the band gap was increased by 190 meV compared to equivalent quantum d

Many cities around the world have taken a pioneering role in tackling climate change and they will be key players in a possible transition to a future low carbon society. However, cities are at the same time constrained and act in a world of multi-level governance where local decision makers are dependent on both higher political levels and other actors in society. In this situation network govern

On a traditional interpretation of the substituted judgement standard (SJS) a person who makes treatment decisions on behalf of a non-competent patient (e.g. concerning euthanasia) ought to decide as the patient would have decided had she been competent. I propose an alternative interpretation of SJS in which the surrogate is required to infer what the patient actually thought about these end-of-l

Wireless relays extend coverage, improve spectral efficiency, and enhance reliability and rates of wireless cellular communication systems. In this work, we introduce the fundamental notion of asymmetric cooperation among cooperating relays in cellular downlinks - different relays are party to different but overlapping knowledge about the messages transmitted from the base station. We argue that a

Very high levels of ambient particulate matter (PM) are frequently encountered in the north of Italy and air quality limits are regularly exceeded. To obtain quantitative information on the pollution sources and to gain understanding of the dynamics of pollution episodes in this populated area PM10 and/or PM2.5 samples were collected daily at nine urban to regional sites distributed over the centr

Quantitative genetic parameters are nowadays more frequently estimated with restricted maximum likelihood using the 'animal model' than with traditional methods such as parent-offspring regressions. These methods have however rarely been evaluated using equivalent data sets. We compare heritabilities and genetic correlations from animal model and parent-offspring analyses, respectively, using data

The skeleton is a common site of cancer metastasis. Notably high incidences of bone lesions are found for breast, prostate, and renal carcinoma. Malignant bone tumors result in significant patient morbidity. Identification of these lesions is a critical step to accurately stratify patients, guide treatment course, monitor disease progression, and evaluate response to therapy. Diagnosis of cancer i

A methodology based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and clustering is evaluated for process monitoring and process analysis of a pilot-scale SBR removing nitrogen and phosphorus. The first step of this method is to build a multi-way PCA (MPCA) model using the historical process data. In the second step, the principal scores and the Q-statistics resulting from the MPCA model are fed to the LA

All is a 17-kDa chromosomally encoded outer membrane protein that mediates serum resistance (complement resistance) in the pathogenic Yersiniae (Yersinia pestis, Y. enterocolitica, and Y. pseudotuberculosis). In this article, we demonstrate that Y pseudotuberculosis Ail from strains PB1, 2812/79, and YPIII/pIB1 (serotypes O:1a, O:1b, and O:3, respectively) can bind the inhibitor of the classical a

In the hospital, intensive care unit (ICU) is an isolated space where patients with acute symptoms are treated. When the patients are in ICU, their families are usually in psychological crisis and under great pressure. The value of ICU is thus to provide a complete ICU service by which not only the patients receive good treatment, but the feelings of family members are also considered and managed.