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Despite being popular among amateur and professional lepidopterologists and posing great opportunities for evolutionary research, the phylogenetic relationships of tiger moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) are not well resolved. Here we provide the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the subtribe Arctiina with the basic aim of clarifying the phylogenetic position of the Wood Tiger Moth Parasemia plantaginis
Background: About 73% of the population in Sierra Leone live in multidimensional poverty which makes Sierra Leone to be one of the poorest countries in the world. Sierra Leone suffered from a decade long civil war, 1991-2002, where humiliating methods were used such as machete amputations of civilians and the progress of eradicating poliomyelitis was hindered. Purpose: The aim of this study was to
Background Evidence-based guidance for starting ages of screening for first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) to prevent stage III/IV or fatal PCa is lacking in current PCa screening guidelines. We aimed to provide evidence for risk-adapted starting age of screening for relatives of patients with PCa. Methods and findings In this register-based nationwide cohort study,
This paper documents the global climate model EC-Earth3-AerChem, one of the members of the EC-Earth3 family of models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). EC-Earth3-AerChem has interactive aerosols and atmospheric chemistry and contributes to the Aerosols and Chemistry Model Intercomparison Project (AerChemMIP). In this paper, we give an overview of the model
Background: Point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) score is a semiquantitative score of lung damage severity. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is the gold standard method to evaluate the severity of lung involvement from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Few studies have investigated the clinical significance of LUS and HRCT scores in patients with COVID-19. Therefore, the aim of th
Mortality differentials by socioeconomic status (SES) are among the most pervasive facts of contemporary demography. However, while the mortality gradient by income, class and education is well-established for the period after 1970, evidence regarding the origins of the gradient is still scarce. The aim of this thesis is to explore the development of SES differences in all-cause and cause-specific
Boreal forests and peatlands are globally significant carbon stores but they are threatened by rising air temperatures and changes in precipitation regimes and the frequency of natural disturbances. Predicting how the boreal biome will respond to climate change depends on being able to accurately model and upscale the greenhouse gas fluxes between these ecosystems and the atmosphere. This thesis f
Background: Over the past couple of decades, measuring immunological parameters has become widespread in studies of ecology and evolution. A combination of different immunological indices is useful for quantifying different parts of the immune system and comprehensively assessing immune function. Running multiple immune assays usually requires samples to be repeatedly thawed and re-frozen. There i
Objective To evaluate the feasibility of continuous longitudinal intravenous infusion of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1/recombinant human insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3) for prevention of retinopathy of prematurity and other complications in extremely preterm infants (< 28 weeks' gestational age), based on initial sections of a phase II randomized c
Droplet microfluidics has emerged as a promising platform for miniaturisation of biological assays on-chip. In droplet microfluidics small water droplets (nL-pL) surrounded by an immiscible carrier oil are generated at high throughput. In these droplets particles such as cells or microbeads can be encapsulated, and the idea is that each of these droplets can be used as small reaction chambers for
As a result of climate change warmer temperatures are projected through the 21st century and are already increasing above modelled predictions. Apart from increases in the mean, warm/hot temperature extremes are expected to become more prevalent in the future, along with an increase in the frequency of droughts. It is crucial to better understand the response of terrestrial ecosystems to such temp
Physical cognition involves a host of cognitive abilities that enable understanding and manipulation of the physical world. Corvids, the bird family that includes crows, ravens and jays, are renowned for their cognitive abilities, but still little is known about their folk physics. This thesis explores the origins of physical cognition in corvids by investigating its mechanisms, development,fitnes
In this thesis, we study quantum transport properties of superconductor-semiconductor nanowire hybrid devices. We mainly focus on the quantum transport in InSb nanowire Josephson quantum dot devices, i.e. quantum dots coupled to two pieces of superconductors. In such a structure, many-body interacting phenomena occur, such as Kondo correlation, multiple Andreev reflection, and the formation of And
Background: The rapid adoption of robot-assisted laparoscopy in radical prostatectomy has preceded data regarding associated costs. Qualitative evidence regarding cost outcomes is lacking. Objective: This study assessed how costs were affected by robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) compared with open surgery. Design, setting, and participants: Cost analysis was based on the dataset of
Background The HIV-1 epidemic in Ethiopia has been shown to be dominated by two phylogenetically distinct subtype C clades, the Ethiopian (C'-ET) and East African (C-EA) clades, however, little is known about the temporal dynamics of the HIV epidemic with respect to subtypes and distinct clades. Moreover, there is only limited information concerning transmission of HIV-1 drug resistance (TDR) in t
The ability of intrahippocampal grafts of fetal septal-diagonal band tissue, rich in developing cholinergic neurons, to ameliorate cognitive impairments induced by bilateral fimbria-fornix transections in rats was examined in three experiments using the Morris water-maze to test different aspects of spatial memory. Experiment 1. Rats with fimbriafornix lesions received either septal cell suspensio
Human fetal mesencephalic dopamine (DA) neurons, obtained from 6.5-9 week old aborted fetuses, were grafted to the striatum of immunosuppressed rats with 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the ascending mesostriatal DA pathway. The effects on amphetamine-induced motor asymmetry were studied at various timepoints after grafting. At eight weeks, functional graft effects were not evident but after 11 weeks
Hemoglobin (Hb) is the predominant protein in red blood cells with allosteric regulation mechanisms for delivering oxygen between the lungs and tissues. After the 1980s, concentrated research on modified Hb emerged because of the necessity for the development of a blood substitute (oxygen carrier). Several purification procedures and genetic/chemical modifications of Hb have been undertaken by bot
