Collapses of timber structures are negative for the competitiveness of timber on the construction market. The question is what can be done to reduce the risk for failure in timber structures in the future. For this purpose a comprehensive survey and analysis of failures in 127 timber structures have been made. The present paper summarises the results from this survey with an analysis of the underl

Regional climate models are used by a large number of groups, for more or less all regions of the world. Regional climate models are complementary to global climate models. A typical use of regional climate models is to add further detail to global climate analyses or simulations, or to study climate processes in more detail than global models allow. The relationship between global and regional cl

When the moon is absent from the night sky, stars remain as celestial visual cues. Nonetheless, only birds [1, 2], seals [3], and humans [4] are known to use stars for orientation. African ball-rolling dung beetles exploit the sun, the moon, and the celestial polarization pattern to move along straight paths, away from the intense competition at the dung pile [5-9]. Even on clear moonless nights,

A series of fully aromatic polymers having only sulfone bridges linking the aromatic rings has been synthesized via polycondensations and studied as proton-exchange membranes. Mixtures of tetrasulfonated 4,4’-bis[(4-chlorophenyl)sulfonyl]-1,1’-biphenyl (BCPSBP), non-sulfonated BCPSBP and 4,4’-thiobisbenzenethiol were copolymerized by nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions to obtain sulfonate

Epigenetic variation may contribute to the development of complex metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Hepatic insulin resistance is a hallmark of T2D. However, it remains unknown if epigenetic alterations take place in the liver from diabetic subjects. Therefore, we investigated the genome-wide DNA methylation pattern in the liver from subjects with T2D and non-diabetic controls and

The acrotretide Acrotreta socialis von Seebach, 1865 has suffered a long and tumultuous history since its original description from the middle Cambrian (Guzhangian Stage) Andrarum Limestone of Bornholm, Denmark. Uncertainties regarding key morphological characters have resulted in numerous revisions and redescriptions of the species with much of the taxonomic shuffling occurring before the mid-20(

We investigate long-run stock–bond correlation using a model that combines the dynamic conditional correlation model with the mixed-data sampling approach and allows long-run correlation to be affected by macro-finance factors (historical and forecasts). We use macro-finance factors related to inflation and interest rates, illiquidity, state of the economy, and market uncertainty. Macro-finance fa

Eight new ruthenium and five new osmium p-cymene half-sandwich complexes have been synthesized, characterized and evaluated for antimalarial activity. All complexes contain ligands that are based on a 4-chloroquinoline framework related to the antimalarial drug chloroquine. Ligands are salicylaldimine derivatives, where = N-(2-((2-hydroxyphenyl)methylimino)ethyl)-7-chloroquinolin-4-amine, and cont

A key question in Huntington's disease (HD) is what underlies the early cognitive deficits that precede the motor symptoms and the characteristic neuronal death observed in HD. The mechanisms underlying cognitive symptoms in HD remain unknown. Postmortem HD brain and animal model studies demonstrate pathologies in dendritic spines and abnormal synaptic plasticity before motor symptoms and neurodeg

Presentation of some projects at the infrared microspectroscopy experimental station at beamline 73 MAX-lab. Among the subjects are found identification of organic residues in fossil material and examination of the chemistry in an old oak wood wreck.

Bark beetle population dynamics is thought to be primarily driven by bottom-up forces affecting insect performance and host tree resistance. Although there are theoretical predictions and empirical evidences that predation and parasitism may play an important role in driving bark beetle population fluctuations, long-term studies testing the role of both biotic and abiotic controls on population dy

Ventilation/perfusion (V/P) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is recognized as a diagnostic method with potential beyond the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. V/P SPECT identifies functional impairment in diseases such as heart failure (HF), pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The development of hybrid SPECT/computed tomography (CT) systems, combining funct

Protein kinase C (PKC) belongs to a family of ten serine/threonine protein kinases encoded by nine genes. This family of proteins plays critical roles in signal transduction which results in cell proliferation, survival, differentiation and apoptosis. Due to differential subcellular localization and tissue distribution, each member displays distinct signaling characteristics. In this review, we ha

Objective To establish the clinical relevance of proprioceptive deficits reported after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Material and methods A literature search was done in electronic databases from January 1990 to June 2009. Inclusion criteria for studies were ACL deficient (ACL-D) and ACL reconstruction (ACL-R) articles written in English, Dutch or German and calculation of correlation(

Scand J Caring Sci; 2012; Experiences of the individual placement and support approach in persons with severe mental illness Background: Across several research studies comparing the individual placement and support (IPS) approach to traditional vocational services, the approach has achieved employment outcomes superior to comparison conditions. However, to understand the efficacy of IPS, it is eq

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly used in waste management to identify strategies that prevent or minimise negative impacts on ecosystems, human health or natural resources. However, the quality of the provided support to decision- and policy-makers is strongly dependent on a proper conduct of the LCA. How has LCA been applied until now? Are there any inconsistencies in the past practice

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing provides significant benefits by reducing prostate cancer mortality, but also leads to important harms by detecting clinically insignificant cancers. Hence, there are urgent needs for complementary tools for middle-aged men with modest PSA elevations in blood. This review includes research on prostate cancer biomarkers in blood published from March 2013 thro

This paper takes inspiration from the field of bio-mimicry to suggest what a plant biosecurity system might look like if it was modelled on the human immune system. We suggest structural and institutional changes to current biosecurity systems that would facilitate adaptive preparation and response policies, focusing particularly on the Australian plant biosecurity system. By improving information