The objective of this critical review was to provide a comprehensive summary of paralytic shellfish toxins(PSTs) producing species and knowledge gaps in detecting PSTs in drinking water resources, with a focuson recent development of PSTs monitoring methods and tools for drinking water monitoring. PSTs, whichare also called Saxitoxins (STXs), are a group of neurotoxins not only produced by marine

The resource curse literature has established that the taxation of natural resources might limit the long-term development of fiscal capacity in resource-rich countries. This article explores if, and how, natural resource abundance generates fiscal dependence on natural resource revenues. We compare five peripheral economies of Latin America (Bolivia, Chile, Peru) and Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden)

The European approach to artificial intelligence (AI) points to ethical considerations, human control and trustworthiness as its core tenets. But how clearly is this approach reflected in the Member States’ strategies?This anthology analyses to what extent the notions of ethical and trustworthy AI, presented by the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence and the European Commission, hav

I denna undersökning har vi i juni 2020 frågat ett representativt urval om strax över 2000 svenskar om hur de förhåller sig till handelns användning av deras personliga information. Urvalet har viktats och efterstratifierats så att det ska representera den svenska allmänheten 18-79 år. Syftet har varit att bättre förstå i vilken mån allmänheten tycker att utbytet mellan vad de får i termer av exem

Utgångspunkten för det här numret av Dragomanen är fritid och artiklarna behandlar ämnen som på ett eller annat vis kan sättas i relation till ordet: det rör sig om bröllop, strandliv, husdjur, fotboll, musik, alkohol, TV-drama, teater och förändringar i vardagen i samband med krig och pandemi. En majoritet av texterna diskuterar former av fritid i Turkiet, men även andra områden vid östra Medelha

Nature suggests that complex materials result from a hierarchical organization of matter at different length scales. At the nano- and micrometer scale, macromolecules and supramolecular aggregates spontaneously assemble into supracolloidal structures whose complexity is given by the coexistence of various colloidal entities and the specific interactions between them. Here, we demonstrate how such

Background: Joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is usually evaluated by radiographs of both hands and feet, while the inflammatory status mostly is evaluated by DAS28 which, however, does not include the feet. Objectives: To investigate the distribution of erosions in hands and feet in early RA over 8 years and its potential clinical implications. Furthermore, the group of patients neve

Background. Oral contraceptive use has been previously associated with an increased risk of suicidal behavior in some, but not all, samples. The use of large, representative, longitudinally-assessed samples may clarify the nature of this potential association. Methods. We used Swedish national registries to identify women born between 1991 and 1995 (N = 216 702) and determine whether they retrieve

Purpose: The use of optical surface systems (OSSs) for patient setup verification in external radiation therapy is increasing. To manage potential deformations in a patient’s anatomy, a novel deformable image registration (DIR) tool has been applied in a commercial OSS. In this study we investigate the accuracy of the DIR as compared to rigid image registration (RR). Methods and Materials: The pos

Objectives: To carry out genetic and serological analyses of a Swiss blood donor and a Danish patient carrying an aberrant ABO phenotype with weak A expression. Background: ABO is the most clinically important blood group system but also one of the most complex. The system antigens are determined by carbohydrate structures generated by A and B glycosyltransferases encoded by the ABO gene. Genetic

The 3D printing industry has been recently affected by two events: the fact that open source (OS) business models are getting momentum, and the widespread diffusion of the Maker Movement. We argue that 3D printers can be conceptualised as innovations which embody both technological and symbolic aspects. If innovations of the first type are solely adopted for their technical utility, innovations wh

Background: Atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter (AF/AFL) burden increases with increasing duration of AF/AFL history. Hypothesis: Outcomes with dronedarone may also be impacted by duration of AF/AFL history. Methods: In this post hoc analysis of ATHENA, efficacy and safety of dronedarone vs placebo were assessed in groups categorized by time from first known AF/AFL episode to randomization (ie, dur

All the organisms have developed defensive against different (parasites, harsh environmental conditions or contaminants) to which they should face in their environments. To deal with these selective factors, birds have developed defensive mechanisms such as the uropygial gland, which produces a secretion acting as a physico-chemical defensive barrier against a high diversity of ectoparasites and p

The aim of this study was to investigate the appearance of a disturbed oropharyngeal microbiota during hospitalization and explore the patient characteristics that maybe associated with such a disturbance. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected from 134 patients at hospital admission and every 3–4 days thereafter. The samples were cultivated to determine the presence of a disturbed microbiota, which,

Advice upon request of the state secretaries of Finance

An overview of housing assessment tools developed or adapted for research use in East and Southeast Asia is currently lacking. A scoping review was conducted to address this knowledge gap. PubMed, Web of Science and CINAHL were searched for relevant scientific literature, and 22 articles were selected. Besides study-specific checklists, two assessment tools validated for use in Asia and three vali