Atmospheric flow over Iceland has been simulated for the period September 1987 through June 2003, using the PSU/NCAR MM5 mesoscale model driven by initial and boundary data from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The simulated precipitation is compared with two types of indirect precipitation observations. Firstly, snow accumulation on two large ice caps in SE-Iceland

A novel monoterpene derivative (1) and four known partially and total acetylated tri- and tetrarhamonoside dodecanyl ether derivatives: cleistrioside-2 (2) and cleistrioside-3 (3), cleistetroside-6 (4) and cleistetroside peracetate (5) have been isolated from the fruits of Cleistopholis patens.

Background The Euro Heart Survey showed that antithrombotic treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) was moderately tailored to the 2001 American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and European Society of Cardiology (ACC/AHA/ESC) guidelines for the management of AF. What consequences does guideline-deviant antithrombotic treatment have in daily practice? Methods In the E

In order to obtain biomarker values that reflect body burden of persistent organohalogen pollutants (POP), concentrations of lipophilic POP in serum or plasma are generally expressed on a lipid weight basis, and not on a fresh weight basis. There are two different approaches to determine the lipid content in serum and plasma. The gravimetric determination is more expensive, and longer experience i

This paper reports a multi-block unstructured method for incompressible flows and the performance comparison with a multi-block structured method. The unstructured collocated grid is composed of arbitrary cell shapes. Pressure and velocity are stored at cell centres; Rhie and Chow interpolation is used to prevent checker boarding. The SIMPLE algorithm is used for pressure-velocity coupling. The co

A new interface for FT-IR analysis of liquid samples on the basis of solvent elimination is presented. The approach is based on a piezoactuated flow-through microdispenser, a device built of two microstructured silicon wafers designed for micro-liquid handling. It could be verified during preliminary studies using a sequential injection (SI) system for automated liquid handling that the flow-throu

We have recently shown that stimulation, through a multi-electrode array, of thin nerve fibres close to the dermo-epidermal junction in the skin, produces powerful inhibition of itch and, to a lesser degree, cutaneous pain in humans. Here, we have studied the induction time and frequency dependency (range 1–10 Hz) of the inhibitory effects of such stimulation on itch, mechanical, and thermal pain,

Eosinophils participate in the inflammatory response seen in allergy and parasitic infestation, but a role in host defense against bacterial infection is not settled. The bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) has been demonstrated in neutrophils and it exerts bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects against a wide variety of Gram-negative bacterial species. Using the Western blot techn

OBJECTIVES: Atrial fibrillation (AF) in man has previously been shown to include a wide variety of atrial activity. Assessment of the characteristics of this arrhythmia with a commonly applicable tool may therefore be important in the choice and evaluation of different therapeutic strategies. As the AF cycle length has been shown to correlate locally with atrial refractoriness and globally with th

Aims/hypothesisThe aim of our study was to test the hypothesis that HLA genotypes conferring risk of diabetes, cord blood autoantibodies, or both are associated with increased birthweight. Methods: HLA genotypes were determined in dried blood spots of cord blood from a total of 16,709 children born to healthy mothers in the Diabetes Prediction in Skane (DiPiS) study, a population-based observation

Female pheasants may base their choice of mates on the expression of male ornaments such as the red chin wattle and the length of the spurs. Both these ornaments are predicted to be sensitive to access to carotenoids (and vitamins). Moreover, because carotenoids also enhance immune function, it has been suggested that there is a trade-off in the use of carotenoids for ornament expression and immun

A novel method of indirect deposition by means of a focused ion beam (FIB) is utilized to develop metal/insulator/semiconductor nanowire core-shell structures. This method is based upon depositing an annular pattern centered on a nanowire, with secondary deposition then coating the wire. Typical cross-sectional deposition area increments as a function of ion doses are 1.3 x 10(-2) mu m(2) nC(-1) f

One of the main disturbances on Imboassica Lagoon is the occasional artificial opening of its sand bar. Following two such events, two environmental gradients were observed. One was directly related to entry of marine water ( salinity gradient); and the other to a decrease in dilution of the nutrient load, because of water level reduction ( trophic status gradient). Two stations were sampled. At S

There is considerable interest in understanding how cis-regulatory modifications drive morphological changes across species. Because developmental regulatory genes, including Hox genes, are remarkably conserved, their noncoding regulatory regions are likely sources for variations. Modifications of Hox cis-regulatory elements have potential to alter Hox gene expression and, hence, axial morphologie

Current research on slips and falls has mainly focused on floors and/or contaminated floors. Although icy and snowy surfaces near melting temperature are more slippery, more important still, slip and falls on icy and snowy surfaces involve not only outdoor workers, but also pedestrians and the general public; and occur in cold regions and in the winter season in many parts of the world. However, i

Beam profile measurements of laser-wakefield accelerated electron bunches reveal that in the monoenergetic regime the electrons are injected and accelerated at the back of the first period of the plasma wave. With pulse durations c tau >=lambda(p), we observe an elliptical beam profile with the axis of the ellipse parallel to the axis of the laser polarization. This increase in divergence in the l