The main objective of this article is to examine the relevance of traditional hydraulic systems in ensuring sustainable water supplies at the catchment level and to explore ways to involve farmers in rural development. The methodology we used is based on the analysis of the Tunisian experience with traditional hydraulic systems to conserve water and soil. We proceed with a description of new forms

More than 90% of children born with congenital heart disease survive into adulthood due to successes of cardiac surgery and medical management. Interviews with 16 young adults with congenital heart disease to explore their experiences of transfer from pediatric to adult care were performed. The analysis identified five themes; Feeling secure during the transfer process, Experiencing trust in the c

The Bayesian framework of CO2 flux inversions permits estimates of the retrieved flux uncertainties. Here, the reliability of these theoretical estimates is studied through a comparison against the misfits between the inverted fluxes and independent measurements of the CO2 Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) made by the eddy covariance technique at local (few hectares) scale. Regional inversions at 0.5 d

Endocrine-disrupting compounds are exogenous agents that interfere with the natural hormones of the body. Human biological monitoring is a powerful method for monitoring exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds. In this review, we describe human biological monitoring systems for different groups of endocrine disrupting compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, brominated flame retardants, phthalates

Engaging old users in the exploration of future product concepts can be challenging. It is of great value to find ways to actively involve them in the design of novel technologies intended for them, particularly when they have no prior experience of the technology in question. One obstacle in this process is that many old people do not identify themselves as being old or they think that it (the te

Objectives: This study aims to test the validity of the IPD-Work Consortium approach for creating comparable job strain groups between the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and the Demand-Control Questionnaire (DCQ). Material and Methods: A random population sample (N = 682) of all middle-aged Malmo males and females was given a questionnaire with the 14-item JCQ and 11-item DCQ for the job control

We have characterized a set of 106 microsatellite markers in 26-127 individual blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), and assigned their location on the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) and on the chicken (Gallus gallus) genome on the basis of sequence homology. Thirty-one markers are newly designed from zebra finch EST (expressed sequence tags) sequences, 22 markers were developed by others from EST s

The lithium salt of 2,6-difluoro-2′-sulfobenzophenone was conveniently synthesized in one-pot by reacting 2,6-difluorophenyllithium with 2-sulfobenzoic acid cyclic anhydride in THF at −70 °C whereafter the product crystallized out of solution. A poly(arylene ether) and a poly(arylene sulfide) were prepared by polycondensation reactions to demonstrate the reactivity and efficacy of this new monomer

American standard ASTM F2732 estimates the lowest environmental temperature for thermal comfort for cold weather protective clothing. International standard ISO 11079 serves the same purpose but expresses cold stress in terms of required clothing insulation for a given cold climate. The objective of this study was to validate and compare the temperature ratings using human subject tests at two lev

Decompaction of DNA-CTA self-assembled complexes by 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (2-HP-beta-CD) was studied and the results were compared with beta-CD. Different degrees of 2-HP substitution (0.6, 0.8 and 1.0, respectively) were used and the decompaction was successful with all degrees of substitution. Fluorescence microscopy, steady state fluorescence spectroscopy, density and sound velocity

The HemaExplorer (http://servers.binf.ku.dk/hemaexplorer) is a curated database of processed mRNA Gene expression profiles (GEPs) that provides an easy display of gene expression in haematopoietic cells. HemaExplorer contains GEPs derived from mouse/human haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells as well as from more differentiated cell types. Moreover, data from distinct subtypes of human acute my

Reduced forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) have been associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases. However, whether reduced lung function is also a risk factor for incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is still unclear. We aimed to determine whether lung function predicted AF in the Malmö Preventive Project, a large population-based coho

The potential of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for biocatalytic whole-cell transamination was investigated using the kinetic resolution of racemic 1-phenylethylamine (1-PEA) to (R)-1-PEA as a model reaction. As native yeast do not possess any ω-transaminase activity for the reaction, a recombinant yeast biocatalyst was constructed by overexpressing the gene coding for vanillin aminotransferase from Cap

Improved outcome after rectal cancer surgery requires identification of novel risk factors of tumour recurrence in order to personalise therapy, that is, enhanced selection of high-risk patients to additional radiochemotherapy or intensified follow-up. In several tumour types, including colorectal cancer, high expression of the membrane-cytoskeleton linker ezrin has been suggested to impair progno

Time-reversal (TR) signal processing has the potential to focus the transmitted signal at a desired receive (Rx) location in both space and time. At lower frequency bands, TR in conjunction with array antennas at transmit (Tx) or Rx has been shown to significantly improve its focusing performance relative to the case of single antennas at both link ends. This work for the first time investigates T

In this study we report on the production of metal-hydroxide-coated macroporous polymers (MHCMPs), which mainly involves a polyacrylamide backbone coated with iron-aluminium double hydroxides. The coating process is fast, occurs using relatively mild reagents at room temperature, and can be repeated multiple times, thus making it a very simple and flexible process. Electron microscopy and energy d