Prenatal testosterone surge is considered crucial for physiological masculinization of male progeny. Disorders in sex steroid hormone balance during the fetal development may interfere with male reproductive health later in life. In this study, we have investigated in utero and in vitro effects of flutamide (FLU) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) on fetal rat testicular steroidogenesis. In utero exposu

This article theoretically analyses via scholarly literature the consequences of how the networked technology, the Internet is conceptualised. The Internet, as argued here, can be understood in many ways, in the sense that the digital environment is very much dependant on metaphors and conceptual loans to be spoken and thought of. This affects our behaviour and social norms and forms a number of l

Background: Soils contain the largest stock of organic carbon (C) in terrestrial ecosystems and changes in soil C stocks may significantly affect atmospheric CO2. A significant part of soil C is present in cultivated soils that occupy about 35 % of the global land surface. Agricultural intensification has led to practices that may decrease soil organic carbon (SOC), and agricultural management has

We present results on the effect of seed particle reconfiguration on the growth of short InAs and InP nanowire segments. The reconfiguration originates in two different steady state alloy compositions of the Au/In seed particle during growth of InAs and InP. From compositional analysis of the seed particle, the In content in the seed particle is determined to be 34 and 44% during InAs and InP grow

Insects face the challenge of integrating multi-sensory information to control their flight. Here we study a 'streamlining' response in honeybees, whereby honeybees raise their abdomen to reduce drag. We find that this response, which was recently reported to be mediated by optic flow, is also strongly modulated by the presence of air flow simulating a head wind. The Johnston's organs in the anten

Sustainable public procurement indicates that procurement is about more than just saving money. Other important interests such as social and environmental considerations can be promoted through public procurement. Thus, the Member States may use their purchasing power to procure goods and services that foster innovation, respect the environment and combat climate change while improving employment,

Cellulose dissolution and regeneration are old topics that have recently gained renewed attention. This is reflected in both applications - earlier and novel - and in scientific controversies. There is a current discussion in the literature on the balance between hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions in controlling the solution behavior of cellulose. Some of the key ideas are recalled.

Recent studies have shown that the complexities of the surface features in mountainous terrain require a re-assessment of climate impacts at the local level. We explored the importance of surface-air-temperature based on a recently published 50-m-gridded dataset, versus soil variables for explaining vegetation distribution in Swedish Lapland using generalised linear models (GLMs). The results demo

Aim The aim of this study was to estimate healthcare cost and productivity losses as a result of diabetes and diabetes-related chronic complications in Sweden in 1987 and 2005. Research design and methods Published estimates on relative risks and Swedish age-specific diabetes-prevalence rates were used to calculate the proportions of diabetes-related chronic complications that are attributable to

Selection on offspring size and timing of birth or hatching could have important consequences for maternal investment strategies. Here we show consistent viability selection on hatchling body length across 2 consecutive years in a lizard that lays several clutches per season. There was no effect of hatching date on survival to maturity. However, both early hatching and large hatchling size increas

Skin fibrosis is characterized by activated fibroblasts and an altered architecture of the extracellular matrix. Excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins and altered cytokine levels in the dermal collagen matrix are common to several pathological situations such as localized scleroderma and systemic sclerosis, keloids, dermatosclerosis associated with venous ulcers and the fibroprolif

Malignant ventricular arrhythmias, particularly ventricular fibrillation (VF), remain an important contributor to mortality in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The size of myocardial injury is one more important factor influencing the prognosis of STEMI patients. The search for new non-invasive markers, which can be relatively simply calculated using conventional ECG recording and can p

Context/Objective: The variant rs13266634 in SLC30A8, encoding a beta-cell-specific zinc transporter, is associated with type 2 diabetes. We aimed to identify other variants in SLC30A8 that increase diabetes risk and impair beta-cell function, and test whether zinc intake modifies this risk. Design/Outcome: We sequenced exons in SLC30A8 in 380 Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) participants and ide

Background. Foam and gauze are two types of wound fillers used for negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). Differences in the wound healing effects of foam and gauze have been observed clinically. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of NPWT on the wound bed using foam and gauze. Methods. A porcine peripheral wound model was treated with NPWT at 0, -75 mmHg, or -125 mmHg for 72