Inflammation and neurodegeneration characterize multiple sclerosis, as well as many other diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The understanding of the molecular pathways that regulate these processes is of fundamental importance for the development of new therapies. Nerve lesions paradigms in animals can serve as important tools to dissect central features of human CNS disease and by usi

Neurodegeneration and inflammation are fundamental aspects of many neurological diseases. A genome-wide scan of the response to ventral root avulsion (VRA) in a rat F2 cross discloses specific gene regions that regulate these processes. Two gene loci displayed linkage to neurodegeneration and T cell infiltration, respectively, and a single locus displayed extreme linkage to VRA-induced major histo

In this paper, we examine the causal impact of enforceable covenants not to compete (CNCs) on labor market matching and the technological dynamism of regions. Exploiting the fact that the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act (MARA) of 1985 inadvertently repealed Michigan' s prohibition on CNC enforcement, we show that technical professionals in Michigan became increasingly likely to switch industry relat

The concept of a bioeconomy can be understood as an economy where the basic building blocks for materials, chemicals, and energy are derived from renewable biological resources. Biorefineries are considered an integral part of the development toward a future sustainable bioeconomy. The purpose of this literature review is to synthesize current knowledge about how biorefinery technologies are being

Recently, there has been a growing research interest in the co-gasification of biomass with coal to produce syngas and electricity in a sustainable manner. Co-gasification technology do not only decrease potentially the exploitation of a significant amount of conventional coal resources, and thus lower greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, but also boost the overall gasification process efficiency. In

A research-based understanding of permafrost distribution at a sufficient spatial resolution is important to meet the demands of science, education and society. We present a new permafrost map for Norway, Sweden and Finland that provides a more detailed and updated description of permafrost distribution in this area than previously available. We implemented the CryoGRID1 model at 1km2 resolution,

An updated analysis regarding the expected nuclear PDF constraints from the future Large Hadron Electron Collider (LHeC) experiment is presented. The new study is based on a more flexible small-x parametrization which provides less biased uncertainty estimates in the region where there are currently no data constraints. The effect of the LHeC is quantified by directly including a sample of pseudod

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a more complete understanding of logistics preparedness. By comparing extant research in preparedness and logistics with findings from empirical analysis of secondary data, the authors develop a definition of and framework for logistics preparedness, along with suggestions for future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach: The authors li

Poly-3-d-hydroxybutyrate (or PHB) is a polyester which can be used in the production of biodegradable plastics from renewable resources. It is naturally produced by several bacteria as a response to nutrient starvation in the excess of a carbon source. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae could be an alternative production host as it offers good inhibitor tolerance towards weak acids and phenolic co

We have developed a method based on isothermal calorimetry to monitor the colonization of wood materials by decay fungi. The heat produced is a direct and continuous measure of the activity (respiration) of the fungus. This pre-study shows that wood materials treated in different ways give results that reflect the known ranking of the materials regarding resistance to decay. In addition to this, t

Numerous mafic dykes, sills and intrusions with ages between 1985 Ma and 1960 Ma are exposed near the Onega Lake in southern Karelia, Russia. The paleomagnetic analysis of these rocks has revealed a stable remanence with directions belonging to two groups. The directions of the first group characterize ten intrusions including the dated 1970 ± 3 Ma Unoi sill and 1976 ± 9 Ma Suna River Canyon doler

The objective of this paper is to report the effects that control/operational strategies may have on plant-wide phosphorus (P) transformations in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). The development of a new set of biological (activated sludge, anaerobic digestion), physico-chemical (aqueous phase, precipitation, mass transfer) process models and model interfaces (between water and sludge line) wer

Colour discrimination is based on opponent photoreceptor interactions, and limited by receptor noise. In dim light, photon shot noise impairs colour vision, and in vertebrates, the absolute threshold of colour vision is set by dark noise in cones. Nocturnal insects (e.g. moths and nocturnal bees) and vertebrates lacking rods (geckos) have adaptations to reduce receptor noise and use chromatic visi

Nocturnal insects have evolved remarkable visual capacities, despite small eyes and tiny brains. They can see colour, control flight and land, react to faint movements in their environment, navigate using dim celestial cues and find their way home after a long and tortuous foraging trip using learned visual landmarks. These impressive visual abilities occur at light levels when only a trickle of p

Nocturnal dung beetles (Scarabaeus satyrus) are currently the only animals that have been demonstrated to use the Milky Way for reliable orientation. In this study, we tested the capacity of S. satyrus to orient under a range of artificial celestial cues, and compared the properties of these cues with images of the Milky Way simulated for a beetle’s visual system. We find that the mechanism that p

Flight control in insects is heavily dependent on vision. Thus, in dim light, the decreased reliability of visual signal detection also prompts consequences for insect flight. We have an emerging understanding of the neural mechanisms that different species employ to adapt the visual system to low light. However, much less explored are comparative analyses of how low light affects the flight behav

Night vision is ultimately about extracting information from a noisy visual input. Several species of nocturnal insects exhibit complex visually guided behaviour in conditions where most animals are practically blind. The compound eyes of nocturnal insects produce strong responses to single photons and process them into meaningful neural signals, which are amplified by specialized neuroanatomical

The presence of two spectrally different kinds of rod photoreceptors in amphibians has been hypothesized to enable purely rod-based colour vision at very low light levels. The hypothesis has never been properly tested, so we performed three behavioural experiments at different light intensities with toads (Bufo) and frogs (Rana) to determine the thresholds for colour discrimination. The thresholds