Introduction: The central question this study sought to answer was whether the team members of Strategic Crisis Teams (SCTs) participating in mass-casualty incident (MCI) exercises in the Netherlands learn from their participation. Methods: Evaluation reports of exercises that took place at two different times were collected and analyzed against a theoretical model with several dimensions, looking

Second-price auctions with public information, such as those on eBay, provide an opportunity for sellers to use the information from finished and ongoing auctions when acting strategically in future auctions. Sellers have frequently been observed to bidding on their own item with the intent to artificially increase its price. This is known as shill bidding. Using lab experiments with two sequentia

Cyclical heat engines are a paradigm of classical thermodynamics, but are impractical for miniaturization because they rely on moving parts. A more recent concept is particle-exchange (PE) heat engines, which uses energy filtering to control a thermally driven particle flow between two heat reservoirs1,2. As they do not require moving parts and can be realized in solid-state materials, they are su

The human bone marrow (BM) gives rise to all distinct blood cell lineages, including CD1c+ (cDC2) and CD141+ (cDC1) myeloid dendritic cells (DC) and monocytes. These cell subsets are also present in peripheral blood (PB) and lymphoid tissues. However, the difference between the BM and PB compartment in terms of differentiation state and immunological role of DC is not yet known. The BM may represe

Aberrant activation of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) can cause sporadic and familial neuroblastoma. Using a proteomics approach, we identified Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) as a novel ALK interaction partner, and the physical interaction was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation. BTK is expressed in neuroblastoma cell lines and tumor tissues. Its high expression correlates with poor relapse-free

The term "strategic communication" traditionally has been understood as referring to external corporate communication, such as public relations, marketing communication, and advertising, with insufficient consideration beyond its role as a tool of persuasive influence. In recent years, however, the field of strategic communication has evolved to be more holistic in its approach and its role within

A complete characterization of solar energy conversion devices and the processes underlying their function is a challenge, and require a multitude of different experimental methods. This chapter discusses investigations of molecular solar cells and solar fuels devices by time-resolved laser spectroscopic methods. These methods have established important concepts we now use for understanding the fu

Control of nutrients, mainly nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), plays a significant role in preventing cyanobacterial blooms (harmful algal blooms (HABs)). This study aims at evaluating changes in the risk of the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms and advancing the understanding of how nitrogen and phosphorus affect the growth of cyanobacteria in a eutrophic lake, Lake Vombsjön, in southern Sweden.

Background and purpose — Few data are available regarding structural changes present in knees without radiographically evident osteoarthritis (OA). We evaluated the prevalence of findings suggestive of knee OA by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in middle-aged subjects without radiographic OA with or without OA risk factors. Patients and methods — 340 subjects from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a

Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify the association of scoliosis and windswept hips with immobility, lying position, and time in lying, in adults with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: This cross-sectional study included 830 adults (469 males and 361 females) with a diagnosis of CP, 16–73 years, and classified at levels I–V according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS

Electroactive polymers with time-dependent behavior are considered in the present paper by way of a new physics-based micromechanical model; such viscoelastic response is described by the internal evolution of the polymer network, providing a new viewpoint on the stress relaxation occurring in elastomers. The main peculiarity of such internally rearranging materials is their capacity to locally re

We devise an algorithm that approximately computes the number of paths of length k in a given directed graph with n vertices up to a multiplicative error of 1 ± . Our algorithm runs in time −24k(n + m) poly(k). The algorithm is based on associating with each vertex an element in the exterior (or, Grassmann) algebra, called an extensor, and then performing computations in this algebra. This connect

Many ships today rely on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), for their navigation, where GPS (Global Positioning System) is the most well-known. Unfortunately, the GNSS systems make the ships dependent on external systems, which can be malfunctioning, be jammed or be spoofed. There is today some proposed techniques where, e.g., bottom depth measurements are compared with known maps using B

Objective: To monitor longitudinal changes of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) in synovial fluid (sf) and serum (s) over 5 years after acute anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture, and to compare results from two commercial COMP immunoassays. Design: Bio-fluids were collected from 121 patients on six occasions over 5 years after acute ACL injury, and from 25 knee healthy reference subj

The purpose of the paper is to analyse informal collaboration in the public transport sector. Two Swedish case studies, Living lab Uddevalla and Guidelines for Regional BRT are analysed and compared concerning what kind of learning occurred and what lessons regarding informal collaboration to draw from the two cases. For both cases the analysis indicates that individual, single loop learning is th

Symptom-free bacterial colonization of the lower urinary tract in an otherwise healthy individual was long misunderstood. Our current understanding is based on solid research proving that asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) is harmless and even protective against symptomatic urinary tract infection episodes. Thus, ABU should not be treated in patients with the exception of before endosurgery and, until

The need to decrease emissions from the transport sector is getting urgent and public transport can play an important role in the transition to low emission fuels. To a large extent, public transport in Europe is provided by regional authorities who controls the traffic to a varying degree, from complete public monopoly to competitive tendering. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyse how t