Background The purpose of the article is to research and analyze the notion of sustainability criteria in their function of an emerging tool to promote and safeguard sustainable products and their sustainable production. The article addresses critical issues, which are important for deeper understanding of sustainability criteria and their practical use. In this, the article examines the existing

While it is attractive to integrate a deformable mirror (DM) for adaptive optics (AO) into the telescope itself rather than using relay optics within an instrument, the resulting large DM can be expensive, particularly for extremely large telescopes. A low-cost approach for building a large DM is to use voice-coil actuators connected to the back of the DM through suction cups. Use of such inexpens

To evaluate clinical and radiological outcomes after conservative treatment and arthroscopic-assisted screw fixation of acute non- or minimally displaced scaphoid waist fractures in a randomized controlled trial.

Identifying patients at risk of future severe asthma exacerbations, those whose asthma might be less treatment responsive, or both might guide treatment selection.

Methylation of mercury (Hg) to highly toxic methyl Hg (MeHg), a process known to occur when organic matter (OM) decomposition leads to anoxia, is considered a worldwide threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health. We measured temporal and spatial variations in sediment MeHg, total Hg (THg), and major elements in a freshwater lagoon in Sweden polluted with Hg-laden cellulose fibers. Fiber decompo

We introduce partially defined dynamical systems defined on a topological space. To each such system we associate a functor s from a category G to Topop and show that it defines what we call a skew category algebra A ⋊ G. We study the connection between topological freeness of s and, on the one hand, ideal properties of A ⋊ G and, on the other hand, maximal commutativity of A in A ⋊ G. In particul

Aims/hypothesis An abnormal urinary albumin excretion rate (AER) is often the first clinically detectable manifestation of diabetic nephropathy. Our aim was to estimate the heritability and to detect genetic variation associated with elevated AER in patients with type 1 diabetes. Methods The discovery phase genome-wide association study (GWAS) included 1,925 patients with type 1 diabetes and with

In-situ wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) measurements have been conducted on atmosphericpressure fuel-rich premixed freely propagating ethylene/oxygen flames with argon and nitrogen dilution. In this work, a novel analysis methodology able to provide quantitative information on soot/carbon particle species and concentrations was tested under heavy sooting conditions. The particle composition and

This article takes its point of departure in the assumption that values shape planning practices and that alternatively one can reconstruct such values from the way planning interventions are argued and evaluated. We contend that planners' discourses involve implicit value commitments that are observable in their representations of public space and implicated in the results of public-space plannin

Changes in pollen and spore assemblages across the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary elucidate the vegetation response to a global environmental crisis triggered by an asteroid impact in Mexico 66 Ma. The Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary clay, associated with the Chicxulub asteroid impact event, constitutes a unique, global marker bed enabling comparison of the world-wide palynological signal span

The Z -> tau tau cross section is measured with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in four different final states determined by the decay modes of the tau leptons: muon-hadron, electron-hadron, electron-muon, and muon-muon. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb(-1), at a proton-proton center-of-mass energy of root s = 7 TeV. Cross sections are measu

Green spaces are recognized for improving mental health, but what particular kind of nature is required is yet not elucidated. This study explores the effect of specific types of recreational nature qualities on mental health. Longitudinal data (1999/2000 and 2005) from a public health survey was distributed to a stratified sample (n = 24,945) of a Swedish population. People from rural or suburban

Power system voltage security assessment is generally applied by considering the power system loadability surface. For a large power system, the loadability surface is a complicated hyper-surface in parameter space, and local approximations are a necessity for any analysis. Unfortunately, inequality constraints due to for example generator overexitation limiters, and higher codimension bifurcation

Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a marker of cardiovascular risk. It is unclear whether measurement of mean common CIMT improves 10-year risk prediction of first-time myocardial infarction or stroke in individuals with elevated blood pressure. We performed an analysis among individuals with elevated blood pressure (ie, a systolic blood pressure 140 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure 90 m

After oesophageal cancer surgery quality of life (QOL) is severely reduced for a long time. Even though this is a well-documented fact no previous studies have focused on the patients' experiences of supportive care after surgery. PURPOSE: To illuminate patients' experiences of supportive care from a long-term perspective after oesophagectomy or oesophagogastrectomy for cancer. METHOD: Data collec

To investigate the hospital cost and short-term clinical outcome of traditional minimally invasive versus robot-assisted hysterectomy in women primarily considered unavailable for vaginal surgery.

This paper follows directly from an earlier paper where we discussed the requirements for an artifact to be a moral agent and concluded that the artifactual question is ultimately a red herring. As before, we take moral agency to be that condition in which an agent can appropriately be held responsible for her actions and their consequences. We set a number of stringent conditions on moral agency.

OBJECTIVES:: In a recent study hypnosis has been found to relieve persistent idiopathic orofacial pain. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is widely used to evaluate somatosensory sensitivity, which has been suggested as a possible predictor of management outcome. The objectives of this study were to examine: (1) possible associations between clinical pain relief and baseline somatosensory sensiti