The increased opportunity to choose one’s school of preference has been raised as a key factor in many countries to promote equal opportunities and a higher quality of education. This has been endorsed by policymakers who assume that students make well-informed rational choices and that students stress only academic quality when deciding which school to attend. If this is true, it will benefit sch

Abstract in UndeterminedElectrons accelerated in the nonlinear regime in a laser wakefield accelerator experience transverse oscillations inside the plasma cavity, giving rise to ultra-short pulsed x-rays, also called the betatron radiation. We show that the fluence of x-ray can be enhanced by more than one order of magnitude when the laser is guided by a 10 mm long capillary tube instead of inter

The Lisbon Treaty (Article 11) recognises the provision on participatory democracy as a democratic principle of the European Union (EU), thus constitutionally legitimising the involvement of civil society in European governance. However, at least three issues relating to the democratic dimension of this practice remain unresolved. First, it is not possible to specify precisely how the participatio

ObjectiveExamine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Pediatric Testing Attitudes Scale-Diabetes (P-TAS-D), a measure of parental attitudes about predictive risk screening for type 1 diabetes in children. MethodsSurveys were completed by 3720 Swedish parents of children participating in the adolescent follow-up of a birth cohort study of type 1 diabetes onset. Parents averaged 43

Hemorrhage is a rare but dreaded complication after pancreatic surgery. The aim of this study was to examine the incidence, risk factors, management, and outcome of postpancreatectomy hemorrhage in a tertiary care center. A retrospective observational study was conducted on 500 consecutive patients undergoing major pancreatic resections at our institution. Postpancrea-tectomy hemorrhage was define

In Parkinson's disease non-motor symptoms can appear even before the motor symptoms. Additionally to motor fluctuations and dyskinesias, the non-motor symptoms constitute one of the main problems when treating Parkinson's disease. They are also of high relevance for the quality of life. There are indications that a continuous dopaminergic stimulation can improve symptoms such as depression, sleep

Cryostructuration platform renders it possible to form macroporous materials (known as cryogels) with a broad range of porosity, from structures with combination of meso- and macropores to structures with 100-μm sized macropores. When these materials are formed in the shape of monoliths (monolithic cryogels), they present a unique monolithic stationary medium for specific applications. This revie

It is well established that atherosclerosis is caused by an inflammatory process in the arterial intima. However, it is only in recent years that it has become clear that this inflammation is modulated by immune responses against plaque antigens. These antigens are primarily believed to be modified self-antigens such as oxidized LDL. The immune system is challenged to determine whether these antig

During moult, stressors such as malaria and related haemosporidian parasites (e.g. Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) could affect the growth rate and quality of feathers, which in turn may compromise future reproduction and survival. Recent advances in molecular methods to study parasites have revealed that co-infections with multiple parasites are frequent in bird-malaria parasite systems. However, th

Midkine shares several features in common with antibacterial proteins of the innate immune system. These include growth factor properties, heparin-binding regions, and effects on immune cells (i.e. recruitment and activation of neutrophils and macrophages). Indeed, recent research has demonstrated potent bactericidal and fungicidal activities of midkine. This protein is constitutively expressed at

Studies of circular DNA confined to nanofluidic channels are relevant both from a fundamental polymer-physics perspective and due to the importance of circular DNA molecules in vivo. We here observe the unfolding of confined DNA from the circular to linear configuration as a light-induced double-strand break occurs, characterize the dynamics, and compare the equilibrium conformational statistics o

Polymer films with embedded liquid crystal inclusions (polymer-dispersed liquid crystals) are superb composites for addressable windows, flexible displays and optical storage. Their scattering behavior and electro-optic properties depend essentially on the shape and size of the liquid crystal inclusions, which are typically formed by phase separation from a multicomponent homogeneous mixture. Here

Because music holds a strong power over people, and its impact on consumers is relatively direct, it is invariably an interesting medium for marketers. Although Sonic Branding – branding with music and sound – has been seen as ’the next big thing’ in branding toward consumers for about a decade, it is a scattered field still waiting for its breakthrough. Addressing this problem, the present consum

The rd1 natural mutant is one of the first and probably the most commonly studied mouse model for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a severe and frequently blinding human retinal degeneration. In several decades of research, the link between the increase in photoreceptor cGMP levels and the extremely rapid cell death gave rise to a number of hypotheses. Here, we provide clear evidence that the presence o

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) was recently found to be expressed in human and mouse islets with different expression patterns. However, whether species-dependent expression pattern is a generalized phenomenon and whether islet DPP-4 activity is regulated are not known. This study was conducted to investigate DPP-4 localization in several different species, and to examine the impact of glucose, in