Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of invasive bacterial infections, with nasal colonization an important first step for disease. While cigarette smoking is a strong risk factor for invasive pneumococcal disease, underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This is partly due to a lack of clinically relevant animal models investigating nasal pneumococcal colonization in the context of cigarette

To study effects of regular physical exercise in pregnancy on duration of the active phase of labor and the proportions of women with prolonged active second stage.

In a north European context, identifying invasive species is far from trivial because the vegetation has been influenced by human activities for thousands of years. New species have immigrated continuously since the end of the last glaciation, both spontaneously and through direct or indirect help by man. Still, newly immigrated species may be problematic in a nature conservation context and may h

The aim of this study was to design a clinical vocal loading task (VLT) and to track vocal loading and recovery in voice-healthy subjects.

Background: Possible synergism between female sex hormones and vitamin D on periodontitis pathology has not been assessed. Here, we investigate effects of estrogen, progesterone and vitamin D on periodontitis in a population-based sample and use cell studies to explore mechanistic explanations of the population-based findings. Methods: The epidemiological analysis utilizes cross-sectional data fro

The preparation and characterization of mixed-mode adsorbents for a typical separation purpose are of great importance in bioseparation areas. In this work, we prepared a new monolithic cryogel with a combination of ion-exchange and hydrophobic functions by employing benzyl-quaternary amine groups. The fundamental cryogel properties, protein equilibrium adsorption isotherm and chromatographic adso

The prevalence of hippocampal lesions such as hippocampal infarcts have not been studied in detail even though hippocampal alterations are known to be associated with various clinical conditions such as age-related degenerative disorders and epilepsy. Methods: Here we defined the hippocampal infarcts and assessed the prevalence of this lesion in large unselected population of 1,245 subjects age ra

The rs738409 C > G single-nucleotide polymorphism in PNPLA3 leads to a missense mutation (I148M) which increases liver fat but does not cause insulin resistance. We hypothesised that patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) due to the PNPLA3 variant ('PNPLA3 NAFLD'aEuro parts per thousand= PNPLA3-148MM) do not have adipose tissue (AT) inflammation in contrast with those with NAFLD d

One billion vulnerable subsistence farmers across the global south depend on risky livelihoods in need of adaptation to climate change impacts. Simultaneously, their aggregated emission of greenhouse gases from land use and fuelwood consumption is substantial. Synergies between adaptation to climate change and mitigation should therefore be actively promoted. In the context of poverty, such synerg

Drawing from ethnographic data from 48 households in four villages in rural Anhui, this study explores how two practices known for upholding son preference are affected by rural–urban out-migration, with a particular focus on the division of labour in agricultural work and patrilocality. The study deploys the concepts of an intergenerational contract and the “unsubstitutability” of sons and finds

Psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety are important clinical features of Huntingtons disease (HD). However, the underlying neurobiological substrate for the psychiatric features is not fully understood. In order to explore the biological origin of depression and anxiety in HD, we used a mouse model that expresses the human full-length mutant huntingtin, the BACHD mouse. We found that

Concentrating cells is a frequently performed step in cell biological assays and medical diagnostics. The commonly used centrifuge exhibits limitations when dealing with rare cell events and small sample volumes. Here, we present an acoustophoresis microfluidic chip utilising ultrasound to concentrate particles and cells into a smaller volume. The method is label-free, continuous and independent o

Given the anthropometric differences between men and women and previous evidence of sex-difference in genetic effects, we conducted a genome-wide search for sexually dimorphic associations with height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-to-hip-ratio (133,723 individuals) and took forward 348 SNPs into follow-up (additional 137,052 individuals) in a total of

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look more closely at the residents’ attitude to individual heat metering and charging systems (IMC) of multi-family dwellings in residential properties, and to evaluate the tenant’s perception of IMC and how it may affect the continued expansion of such systems. Design/methodology/approach – The research in this paper is based on a questionnaire and interv

A search is performed for top-quark pairs (t (t) over bar) produced together with a photon (gamma) with transverse energy greater than 20 GeV using a sample of t (t) over bar candidate events in final states with jets, missing transverse momentum, and one isolated electron or muon. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.59 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-m

The potential machinability for Alloy 718 (Inconel 718) is examined in terms of five material characteristics considered to play a key role in the machinability: ductility (elongation to fracture), strain hardening (ultimate tensile strength over yield strength), thermal conductivity, yield strength and abrasiveness (amount of carbides). The material characteristics are simulated with the software

Results of a search for H -> tau tau decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb(-1) and 20.3 fb(-1) at centre-of-mass energies of root s = 7TeV and root s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (tau -> l nu(nu) over bar with l = e,

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the strategies used by Swedish citizens to adapt to changing climate variability and extremes. There is an increasing consensus that individual adaptive capacities are critical to successfully adapt to climate change and achieve sustainable development. However, little is known about individual adaptive practices, particularly in developed countries. Design

Interactions between iron (Fe) and arsenic (As) play a vital role in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems influencing the reactivity and transport of arsenic. A key aspect is the effect of natural organic matter (NOM) on these interactions, and previous investigations have reported the existence of ternary As-Fe-NOM species. In this study, the reactivity of Fe, from a boreal stream water, towards As