The extreme pressure resulting from modern-day disasters in terms of severe shortages of resources, mass casualties, infrastructure breakdown, large-scale damage and their impact necessitate coordination between all the agencies involved in disaster response. Better coordination in international disaster response operations will make them more effective in organizing the different phases of relief

The performance of six custom-built Hygrocopicity-Tandem Differential Mobility Analyser (H-TDMA) systems was investigated in the frame of an international calibration and intercomparison workshop held in Leipzig, February 2006. The goal of the workshop was to harmonise H-TDMA measurements and develop recommendations for atmospheric measurements and their data evaluation. The H-TDMA systems were co

Objective. The aim of this study was to test whether lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and urinary incontinence are associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The association between LUTS and benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) was also investigated. Material and methods. A cross-sectional, representative risk factor analysis of LUTS, as measured by the International Prostate Symptom Score (I

The development since the beginning of the 20th century of the pollen-analytical theory and method as a palaeoecological tool for describing landscape development is outlined with reference to southern Scandinavia. Numerical methods applied since the 1980s are discussed. The aim of this paper is to provide a new perspective on the landscape development and human impact during the Holocene by apply

A search for the decay of neutral, weakly interacting, long-lived particles using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. This analysis uses the full data set recorded in 2012: 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV. The search employs techniques for reconstructing decay vertices of long-lived particles decaying to jets in the inner tracking detector an

Research on dementia care settings has primarily focused on routine aspects of life, including mealtimes, bathing procedures, etc. However, studies rarely explore how individuals with dementia interact in these settings during the intervals between routines. This study aimed to analyze how residents actively carved out spaces that provided temporary respite from institutional life, termed “framing

The number concentration of cloud droplets determines several climatically relevant cloud properties. A major cause for the high uncertainty in the indirect aerosol forcing is the availability of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which in turn is highly sensitive to atmospheric new particle formation. Here we present the effect of new particle formation on anthropogenic aerosol forcing in present-d

OBJECTIVES: To determine the serum concentration of mannan-binding lectin (MBL), a component of the innate immune system, in women with a history of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) and to correlate the result to candida-cultures, contraceptive use, if any, and to different antifungal therapies. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty-nine women with a history of RVVC were investigated. Cultures of vulvar a

2-(2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-N-(2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl)-acetamide labeled with [F-18]-fluorine ([F-18]EF5), a promising tracer for tumor hypoxia, has previously been synthesized in low yields and low specific radioactivity. In pharmacokinetic evaluations, in the presence of non-radioactive EF5, a uniform and low background uptake and high in vivo stability of [F-18]EF5 have been demonstrated.

The Bayan Har Shan, a prominent upland area in the northeastern sector of the Tibetan Plateau, hosts an extensive glacial geological record. To reconstruct its palaeoglaciology we have determined Be-10 exposure ages based on 67 samples from boulders, surface pebbles, and sediment sections in conjunction with studies of the glacial geology (remote sensing and field studies) and numerical glacier mo

Background: The aim of this study is to estimate ovarian volume, number and volume of antral follicles, and ovarian power Doppler vascular indices as assessed by three-dimensional (3D) transvaginal grayscale and power Doppler ultrasound in women using combined oral contraceptives (COC). Study Design: Two hundred thirteen gynecologically asymptomatic women 20-39 years old using COC were examined wi

BACKGROUND: Fetal exposure to maternal diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with high birth weight, congenital heart malformations, childhood adiposity, DM, hypertension and dyslipidemia. The long term cardiovascular consequences of fetal exposure to maternal DM during pregnancy and high birth weight are not known. METHOD: All individuals born in Sweden 1973-1988 (n=1,551,603) were included in the

In a gravel pit near Hultsfred, at the eastern margin of the South Swedish Upland, gravelly, sandy and silty-sandy beds covered by a thick, stratified gravelly diamicton are exposed. Large folds and shear-planes indicate post-depositional deformation of the sorted sediments, which according to OSL dating have a maximum Middle Weichselian (60ka) age. The sand and gravel are interpreted as glacioflu

Mediated mega-events are essentially projects of belonging: about imagining communities and about creating attachment to such collective selves. However, events like the Olympic Games are not only an opportunity for states to reinforce official constructions of belonging but can also be sites for the articulation and dissemination of contesting identity narratives. This article investigates Russia

The macroscopic phase behavior and other physicochemical properties of dilute aqueous mixtures of DNA and the cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammounium bromide (CTAB), DNA and the polyamine spermine, or DNA, CTAB, and (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (2HPβCD) were investigated. When DNA is mixed with CTAB we found, with increasing surfactant concentration, (1) free DNA coexisting with surfac

Radiative lifetimes of 17 excited levels of Nb i, in the energy range 27 400-47 700 cm-1 (5p y 6D degrees(9/2), 5p x 6D degrees(7/2), 5p w 4G degrees(7/2,9/2,11/2), 5s5p v 4D degrees(1/2,3/2,5/2,7/2), 5s6p n 4D degrees(1/2,3/2,5/2,7/2), 5s6p o 4F degrees(3/2,5/2,7/2,9/2)), have been measured. For 15 of these levels, the lifetimes are obtained for the first time. The lifetimes were measured using t

We examined oxygen three-isotope ratios of 48 extraterrestrial chromite (EC) grains extracted from mid-Ordovician sediments from two different locations in Sweden, and one location in south-central China. The ages of the sediments (similar to 470 Ma) coincide with the breakup event of the L chondrite parent asteroid. Elemental compositions of the chromite grains are generally consistent with their

In this work, influence of hydrogen and temperature on the fracture toughness parameters of unirradiated, cold worked and stress relieved (CWSR) Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube alloys used in Indian Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor is reported. The fracture toughness tests were carried out using 17 mm width curved compact tension specimens machined from gaseously hydrogen charged tube-sections. Metallograph