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Streamflow analysis helps us understand the availability of water resources in a region or a river. Accurate and timely streamflow monitoring is essential to improve our understanding of the hydrological cycle. Streamflow information is also necessary for many applications, such as irrigation planning, watershed management, hydropower products, flood control, and integrated water resources managem
A novel process for the production of biodegradable lubricant-based stocks from epoxidized vegetable oil with a lower pour point via cationic ion-exchange resins as catalysts was developed. This involves two steps, first, ring-opening reactions by alcoholysis followed by esterification of the resultant hydroxy group in the first step. The ring-opening reaction of epoxidized soybean oil with differ
Protein C (PC), a 62 kDa multi-modular zymogen, is activated to an anticoagulant serine protease (activated PC or APC) by thrombin bound to thrombomodulin on the surface of endothelial cells. PC/APC interacts with many proteins and the characterisation of these interactions is not trivial. However, molecular modelling methods help to study these complex biological processes and provide basis for r
Effects of ultraviolet (UV)-B radiation and acidification on pelagic carbon flux in a humic lake (dissolved organic carbon [DOC] similar to15 mg C L-1) were studied in a mesocosm experiment during the summer of 2000. Triplicate tanks (107 liters volume, 1 m high) were exposed to natural solar radiation, a daily extra dose of UV-B radiation, or kept dark. One set of tanks was submitted to a decreas
Two methods for visual evaluation of image quality of clinical radiographs have been compared. In visual grading analysis (VGA) specified anatomical structures in an image are visually compared with the same structures in a reference image, and in a free-response forced error (FFE) experiment - an extension of conventional ROC (receiver operating characteristics) analysis - the objective is to cor
Ultrafast accelerator-based sources combined with synchronized femtosecond lasers are currently being developed. The method described here is intended as a jitter monitor at such facilities. We report on the possibility of extracting a time-offset signal between two different synchronized ultrashort light pulses. The method is based on sum-frequency generation in a nonlinear crystal. Aiming at ext
The findings from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) and how they relate to the management of prostate disease were reviewed by leading European urologists during a meeting held in December 2005. The consensus opinions that were reached were endorsed by the European Association of Urology and are documented here. The key points of the consensus are as follows: (1) The overall results from
Non-targeted effect of BCG: Several recent studies suggest that BCG has beneficial non-targeted effects on general child survival in low-income countries. Studies of the effect of BCG on morbidity in humans are scarce; some found a positive effect of BCG and others show no effect. Non-targeted effects of vaccines-possible bias and confounding: The major argument against comparing vaccinated and un
Using a grounded theory perspective, this article focuses on experiences of participation in relation to home among very old people who are living alone. Eight people selected from the larger ENABLE-AGE Project were interviewed. Data analysis identified the core category as "home as the locus and origin for participation" with two main categories ("performance-oriented participation" and "together
Quality of life has various dimensions with multiple meanings for people. One vital issue is whether a person's subjective experienced quality of life correlates with his or her personality. Several studies show a correlation between personality and quality of life, life satisfaction or well-being. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between personality and life quality, in parti
We describe the history, construction, and use of a portable walk-in wader trap (i.e., modified Ottenby trap) designed to be used in field expedition conditions. It is rectangular-shaped, 120 x 41 x 32 cm when operational, weighs between 1.5 and 2 kg (depending on materials used) and can be folded flat for easy transportation. It consists of several metal frames filled with fishing net, and has a
A new method for absorbed-dose assessment in radionuclide therapy is presented in this paper. The method is based on activity quantification by the conjugate-view methodology, applied to serial whole-body, anterior-posterior, scintillation-camera scans. The quantification method is an extension of previous studies, and includes separate corrections for attenuation, scatter, and overlapping organs.
Random mesh phases share many common features with the classical lamellar phase in that they are layered phases; but crucially, they possess nonuniform interfacial curvature, since the lamellae are pierced by water-filled pores. The introduction of curvature into the lamellae has been posited as a transitional precursor for other lyotropic phases. In this paper, we show that simple H-2 nuclear mag
Lipid droplets are cytoplasmic organelles which serve as storage sites for neutral lipids. Adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP) is intrinsically associated with the surface of lipid droplets and is believed to play a major role in the maintenance of lipid stores in non-adipocytes. ADRP abundance is intimately linked to the amount of lipid found within cells and agents which increase the
We discuss the main properties of the Galactic globular cluster (GC)blue straggler stars (BSSs), as inferred from our new catalog containingnearly 3000 BSSs. The catalog has been extracted from thephotometrically homogeneous V versus (B-V) color-magnitude diagrams(CMDs) of 56 GCs, based on Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 images of theircentral cores. In our analysis, we used consistent relative dist
Each of 102 Nordic routine clinical biochemistry laboratories collected blood samples from at least 25 healthy reference individuals evenly distributed for gender and age, and analysed 25 of the most commonly requested serum/plasma components from each reference individual. A reference material ( control) consisting of a fresh frozen liquid pool of serum with values traceable to reference methods
