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Value added tax (VAT) is a key part of the fiscal revenue of many countries. Yet this broad-based tax on consumer spending exempts financial services. This seems puzzling to many, particularly given the significance of that sector and the size of its value-added in today's world economy. The fact that the European Commission is currently reviewing the tax treatment of financial activities in the E

The acid-catalyzed rearrangement of 1,4,5,8-tetramethylnaphthalene was used to determine the acidity of media used for EPR spectral studies of radical cations. The radical cations of methyl-substituted naphthalenes were shown to undergo dimerization reactions. The apparent persistency of the radical cation of hexamethylbenzene was due to the slow oxidation when thallium(III) trifluoroacetate was

Delamination and spallation of thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems, used in hot parts of gas turbines, have been studied with respect to thermal fatigue. TBCs with and without pre-existing cracks were investigated. Thermal shock tests were performed until coating spallation. The experimental results revealed that the cracks primarily responsible for spallation grew horizontally, close to the int

In this chapter, we compare the class composition of four types of anti-austerity demonstrations—Occupy/Indignados, trade union, May Day and other anti-austerity protests—with “new social movement” demonstrations. This allow us to, firstly, scrutinize whether contemporary anti-austerity protests attract more participants from the lower classes—in particular the working class—than from the upper st

This paper describes the development of a method based on measurements of the radar cross section (RCS) in the forward direction to determine the extinction cross section for the 2.5 – 38 GHz frequency range. A conventional anechoic chamber designed for monostatic measurements is used for forward RCS measurements. The extinction cross section is then calculated from the measured forward RCS using

Time domain reflectometry (TDR) is a widely used method for measuring the dielectric constant (K-a) and bulk electrical conductivity (sigma(a)) in soils. The TDR measured sigma(a) and K-a can be used to calculate the soil solution electrical conductivity, sigma(w.) The sigma(w), in turn, can be related to the concentration of an ionic tracer. Several models of the sigma(w)-sigma(a)-K-a relationshi

Studies of apparently homogeneous cell populations and single cells often give highly divergent results. Cells exhibit varying responsiveness to stimuli and gene expression and they are in many aspects stochastic and unpredictable. We have developed a method to measure gene expression quantitatively in individual cells with real-time RT-PCR. mRNA for hormones, ion channels and enzymes in pancreat

Background: Pharmacodynamic investigations with antimicrobials define the relationship between the infecting organism and achievable drug concentrations with clinical outcome. Objective: To examine this relationship for meropenem in a population of patients who are at high risk of infection-related morbidity and mortality. Methods: The study was a retrospective analysis of a multicenter, randomize

Background. The objectives of this report are to evaluate changes in the preterm birth rate in Sweden 1973-2001. Furthermore, describe the proportion of spontaneous and indicated preterm births and assess risk factors for the subgroups of preterm birth during the period from 1991 to 2001. Methods. A population-based register study of all births occurring in Sweden from 1973 to 2001 registered in t

Ultrafast lasers are finding many applications in medicine and biology. Pulses from such systems can be used directly or after non-linear modification. Direct utilisation includes time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging. Such studies can be performed for tissue diagnosis in the field of malignant diseases as well as in the cardiovascular sector. Two-photon induced fluorescence provides

The need for new renewable products has enhanced the interest in cellulose and hemicellulose as raw material. The wood plant cell wall is a complex mixture of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and minor amounts of pectin, proteins and extractives. Several interactions between the compounds make them difficult to separate without modification. O-acetyl-galactoglucomannan (O-acetyl-GGM), the major he

Popular Abstract in Swedish När ett barn föds före graviditetsvecka 30 är andningsinsufficiens eller på engelska kallad respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) ett av de stora kliniska problemen som barnläkaren står inför. Redan på 1920-talet förstod man att det måste finnas ett ytspänningsnedsättande ämne i lungorna och på 1950-talet fann man att för tidigt födda (prematura) barn med RDS hade brist p

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a glycoprotein produced by the prostate gland. It occurs in several molecular forms in the blood and assays have been developed to measure free PSA and PSA in complex with alpha-1-antichymotrypsin (PSA-ACT). Higher proportions of free PSA (PSA-F/T) in blood are found in subjects with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) as compared to cancer patients. Utilizing imm

Conventional power plants based on fossil fuel without CO2 capture produce flue gas streams with concentrations Of CO2 between 3% and 15%, contributing to the threat of increasing global warming. Existing capture technologies such as post-combustion flue gas treatment using chemical absorption or pre-combustion carbon removal suffer from significant efficiency penalties as well as major increase i

A green house experiment was designed to test the idea that competition for inorganic nitrogen (N) between plants and heterotrophic microorganisms occurs in soils with high C:N ratios, qualifying for N limited microbial activity, but not at low C:N ratios. The short- term (24 h) N-15 uptake by the grass Festuca gigantea and microorganisms in planted and unplanted soils was determined, and the bact

The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index, its reciprocal (1/HOMA-IR), quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) and McAuley's index in hypertensive diabetic patients. In 78 patients with hypertension and type II diabetes glucose, insulin and triglyceride levels were determined after a 12-h fast

Aims/hypothesis: We compared five surrogate insulin sensitivity ( IS) methods against the euglycaemic - hyperinsulinaemic clamp. These methods were the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) and four methods based on the OGTT (OGIS, MCRest, ISIcomp, SIORAL). Methods: We compared these IS methods against the clamp (0.28 nmol center dot min(-1) center dot m(-2) insulin infusion) M value in 147 women (

Models of community organization involve variations of the top-down (predator control) or bottom-up (nutrient limitation) hypotheses. Verbal models, however, can be interpreted in different ways leading to confusion. Therefore, we predict from first principles the range of possible trophic level interactions, and define mathematically the instantaneous effects of experimental perturbations. Some o