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Water security offers to the local population an adequate quality and quantity of water for health, economy, livelihoods and ecosystems. Hence, achieving basic levels of water security should be a priority in areas where access to fresh water is scarce. The Punata alluvial fan (Bolivia) is a semiarid zone and an important agricultural zone, where the main source of water is groundwater. Therefore,

To assess the benefits of introducing Agile practices, it is important to get a clear understanding of the baseline situation, i.e. the situation before their introduction. Without a clear baseline, we cannot properly assess the extent of impacts, both positive and negative, of introducing Agile practices. This paper provides a preliminary guideline to help researchers in capturing and reporting b

This paper reports a search for triboson W±W±W∓ production in two decay channels (W±W±W∓→ ℓ±νℓ±νℓ∓ν and W±W±W∓→ ℓ±νℓ±νjj with ℓ= e, μ) in proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb - 1 at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with exactly three charged leptons, or two leptons with the same electric charg

Introduction: Noncompaction cardiomyopathy (NCCM) patients may develop sustained ventricular arrhythmias (VA). Currently no known electrocardiogram (ECG) parameter has demonstrated predictive value for VA development. The spatial QRS-T angle has demonstrated ability to identify VA in other cardiomyopathy populations. Methods: A total of 39 patients with NCCM, defined by compact to non-compact rati

A typical approach when designing a bio-inspired robot is to simplify an animal model and to enhance the functionality of interest. For hexapod robots, this often leads to a need of supplementary mechanics to become multifunctional. However, a preferable solution is to employ the embodied multifunctional capabilities of the animal as inspiration for robot design. Using this approach, we present a

The advanced properties of modern materials originate from their nanoscale size and shape and from chemical modifications or doping. Special techniques that can measure the chemical state in the nanoscale are required for exploration and understanding the properties of these materials. While X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) can access the necessary chemical information, conventional setups h

In October 2014, the European Council agreed on a target of improving overall energy efficiency by at least 27 per cent by 2030. According to the European Council's conclusions, this target should not be translated into nationally binding targets. Nevertheless individual Member States are free to set higher national objectives if desired. However, it is difficult to assess the degree of ambition o

To compare clonal evolution in tumors arising through different mechanisms, we selected three types of sarcoma—amplicon-driven well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLS), gene fusion-driven myxoid liposarcoma (MLS), and sarcomas with complex genomes (CXS)—and assessed the dynamics of chromosome and nucleotide level mutations by cytogenetics, SNP array analysis and whole-exome sequencing. Here we show

The present study investigates the significance of potential slip in the bracings of simply supported slender timber members. Three bracing configurations are considered. The first case is that of a timber beam braced at one point at mid-span, the second one braced at two points and the third one braced at three points. Possible slip in the bracing members can for example be due to joint deformati

Background: Second malignant neoplasms and cardiotoxicity are among the most serious and frequent adverse health outcomes experienced by childhood and adolescent cancer survivors (CCSs) and contribute significantly to their increased risk of premature mortality. Owing to differences in health-care systems, language and culture across the continent, Europe has had limited success in establishing mu

The concept of teamwork has been associated with improved patient safety, more effective care and a better work environment. However, the academic literature on teamwork is pluralistic, and there are reports on discrepancies between theory and practice. Furthermore, healthcare professionals’ direct conceptualizations of teamwork are sometimes missing in the research.In this study, we examine docto

This study analyses the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based community mental health services in the form of publicly financed Individual Placement and Support programs. Critical implementation components and program fidelity were assessed after one year. After two years, program fidelity was assessed once again. After three years, the programs’ sustainability was assessed and semi-

Background. Arterial spin labeling is an MR imaging technique that measures cerebral blood flow (CBF) noninvasively. The aim of the study is to assess the diagnostic performance of arterial spin labeling (ASL) MR imaging for differentiation between high-grade glioma and low-grade glioma. Methods. Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline, and Web of Science Core Collection were searched. Study selection e

The global CO2 emissions in 2010 from fossil energy use grew at the fastest rate since 1969. The year 2010 also witnessed that the global oil production did not match the rapid growth in consumption [1]. These recent data further intensify worldwide concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and energy security for a sustained economic development. For a reduced dependence on oil from fossil reserves

The calls for evidence-based public policy making have increased dramatically in the last decades, and so has the interest in evidence-based sustainability studies. But questions remain about what “evidence” actually means in different contexts and if the concept travels well between different domains of application. Some of the most relevant questions asked by sustainability studies are not, and

The orientation towards grand societal challenges can be seen as a new wave or paradigm for innovation policy. Such policy aims at system-wide transformation and is often referred to as system innovation policy. While insights from transition studies have provided novel and useful rationales for innovation policy targeting system-wide transformation, it remains unclear how to design, implement and

The high negative exploration rate in patients with suspected acute appendicitis is the main compelling reason to improve the accuracy in managing patients with acute abdominal pain. In this article, data from a prospective study on a group of patients undergoing acute appendectomy were used to devise a scoring system for the purpose of differentiating between the patients with an acute appendicit

Today's IT organizations must ensure that IT services are aligned to business needs and actively support ongoing business processes. This means that internal IT service management processes are under constant improvement. However, to be able to know if the IT service provision develops in the right direction, there is a need to perform some kind of self-assessment of IT process maturity. In this p

Public procurement for innovation (PPI) is a powerful, underutilized demand-side innovation policy instrument. How this instrument can contribute to meeting societal challenges, which require goaloriented transformation of socio-technical systems, remains unclear and is explored in this article. This article draws on the transitions and PPI literature to propose transformative processes to which P