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Consumer choice policies may improve the matching of consumers and providers, and may spur competition over quality dimensions relevant to consumers. However, the gains from choice may fail to materialise in markets characterised by information frictions and switching costs. We use two large-scale randomised field experiments in primary health care to examine if individuals reconsider their provid

Background Molecular DNA sequence data allow unprecedented advances in biodiversity assessments, monitoring schemes and taxonomic works, particularly in poorly-explored areas. They allow, for instance, the sorting of material rapidly into operational taxonomic units (such as BINs - Barcode Index Numbers), sequences can be subject to diverse analyses and, with linked metadata and physical vouchers,

Testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC) is the most common malignancy in young men. Genetic variants known to be associated with risk of TGCC only partially account for the observed familial risks. We aimed to identify additional polymorphisms associated with risk as well as histological and clinical features of TGCC in 367 patients and 214 controls. Polymorphisms in ESR2 (rs1256063; OR=0.53, 95% CI: 0

Asporin, a novel member of the leucine-rich repeat family of proteins, was partially purified from human articular cartilage and meniscus. Cloning of human and mouse asporin cDNAs revealed that the protein is closely related to decorin and biglycan. It contains a putative propeptide, 4 amino-terminal cysteines, 10 leucine-rich repeats, and 2 C-terminal cysteines. In contrast to decorin and biglyca

Increasing loading of terrestrially derived dissolved organic matter tends to enhance bacterioplankton respiration (BR) in boreal estuaries, but knowledge on the mechanisms behind this effect is not complete. We determined the stable isotopic signature of the reactive estuarine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the Öre estuary (Baltic Sea) by using the Keeling plot method. The δ13C ratio of the es

In Ethiopia, full vaccination coverage among children aged 12–23 months has improved in recent decades. This study aimed to investigate drivers of the improvement in the vaccination coverage. The Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition technique was applied to identify the drivers using data from Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2000 and 2016. The vaccination coverage rose from 14.3% in 2

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are regarded as alternative energy sources because they are environment friendly and deliver no harmful emission. As its reliability and power generating efficiency is largely influenced by the temperature distribution, it is necessary to improve the temperature uniformity which is crucial in PEMFCs. To this end, this numerical study presents an attempt

The objective of this prospective study of matched controls was to find out whether supplementary nutrition would improve wound healing and decrease mortality in patients undergoing transtibial amputation for occlusive arterial disease. The nutritional status of 32 consecutive transtibial amputees was assessed and 28 were classified as malnourished. Supplementary nutrition was given reaching an av

Untagged gamma-ray and tagged-neutron yields from 241AmBe and 238PuBe mixed-field sources have been measured. Gamma-ray spectroscopy measurements from 1 to 5 MeV were performed in an open environment using a CeBr3 detector and the same experimental conditions for both sources. The shapes of the distributions are very similar and agree well with previous data. Tagged-neutron measurements from 2 to

All-polymer blends are promising materials for organic electronics. Their performance critically depends on the quality of mixing of the electron donor and acceptor polymers and on the local chain organization. We investigated spatially resolved photoluminescence properties of as-prepared and annealed blends of poly[2,3-bis(3-octyloxyphenyl)quinoxaline-5,8-diyl-alt-thiophene-2,5-diyl] (TQ1) and po

Light-by-light scattering (γγ → γγ) is a quantum-mechanical process that is forbidden in the classical theory of electrodynamics. This reaction is accessible at the Large Hadron Collider thanks to the large electromagnetic field strengths generated by ultra-relativistic colliding lead ions. Using 480 μ1 of lead-lead collision data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV by

Wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire incidents are likely to become more severe and will affect more and more people. Given their scale and complexity, WUI incidents require a multidomain approach to assess their impact and the effectiveness of any mitigation efforts. The authors recently produced a specification for a simulation framework that quantifies evacuation performance during WUI incidents

Natural hybridization occurs commonly in plants and blurs their interspecific delimitation. It is unclear whether spontaneous hybridization occurs in natural populations of Primula in China. In this study we examined natural hybridization between P. secundiflora and P. poissonii based on morphological and molecular analyses of individuals with intermediate morphology. Most morphological characters

The effects of insulin (10-1000 microU ml-1) on chylomicron remnant uptake and degradation were studied in hepatocyte monolayer cultures. Both uptake and degradation were stimulated by insulin. The degree of stimulation was influenced by cell density, being most pronounced in sparse cultures. The uptake was stimulated in a dose-dependent fashion and was noticed already at a physiological insulin l

Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is a highly heritable trait, but genome-wide association studies have identified few genetic risk factors. Epidemiological studies suggest associations between BMD and several traits and diseases, but the nature of the suggestive comorbidity is still unknown. We used a novel genetic pleiotropy-informed conditional False Discovery Rate (FDR) method to identify single nucl

To clarify the origins of parent-child resemblance for drug abuse (DA), using national Swedish data, we fit path models to information on DA in parents and children from six informative family types: i) not-lived-with father, ii) not-lived-with mother, iii) stepfather, iv) stepmother, v) triparental, and vi) adoptive. From these families, we estimated parent-offspring resemblance reflecting the ef

Background: CSF concentration of neurogranin has been suggested as a biomarker for synapse dysfunction. Objectives: To investigate CSF neurogranin in parkinsonian disorders compared to controls and Alzheimer's disease and the possible correlations between neurogranin and cognitive and motor impairment. Methods: We included 157 patients with PD, 29 with PD with dementia, 11 with dementia with Lewy