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The productivity of agricultural and forest ecosystems in regions at higher latitudes is to a large extent governed by low temperature and moisture conditions. Environmental conditions are acting both above- and below-ground and regulating carbon fluxes and evapotranspiration. However, the understanding of various feedbacks between vegetation and environmental conditions is still unclear. In this

Despite numerous challenges, since its independence, Uzbekistan, with the exception of the May 2005 Andijan events, has enjoyed extraordinary political stability and not recorded any considerable cases of interethnic or interfaith conflict, regime change or civil war, whereas neighboring Kyrgyzstan, labeled an “island of democracy” by the Western world, has experienced numerous conflicts and chaos

Background: Screening for bacterial colonization and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among a defined population could aid in the identification of at-risk populations and provide targets for antibiotic stewardship and infection control programmes. Methods: Two hundred and sixty-eight participants at 11 Swedish nursing homes underwent serial screening for colonization with Escherichia coli between M

It is frequently observed that the local relative abundances of aquatic microbial taxa are correlated with their average relative abundance at the regional scale, which results in the composition of different communities being more similar than expected by chance or invariant. The degree to which communities within a region match the regional average community is variable and likely depends on sev

Paleomagnetic data, although undeniably limited, have been used to constrain complex time-varying geomagnetic field models. Here we present four different versions of a time varying geocentric dipole model for the past approximately 9000 years based on a limited selection of sedimentary paleomagnetic data with good spatial coverage. The robustness of the modeling approach is evaluated using modern

Growth models of charged nanoplatelets are investigated with Monte Carlo simulations and simple theory. In a first model, 2-dimensional simulations in the canonical ensemble are used to demonstrate that the growth of a single weakly charged platelet could be limited by its own internal repulsion. The short range attractive interaction in the crystal is modeled with a square well potential while th

The male: female (sex) ratio is of considerable importance in understanding population dynamics of species. A null hypothesis was tested that the male:female (sex) ratio of Carabus species does not differ measurably when entire seasons are considered, but may differ considerably over shorter periods, indicating differences in annual rhythms between the sexes. The sex ratios in nine Carabus species

Migrating birds are believed to minimize the time spent on migration rather than energy. Birds seem to maximize migration speed in different ways as a noteworthy variation in migration strategies exists. We studied migration strategies of a flight mode and feeding generalist, the Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus, using GPS-based satellite telemetry. We expected the gulls to achieve very high

The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is one of Africa's most endangered species and therefore classified as endangered by IUCN. Earlier distributions included most of Africa but currently the African wild dog only has populations larger than 300 individuals in three countries (Botswana, Tanzania and South Africa). In 1998, a plan was launched in South Africa to manage sub-populations of the Africa

Pathologic aggregation of beta-amyloid (A beta) peptide and the axonal microtubule-associated protein tau protein are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Evidence supports that A beta peptide accumulation precedes microtubule-related pathology, although the link between A beta and tau remains unclear. We previously provided evidence for early co-localization of A beta 42 peptides and hyperphosp

Objectives To perform fine mapping of the autoimmunity susceptibility gene BLK and identify functional variants involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Genotyping of 1163 European SLE patients and 1482 controls and imputation were performed covering the BLK gene with 158 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Logistic regression analysis was done using PLINK and conditional analyses usin

Acetone-ether preparations of epididymal fat pads from fasted or fed rats contained two enzymes catalyzing the hydrolysis of long-chain monoacylglycerols. The enzymes were identified as monoacylglycerol lipase (Tornqvist, H. and Belfrage, P., (1976) J. Biol Chem. 251, 813--819) and lipoprotein lipase by their apparent pI values after electrofocusing in non-ionic detergent, selective inhibition pro

The nitrate reductase activity (NRA) was measured during spring, early summer and late summer in three deciduous forests, where the tree layer was dominated by oak. The nitrate assimilation capacities of the compartments of the above-ground and below-ground biomass of the understory and of the leaves and roots of the tree layer were calculated as NRA per unit biomass and NRA per unit area. The NRA

Rapidly developing viral resistance to licensed human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease inhibitors is an increasing problem in the treatment of HIV-infected individuals and AIDS patients. A rational design of more effective protease inhibitors and discovery of potential biological substrates for the HIV-1 protease require accurate models for protease cleavage specificity. In this stud

Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning: Examensarbetet syftar till att undersöka hur klimatiska förändringar och mänskligt utnyttjande av marken har påverkat fluviatila våtmarker (våtmarker i anslutning till rinnande vatten) i Bräkneåns dalgång i mellerst Blekinge. Få liknande undersökningar av fluviatila våtmarker har tidigare gjorts i Skandinavien, varför det är av intresse att ytterligare undersöka

Pedestrians and cyclists are so-called unprotected road users which are sensitive in the context of road safety. When it comes to road safety focus are often placed on pedestrians-cars and cyclist-cars, in this report focus are placed on the road safety between pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrians and cyclists are often referred to a combined space, with or without a separation. The purpose of th