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The wingbeat kinematics of a thrush nightingale Luscinia luscinia were measured for steady flight in a wind tunnel over a range of flight speeds (5-10 m s(-1)), and the results are interpreted and discussed in the context of a detailed, previously published, wake analysis of the same bird. Neither the wingbeat frequency nor wingbeat amplitude change significantly over the investigated speed range

Allozyme variation in 83 European populations of the Melica ciliata/transsilvanica species complex has been investigated. In spite of a diploid chromosome number, most loci were duplicated and patterns of within-population variation were not explainable unless apomixis or uncommon patterns of chromosomal segregation were assumed. Allelic richness and genetic diversity were very high but most of th

In hybrid zones genetically differentiated populations meet and interbreed. As they result from ongoing divergence and potential speciation, such zones provide opportunities to study how different factors affect this process. One well-known avian hybrid zone is that between the Hooded Crow Corvus corone cornix and Carrion Crow C. c. corone, which extends throughout much of Europe. We compare the c

Nine species of hyoliths are described based on material collected in Skane, southern Sweden, during the first half of the last century. The material derives from the middle Cambrian (Cambrian provisional Series 3) Exsulans Limestone Bed at Almbacken east of Lund and the Upper Ordovician (Katian-Hirnantian) Lindegard Formation at Tommarp west of Simrishamn. The Almbacken assemblage consists of thr

Isotoma klovstadi Carpenter, 1902 was one of the first Collembola described from the Antarctic continent. It was first collected in November 1899 during the British Antarctic Expedition on the north coast of Victoria Land in the Ross Sea region. It is now known to occur in an extensive area of northern Victoria Land, including the offshore Possession, Coulman, and Foyn Islands. More recently, L kl

The genetic variation of Duddingtonia flagrans, which has become a promising biocontrol agent of animal parasitic nematodes, was investigated in a worldwide collection of 22 isolates. We analysed the sequence variation in four nuclear genes, tubA (beta-tubulin), CMD1 (calmodulin), EF1alpha (translation elongation factor 1alpha), and PII (extracellular serine protease). 1428 aligned base pairs (bp)

Cystihalysites sp. from the Ludfordian Eke Formation on Gotland, Sweden, is the youngest halysitid coral found in Baltoscandia. Halysitids had earlier been considered as absent at this level and were thought to have disappeared in the Gorstian-lower Ludfordian Hemse Group. The new material indicates that at least one species survived the early parts of the Lau extinction event.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and the long-term results of closed uncomplicated Mason type-II and III fractures in a defined population of adults. Methods: Seventy women and thirty men who were a mean of forty-seven years old when they sustained a fracture of the radial head or neck (a Mason type-II fracture in seventy-six patients and a Mason type-III fractu

Experiments were performed in the temperature range of 294 - 1143 K in pure CO2 using high-resolution rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS), in the dual-broadband approach. Experimental single-shot spectra were recorded with high spectral resolution using a single-mode Nd:YAG laser and a relay imaging lens system on the exit of a 1 m spectrometer. A theoretical rotational CARS

Previous studies suggest that obesity is related to increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, only a few studies report on measures of central vs. peripheral adiposity. We examined the association between anthropometric measures, including waist and hip circumference and RCC risk among 348,550 men and women free of cancer at baseline from 8 countries of the European Prospective Invest

Background Combined oral contraceptives are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a cause of cervical cancer. As the incidence of cervical cancer increases with age, the public-health implications of this association depend largely on the persistence of effects long after use of oral contraceptives has ceased. Information from 24 studies worldwide is pooled here to inves

Swifts, Apus apus, spend the night aloft and this offers an opportunity to test the degree of adaptability of bird orientation and flight to different ecological situations. We predicted the swifts' behaviour by assuming that they are adapted to minimize energy expenditure during the nocturnal flight and during a compensatory homing flight if they become displaced by wind. We tested the prediction

Intra-abdominal adhesions are normally found after most surgical procedures. Many of the adhesions are asymptomatic, but in about 5% they will lead to readmission due to adhesion-related disorders, such as small bowel obstruction, pelvic pain and infertility. This review discusses possible ways to prevent abdominal adhesions and provides an update as comes to where we stand today in research regar

The copper coordination geometry in the blue copper proteins plastocyanin, nitrite reductase, cucumber basic protein, and azurin has been studied by combined density functional (B3LYP) and molecular mechanical methods. Compared to quantum chemical vacuum calculations, a significant improvement of the geometry is seen (toward the experimental structures) not only for the dihedral angles of the liga

Driver comprehension and acceptance of the active accelerator pedal (AAP) after long-term use were evaluated in a large-scale Swedish trial held in 2000-2002. The system was installed in the cars of 281 test drivers who then used it for between six months and a year. The participants' responses, elicited by questionnaires in the end of the trial, showed a positive rating of the concept of the AAP,

A detailed experimental investigation has been made of the pyrolysis-the first step in biomass combustion-of single birchwood particles. In addition to mass spectrometric and gravimetric analysis, the pyrolysis volatiles were characterized by different optical techniques. Absorption measurements showed a nearly featureless absorption in the ultraviolet spectral region with a continuously stronger

Human activated protein C (APC) is a key component of a natural anticoagulant system that regulates blood coagulation. In vivo, the catalytic activity of APC is regulated by two serpins, alpha1-antitrypsin and the protein C inhibitor (PCI), the inhibition by the latter being stimulated by heparin. We have identified a heparin-binding site in the serine protease domain of APC and characterized the

Objective: To characterise uterine proteoglycans and changes therein during pregnancy and labour. Study Design: Uterine samples were collected from 6 non-pregnant, 10 term-pregnant and from 10 women in active tabour. The proteoglycans were extracted by 4 M guanidine hydrochloride and precipitated with Alcian Blue. They were separated by electrophoresis and identified by Western blotting. Results:

Comments on Sæbjørg Walaker Nordeide & Steinar Gulliksen: First Generation Christians, Second Generation Radiocarbon Dates, an article in Norwegian Archaeological Review 40, no 1 (2007).