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The overarching objective of this study was to produce a disaggregated SMOS Soil Moisture (SM) product using land surface parameters from a geostationary satellite in a region covering a diverse range of ecosystem types. SEVIRI data at 15 min temporal resolution were used to derive the Temperature and Vegetation Dryness Index (TVDI) that served as SM proxy within the disaggregation process. West A

Laws and regulations require that energy needs, indoor climate and moisture safety should be estimated and analyzed during the design phase, before a house is built. Available tools to predict the hygrothermal conditions need, in general, hourly exterior and interior climate boundary conditions. Available climate data sometimes consist of periods with incomplete or lack of data. The aim or this p

We evaluated clinical significance of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-IgM immune complexes, in comparison with free AFP, on the diagnosis of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Serum levels of AFP-IgM immune complexes and free AFP were determined by the ELISA method and electrochemiluminescence, respectively, in 103 healthy controls, 74 patients suffering from primary HCC, 27 patients suffering

1 Plant species that do not typically form mycorrhiza are most likely to be successful under conditions where mycorrhizal fungi are not important for plant coexistence or where the costs of symbiosis outweigh the benefits. The relative occurrence of non-mycorrhizal species was investigated in relationship to exchangeable soil P in herbaceous vegetation, where arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) associatio

A multi-disciplinary study is being carried out on recharge to the Karoo sandstone aquifer in the western part of Zimbabwe, where recharge is controlled by the presence of a thick, confining basalt layer. The aquifer is geographically extensive, and has been identified throughout the southern part of the mid-Zambezi basin (Fig. 1). The potential for groundwater abstraction seems to be huge. The ke

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term results of stent placement for chronic occlusions of the iliac arteries. METHODS: Between October 1992 and December 1997, 73 patients (40 men; median age 64 years, range 42-89) with 76 occluded iliac arteries (33 common, 34 external, and 9 both vessels) were treated with percutaneous recanalization and stenting using a variety of self-expanding and balloon-expand

Rationale: Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a life-threatening manifestation of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). The PEXIVAS (Plasma Exchange and Glucocorticoids in Severe Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis) (NCT00987389) trial was the largest in AAV and the first to enroll participants with DAH requiring mechanical ventilation. Objectives

In the northwest of Skåne, a peninsula stretches out and tapers off out into the ocean. This is Kullahalvön, a stronghold of contrasts that swings between the dramatic and romantic. Its edge rises from the sea like armor: shaped by weather and protective of all the landscape that rests behind it. Forests, meadows,fields and beaches overlap between the old fishing villages that have grown into town

Introduction Cetaceans are abundant in the waters surrounding Scotland. These animals are occasionally found stranded along the coastline, and data recording the locations of these stranding events has been collected over the past several decades. There are many factors which may influence the location in which an animal is reported to have stranded. Some of these factors are environmental and inf

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) has a relapsing-remitting course and, even with the availability of effective maintenance therapies such as rituximab, relapse rates remain high. Relapse is associated with the accrual of organ damage stemming from both the underlying disease and from the effects of AAV treatments; thus, early detection and proactive prevention

In the European Union the Annexes of its chemical legislation (REACH) were revised and now clarify the technical data requirements for nanomaterials (NMs). These new provisions, effective from January 1, 2020, introduce requirements for manufacturers, importers and downstream users regarding registration and safety assessment of NMs. This study aims to assess the availability and suitability of me

Field-based thermal infrared cameras provide surface temperature information at very high spatial and temporal resolution and could complement existing phenological camera and spectral sensor networks. Since temperature is one of the main drivers of ecosystem respiration (ER), field-based thermal cameras offer a new opportunity to model and upscale ER in unprecedented detail. We present such an ap

The Atlantic Walrus: Multidisciplinary insights into human-animal interactions addresses the key dimensions of long-term human walrus interactions across the Atlantic Arctic and subarctic regions, over the past millennia. This book brings together research from across the social and natural sciences to explore walrus biology, human culture, environmental conditions and their reciprocal effects. To

Dendrochronology is a well-established dating method for wooden objects, but due to surface processing of construction timber or natural degradation the dating of historical wood often relies on a prediction of the number of missing rings based on sapwood statistics. Since Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is one of the most common tree species in north-western Europe, the absence of reliable sapwo

Introduction: Older people with intellectual disabilities (ID) have higher levels of comorbidities and overall healthcare utilization than the general population. A known healthcare need would imply high levels of planned healthcare, while unplanned healthcare could be a sign of unmet healthcare needs. Thus, to understand if older people with ID are receiving the healthcare they need, different ty

Objective: To assess the risk of suicide after a diagnosis of urinary bladder cancer (UBC) compared with the standard population and to identify potential risk factors and time dependence associated with suicide in patients with UBC. Method: We used data from the Bladder Cancer Data Base Sweden 2.0 (BladderBaSe), including all individuals aged 18 years or older, diagnosed with UBC between 1997 and

The insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) in vanadium dioxide (VO2) can enable a variety of optics applications, including switching and modulation, optical limiting, and tuning of optical resonators. Despite the widespread interest in VO2 for optics, the wavelength-dependent optical properties across its IMT are scattered throughout the literature, are sometimes contradictory, and are not available

Although l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA) remains the reference treatment of Parkinson's disease, its long-term beneficial effects are hindered by l-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID). In the dopamine (DA)-denervated striatum, l-DOPA activates DA D1 receptor (D1R) signaling, including cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), two responses associated wi