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Between 25 and 50 per cent of white dwarfs (WD) present atmospheric pollution by metals, mainly by rocky material, which has been detected as gas/dust discs, or in the form of photometric transits in some WDs. Planets might be responsible for scattering minor bodies that can reach stargazing orbits, where the tidal forces of the WD can disrupt them and enhance the chances of debris to fall on to t

Asteroid material is detected in white dwarfs (WDs) as atmospheric pollution by metals, in the form of gas/dust discs, or in photometric transits. Within the current paradigm, minor bodies need to be scattered, most likely by planets, into highly eccentric orbits where the material gets disrupted by tidal forces and then accreted on to the star. This can occur through a planet-planet scattering pr

Women seem to use the helmet when riding a bicycle less frequently than men. Two possible explanations for this behavior are that 1) it is less appalling to them because of lack of comfort or other reasons, or 2) they use bicycles in a more cautious way than men so they feel that they do not need the helmet as much. The present paper explores these two explanations in 5, 691 cyclists that responde

This article contributes to the theorisation of collaborative public diplomacy by introducing a perceptual approach. Engaging with the collaborative diplomacy paradigm developed to conceptualise public diplomacy in the context of non-traditional security threats and conflicts, as well as nation building, the article explores and compares perceptions of the European Union (EU) as a public diplomacy

Although the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) has come to an end, the evaluation of TRMM satellite precipitation is still of great significance for the improvement of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM). In this paper, the hydrological utility of TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42 RTV7/V7 precipitation products was evaluated using the variable infiltration c

Social insurance administrative officers’ decision-making skills influence their efficiency at work and their general well-being. At work their tasks are characterised by complexity and a need for order and accountability. Moreover, cases should usually be handled and finalised within the imposed time frames. We investigated skills related to decision-making success among social insurance officers

Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is caused by single- or multiglandular disease (MGD). Patients with MGD have an increased risk of complications at surgery and for persistence and recurrence after surgery. The study evaluated whether preoperative clinical and biochemical characteristics could predict MGD in patients with pHPT. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients operated 1

Typhoon Haiyan damaged around a million houses in the Philippines in November 2013. It especially affected the poor. Using a realist laminated ontology, this paper explains how multiple causal mechanisms triggered unexpected outcomes in the housing recovery programme in the province of Leyte. The proposed causal mechanisms were: the intentional causal agency of the Filipino power elite; the collab

Sex differences in selection are ubiquitous in sexually reproducing organisms. When the genetic basis of traits is shared between the sexes, such sexually antagonistic selection (SAS) creates a potential constraint on adaptive evolution. Theory and laboratory experiments suggest that environmental variation and the degree of local adaptation may all affect the frequency and intensity of SAS. Here,

We report new time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence lifetime measurements for 22 highly excited even-parity levels in singly ionized yttrium (Y II). To populate these levels belonging to the configurations 4d6s, 5s6s 4d5d, 5p2, 4d7s and 4d6d, a two-step laser excitation technique was used. Our previous pseudo-relativistic Hartree-Fock model (Biémont et al. 2011) was improved by extending the co

The solar neighbourhood contains disc stars that have recently crossed spiral arms in the Galaxy. We propose that boundaries in local velocity distributions separate stars that have recently crossed and been more strongly perturbed by a particular arm from those that haven't. Ridges in the stellar velocity distributions constructed from the second Gaia data release trace orbits that could have tou

The EU public procurement regime has recently undergone an overhaul and now allows Member States and their contracting authorities to pursue strategic goals via public procurement, including environmental and social objectives. The extent to which such interests may be accommodated in the procurement process is ultimately determined by the broader legal context in which the EU public procurement r

Activity-based financing (ABF) and global budgeting are two common reimbursement models in hospital care that embody different incentives for cost containment and quality. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe perceptions from the provider perspective about how and why replacing variable ABF by global budgets affects daily operations and provided services. The study setting is a la

Presentation of a protein antigen to T cells generally requires that the antigen be enzymatically processed into an immunogenic peptide(s). The identification of a protease(s) and its mechanism of action in the proteolysis of such an antigen is therefore a primary goal in the study of antigen processing. We show here that Insulin degrading enzyme (IDE), a neutral thiol metalloendo-proteinase that

In this work we present an appearance-based 3-D Face Recognition approach that is able to recognize faces in video sequences, independent from face pose. For this we combine eigen light-fields with probabilistic propagation over time for evidence integration. Eigen light-fields allow us to build an appearance based 3-D model of an object; probabilistic methods for evidence integration are attracti

BACKGROUND: The dual-mobility acetabular cup (DMC) has an additional bearing consisting of a mobile polyethylene component between the prosthetic head and the outer metal shell. This design has gained popularity in revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) and in primary treatment of femoral neck fractures with the anticipation of a reduced risk of THA instability. Our primary aim was to evaluate the