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Exposure to air pollution is associated with adverse health effects in humans, with special concern for exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The physicochemical properties of aerosols impact the health effects. Considering that we spend approximately 90% of our time indoors, it is important to gain increased understanding of indoor aerosol concentrations and properties. The overall aim of

Herein we present our results on the investigation of the influence of external magnetic fields on the anisotropic collective dynamics of core/shell colloidal cubes having a hematite core and silica shell. Owing to the hematite cores, these micrometer-sized particles possess permanent dipole moments, which are at an angle with respect to the long diagonal of the cubes. As a result, they self-assem

The number of elderlies is increasing but prevalence of malnutrition has been reported. The aim of the study was to determine the significance of short-term nutritional deficiencies in mice. Immune status was assessed through flow cytometry of leucocytes in Peyer’s patches (PP) and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), and intestinal microbiota was evaluated by terminal restriction fragment length polymor

Microscopy and particle-based simulations are both powerful techniques to study aggregated particulate matter such as colloidal gels. The data provided by these techniques often contains information on a wide array of length scales, but structural analysis methods typically focus on the local particle arrangement, even though the data also contains information about the particle network on the mes

Worldwide significant efforts are ongoing to develop devices that store solar energy as fuels. In one such approach, solar energy is absorbed by semiconductors and utilized directly by catalysts at their surfaces to split water into H2 and O2. To protect the semiconductors in these photo-electrochemical cells (PEC) from corrosion, frequently thin TiO2 interlayers are applied. Employing a well-perf

Polycystic ovaries (PCO) contain antral follicles that arrest growing around 3–11 mm in diameter, perturbing the dominant follicle’s selection and the subsequent ovulatory process. Proteomic alterations of PCO follicular fluid (FF) (i.e., microenvironment in which the oocyte develops until ovulation) have been studied from large follicles in connection with oocyte pickup during ovarian stimulation

BackgroundSurgical site infections (SSI) in the groin after vascular surgery are common. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) on SSI incidence when applied on closed inguinal incisions after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR).MethodsA multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT). Between November 2013 and December 2020, 377 incisions (336 bila

Critical infrastructures provide essential services for the functioning of the society, and disruption of these services can lead to large-scale consequences. Hence, it is of utmost importance to analyze the vulnerability of critical infrastructures and use the results to guide decisions of improving their robustness towards strains. Since real-life critical infrastructures can be regarded as comp

STUDY QUESTION: Which substances and signal transduction pathways are potentially active downstream to the effect of FSH and LH in the regulation of human oocyte maturation in vivo? SUMMARY ANSWER: The regulation of human oocyte maturation appears to be a multifactorial process in which several different signal transduction pathways are active. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Many studies in animal species

Sleep problems, in particular the difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep are important comorbidities in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), accompanied by a range of negative consequences for both patients and their caregivers. Melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that is important for coordinating the body's sleep-wake cycle, has been used to

Histological evaluation of tissue-engineered products, including hydrogels for cellular encapsulation, is a critical and invaluable tool for assessing the product across multiple stages of its lifecycle from manufacture to implantation. However, many tissue-engineered products are comprised of polymers and hydrogels which are not optimized for use with conventional methods of tissue fixation and h

Mixtures between choline and geranic acid (CAGE) have previously been shown to insert into lipid bilayers. This may be useful for the transdermal delivery of larger pharmaceuticals, however, little is known about the mechanism of activity. By comparing the interactions between CAGE and lipid bilayers with those of a less-active, yet closely-related analogue, choline octanoic acid (CAOT), a chemica

Society has a responsibility to aid its citizens in case of emergency. This calls for planning and preparations. However, societal emergency response activities are not always fully effective. This might be due to suboptimal emergency planning and preparations, with some planned response actions not working as intended. For example, it is possible that some actions show to be ‘over-planned’ with t

Society protects its citizens against crises and emergencies. Emergency management, and particularly preparedness for emergency response, can be strengthened through the use of scenario-based exercises. Since such exercises are expensive, it is of common interest to make efficient use of their results. One way to enhance existing methods for scenario-based exercise is to improve their learning eff