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Femtosecond laser surface structures obtained with nanosecond laser pulses

  Usually, a material itself defines the properties of its surface. For example, the wettability of surfaces depends on the chemical composition, the possibility for hydrogen bonding towards the surface and several other aspects. To change the surface property of a material, coatings with specialized paints are a routine technique, for example to increase the emissivity of radiators with radiator […]

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Quantum simulation for solving the waste plastics problem

  Plastics are ubiquitous, convenient, and cheap. So, it is not a surprise that the world manufactures 359 million metric tons (Garside, 2020) of plastics every year. Most plastics are yet not readily biodegradable. As a result, at the end of life, 55% (Ritchie and Roser, 2018) of all waste plastics find their way into landfills, or are illegally dumped […]

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Increase viability and efficiency in the design and development of new plant varieties through molecular assisted breeding in the postgenomic era

Design of new plant varieties: an increasingly complicated task We can consider plant breeding as an applied science of design which requires empirical support based on observation and experimentation. At the same time, plant breeding is a design science, as it comes up with models to meet aims that expand human possibilities. In fact, the design of new varieties involves […]

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Atypical presentation of spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma

Introduction Spinal epidural is an uncommon diagnosis, making out less than 1% of all the compressive lesions in the vertebral column (1, 2). Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSED) designates a condition in which there is blood within the epidural space without any known trauma or iatrogenic triggering event. The incidence has been reported to 0, 1 in 100000 person years […]

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Biopsy-proven juvenile IgG4 related disease (IgG4RD) in a case with recurrent unilateral peri-orbital swelling

  Immunoglobulin G4 Related Diseases (IgG4-RD) are a newly recognized cohort of systemic fibroinflammatory conditions with raised serum concentrations of IgG4 (Stone et al., 2012). These lesions can occur in several organs with differing pathological manifestations; however, the most common presentations are: Type-1 autoimmune pancreatitis, salivary gland disease, orbital disease and retroperitoneal fibrosis (Moutsopoulos et al., 2017). This is the […]

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Peeping into the oxidative state of germline stem cells

  In simplest terms, respiration is a process by which organisms breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon-dioxide. At the molecular level respiration aids in generation of energy in the form of Adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) from chemical reactions involving electron transfer through molecular oxygen. These reactions primarily take place in the mitochondria of the cells and during the process derivatives of […]

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How brain activity evolves from fear to anxiety: Implications for today’s mental well-being

  Post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) is predicted to be a long-term outcome from today’s frightening turbulence. Life-threatening fear is traumatic and can have enduring effects on mental health. Yet we still need to understand the brain’s response to fear and how that response changes with recovery or progression to anxiety states like PTSD. While inducing fear in humans for research […]

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A call for reform in pollinator pesticide risk assessment

  Purpose of Risk Assessments Risk assessments have two important functions: (1) To evaluate the likelihood that pollinators might be exposed to pesticides and (2) To determine potential negative impacts on pollinator health. Methods used for such risk assessments should consider all possible routes of exposure, if a pesticide is systemic, how it is applied, its persistence and its toxicity […]

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Reactive slow waves and state-dissociation in sleep underlie several NREM-sleep states and pathological conditions

  Stimuli disturbing non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM sleep; slow wave sleep) may increase the level of vigilance “arousing” the sleeper. A conventional arousal typically manifests as a fast and low-voltage EEG pattern (desynchronisation). Contrasting this “normal” expectation, EEG slow waves (sleep-like synchronised activity) may also develop in response to arousing stimulation during NREM sleep. These reactive slow waves carry […]

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