This article investigates tap water heating systems to highlight an ongoing debate. Some report that CO2-based transcritical heat pumps with an ejector have the best coefficient of performance (COP), while others report that blend-based refrigerant systems (without an ejector) are better. In the literature, however, these systems are only compared with conventional heat pump designs, and not against ...

Testing for SARS-CoV-2 ved bruk av PCR- og antistofftester gir et betydelig bidrag i bekjempelsen av covid-19-pandemien. Denne kasuistikken belyser en situasjon der PCRtesting for SARS-CoV-2 reiste flere spørsmål enn testen kunne besvare.

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are essential players in many cellular processes, from normal development to oncogenic transformation. Initially, ncRNAs were defined as transcripts that lacked an open reading frame (ORF). However, multiple lines of evidence suggest that certain ncRNAs encode small peptides of less than 100 amino acids. The sequences encoding these peptides are known as small open reading ...

The recently discovered lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs), which cleave polysaccharides by oxidation, have been associated with bacterial virulence, but supporting functional data is scarce. Here we show that CbpD, the LPMO of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, is a chitin-oxidizing virulence factor that promotes survival of the bacterium in human blood. The catalytic activity of CbpD was ...

<i>Background</i> - Most temperate bats are regular hibernators in the winter. Knowledge about the length of their active season and how they adjust their nightly activity throughout the season, is critical to conservation. The characteristics of these are likely to vary with climate as well as latitude. This study investigated the flight activity of the soprano pipistrelle <i>Pipistrellus pygmaeus</i> ...

Nanophotonic waveguides are at the core of a great variety of optical sensors. These structures confine light along defined paths on photonic chips and provide light–matter interaction via an evanescent field. However, waveguides still lag behind free-space optics for sensitivity-critical applications such as trace gas detection. Short optical pathlengths, low interaction strengths, and spurious ...

<p>This thesis presents a research study on bioreactor design and biochemical processes for conversion of biomass into bioenergy and develops mathematical models that can be used for designing better reactors and control systems. Good design of the bioreactors and understanding of the biochemical process is essential to control the process for maximizing the yield. Improving the performance efficiency ...

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an aggressive cancer associated with high mortality rates. The objective of this master project was to test the following hypotheses: (1) transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) activates fibroblasts in vitro and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) deactivates them while both increase fibroblast proliferation in cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs); (2) the ...

Although the problem of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Russia has been the subject of attention for decades, a definitive and comprehensive explanation of why the CVD burden there is so high and generally greater than in many other countries has still not been found. In this thesis, I have attempted to advance research on these issues by examining the role of blood lipids, heart damage biomarkers ...

<i>Background</i> - Non-communicable general and oral health conditions share common risk factors. Studies investigating common social determinants as risk factors for overweight/obesity and dental caries among the same adolescents are scarce and inconclusive.<p><p> <i>Methods</i> - This cross-sectional study included data from 464 girls and 494 boys from the population-based Tromsø study Fit ...