The Windmills of Your Mind. Defining and locating identity in the Norwegian wind power-debate

After several years of increasing investments in, and development of, on-shore wind power in Norway, things have come to a standstill. Important industry-leaders all anticipate a prolonged lull, they only differ on whether it will last for “several years” (Malkenes Hovland 2020) or a full decade (Andersen 2020). Things started stalling “in the wake of a failed proposal about which 13 areas in Norway are most suited for wind power” (Pedersen 2021). Debate about the proposal quickly became entrenched. This thesis maps some of those trenches by taking a closer look at the reactions to the proposal. This is done by using discourse theory to find and describe identity-building story-lines that appear in the hearing answers to the proposal. The thesis shows that earlier research often viewed opposition to such developments as a result of incomplete factual knowledge about wind power. But the identity-building story-lines are not weighing pros and cons to reach a solution. Instead they conjure an “us” that is in conflict with, and usually threatened by, a “them”. Wind turbines and wind power development in general become laden with powerful symbolic meanings. These meanings create a sense of belonging or otherness that can crowd out facts in the discussion. Four such identity-building story-lines are described. In the “Urban vs. rural” story-line, rural people and landscapes are the victims of an urban elite that reap all the benefits and incur none of the costs of wind power projects. In the “Humiliated Norway” story-line this perspective is moved from rural Norway to the whole country as such, as foreign investors and other nations are seen to be exploiting a naive country. The “Natural Norway” story-line operates more on a strictly symbolic level - here the norwegian landscape is itself laden with meaning and value, and each new wind turbine is a stab at the very heart of a perceived eternal and inherent Norwegian identity. In the “Responsible Norway” story-line there is a twist, as the in-group is the active part. Here, wind turbines are symbols both of a cosmopolitan responsibility, and a penance for carbon-based sins. Mapping out these identity-building story-lines gives a new perspective on a debate that seems to have completely ground to a halt. This can again give a better understanding of what is at stake for the different actors

The effect of bedrest on various parameters of physiological function. part xiv- effect of bedrest on plasma levels and urinary excretion of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids

Bed rest effect on plasma levels and urinary excretion of hydroxycorticosteroid

Targeting best agricultural practices to enhance ecosystem services in European mountains

Agri-environmental policies in Europe are failing to sufficiently address ongoing environmental degradation, biodiversity decline, climate impacts, and societal demands for sustainability. To reverse this, policymakers, practitioners, and farmers need better guidance on which specific agricultural practice/s should be promoted and how to adapt current practices to reach the desired objectives. Here we use social valuation tools to elucidate the relationship between agricultural practices and the provision of key ecosystem services in mountains, including maintenance of scenery from agricultural landscapes, conservation of biodiversity, regulation of climate change through carbon sequestration, production of local quality products, maintenance of soil fertility, and prevention of forest wildfires. We use as case studies two contrasting but representative mountain agroecosystems in the Mediterranean and Nordic regions of Europe. We analyze the best agricultural practices in both agroecosystems to reach the targeted environmental outcomes under three plausible policy scenarios. We find significant differences in the average contribution of agricultural practices to ecosystem services provision, which suggest the need for regionalizing the research efforts and, consequently, the design of agri-environmental policies. However, we also identify practices for ecosystem service delivery across policy scenarios and agroecosystems. Among these, grazing and silviculture practices such as extending the grazing period, grazing in semi-natural habitats, grazing in remote and abandoned areas, adapting stocking rate to the carrying capacity, and moving flocks seasonally, stand out for their relevance in all policy scenarios. These results highlight the potential of adequate grazing and silviculture practices to deliver bundles of ecosystem services. Our study provides guidance to design agri-environmental policies in Europe that focus on rewarding farmers for their sustainable management of natural resources, climate change mitigation and adaption and biodiversity conservation

Mechanical Competence and Bone Quality Develop During Skeletal Growth.

Bone fracture risk is influenced by bone quality, which encompasses bone's composition as well as its multiscale organization and architecture. Aging and disease deteriorate bone quality, leading to reduced mechanical properties and higher fracture incidence. Largely unexplored is how bone quality and mechanical competence progress during longitudinal bone growth. Human femoral cortical bone was acquired from fetal (n = 1), infantile (n = 3), and 2- to 14-year-old cases (n = 4) at the mid-diaphysis. Bone quality was assessed in terms of bone structure, osteocyte characteristics, mineralization, and collagen orientation. The mechanical properties were investigated by measuring tensile deformation at multiple length scales via synchrotron X-ray diffraction. We find dramatic differences in mechanical resistance with age. Specifically, cortical bone in 2- to 14-year-old cases exhibits a 160% greater stiffness and 83% higher strength than fetal/infantile cases. The higher mechanical resistance of the 2- to 14-year-old cases is associated with advantageous bone quality, specifically higher bone volume fraction, better micronscale organization (woven versus lamellar), and higher mean mineralization compared with fetal/infantile cases. Our study reveals that bone quality is superior after remodeling/modeling processes convert the primary woven bone structure to lamellar bone. In this cohort of female children, the microstructural differences at the femoral diaphysis were apparent between the 1- to 2-year-old cases. Indeed, the lamellar bone in 2- to 14-year-old cases had a superior structural organization (collagen and osteocyte characteristics) and composition for resisting deformation and fracture than fetal/infantile bone. Mechanistically, the changes in bone quality during longitudinal bone growth lead to higher fracture resistance because collagen fibrils are better aligned to resist tensile forces, while elevated mean mineralization reinforces the collagen scaffold. Thus, our results reveal inherent weaknesses of the fetal/infantile skeleton signifying its inferior bone quality. These results have implications for pediatric fracture risk, as bone produced at ossification centers during children's longitudinal bone growth could display similarly weak points. © 2019 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research

Dental implants in patients with head and neck cancer : a systematic review and meta-analysis of the influence of radiotherapy on implant survival

Purpose The purpose of this meta-analysis was to compare implant survival in irradiated and non-irradiated bone and to investigate potential risk factors for implant therapy in oral cancer patients. Material and methods An extensive search in the electronic databases of the National Library of Medicine was performed. Systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to PRISMA statement. The meta-analysis was performed for studies with a mean follow-up of at least three and five years, respectively. Results The systematic review resulted in a mean overall implant survival of 87.8% (34%–100%). The meta-analysis revealed a significantly higher rate of implant failure in irradiated bone compared to non-irradiated bone (p < .00001, OR 1.97, CI [1.63, 2.37]). The studies also showed that implants placed into irradiated grafted bone were more likely to fail than those in irradiated native bone (p < .0001, OR 2.26, CI [1.50, 3.40]). Conclusion Even though overall implant survival was high, radiotherapy proves to be a significant risk factor for implant loss. Augmentation procedures may also increase the risk of an adverse outcome, especially in combination with radiotherapy. Clinical relevance The treatment of patients receiving radiotherapy of any form requires precise individual planning and a close aftercare. Implants should be placed in local bone rather than in bone grafts, if possible

Remedies for Managing Bottlenecks and Time Thieves in Norwegian Construction Projects – Public vs Private Sector

Reducing project execution time is an important aspect in today's construction industry. In practice, most construction projects are delivered behind schedule. This creates an incentive to find methods, processes and techniques to deal with elements which steal time and bottlenecks which cause delays. This paper address the magnitude, frequency and type of time-thieves and bottlenecks in various phases of construction projects from different construction firms and organizations in the public sector in Norway. It also discusses remedies to mitigate time thieves and bottlenecks. The questionnaire used was designed and tested to give a broad and open data collection. The purpose was to collect opinions from senior project managers and project members in order to identify time-thieves, bottlenecks and remedies and analyse the data to assertain if there are common and/or different opinions or perspectives in public and in private sectors. This study will provide an insight into the problem, time-thieves and bottlenecks, itself. The firms in this study are part of a larger national programme called SpeedUp. The programme focuses on every aspect of speeding up projects. The SpeedUp programme is a 10 million USD research programme with 5 researchers and 7-8 PhD students. It is linked to Project Norway which is a research-based collaboration of Norwegian project-based organizations in the public and private sector

Rescue bedside laparotomy in the intensive care unit in patients too unstable for transport to the operating room

INTRODUCTION: The prognoses of critically ill patients with a requirement for emergency laparotomy and severe respiratory and/or hemodynamic instability precluding transport to the operating room (OR) are often fatal without surgery. Attempting emergency surgery at the bedside might equally result in an adverse outcome. However, risk factors and predictors that could support clinical decision making have not been identified so far. This study describes the clinical characteristics, indicative pathophysiology and outcomes in patients undergoing resuscitative laparotomy in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study of all critically ill adult patients undergoing resuscitative laparotomy in the ICUs of a German university hospital from January 2005 to July 2013. Clinical characteristics, risk factors, and treatments were compared between survivors and non-survivors. The primary endpoint was 28-day survival. RESULTS: A total of 41 patients with a median age of 64 (21 to 83) were included. The most frequent reasons for ICU admission were sepsis, pneumonia, and pancreatic surgery. All patients were mechanically ventilated, receiving vasopressors, and were in multiple organ failure. Twenty-nine patients (70.7%) were on renal replacement therapy and two patients (4.9%) on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The main reasons for surgery were suspected intra-abdominal bleeding (39.0%), suspected intestinal ischemia (24.4%) or abdominal compartment syndrome (24.4%). Twenty-eight-day, ICU and hospital mortalities were 75.6%, 80.5%, and 82.9%, respectively. In six out of ten patients (60%) who survived surgery for more than 28 days, bedside laparotomy was rated as a life-saving procedure by an interdisciplinary group of the investigators. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that in selected critically ill patients with a vital indication for emergency laparotomy and severe cardiopulmonary instability precluding transport to the OR, a bedside resuscitative laparotomy in the ICU can be considered as a rescue procedure, even though very high mortality is to be expected

Use of dried kapenta (Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae) and other products based on whole fish for complementing maize-based diets

Poor nutritional status both for children and adults is highly prevalent in those parts of sub-Saharan Africa where maize is a dominant staple. Maize is not a complete food, and if the child’s diet is only based on white maize, it may be deficient in calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B12, vitamin E, vitamin K, folate, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, niacin, potassium and iron. Inadequate intake of essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals and trace elements is associated with reduced growth, weakening of immunological functions and enhanced morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases, including measles, diarrhoeal diseases, parasite infestations, tuberculosis and HIV disease. Pregnant women and people suffering from infectious diseases, including HIV and tuberculosis, need a diet rich in protein and micronutrients. During pregnancy, growth requirements for the foetus must be covered. Infections lead to significant metabolic changes with enhanced rates of degradation or excretion of several nutrients including total protein, essential amino acids and vitamins. The diet must now contain higher amounts of nutrients than required by a healthy child or adult person in order to prevent the development of protein malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies that will in turn easily lead to weakening of immunological functions. The purpose of the study was i) to analyse the nutrient composition of kapenta, and compare it to other animal products, and ii) to calculate the quantity of these products needed to cover the recommended dietary intake of several nutrients. Nutrient compositions of whole dried kapenta and Norwegian fish powder (fish protein concentrate type B) were found to be similar. It is shown that products made from whole fish are qualitatively superior to fish fillet and other animal products because they are much better sources of minerals and trace elements such as calcium, iron and zinc. They are also good sources of vitamin B12 and other bioactive substances such as membrane lipids, taurine and nucleic acids. Calculations of the improvements in nutrient intake if a maize-based diet is supplemented with minor amounts of a micronutrient- and protein-rich food like dried kapenta, or fish meal, was shown to give a balanced diet covering most of the nutrient requirements. It should be noted that patients suffering from chronic infectious diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis have higher nutrient requirements (for protein, essential amino acids and several micronutrients) compared to healthy persons.Key words: Nutrition, children, maize, kapenta, fish-mea

Cyclic triterpenoid production with tailored Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Triterpenoids are secondary plant metabolites derived from squalene and consist of six isoprene units (C30). Many of them or their synthetic derivatives are currently being investigated as medicinal products for various diseases. The cyclic triterpenoid betulinic acid is of special interest for the pharmaceutical and nutritional industry as it has antiretroviral, antimalarial, and anti-inflammatory properties and has potential as an anticancer agent (Muffler et al. 2011, Mullauer et al. 2010). Despite their obvious industrial potential, the application is often hindered by their low abundance in natural plant sources. This poses challenges in a biosustainable production of such compounds due to wasteful and costly product purification. Here, we present a novel biotechnological process for the production of betulinic acid using tailored Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. The multi-scale optimization of this microbial process included: - pathway engineering by determination of optimal gene combination and dosage, - compartment engineering to increase the reaction space of the betulinic acid pathway, and - strain engineering by implementation of different push, pull and block strategies. In parallel we developed the fermentation process and were able to boost the performance of the engineered yeast by optimization of medium composition, cultivation conditions, carbon source and mode of fermentation operation in lab scale bioreactors. Product purification was achieved by a one-step extraction with acetone. The final process was evaluated in terms of economic and ecological efficiency and rated to be competitive with existing plant extraction procedures with potential for further performance improvement. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract