DET SVÆRE VED INDRØMMELSER

I 2017 vil det være 100 år siden, Danmark solgte St. Thomas, St. Croix og St.John til USA. Denne artikel undersøger de diskursive forhold, der er med til at formenarrativet for den kollektive erindring om Danmarks rolle i kolonitiden fra omkring 1600-til 1900-tallet. Artiklen tager udgangspunkt i diskursive analyser af rejsemålsbeskrivelserhos Stjernegaard Rejser. Hovedpointen i undersøgelsen er, at der eksisterer et særligtnarrativ i den kollektive erindring i Danmark, hvor Danmarks koloniale fortid langt oftereglemmes i erindringsprocessen, da det er udfordrende at skulle konfronteres med fortidenog svært, måske endda skamfuldt, at anerkende Danmarks koloniale arv.Nøgleord: Rejsemålsbeskrivelser, U.S. Virgin Islands, Kollektiv Erindring, Kolonialarv, Vestindien, Dansk Vestindien, Stjernegaard Rejser.I 2017 vil det være 100 år siden, Danmark solgte St. Thomas, St. Croix og St.John til USA. Denne artikel undersøger de diskursive forhold, der er med til at formenarrativet for den kollektive erindring om Danmarks rolle i kolonitiden fra omkring 1600-til 1900-tallet. Artiklen tager udgangspunkt i diskursive analyser af rejsemålsbeskrivelserhos Stjernegaard Rejser. Hovedpointen i undersøgelsen er, at der eksisterer et særligtnarrativ i den kollektive erindring i Danmark, hvor Danmarks koloniale fortid langt oftereglemmes i erindringsprocessen, da det er udfordrende at skulle konfronteres med fortidenog svært, måske endda skamfuldt, at anerkende Danmarks koloniale arv.Nøgleord: Rejsemålsbeskrivelser, U.S. Virgin Islands, Kollektiv Erindring, Kolonialarv, Vestindien, Dansk Vestindien, Stjernegaard Rejser

Hva skal fattigfolks barn lære? Barnearbeid og 1700-tallets byskole

Mot slutten av 1700-tallet ble spørsmålet om skolegang og arbeid for barn et viktig tema, og spesielt i byene, der arbeidslivet var mest differensiert. Artikkelen undersøker hvordan diskusjonen om dette foregikk i Trondheim, og hvordan de fattigskoler som ble etablert i siste halvdel av 1700-tallet tok i bruk arbeid som en del av undervisningen. Det arbeid som ble innført, var dels et forsøk på å få barna til å delta i sin egen forsørgelse, dels et forsøk på å lære dem opp til framtidig yrkesutøvelse, og dels en måte å innprente flid og arbeidsomhet i barna fra tidlig alder. Spesielt drøftes spinning som arbeid for barn, og den kjønnsmessige betydning arbeidet hadde

Brain Tumor Segmentation Based on Minimum Spanning Tree

In this paper, we propose a minimum spanning tree-based method for segmenting brain tumors. The proposed method performs interactive segmentation based on the minimum spanning tree without tuning parameters. The steps involve preprocessing, making a graph, constructing a minimum spanning tree, and a newly implemented way of interactively segmenting the region of interest. In the preprocessing step, a Gaussian filter is applied to 2D images to remove the noise. Then, the pixel neighbor graph is weighted by intensity differences and the corresponding minimum spanning tree is constructed. The image is loaded in an interactive window for segmenting the tumor. The region of interest and the background are selected by clicking to split the minimum spanning tree into two trees. One of these trees represents the region of interest and the other represents the background. Finally, the segmentation given by the two trees is visualized. The proposed method was tested by segmenting two different 2D brain T1-weighted magnetic resonance image data sets. The comparison between our results and the gold standard segmentation confirmed the validity of the minimum spanning tree approach. The proposed method is simple to implement and the results indicate that it is accurate and efficient.publishedVersio

GUBS: Graph-Based Unsupervised Brain Segmentation in MRI Images

Brain segmentation in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images is the process of isolating the brain from non-brain tissues to simplify the further analysis, such as detecting pathology or calculating volumes. This paper proposes a Graph-based Unsupervised Brain Segmentation (GUBS) that processes 3D MRI images and segments them into brain, non-brain tissues, and backgrounds. GUBS first constructs an adjacency graph from a preprocessed MRI image, weights it by the difference between voxel intensities, and computes its minimum spanning tree (MST). It then uses domain knowledge about the different regions of MRIs to sample representative points from the brain, non-brain, and background regions of the MRI image. The adjacency graph nodes corresponding to sampled points in each region are identified and used as the terminal nodes for paths connecting the regions in the MST. GUBS then computes a subgraph of the MST by first removing the longest edge of the path connecting the terminal nodes in the brain and other regions, followed by removing the longest edge of the path connecting non-brain and background regions. This process results in three labeled, connected components, whose labels are used to segment the brain, non-brain tissues, and the background. GUBS was tested by segmenting 3D T1 weighted MRI images from three publicly available data sets. GUBS shows comparable results to the state-of-the-art methods in terms of performance. However, many competing methods rely on having labeled data available for training. Labeling is a time-intensive and costly process, and a big advantage of GUBS is that it does not require labels.publishedVersio

A Preparatory Study for a Randomized Controlled Trial of Dietary Fiber Intake During Adult Pelvic Radiotherapy

Background: Patients undergoing pelvic radiotherapy are often advised to omit fiber-rich foods from their diet to reduce the adverse effects of treatment. Scientific evidence supporting this recommendation is lacking, and recent studies on animals and humans have suggested that there is a beneficial effect of dietary fiber for the alleviation of symptoms. Randomized controlled studies on dietary fiber intake during pelvic radiotherapy of sufficient size and duration are needed. As preparation for such a large-scale study, we evaluated the feasibility, compliance, participation rate, and logistics and report our findings here in this preparatory study. Methods: In this preparatory study of a fiber intervention trial, Swedish gynecological cancer patients scheduled for radiotherapy were recruited between January 2019 and August 2020. During the intervention, the participants filled out questionnaires and used an application. They also consumed a fiber supplement at first in powder form, later in capsules. Blood- and fecal samples were collected. The study is registered in clinicaltrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04534075?cond=fidura&draw=2&rank=1). Results: Among 136 approached patients, 57 started the study and the participation rate for primary outcomes was 63% (third blood sample) and 65% (third questionnaire). Barely half of the participants provided fecal samples. Providing concise and relevant information to the patients at the right time was crucial in getting them to participate and stay in the study. The most common reasons for declining participation or dropping out were the expected burden of radiotherapy or acute side effects. Tailoring the ambition level to each patient concerning the collection of data beyond the primary endpoints was an important strategy to keep the dropout rate at an acceptable level. Using capsules rather than psyllium in powder form made it much easier to document intake and to create a control group. During the course of the preparatory study, we improved the logistics and for the last 12 participants included, the participation rate was 100% for the earliest primary outcome. Conclusion: A variety of adjustments in this preparatory study resulted in an improved participation rate, which allowed us to set a final protocol and proceed with the main study

Kidney oxygenation, perfusion and blood flow in people with and without type 1 diabetes

Background We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study kidney energetics in persons with and without type 1 diabetes (T1D). Methods In a cross-sectional study, 15 persons with T1D and albuminuria and 15 non-diabetic controls (CONs) underwent multiparametric MRI (3 Tesla Philips Scanner) to quantify renal cortical and medullary oxygenation (R-2*, higher values correspond to higher deoxyhaemoglobin concentration), renal perfusion (arterial spin labelling) and renal artery blood flow (phase contrast). Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, systolic blood pressure, plasma haemoglobin, body mass index and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Results Participants with T1D had a higher median (Q1; Q3) urine albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) than CONs [46 (21; 58) versus 4 (3; 6) mg/g; P < .0001] and a lower mean +/- SD eGFR (73 +/- 32 mL/min/1.73 m(2) versus 88 +/- 15 mL/min/1.73 m(2); P = .12), although not significantly. Mean medullary R-2* was lower in T1D (34 +/- 6/s versus 38 +/- 5/s; P < .01) corresponding to a higher oxygenation. R-2* was not different in the cortex. Cortical perfusion was lower in T1D (163 +/- 40 versus 224 +/- 49 mL/100 g/min; P < .001). Renal artery blood flow was lower in T1D than in CONs (360 +/- 130 versus 430 +/- 113 mL/min; P = .05). In T1D, lower cortical oxygenation and renal artery blood flow were both associated with higher UACR and lower eGFR (P < .05). Conclusions Participants with T1D and albuminuria exhibited higher medullary oxygenation than CONs, despite lower cortical perfusion and renal artery blood flow. This might reflect perturbed kidney energetics leading to a higher setpoint of medullary oxygenation in T1D. Lower cortical oxygenation and renal artery blood flow were associated with higher UACR and lower eGFR in T1D.Peer reviewe

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Inheritance in Family Business. The "Long" Merchant Family: Problems Concerning Generation Change

This article deals with how problems of generation change were dealt with in merchant houses in a Norwegian city in the period 1680-1820. Mobilization of networks, marriage strategies, careful distribution of inheritance and ways of getting round the inheritance rules are discussed

Handelskapitalismen og dens steder

Trade capitalism and its place