Factors Affecting Swedish Forest Property Prices

Historically the price of a forest estate has, at least in Sweden, been closely related to the financial return from the estate, but this connection no longer seems to be that strong, other factors that previously had limited influence on prices now add to the price. Factors like site productivity and age distribution affect the financial return of a forest estate but is it obvious that these factors still influence prices as they once did? Over the last 20 years, the price of forest estates has increased dramatically. If development of prices has led to a weakened connection between return and price, could this be explained by the fact that previously price affecting factors have less weight when valuing forest estates? The purpose of the study was therefore to investigate how a number of factors influence the forest estate price; including site productivity and age distribution. The results shows that neither site productivity, nor age distribution have a significant impact on the forest estate price. What mainly influence the prices seems to be the standing forest volume on the estate and region. The development of the prices seems not only to have influenced the relationship between the return from the forest and the prices, but also minimized the influence of factors like age distribution and site productivity. This means that estates that are bought within the same region, at the same price per cubic meter, can have considerably different potential to gain financial return

Risken för spridning av röta vid förröjning i granskog i södra Sverige

Root rot causes large economical losses for Swedish forestry. The spread of root rot can partly be prevented by treating the spruce stumps in thinnings. Late pre-commercial thinning (PCT) is one of the forestry measures where stump treatment is not used. Late PCT can be defined as: The act of cleaning the stand with the aim of improving accessibility and sight within the stand, and so to increase the mean stem´s volume during the first conventional thinning. The aim of this study was to examine how late PCT is performed, its spatial extent and if it aids the spreading of root rot. The study was limited to encompass late PCT before first conventional thinnings in spruce stands in southern Sweden. Samples of spruce stumps were taken from four stands where late PTC had been carried out. The samples were then analysed for the existence of root rot. The stumps from the cleaned trees were divided into four classes according to diameter over bark; 5.0-6.9, 7.0-8.9, 9.0-10.9 och ≥11.0 cm. In eight other stands, sample plots were placed objectively to determine the distribution of stump sizes within a stand. At each of these plots, stumps with a diameter greater than 5 cm were counted and measured. In addition to the field measurements, a survey was distributed to 22 representatives for three forest companies in southern Sweden. The main questions asked in the survey were to which extent late PCT is done, which instructions are included, and if the risk of Heterobasidion spore infection is taken into consideration. The spruce stump samples showed a high frequency of root rot infection. In the eight stands where stump diameter distribution was measured, the number of spruce stumps per ha varied between 169 to 512 with the stumps in the smallest diameter classes being most numerous. The survey indicated that vast areas in southern Sweden yearly are treated with late PTC. Based on these results and the results from earlier studies, it can be concluded that there is a risk of spreading root rot when performing late PTC in the manner which it is presently done today.Röta orsakar stora ekonomiska förluster för svenskt skogsbruk. Spridning av röta förebyggs delvis genom att stubbehandla gallringar i granskog. Förröjning är en av de skogliga åtgärder där man inte stubbehandlar. Med begreppet förröjning menas i den här uppsatsen: Utglesning av bestånd innan förstagallring med huvudsyfte att förbättra framkomlighet, sikt och åtkomst samt öka medelstammens volym vid den efterföljande gallringen. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur och i vilken omfattning förröjningar utförs och om det kan innebära risk för rötspridning. Studien begränsades till att gälla förröjningar innan förstagallring i granskog i södra Sverige. I fyra bestånd togs stubbprover från röjda granar som analyserades med hänseende på förekomst av rotticka. Stubbarna efter de röjda träden delades in i fyra diameterklasser; 5.0-6.9, 7.0-8.9, 9.0-10.9 och ≥11.0 cm pb. I åtta andra förröjda bestånd lades provytor ut objektivt för att se fördelningen av stubbstorlekar. Alla stubbar med en diameter större än 5 cm pb. mättes och delades in i de fyra ovan nämnda storleksklasserna. Utöver detta skickades en enkätundersökning ut till 22 representanter för svensk skogsnäring i södra Sverige. Frågorna handlade om hur stora arealer som förröjdes, hur instruktionerna såg ut samt hur risken för rötangrepp hanterades vid förröjningar. I försöksbestånden infekterades granstubbar över 5 cm i diameter i hög grad av rotticka. I de åtta förröjda bestånden från denna studie varierade stubbantalet efter gran (> 5 cm i diameter) mellan 169 och 512 stubbar per hektar, med en stor koncentration mot de två minsta diameterklasserna. Enkätundersökningen visade att stora arealer årligen förröjs i södra Sverige. Baserat på resultaten samt resultat från tidigare studier som tittat på vidarespridning av rotticka kan slutsatsen dras att det finns risk för spridning av röta vid förröjningar så som de utförs idag

The Fourteenth Amendment, the “Right” to Vote, and the Understanding of the Thirty-Ninth Congress

If that history does not prove what I think it does, we are at least entitled to be told why

Identification of Peptides and Proteins in Illegally Distributed Products by MALDI-TOF-MS

An analytical strategy based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) for identification of peptides and proteins in illegally distributed products is presented. The identified compounds include human growth hormone (hGH), human somatoliberin, anti-obesity drug (AOD), growth hormone releasing peptides (GHRP-2 and GHRP-6), Glycine-GHRP-2 and Glycine-GHRP-6, ipamorelin, insulin aspart and porcine, delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP), thymosin β4, insulin like growth factor (IGF), mechano growth factor (MGF), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), melanotan II, bremelanotide, dermorphin and body protecting compound (BPC 157). The identification of proteins was mainly based on peptide mass fingerprinting, i.e., bottom up approach, while the smaller peptides were identified through de-novo sequencing. In cases when a reference standard was available, complementary identification was performed by capillary electrophoresis in double-injection mode (DICE), where a suspicious product was compared with the reference standard through two consecutive injections within the same electrophoretic run

Usability of the SAFEWAY@SCHOOL system in children with cognitive disabilities

PurposeSAFEWAY2SCHOOL is a programme based on several systems for the enhancement of school transportation safety for children. The aim of the study was to explore whether children with cognitive disabilities will notice, realise, understand, trust and accept the SAFEWAY2SCHOOL system and act in accordance with its instructions. Methods Fourteen children with cognitive disabilities and a control group of 23 children were shown five videos of scenarios involving journeys to and from school. During the first viewing visual scanning patterns were recorded with an eye tracking device. After a second viewing the participant was asked ten questions per scenario. Five questions addressed what the children saw on the video, and the remaining five what they would need to know and/or do within the scenario. Additional ratings of trust, likability, acceptability and usability were also collected. Results Very few differences were found in the visual scanning patterns of children with disabilities compared to children who participated in the control group. Of the 50 questions regarding what children saw or needed to know and/or do, only one significant difference between groups was found. No significant differences were found regarding self-reported ratings of trust, acceptability or usability of the system. Despite some significant differences across five of the 11 likability aspects, ratings were consistently high for both groups. Conclusions Children with cognitive disabilities proved that the SAFEWAY2SCHOOL system is as useful for them as it was for children in the control group. However, a valid estimation of the full utility of SAFEWAY2SCHOOL requires in situ testing of the system with these children

Infusion fluids contain harmful glucose degradation products

PURPOSE: Glucose degradation products (GDPs) are precursors of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that cause cellular damage and inflammation. We examined the content of GDPs in commercially available glucose-containing infusion fluids and investigated whether GDPs are found in patients' blood. METHODS: The content of GDPs was examined in infusion fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. To investigate whether GDPs also are found in patients, we included 11 patients who received glucose fluids (standard group) during and after their surgery and 11 control patients receiving buffered saline (control group). Blood samples were analyzed for GDP content and carboxymethyllysine (CML), as a measure of AGE formation. The influence of heat-sterilized fluids on cell viability and cell function upon infection was investigated. RESULTS: All investigated fluids contained high concentrations of GDPs, such as 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG). Serum concentration of 3-DG increased rapidly by a factor of eight in patients receiving standard therapy. Serum CML levels increased significantly and showed linear correlation with the amount of infused 3-DG. There was no increase in serum 3-DG or CML concentrations in the control group. The concentration of GDPs in most of the tested fluids damaged neutrophils, reducing their cytokine secretion, and inhibited microbial killing. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that normal standard fluid therapy involves unwanted infusion of GDPs. Reduction of the content of GDPs in commonly used infusion fluids may improve cell function, and possibly also organ function, in intensive-care patients