Experimental and theoretical lifetimes and transition probabilities in Sb I

We present experimental atomic lifetimes for 12 levels in Sb I, out of which seven are reported for the first time. The levels belong to the 5p$^2$($^3$P)6s $^{2}$P, $^{4}$P and 5p$^2$($^3$P)5d $^{4}$P, $^{4}$F and $^{2}$F terms. The lifetimes were measured using time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence. In addition, we report new calculations of transition probabilities in Sb I using a Multiconfigurational Dirac-Hartree-Fock method. The physical model being tested through comparisons between theoretical and experimental lifetimes for 5d and 6s levels. The lifetimes of the 5d $^4$F$_{3/2, 5/2, 7/2}$ levels (19.5, 7.8 and 54 ns, respectively) depend strongly on the $J$-value. This is explained by different degrees of level mixing for the different levels in the $^4$F term.Comment: 10 page

What is the relationship between elements of ICU treatment and memories after discharge in adult ICU survivors?

Objectives: Patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) often experience distressing memories during recovery that have been associated with poor psychological and cognitive outcomes. The aim of this literature review was to synthesise the literature reporting on relationships between elements of ICU treatment and memories after discharge in adult ICU survivors. Review method used: Integrative review methods were used to systematically search, select, extract, appraise and summarise current knowledge from the available research and identify gaps in the literature. Data sources: The following electronic databases were systematically searched: PubMed, Ovid EMBASE, EBSCOhost CINAHL, PsycINFO and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Additional studies were identified through searches of bibliographies. Original quantitative research articles written in English that were published in peer-review journals were included. Review methods: Data extracted from studies included authors, study aims, population, sample size and characteristics, methods, ICU treatments, ICU memory definitions, data collection strategies and findings. Study quality assessment was based on elements of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme using the checklists developed for randomised controlled trials and cohort studies. Results: Fourteen articles containing data from 13 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. The relatively limited evidence about the association between elements of ICU treatment and memories after ICU discharge suggest that deep sedation, corticoids and administration of glucose 50% due to hypoglycaemia contribute to the development of delusional memories and amnesia of ICU stay. Conclusions: The body of literature on the relationship between elements of ICU treatment and memories after ICU discharge is small and at its early stages. Larger studies using rigorous study design are needed in order to evaluate the effects of different elements of ICU treatment on the development of memories of the ICU during recovery

Applying Occam's razor to global agricultural land use change

We present a parsimonious agricultural land-use model that is designed to replicate global land-use change while allowing the exploration of uncertainties in input parameters. At the global scale, the modelled uncertainty range of agricultural land-use change covers observed land-use change. Spatial patterns of cropland change at the country level are simulated less satisfactorily, but temporal trends of cropland change in large agricultural nations were replicated by the model. A variance-based global sensitivity analysis showed that uncertainties in the input parameters representing to consumption preferences are important for changes in global agricultural areas. However, uncertainties in technological change had the largest effect on cereal yields and changes in global agricultural area. Uncertainties related to technological change in developing countries were most important for modelling the extent of cropland. The performance of the model suggests that highly generalised representations of socio-economic processes can be used to replicate global land-use change

Digitalization of Religion in Russia : Adjusting Preaching to New Formats, Channels and Platforms

Peer reviewe

Future food contaminants: An assessment of the plant uptake of Technology-critical elements versus traditional metal contaminants

Technology-critical elements (TCEs) include most rare earth elements (REEs), the platinum group elements (PGEs), and Ga, Ge, In, Nb, Ta, Te, and Tl. Despite increasing recognition of their prolific release into the environment, their soil to plant transfer remains largely unknown. This paper provides an approximation of the potential for plant uptake by calculating bioconcentration factors (BCFs), defined as the concentration in edible vegetable tissues relative to that in cultivation soil. Here data were obtained from an indoor cultivation experiment growing lettuce, chard, and carrot on 22 different European urban soils. Values of BCFs were determined from concentrations of TCEs in vegetable samples after digestion with concentrated HNO3, and from concentrations in soil determined after 1) Aqua Regia digestion and, 2) diluted (0.1 M) HNO3 leaching. For comparison, BCFs were also determined for 5 traditional metal contaminants (TMCs; As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn). The main conclusions of the study were that: 1) BCF values for the REEs were consistently low in the studied vegetables; 2) the BCFs for Ga and Nb were low as well; 3) the BCFs for Tl were high relative to the other measured TCEs and the traditional metal contaminants; and 4) mean BCF values for the investigated TCEs were generally highest in chard and lowest in carrot. These findings provide initial evidence that there are likely to be real and present soil–plant transfer of TCEs, especially in the case of Tl. Improvements in analytical methods and detection limits will allow this to be further investigated in a wider variety of edible plants so that a risk profile may be developed

Differential expression analysis for sequence count data

*Motivation:* High-throughput nucleotide sequencing provides quantitative readouts in assays for RNA expression (RNA-Seq), protein-DNA binding (ChIP-Seq) or cell counting (barcode sequencing). Statistical inference of differential signal in such data requires estimation of their variability throughout the dynamic range. When the number of replicates is small, error modelling is needed to achieve statistical power.

*Results:* We propose an error model that uses the negative binomial distribution, with variance and mean linked by local regression, to model the null distribution of the count data. The method controls type-I error and provides good detection power. 

*Availability:* A free open-source R software package, _DESeq_, is available from the Bioconductor project and from "http://www-huber.embl.de/users/anders/DESeq":http://www-huber.embl.de/users/anders/DESeq

Deltagande Forskning – Lärdomar, resultat och erfarenheter från Växthusgruppens arbete 1999–2000

Centrum för uthålligt lantbruk (CUL) vid SLU har initierat ett pionjärarbete att få igång deltagande forskning inom lantbrukssektorn i Sverige. I denna rapport beskrivs den läro- och förändringsprocess, de framgångar och svårigheter, som en av de grupper som ingår i CUL:s satsning genomgått och mött under sitt arbete med deltagande forskning. De resultat gruppens försök och praktiska arbete lett fram till presenteras också. Rapporten är skriven av gruppens facilitator (Karin Eksvärd) efter att ha samtalat med gruppmedlemmarna enskilt och tillsammans om deltagarnas åsikter kring gruppens arbete och arbetsformer. Några av gruppdeltagarnas åsikter och uttalanden finns inlagda som citat i rapporten. Deltagarna har även haft möjlighet att kommentera rapporten under dess framtagande. Gruppens arbete har möjliggjorts genom att rådgivarna har arrangerat gruppens möten som kurser inom miljöstödsprogrammet. Det har varit ett givande och lärorikt arbete som fortsätter att öka vårt kunnande om ekologisk tomatodling, oss själva som grupp och sättet att arbeta. Vi hoppas att denna rapport skall inspirera fler lantbrukare, rådgivare och forskare att i högre grad samverka med varandra och att på detta sätt vidareutveckla svenskt lantbruk

Circulating soluble IL-6 receptor associates with plaque inflammation but not with atherosclerosis severity and cardiovascular risk.

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordData availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to ethical restrictions.BACKGROUND: The residual cardiovascular risk in subjects receiving guideline-recommended therapy is related to persistent vascular inflammation and IL-6 represents a target for its treatment. IL-6 binds to receptors on leukocytes and hepatocytes and/or by forming complexes with soluble IL-6 receptors (sIL-6R) binding to gp130 which is present on all cells. Here we aimed to estimate the associations of these two pathways with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: IL-6 and sIL-6R were analyzed using the proximity extension assay. Baseline plasma samples were obtained from participants in the prospective Malmö Diet and Cancer (MDC) study (n = 4661), the SUMMIT VIP study (n = 1438) and the Carotid Plaque Imaging Project (CPIP, n = 285). Incident clinical events were obtained through national registers. Plaques removed at surgery were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and biochemical methods. RESULTS: During 23.1 ± 7.0 years follow-up, 575 subjects in the MDC cohort suffered a first myocardial infarction. Subjects in the highest tertile of IL-6 had an increased risk compared to the lowest tertile (HR and 95% CI 2.60 [2.08-3.25]). High plasma IL-6 was also associated with more atherosclerosis, increased arterial stiffness, and impaired endothelial function in SUMMIT VIP, but IL-6 was only weakly associated with plaque inflammation in CPIP. sIL-6R showed no independent association with risk of myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis severity or vascular function, but was associated with plaque inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that sIL-6R is a poor marker of CVD risk and associated vascular changes. However, the observation that sIL-6R reflects plaque inflammation highlights the complexity of the role of IL-6 in CVD.Swedish Heart and Lung FoundationSwedish Society for Medical ResearchSwedish Research CouncilAlbert Påhlssons FoundationSUS foundations and fundsALFSwedish Society of MedicineLund UniversitySwedish Foundation for Strategic ResearchInnovative Medicines InitiativeKnut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationNational Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR

Asymptotic Expansions for Stationary Distributions of Perturbed Semi-Markov Processes

New algorithms for computing of asymptotic expansions for stationary distributions of nonlinearly perturbed semi-Markov processes are presented. The algorithms are based on special techniques of sequential phase space reduction, which can be applied to processes with asymptotically coupled and uncoupled finite phase spaces.Comment: 83 page