Damned if you do, Damned if you don't – Reduced Climate Impact vs. Sustainable Forests in Sweden

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the potential goal conflict between two of Sweden’s environmental objectives: Sustainable Forests and Reduced Climate Impact – or, more precisely, the conflict between forest conservation and the supply of wood fuel. To accomplish this, we use a forest sector model that includes the suppliers and major users of roundwood. The econometric results, based on a data set that spans 40 years, show that all the own price elasticities have the expected signs. Among the three forestry products, the supply and (long-term) demand of forest fuel seems to be most sensitive to a price change. In a second step, the estimated model is used to simulate the effect of increased forest conservation -- the Sustainable Forest objective -- on the supply of wood fuel. If oil is used as a substitute, Swedish emissions of greenhouse gases will increase by almost 0.92 percent, which indicates a clear conflict with the Reduced Climate Impact objective.Goal conflict; Wood fuels; Forest sector model; Roundwood markets; Forest conservation

The Juridical Status of Privileged Combatants Under the Geneva Protocol of 1977 Concerning International Conflicts

Centralized control and coordination of the connections in a wireless network is not possible in practice. To keep the delay from measure-ment instants to actuating the decisions, distributed control is required. This paper focuses on the uplink (from mobiles to base stations) and dis-cusses distributing the decision of when and when not to transmit data (distributed scheduling) to the mobiles. The scheme, uplink transmission timing, utilizes mobile transmitter power control feedback from the base station receiver to determine whether the channel is favorable or not compared to the average channel condition. Thereby, the battery consumption and disturbing power to other connections are reduced. The algorithm can be described as a feedback control system. Some transient behaviors are analyzed using systems theory, and supported by wireless network simulations of a system with a WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) radio interface as in most 3G systems

Clinical utility and evaluation of radiology in diagnosing sacroiliitis

Background: Radiographic confirmation of diagnosis is important in all diagnostic and classification criteria for spondyloarthropathy. The aim was to evaluate computed tomography (CT) and to compare it to radiography. Methods: A pilot study compared radiography and CT in 40 patients with spondyloarthropathy. A study on 1425 patients examined with CT, 910 of which also with radiography, was reported in four papers. All CT examinations were reviewed and scored by two observers. The original outcomes from the radiography and CT examinations were obtained from the radiology reports. Results: CT had a higher sensitivity for sacroiliitis than radiography, especially in early sacroiliitis. Radiography had a high rate of false negative and false positive outcomes. The observer agreement between two observers in a large material was good, while the observer agreements between each of the observers and the original radiology reports were moderate. Intraobserver agreement for a smaller part of the material for one of the observers was moderate. There was a change in diagnosis in three of 126 patients (2.4%) examined more than once from normal or equivocal to unilateral or bilateral sacroiliitis. Ten normal cases had changed to equivocal (7.9%). In further six patients (4.8%) the diagnosis advanced from unilateral to bilateral sacroiliitis. Four equivocal cases were classified as normal on the second study, and one case of unilateral sacroiliitis was classified as equivocal on the second study. Mainly multiple or large erosions seem to be a valid solitary diagnostic sign. Small solitary or few erosions need supplemental evidence from other inflammatory signs such as sclerosis. Inflammatory sclerosis can frequently be distinguished from degenerative sclerosis, and can sometimes support an early diagnosis, when erosions are not apparent. A practical CT classification for sacroiliitis consisting of no disease, suspect disease, and disease is proposed. Conclusions: The clinical utility of conventional radiography for evaluation of sacroiliitis is low with a high rate of insufficient and false reports, making radiography unsuitable for clinical use or use in population studies. CT is a robust imaging method for suspected sacroiliitis with good observer agreement, with higher rate of detection of sacroiliitis than radiography; also for early changes. There is no use for repeat CT examinations for suspected sacroiliitis. The New York criteria are unsuitable for use with CT and a new grading system for CT of sacroiliitis is proposed

Assessing Scrubbing Techniques for Xilinx SRAM-based FPGAs in Space Applications

SRAM-based FPGAs are becoming increasingly attractive for use in space applications due to their reconfigurability and signal processing capabilities, as well as their increasing speed and capacity. Traditional SRAM-based FPGAs, however, are highly sensitive to the ionizing radiation environment in space, making them prone to radiation-induced memory upsets. In this paper, we evaluate and compare scrubbing techniques for Xilinx SRAM-based FPGAs with respect to radiation-induced single event upsets. A test framework using an exchangeable payload is developed for this purpose and run on a Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA. We show that recent SRAM-based FPGAs can constitute a cost-efficient alternative to radiation-hardened or antifuse FPGAs for non-critical space application such as satellite instruments

The natural course of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (SPONK): a 1- to 27-year follow-up of 40 patients.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access.Spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (SPONK) is a painful lesion in the elderly, frequently leading to osteoarthritis and subsequent knee surgery. We evaluated the natural course and long-term consequences of SPONK in terms of need for major knee surgery.Between 1982 and 1988, 40 consecutive patients were diagnosed with SPONK. The short-term outcome has been reported previously (1991). After 1-7 years, 10 patients had a good radiographic outcome and 30 were considered failures, developing osteoarthritis. In 2012, all 40 of the patients were matched with the Swedish Knee Arthroplasty Register (SKAR) and their medical records were reviewed to evaluate the long-term need for major knee surgery.At the 2012 review, 33 of the 40 patients had died. The mean follow-up time from diagnosis to surgery, death, or end of study was 9 (1-27) years. 17 of 40 patients had had major knee surgery with either arthroplasty (15) or osteotomy (2). All operated patients but 1 were in the radiographic failure group and had developed osteoarthritis in the study from 1991. 6 of 7 patients with large lesions (> 40% of the AP radiographic view of the condyle) at the time of the diagnosis were operated. None of the 10 patients with a lesion of less than 20% were ever operated.It appears that the size of the osteonecrotic lesion can be used to predict the outcome. Patients showing early signs of osteoarthritis or with a large osteonecrosis have a high risk of later major knee surgery

Low-dose computed tomography of the lumbar spine: a phantom study on imaging parameters and image quality

Background: Lumbar spine radiography has limited diagnostic value but low radiation dose compared with computed tomography (CT). The average effective radiation dose from lumbar spine radiography is about 1.1 mSv. Low-dose lumbar spine CT may be an alternative to increase the diagnostic value at low radiation dose, around 1 mSv. Purpose: To determine the optimal settings for low-dose lumbar spine CT simultaneously aiming for the highest diagnostic image quality possible. Material and Methods: An ovine lower thoracic and lumbar spine phantom, with all soft tissues around the vertebrae preserved except the skin, was placed in a 20 L plastic container filled with water. The phantom was scanned repeatedly with various technical settings; different tube potential, reference mAs, and with different convolution filters. Five radiologists evaluated the image quality according to a modification of the European guidelines for multislice computed tomography (MSCT) quality criteria for lumbar spine CT 2004. In a visual comparison the different scans were also ranked subjectively according to perceived image quality. Image noise and contrast were measured. Results: A tube potential of 120 kV with reference mAs 30 and medium or medium smooth convolution filter gave the best image quality at a sub-millisievert dose level, i.e. with an effective dose comparable to that from lumbar spine radiography. Conclusion: Low-dose lumbar spine CT thus opens a possibility to substitute lumbar spine radiography with CT without obvious increase in radiation dose

Log-Based Anomaly Detection for System Surveillance

As log files increase in size, it becomes increasingly difficult to manually detect errors within them. There is a need for automated tools for anomaly detection that do not require human assistance. This thesis aims to develop a prototype for such a tool that can be used to monitor the system state based on the produced log files. A specific and a generic approach for analyzing the data is explored to form a foundation for design decisions. Insights from the approaches are then used to build the prototype, which is done in three stages consisting of a basic prototype, extension of the prototype, and evaluation. The prototype is evaluated based on a number of interviews as well as through finding its accuracy and performance. The resulting prototype graphs total lines, words and bigrams per hour. It visualizes the words, bigrams and anomalous messages that occur in each log file. A user specified blacklist highlights undesired words in any file. Anomaly detection is done by comparing historical and current values while taking the overall trends into account. The prototype was found to be useful by two professionals whose work involve log handling, and the interface was thought to be functional. It is able to correctly handle most data but suffers from false alarms, and found 11 out of 14 known errors. A shift in normality is handled well, and the prototype adapts within a week. In conclusion, the developed prototype is usable, mainly for large log files. It requires more accurate anomaly detection, and the interface can be further improved

Standardization of Environmental Management and Sustainability Reporting

Abstract Title Standardization of Environmental Management and Sustainability Reporting Seminar Date May 29th 2013 Course BUSN68 Degree Project - Accounting and Management Control; BUSN69 Degree Project - Accounting and Auditing, 15 ECTS Authors Johanna Geijer and Linda Sturesson Advisors Per Magnus Andersson and Stefan Yard Keywords Standardization, Environmental Management, Sustainability Reporting, ISO 14001, GRI Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of why companies choose to standardize environmental management and sustainability reporting instead of using a unique solution. Theoretical Framework The presented theoretical framework of this thesis built on exogenous and endogenous theories consisting of legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, institutional theory, the resource based view and positive accounting theory. Besides this benefits and implications of standardization will be given account for. Methodology The methodology undertaken is generally based on a qualitative research approach through case studies. A quantitative approach will also be used for the conducted pilot survey and information found in sustainability reports. Complementary to this an expert interview has also been completed. Empirical Foundation The empirical findings imply that the mostly used strategy amongst the investigated corporations is the use of both ISO 14001 and GRI. Such well-established standards also seem to create a foundation for continuous improvements within corporations. Case studies furthermore highlight requirements from customers, investors and owners as an important factor. Conclusions This study indicates that corporations choose to standardize their environmental management and sustainability reporting in search of legitimacy and because of stakeholder demands. Furthermore standards can also become normative making them essential for economic survival. Benefits such as improved comparability and efficiency as well as increased awareness also influence corporations to standardize this area. The study also confirmed that purchase and certification costs of standard deter marginal users to standardize

What predicts change in pulmonary function and quality of life in asthma or COPD ?

Information about predictors of decline in pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FE