Basic Density in Norway Spruce. Part I. A Literature Review

The literature review establishes the background for a series of papers relating environmental influence to basic density of Norway spruce (Picea abies). The four independent theories of wood formation given indicate that crown development acts as a primary regulator of wood structure and basic density in conifers. The review focuses on variables connected to crown development and basic density. Models of basic density in Picea abies were based on variables dependent on crown development, such as stem taper and growth ring width. It is suggested that models accurately predicting basic density should be based on a set of variables closely related to crown development

Framtidens järnväg i Helsingborg: – stadsutveckling och expansion mot Helsingör.

Denne artikel beskriver Helsingborg kommunes planlægning af nye byudviklingsområder og hvilke konsekvenser det får den fremtidige udbygning af jernbanesystemet i Helsingborg. Kommunen har i Idestudiet ”Järnvägstunnlar i Helsinborg” fra april 2006 præsenteret en fremtidsplan for nye jernbanetunneller i byen, der sikrer muligheden for at man senere kan anlægge en tunnel til jernbanetrafik mellem Helsingør og Helsingborg, HH-tunneln. HH-tunneln har tidligere været undersøgt med hensyn til anlægspris (1998) og trafikprogno-ser (2003). Derimod har det ikke tidligere været vurderet om HH-tunneln kan spille en rolle som aflastning for Øresundsforbindelsen en gang i fremtiden. Kan jernbanetrafikken på Øre-sundsbroen i fremtiden blive så intensiv, at der opstår behov for en ekstra fast forbindelse? Vil HH-tunneln i så fald kunne aflaste Øresundsbroen? Disse to spørgsmål vil søgt besvaret i den sidste del af artiklen, baseret på et kapacitetsstudie udført af Atkins Danmark

A study of a flexible fiber model and its behavior in DNS of turbulent channel flow

The dynamics of individual flexible fibers in a turbulent flow field have been analyzed, varying their initial position, density and length. A particlelevel fiber model has been integrated into a general-purpose, open source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code. The fibers are modeled as chains of cylindrical segments connected by ball and socket joints. The equations of motion of the fibers contain the inertia of the segments, the contributions from hydrodynamic forces and torques, and the connectivity forces at the joints. Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations is used to describe the fluid flow in a plane channel and a one-way coupling is considered between the fibers and the fluid phase. We investigate the translational motion of fibers by considering the mean square displacement of their trajectories. We find that the fiber motion is primarily governed by velocity correlations of the flow fluctuations. In addition, we show that there is a clear tendency of the thread-like fibers to evolve into complex geometrical configurations in a turbulent flow field, in fashion similar to random conformations of polymer strands subjected to thermal fluctuations in a suspension. Finally, we show that fiber inertia has a significant impact on reorientation time-scales of fibers suspended in a turbulent flow field

Repeated Negative Urine Trypsinogen-2 Dipstick Test Rules Out Diagnosis of Post-ERCP Pancreatitis

Background: A dipstick test for urine trypsinogen-2 has been used in the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, but there are only a few studies exploring the effectiveness of this test for early diagnose of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis (PEP). Goals: The authors explore if the rapid point-of-care urine trypsinogen-2 dipstick test can replace assay of amylase in diagnosing PEP. Study: For this prospective study, from Helsinki University Hospital 400 ERCP patients were enrolled in whom the authors analyzed plasma amylase or pancreas-specific amylase, bilirubin, and urine trypsinogen-2, and urine trypsinogen-2 with dipstick before, 4 and 24 hours after ERCP. Results: PEP developed in 15 (3.8%) patients. Urine trypsinogen-2 concentrations were significantly higher in PEP than in non-PEP patients 24 hours after ERCP (P=0.001, Mann-Whitney U test) but not 4 hours after ERCP (P=0.094). When combined with abdominal pain symptoms at 4 hours the dipstick test had a sensitivity of 60%, a specificity of 99%, a positive predictive value of 64%, and a negative predictive value 98%. At 24 hours, sensitivity was 100%, specificity 98%, positive predictive value 71%, and negative predictive value 100%. Conclusions: A positive dipstick seems to identify PEP cases and a negative test excludes PEP with high accuracy.Peer reviewe

Lärka – ett verktyg för träning av språkterminologi och grammatik

Lärka is a corpus-based tool, which allows students to practise and learn grammatical terminology (such as parts of speech and syntactical categories) and semantics while practicing their analytical skills based on authentic material. In this study we present how this has been used at four universities. We also use our logs to try to assess the students’ metalinguistic awareness in relation to international studies, and discuss how these logs can be used in the future

An immunocapture-LC-MS-based assay for serum SPINK1 allows simultaneous quantification and detection of SPINK1 variants

Pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) is a 6420 Da peptide produced by the pancreas, but also by several other tissues and many tumors. Some mutations of the SPINK1 gene, like the one causing amino acid change N34S, have been shown to confer susceptibility to recurrent or chronic pancreatitis. Detection of such variants are therefore of clinical utility. So far SPINK1 variants have been determined by DNA techniques. We have developed and validated an immunocapture-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric (IC-LC-MS) assay for the detection and quantification of serum SPINK1, N34S-SPINK1, and P55S-SPINK1. We compared this method with a time-resolved immunofluorometric assay (TR-IFMA) for serum samples and primer extension analysis of DNA samples. We used serum and DNA samples from patients with acute pancreatitis, renal cell carcinoma, or benign urological conditions. With the help of a zygosity score calculated from the respective peak areas using the formula wild-type (wt) SPINK1/(variant SPINK1 + wt SPINK1), we were able to correctly characterize the heterozygotes and homozygotes from the samples with DNA information. The score was then used to characterize the apparent zygosity of the samples with no DNA characterization. The IC-LC-MS method for SPINK1 was linear over the concentration range 0.5-1000 mu g/L. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 0.5 mu g/L. The IC-LC-MS and the TR-IFMA assays showed good correlation. The median zygosity score was 1.00 (95% CI 0.98-1.01, n = 11), 0.55 (95% CI 0.43-0.61, n = 14), and 0.05 (range 0.04-0.07, n = 3) for individuals found to be wt, heterozygous, and homozygous, respectively, for the N34S-SPINK1 variant by DNA analysis. When DNA samples are not available, this assay facilitates identification of the N34S- and P55S-SPINK1 variants also in archival serum samples.Peer reviewe

Combined Associations of a Polygenic Risk Score and Classical Risk Factors With Breast Cancer Risk.

We evaluated the joint associations between a new 313-variant PRS (PRS313) and questionnaire-based breast cancer risk factors for women of European ancestry, using 72 284 cases and 80 354 controls from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Interactions were evaluated using standard logistic regression and a newly developed case-only method for breast cancer risk overall and by estrogen receptor status. After accounting for multiple testing, we did not find evidence that per-standard deviation PRS313 odds ratio differed across strata defined by individual risk factors. Goodness-of-fit tests did not reject the assumption of a multiplicative model between PRS313 and each risk factor. Variation in projected absolute lifetime risk of breast cancer associated with classical risk factors was greater for women with higher genetic risk (PRS313 and family history) and, on average, 17.5% higher in the highest vs lowest deciles of genetic risk. These findings have implications for risk prevention for women at increased risk of breast cancer