Effect of nickel in solid solution on hydrogen transport kinetics in low alloy steels

The use of low alloy steels (LAS) in H2S-containing environments in the oil and gas industry is governed by the ISO standard 15156-2 (NACE MR0175-2). One requirement, which has been disputed over the years, is that the nickel (Ni) content shall not exceed 1 wt%. This work investigated the effect of Ni in solid solution on hydrogen diffusion, solubility, and trapping in ferritic/pearlitic research-grade LAS with nominal Ni contents from 0 to 3 wt%. Hydrogen permeability experiments were carried out in a Devanathan-Stachurski setup at 15, 45 and 70 °C. The effective diffusion coefficients, calculated by the tlag method, decreased with increasing Ni content. The sub-surface hydrogen concentration in lattice and trap sites increased with increasing Ni content. There was no difference between the first and subsequent hydrogen permeation transients, suggesting that Ni in solid solution forms reversible traps. The effect of Ni in refining the microstructure may be superimposed on the effect of Ni in solid solution, and should be investigated in future work

What if Dutch investors started worrying about flood risk? Implications for disaster risk reduction

Increasingly, roles and responsibilities of the public sector in flood risk management are receiving attention in research and policy. Part of the debate suggests that allocating risk to the private sector increases efficiency as it promotes individual adaptation, thereby reducing the impact if a disaster occurs. In this paper, we analyse the macroeconomic effects as risk-averse investors take flood risk into account in their investment decisions. Our case study is the large Rotterdam area in the Netherlands. Using a spatial computable general equilibium model, we find that the decrease in investments in risky areas leads to a reduction in capital and production in the large Rotterdam area leading to a reduction in potential monetary disaster losses, but not to a reduction in population. The reallocation of risk reduces the long-term impacts from a flood on government tax revenues, but it also leads to welfare losses among households residing in risky regions

Therapeutic affordances of online support group use in women with endometriosis

Background: The Internet has provided women living with endometriosis new opportunities to seek support online. Online support groups may provide a range of therapeutic affordances which may benefit these women. Objective: To examine the presence of therapeutic affordances as perceived by women who use endometriosis online support groups. Methods: Sixty-nine women (aged 19 to 50 years; Mean = 34.2; 65.2% UK; 21.7% USA) participated in an online interview exploring online support group use. Participants had been using online support groups on average 2 years and 4 months (Range = 1 month to 14 years, 9 months). Responses were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: The analysis revealed 4 therapeutic affordances related to online support group use; i) “connection” i.e. the ability to connect in order to support each other, exchange advice, and to try to overcome feelings of loneliness; ii) “exploration” i.e. the ability to look for information, learn and bolster their knowledge; iii) “narration” i.e. the ability to share their experiences, as well as read about the experiences of others; and iv) “self-presentation” i.e. the ability to manage how they present themselves online. The associated outcomes of use were predominantly positive, such as reassurance and improved coping. However, a number of negative aspects were revealed including: concerns about the accuracy of information, arguments between members, over-reliance on the group, becoming upset by negative experiences or good news items and confidentiality of personal information. Conclusions: Our findings support the SCENA model (Self-presentation, Connection, Exploration, Narration and Adaptation) proposed by Merolli et al., (2014) and reveal a range of positive aspects that may benefit members, particularly in relation to reassurance and coping. However, negative aspects need to be addressed in order to maximise the potential benefit of support groups. Some of these can be addressed relatively easily through making privacy policies clearer, including health professionals to moderate content and structuring forums to encourage the sharing of positive stories

Fugler i Norge 2000 - Rapport fra Norsk faunakomité for fugl (NFKF)

THE NORWEGIAN BIRD REPORT 2000 - a report on locally uncommon and scarce birds in Norway in 2000, by the Norwegian Bird Records Committee (NFKF)The basis of this report is the annual reports produced by the county rarities committees. For 2000 all the counties, with the exception of Finnmark and Sogn og Fjordane counties contributed to the report. Only limited information for some species was received from Troms. The Svalbard archipelago and Jan Mayen are not represented in this report. With the exception of the northernmost counties the report thus reflects fairly well the observations reported from Norway in 2000. Readers should take care to note the geographical and time delimitation of the records stated for the different species, as stated in codes immediately after the scientific name of the species. This report details records of locally uncommon and scarce birds only, and not national rarities. National rarity records are treated by the Norwegian Rare Bird Committee (NSKF) and are published separately (e.g. Mjølsnes et al. 2005). Notable observations in 2000 were influxes or higher numbers than usual of different species, such as Corncrake Crex crex, Spotted Crake Porzana porzana, Snowy Owl Nyctea scandiaca and Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros. New arrivals of Guillemot Uria aalge in the larger freshwater lakes in southern parts of Norway were notable. This influx follows the larger influx in 1997 from which birds still remain in these freshwater bodies. The growth of the recently established colonies of Cormorant of the subspecies sinensis continued, with 482 nests at Øra (ØF) (first confirmed breeding in 1997). The status of the colony at Orrevann (RO) in 2000 is unknown, but contained more than 100 nests in 1999 (first confirmed breeding with 6 nests in 1996). In addition many birds have been recorded from other freshwater sites in Southern Norway. The Norwegian population of Lesser White-fronted Goose (the last remaining wild population of this species in Europe) still lingers on, with 64 individuals recorded during spring migration. Breeding failure prevailed this year with only one pair with 2 juveniles recorded (compared to 17 successful breeding pairs in 1999). The partly introduced population of Barnacle Goose in the Oslofjord-area continued to increase (59 pairs in 1999). White-tailed Eagles also continued their range expansion in the southernmost regions, e.g. 5 birds recorded at Øra (ØF), where the last breeding record stems from 1882. The Peregrine also increases strongly in Norway, with now around 500 breeding pairs (up from a low of ca. 50 pairs in the 1950’s and 1960’s). The aid of playback of sound recordings has revealed more Water Rails during late autumn and winter thanhitherto known, suggesting that many birds migrate to the western coasts of Norway. The Corncrake had another good year with a new record of 131-137 individuals in 2000. The first wintering record of Common Crane from 2.1-12.3 at Jæren (RO) was notable and as with other species indicate that the climate is changing towards milder winters. Many new lekking sites of Great Snipe were also detected this year, and one unusual late record of a specimen at Østensjøvann, Ås (OA) was made 3.12. Woodcock also occurred in unusually high wintering numbers with 134 individuals. An influx of Iceland Gull was noted in the southern parts of Norway with 58 individuals, including one inland observation from Mjøsa (OP). One of the birds in Trondheim (ST) was a possible kumlieni. Readers should note that both Glaucous Gull and Iceland Gull are common and occur in larger numbers (hundreds) in the northernmost counties. An influx of Snowy Owl during the autumn was noted in all parts of the country, with 57-58 individuals. The trend towards milder winter climate has brought a significant increase in the breeding population of Grey Wagtail, and the numbers of wintering White Wagtail and Dunnock have increased. The numbers of White Wagtail subspecies yarrellii occurring during the summer months are steadily increasing. A spring influx of Stonechat brings back hope for a re-establishment of the western coast breeding population. The autumn migration of Yellow-browed Warbler resulted in a new national record in one year with 64 individuals. Also notable was a winter record of a Willow Warbler in December. Bearded Tits continued to occur in good numbers following the influx of 1999. The influx of Nutcrackers in 1995 helped establish a thriving breeding population outside their normal breeding areas in Norway (such as in ST), while the remnants of the influx of Two-barred Crossbill in 1996 finally seem to fade away. The Hawfinch is still spreading northwards and is now recorded more frequently, including as far north as TR

Opposing selection and environmental variation modify optimal timing of breeding

Studies of evolution in wild populations often find that the heritable phenotypic traits of individuals producing the most offspring do not increase proportionally in the population. This paradox may arise when phenotypic traits influence both fecundity and viability and when there is a tradeoff between these fitness components, leading to opposing selection. Such tradeoffs are the foundation of life history theory, but they are rarely investigated in selection studies. Timing of breeding is a classic example of a heritable trait under directional selection that does not result in an evolutionary response. Using a 22-y study of a tropical parrot, we show that opposing viability and fecundity selection on the timing of breeding is common and affects optimal breeding date, defined by maximization of fitness. After accounting for sampling error, the directions of viability (positive) and fecundity (negative) selection were consistent, but the magnitude of selection fluctuated among years. Environmental conditions (rainfall and breeding density) primarily and breeding experience secondarily modified selection, shifting optimal timing among individuals and years. In contrast to other studies, viability selection was as strong as fecundity selection, late-born juveniles had greater survival than early-born juveniles, and breeding later in the year increased fitness under opposing selection. Our findings provide support for life history tradeoffs influencing selection on phenotypic traits, highlight the need to unify selection and life history theory, and illustrate the importance of monitoring survival as well as reproduction for understanding phenological responses to climate change

Spatio-temporal variation in European starling reproductive success at multiple small spatial scales

Funding Information This work received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council, Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust and the Royal Society. Acknowledgments We thank Jessica Walkup, Jeroen Minderman, and many volunteers for help with data collection; Deryk and Hollie Shaw and Fair Isle Bird Observatory staff for help and support; Xavier Lambin and Justin Travis for comments on the manuscript and NERC (DB); and Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust (DB) and the Royal Society (JMR) for funding.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Speeding Up Microevolution: The Effects of Increasing Temperature on Selection and Genetic Variance in a Wild Bird Population

The authors show that environmental variation may lead to a positive association between the annual strength of selection and expression of genetic variance in a wild bird population, which can speed up microevolution and have important consequences for how fast natural populations adapt to environmental changes

Implant and Midterm Outcomes of the Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Registry: The EFFORTLESS Study.

BACKGROUND: The subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) was developed to defibrillate ventricular arrhythmias, avoiding drawbacks of transvenous leads. The global EFFORTLESS S-ICD (Evaluation oF FactORs ImpacTing CLinical Outcome and Cost EffectiveneSS of the S-ICD) registry is collecting outcomes in 985 patients during a 5-year follow-up. OBJECTIVES: The primary goal of the EFFORTLESS registry is to determine the safety of the S-ICD by evaluating complications and inappropriate shock rate. METHODS: This is the first report on the full patient cohort and study endpoints with follow-up ≥1 year. The predefined endpoints are 30- and 360-day complications, and shocks for atrial fibrillation or supraventricular tachycardia. RESULTS: Patients were followed for 3.1 ± 1.5 years and 82 completed the study protocol 5-year visit. Average age was 48 years, 28% were women, ejection fraction was 43 ± 18%, and 65% had a primary prevention indication. The S-ICD system and procedure complication rate was 4.1% at 30 days and 8.4% at 360 days. The 1-year complication rate trended toward improvement from the first to last quartile of enrollment (11.3% [quartile 1]) to 7.8% [quartile 2], 6.6% [quartile 3], and 7.4% [quartile 4]; quartile 1 vs. quartiles 2 to 4; p = 0.06). Few device extractions occurred due to need for antitachycardia (n = 5), or biventricular (n = 4) or bradycardia pacing (n = 1). Inappropriate shocks occurred in 8.1% at 1 year and 11.7% after 3.1 years. At implant, 99.5% of patients had a successful conversion of induced ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. The 1- and 5-year rates of appropriate shock were 5.8% and 13.5%, respectively. Conversion success for discrete spontaneous episodes was 97.4% overall. CONCLUSIONS: This registry demonstrates that the S-ICD fulfills predefined endpoints for safety and efficacy. Midterm performance rates on complications, inappropriate shocks, and conversion efficacy were comparable to rates observed in transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator studies. (Evaluation oF Factors ImpacTing CLinical Outcome and Cost EffectiveneSS of the S-ICD [The EFFORTLESS S-ICD Registry]; NCT01085435)

A Practical Guide for the Diagnosis of Primary Enteric Nervous System Disorders

Objective:Primary gastrointestinal neuropathies are a heterogeneous group of enteric nervous system (ENS) disorders that continue to cause difficulties in diagnosis and histological interpretation. Recently, an international working group published guidelines for histological techniques and reporting, along with a classification of gastrointestinal neuromuscular pathology. The aim of this article was to review and summarize the key issues for pediatric gastroenterologists on the diagnostic workup of congenital ENS disorders. In addition, we provide further commentary on the continuing controversies in the field.Results:Although the diagnostic criteria for Hirschsprung disease are well established, those for other forms of dysganglionosis remain ill-defined. Appropriate tissue sampling, handling, and expert interpretation are crucial to maximize diagnostic accuracy and reduce interobserver variability. The absence of validated age-related normal values for neuronal density, along with the lack of correlation between clinical and histological findings, result in significant diagnostic uncertainties while diagnosing quantitative aberrations such as hypoganglionosis or ultrashort Hirschsprung disease. Intestinal neuronal dysplasia remains a histological description of unclear significance.Conclusions:The evaluation of cellular quantitative or qualitative abnormalities of the ENS for clinical diagnosis remains complex. Such analysis should be carried out in laboratories that have the necessary expertise and access to their own validated reference values