Tilstanden i sjøområdene ved Grimstad før start av biologisk renseanlegg på Groos

I 1995 ble Groosefjorden undersøkt for å dokumentere tilstanden før igangsetting av nytt biologisk renseanlegg. Det ble også gjort undersøkelser i andre kystområder i Grimstad kommune for å vurdere tilstanden. Undersøkelsene omfattet vannkjemiske målinger (oksygen, næringssalter, temperatur og saltholdighet), bløtbunnprøver, hardbunnundersøkelser (strandsone og dykk) samt undersøkelse av fiskeforekomster. Undersøkelsene viste at bunnområdene i Groosefjorden var tydelig påvirket av det kommunale utslippet på Groos. Bunnvannet hadde lave oksygenkonsentrasjoner og nær utslippet var bløtbunnsfaunaen dominert av arter som opptrer ved tung organisk belastning, men det var ingen større endringer i tilstanden siden forrige undersøkelse på 1980-tallet. Ved dykking ble det i tillegg registrert hydrogensulfid i sedimentene ved utslippspunktet. I overflatelaget ble det kun funnet svake effekter av utslippet. I Homborsund var det ingen større effekter av utslippet, men resultatene tyder på at området er sårbart for økning i tilførslene

The Raman optical activity of β-D-xylose: where experiment and theory meet

Besides its applications in bioenergy and biosynthesis, β-D-xylose is a very simple monosaccharide that exhibits relatively high rigidity. As such, it provides the best basis to study the impact of different solvation shell radii on the computation of its Raman optical activity (ROA) spectrum. Indeed, this chiroptical spectroscopic technique provides exquisite sensitivity to stereochemistry, and benefits much from theoretical support for interpretation. Our simulation approach combines density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) in order to efficiently account for the crucial hydration effects in the simulation of carbohydrates and their spectroscopic response predictions. Excellent agreement between the simulated spectrum and the experiment was obtained with a solvation radius of 10 Å. Vibrational bands have been resolved from the computed ROA data, and compared with previous results on different monosaccharides in order to identify specific structure–spectrum relationships and to investigate the effect of the solvation environment on the conformational dynamics of small sugars. From the comparison with ROA analytical results, a shortcoming of the classical force field used for the MD simulations has been identified and overcome, again highlighting the complementary role of experiment and theory in the structural characterisation of complex biomolecules. Indeed, due to unphysical puckering, a spurious ring conformation initially led to erroneous conformer ratios, which are used as weights for the averaging of the spectral average, and only by removing this contribution was near perfect comparison between theory and experiment achieved

Distinguishing epimers through raman optical activity

The Raman optical activity spectra of the epimers β-d-glucose and β-d-galactose, two monosaccharides of biological importance, have been calculated using molecular dynamics combined with a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics approach. Good agreement between theoretical and experimental spectra is observed for both monosaccharides. Full band assignments have been carried out, which has not previously been possible for carbohydrate epimers. For the regions where the spectral features are opposite in sign, the differences in the vibrational modes have been noted and ascribed to the band sign changes

Overview of the Nordic Seas CARINA data and salinity measurements

Water column data of carbon and carbon relevant hydrographic and hydrochemical parameters from 188 previously non-publicly available cruises in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean have been retrieved and merged into a new database: CARINA (CARbon IN the Atlantic). The data have been subject to rigorous quality control (QC) in order to ensure highest possible quality and consistency. The data for most of the parameters included were examined in order to quantify systematic biases in the reported values, i.e. secondary quality control. Significant biases have been corrected for in the data products, i.e. the three merged files with measured, calculated and interpolated values for each of the three CARINA regions; the Arctic Mediterranean Seas (AMS), the Atlantic (ATL) and the Southern Ocean (SO). With the adjustments the CARINA database is consistent both internally as well as with GLODAP (Key et al., 2004) and is suitable for accurate assessments of, for example, oceanic carbon inventories and uptake rates and for model validation. The Arctic Mediterranean Seas include the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas, and the quality control was carried out separately in these two areas. This contribution provides an overview of the CARINA data from the Nordic Seas and summarises the findings of the QC of the salinity data. One cruise had salinity data that were of questionable quality, and these have been removed from the data product. An evaluation of the consistency of the quality controlled salinity data suggests that they are consistent to at least ±0.005

Spirometry reference equations for central European populations from school age to old age.

Spirometry reference values are important for the interpretation of spirometry results. Reference values should be updated regularly, derived from a population as similar to the population for which they are to be used and span across all ages. Such spirometry reference equations are currently lacking for central European populations. To develop spirometry reference equations for central European populations between 8 and 90 years of age. We used data collected between January 1993 and December 2010 from a central European population. The data was modelled using "Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape" (GAMLSS). The spirometry reference equations were derived from 118'891 individuals consisting of 60'624 (51%) females and 58'267 (49%) males. Altogether, there were 18'211 (15.3%) children under the age of 18 years. We developed spirometry reference equations for a central European population between 8 and 90 years of age that can be implemented in a wide range of clinical settings

Using detergent to enhance detection sensitivity of African trypanosomes in human CSF and blood by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

<p><b>Background:</b> The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, with its advantages of simplicity, rapidity and cost effectiveness, has evolved as one of the most sensitive and specific methods for the detection of a broad range of pathogenic microorganisms including African trypanosomes. While many LAMP-based assays are sufficiently sensitive to detect DNA well below the amount present in a single parasite, the detection limit of the assay is restricted by the number of parasites present in the volume of sample assayed; i.e. 1 per µL or 103 per mL. We hypothesized that clinical sensitivities that mimic analytical limits based on parasite DNA could be approached or even obtained by simply adding detergent to the samples prior to LAMP assay.</p> <p><b>Methodology/Principal Findings:</b> For proof of principle we used two different LAMP assays capable of detecting 0.1 fg genomic DNA (0.001 parasite). The assay was tested on dilution series of intact bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood with or without the addition of the detergent Triton X-100 and 60 min incubation at ambient temperature. With human CSF and in the absence of detergent, the LAMP detection limit for live intact parasites using 1 µL of CSF as the source of template was at best 103 parasites/mL. Remarkably, detergent enhanced LAMP assay reaches sensitivity about 100 to 1000-fold lower; i.e. 10 to 1 parasite/mL. Similar detergent-mediated increases in LAMP assay analytical sensitivity were also found using DNA extracted from filter paper cards containing blood pretreated with detergent before card spotting or blood samples spotted on detergent pretreated cards.</p> <p><b>Conclusions/Significance:</b> This simple procedure for the enhanced detection of live African trypanosomes in biological fluids by LAMP paves the way for the adaptation of LAMP for the economical and sensitive diagnosis of other protozoan parasites and microorganisms that cause diseases that plague the developing world.</p&gt