Meat and bone meal as fertilizer for oats - From slaughter house waste to fertilizer

EU permitted in 2006 the use of meat bone meal(MBM) as fertilizer. MTT Agrifood Research Finland's Kannus conducted a field experiment from 2000 to 2003 with a supplement experiment in 2004. The fertilization effect was 24 % higher after MBM than after chemical fertilizers

Generalizations of the clustering coefficient to weighted complex networks

The recent high level of interest in weighted complex networks gives rise to a need to develop new measures and to generalize existing ones to take the weights of links into account. Here we focus on various generalizations of the clustering coefficient, which is one of the central characteristics in the complex network theory. We present a comparative study of the several suggestions introduced in the literature, and point out their advantages and limitations. The concepts are illustrated by simple examples as well as by empirical data of the world trade and weighted coauthorship networks.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table, 3 figures; revised versio

Geopolymeerien asettuminen ja kovettumisen mittaaminen

Tiivistelmä. Lasi- ja kivivillasta valmistetaan eristemateriaaleja rakennustarvikekäyttöön. Euroopan unionissa syntyi noin 2,3 miljoonaa tonnia mineraalivillajätettä vuonna 2010, ja suurin osa tästä päätyy kaatopaikoille koska rakennusvillan uusiokäytölle ei ole toistaiseksi keksitty järkeviä käyttökohteita. Merkittävä osa tästä tulee rakennus- ja purkujätteestä, jotka aiheuttavat terveyshaittoja ja ovat ympäristölle haitallisia. Tässä kokeellisessa kandidaatintyössä tutkittiin lasi- ja kivivillan soveltuvuutta geopolymeerien lähtöaineeksi. Näytteistä mitattiin niiden asettumisaikaa ja puristuslujuudet. Työn näytteet valmistettiin tyypillisen geopolymerisointimenetelmän mukaisesti. Aluksi valmistettiin aktivaattoriliuos jonka jälkeen esijauhettua mineraalivillaa sekoitettiin liuoksiin halutuilla mineraalivillan ja aktivaattorin suhteilla. Seoksen valmistumisen jälkeen ne valettiin muovi- ja metallimuotteihin ja laitettiin kovettumaan 40 °C:n lämpökaappiin mittauksia varten. Työssä havaittiin, että aktivaattoriliuoksen tyyppi vaikuttaa merkittävästi geopolymeerin asettumiseen ja lujuuden kehitykseen. Lopullinen asettumisaika lasivillageopolymeereille vaihteli 5 tunnista yli kahteen vuorokauteen ja kivivillageopolymeereille 3–30 tuntiin. Määritetyt lopulliset puristuslujuudet olivat pääsääntöisesti erittäin korkeita. Maksimipuristuslujuus lasivillanäytteelle on 82 MPa ja kivivillanäytteelle 77 MPa.Measuring setting time and compressive strength of geopolymers. Abstract. Glass and stone wool are used to produce insulation materials for construction materials. In European Union, 2.3 million tons of mineral wool waste was generated in 2010 and most of it is ends up in landfill. Main reason is that the utilization and reuse of mineral wool waste in post-consumer production remains very low. A significant amount of that comes from construction and demolition waste, which causes health damage and is harmful to the environment. In this experimental study we examined the suitability of glass and stone wool as a raw materials for geopolymers. Setting time and compressive strength were measured from the samples. Samples were prepared by according typical geopolymerization method. At first, activator solution was prepared, after which the pre-ground mineral wool was mixed with the solutions with desired ratios of mineral wool and activator. After mixing, they were casted into plastic and metal molds and were held at 40 °C oven for curing. It was detected that the type of activator solution has a significant effect on geopolymer setting time and compressive strength development. The final setting time for glass wool geopolymers ranged from 5 hours to more than two days and for stone wool geopolymers from 3 to 30 hours. The final compression strengths determined were generally very high. The maximum compression strength for a glass wool sample is 82 MPa and 77 MPa for a stone wool sample

Multiscale Analysis of Spreading in a Large Communication Network

In temporal networks, both the topology of the underlying network and the timings of interaction events can be crucial in determining how some dynamic process mediated by the network unfolds. We have explored the limiting case of the speed of spreading in the SI model, set up such that an event between an infectious and susceptible individual always transmits the infection. The speed of this process sets an upper bound for the speed of any dynamic process that is mediated through the interaction events of the network. With the help of temporal networks derived from large scale time-stamped data on mobile phone calls, we extend earlier results that point out the slowing-down effects of burstiness and temporal inhomogeneities. In such networks, links are not permanently active, but dynamic processes are mediated by recurrent events taking place on the links at specific points in time. We perform a multi-scale analysis and pinpoint the importance of the timings of event sequences on individual links, their correlations with neighboring sequences, and the temporal pathways taken by the network-scale spreading process. This is achieved by studying empirically and analytically different characteristic relay times of links, relevant to the respective scales, and a set of temporal reference models that allow for removing selected time-domain correlations one by one

Don't Miss the Moment:A Systematic Review of Ecological Momentary Assessment in Suicide Research

Suicide and suicide-related behaviors are prevalent yet notoriously difficult to predict. Specifically, short-term predictors and correlates of suicide risk remain largely unknown. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) may be used to assess how suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) unfold in real-world contexts. We conducted a systematic literature review of EMA studies in suicide research to assess (1) how EMA has been utilized in the study of STBs (i.e., methodology, findings), and (2) the feasibility, validity and safety of EMA in the study of STBs. We identified 45 articles, detailing 23 studies. Studies mainly focused on examining how known longitudinal predictors of suicidal ideation perform within shorter (hourly, daily) time frames. Recent studies have explored the prospects of digital phenotyping of individuals with suicidal ideation. The results indicate that suicidal ideation fluctuates substantially over time (hours, days), and that individuals with higher mean ideation also have more fluctuations. Higher suicidal ideation instability may represent a phenotypic indicator for increased suicide risk. Few studies succeeded in establishing prospective predictors of suicidal ideation beyond prior ideation itself. Some studies show negative affect, hopelessness and burdensomeness to predict increased ideation within-day, and sleep characteristics to impact next-day ideation. The feasibility of EMA is encouraging: agreement to participate in EMA research was moderate to high (median = 77%), and compliance rates similar to those in other clinical samples (median response rate = 70%). More individuals reported suicidal ideation through EMA than traditional (retrospective) self-report measures. Regarding safety, no evidence was found of systematic reactivity of mood or suicidal ideation to repeated assessments of STBs. In conclusion, suicidal ideation can fluctuate substantially over short periods of time, and EMA is a suitable method for capturing these fluctuations. Some specific predictors of subsequent ideation have been identified, but these findings warrant further replication. While repeated EMA assessments do not appear to result in systematic reactivity in STBs, participant burden and safety remains a consideration when studying high-risk populations. Considerations for designing and reporting on EMA studies in suicide research are discussed

Small But Slow World: How Network Topology and Burstiness Slow Down Spreading

Communication networks show the small-world property of short paths, but the spreading dynamics in them turns out slow. We follow the time evolution of information propagation through communication networks by using the SI model with empirical data on contact sequences. We introduce null models where the sequences are randomly shuffled in different ways, enabling us to distinguish between the contributions of different impeding effects. The slowing down of spreading is found to be caused mostly by weight-topology correlations and the bursty activity patterns of individuals

Prevalence of obesity and disturbances in glucose homeostasis in HIV-infected subjects and general population - missed diagnoses of diabetes?

Objectives Comparative data on glucose disorders using fasting blood samples between people living with HIV (PLWH) and the general population are lacking. The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence and risk factors of obesity and disturbances in glucose homeostasis between PLWH treated with modern antiretroviral therapy and the general population. Methods Adjusted prevalence of obesity, features of insulin resistance (triglyceride:high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and alanine aminotransferase), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), diabetes mellitus (DM) and combined dysglycaemia (presence of IFG or DM) were determined using fasting blood samples among 1041 PLWH and 7047 subjects representing the general population. Results People living with HIV had a lower prevalence of obesity [18.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 15.1-21.2 vs. 23.9%, 95% CI: 22.4-25.4], but a higher prevalence of insulin resistance and IFG (20.0%, 95% CI: 16.6-23.4 vs. 9.8%, 95% CI: 8.7-10.8) than the general population. Fasting glucose concentration was higher, but glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was lower, among PLWH. Prevalence of dysglycaemia for a given body mass index (BMI) was higher in PLWH than in the general population. The prevalence of DM did not differ between PLWH (13.2%, 95% CI: 10.2-15.9) and the general population (14.5%, 95% CI: 13.6-15.4). Conclusions The prevalence of obesity was lower, but the risk of dysglycaemia for a given BMI was significantly higher, among PLWH, highlighting the importance of prevention and treatment of obesity among HIV-infected subjects. Regardless of the increased prevalence of insulin resistance and IFG, DM was surprisingly not more common among PLWH, raising concern about the under-diagnosis of DM, possibly due to low sensitivity of HbA1c in this patient population.Peer reviewe