Massively parallel implicit equal-weights particle filter for ocean drift trajectory forecasting

Forecasting of ocean drift trajectories are important for many applications, including search and rescue operations, oil spill cleanup and iceberg risk mitigation. In an operational setting, forecasts of drift trajectories are produced based on computationally demanding forecasts of three-dimensional ocean currents. Herein, we investigate a complementary approach for shorter time scales by using the recently proposed two-stage implicit equal-weights particle filter applied to a simplified ocean model. To achieve this, we present a new algorithmic design for a data-assimilation system in which all components – including the model, model errors, and particle filter – take advantage of massively parallel compute architectures, such as graphical processing units. Faster computations can enable in-situ and ad-hoc model runs for emergency management, and larger ensembles for better uncertainty quantification. Using a challenging test case with near-realistic chaotic instabilities, we run data-assimilation experiments based on synthetic observations from drifting and moored buoys, and analyze the trajectory forecasts for the drifters. Our results show that even sparse drifter observations are sufficient to significantly improve short-term drift forecasts up to twelve hours. With equidistant moored buoys observing only 0.1% of the state space, the ensemble gives an accurate description of the true state after data assimilation followed by a high-quality probabilistic forecast

Morphological Variations of the Mandibular Premolars. Tooth Morphology and Identification - A Macro Analysis

Background: In the context of teaching tooth morphology to dentist students, which is based on the anatomical and morphological hallmarks described in the literature, some of the teeth in the permanent dentition have shown to be harder to characterize than others. The aim of this project was to specifically focus on the premolars of the lower jaw. By studying a collection of extracted teeth and dental casts, we wanted to explore why the task of differentiating and deciding premolars remain troublesome, and look for novel morphological features on the lower jaw premolars. The knowledge gained here may therefore be useful in the teaching of dental morphology in general, or even interesting in the context of anthropological and developmental biological studies. Material and methods: A total of 216 extracted mandibular premolars from University of Oslo and University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway were selected and studied for quality, and then separated into three groups by four evaluators as: “typical 1st premolars”, “typical 2nd premolars” and “atypical premolars”. The teeth were then organized in subgroups and photographed from different dental aspects. In addition, 30 dental casts contributed from the Public Dental Service Competence Center of Northern Norway were measured and photographed. Studying and analyzing the extracted teeth and dental casts led to a proposal of eleven different hypotheses. These hypotheses were then used one at a time to categorize the “atypical premolars” as a 1st or a 2nd premolar, by three independent evaluators. Significant agreements among the evaluators were then used as a measurement for “strong”, “medium” or “weak” morphological features. Results and conclusion: Out of the eleven proposed hypotheses, we report four novel features from this study. The first feature states that when observed from an approximal aspect “the marginal ridge line ends centrally on the 2nd premolars, but it continues further towards the lingual aspect on the 1st premolars”. The second feature indicates that when observed from an occlusal angle, “the pits making up the central fissure will align on a centrally straight line placed (mesio-distal axis) in the 2nd premolars, but not in the 1st premolars”. The third feature describes a significant difference in the width/height-ratio of the two lower premolars when observed from a facial aspect. The fourth feature demonstrates that the observable facial aspect, when observed from an occlusal aspect, differs between the premolars

Vulvodyni og hypnoterapi - I hvilken grad kan hypnose vise seg effektiv i behandlingen av smerter hos kvinner med vulvodyni?

Sammendrag Bakgrunn: Vulvodyni er en samlebetegnelse på smertetilstander lokalisert i deler av kvinnens ytre kjønnsorgan, og rammer mellom 3 og 15% av kvinner i alle aldere. Det finnes ulike behandlingsformer, men ingen med signifikante effekter på tilstanden. Hensikt: Studiens hensikt er å utforske om hypnoterapi kan være en effektiv behandling av vulvodyni. Problemstilling: I hvilken grad kan hypnose vise seg effektiv i behandlingen av smerter hos kvinner med vulvodyni? Metode: Litteraturstudie med systematisk tilnærming. Systematisk litteratursøk utført via databaseverten Ovid i EMBASE, MEDLINE og APA PsycInfo januar 2023. Funnene ble overført til EndNote og analysert. Studiekvaliteten ble vurdert etter Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Resultat: Fire artikler ble inkludert. Det var totalt 73 kvinner som mottok hypnoterapi som behandling for vulvodyni. Det var tre felles hovedfunn fra artiklene; Svak forskningsbasert evidens for at hypnoterapi har effekt på vulvodyni, potensiell positiv effekt av hypnoterapi på vulvodyni, og behov for videre forskning. Konklusjon: Det er utført få studier på hypnoterapi som behandling av vulvodyni. Studiene inkludert i denne oppgaven ble vurdert til svært lav vitenskapelig kvalitet, noe som innebærer at de ikke ga grunnlag for bevis eller evidens for at hypnoterapi faktisk har effekt på vulvodyni. Tross svak evidens er det mulig at hypnoterapi kan være en lovende terapiform for vulvodyni. Men det er behov for ytterligere forskning, med et studiedesign, som for eksempel mixed methods design, som vil kunne forske på hele mennesket ut ifra et biopsykososialt perspektiv. Nøkkelord: Vulvodyni, hypnoterapi, biopsykososialt perspektiv, kronisk smertelidelse, kvinnehels

Proteinase-activated receptor-2: two potential inflammatory mediators of the gastrointestinal tract in Atlantic salmon

Proteinase-activated receptor 2 (PAR-2), activated by trypsin and other serine proteinases, is a key initiator of inflammatory responses in the intestine of mammals. Atlantic salmon fed diets with standard qualities of soybean meal (SBM) show enteritis of the distal intestine as well as increased activity of trypsin in both luminal contents and wall tissue. Luminal trypsin activity may possibly be involved in immune related disorders of the intestine also in Atlantic salmon via activation of PAR 2. In the present study our aim was to investigate if PAR-2 play a role in SBM induced enteritis. We performed multiple alignments based on nucleic acid sequences of PAR-2 from various animals available from public databases, and designed primers for use in cloning of the Atlantic salmon PAR-2 transcript. We further cloned and characterized the full length sequence of Atlantic salmon PAR-2 and investigated the expression in both early and chronic stages of SBM induced enteropathy. Two full length versions of PAR-2 cDNA were identified and termed PAR-2a and PAR-2b. Expression of the two PAR-2 transcripts was detected in all 18 tissues examined, but most extensively in the intestine and gills. A significant up-regulation in the distal intestine was observed for the PAR-2a transcript after 1 day feeding diets containing SBM. After 3 weeks of feeding, PAR-2a was down-regulated compared to the fish fed control diets. These findings may indicate that PAR-2a participates in inflammatory responses in both the early and later stages of the SBM enteropathy. In the chronic stages of the enteropathy, down-regulation of PAR-2a may indicate a possible desensitization of the PAR-2a receptor. Expression of PAR-2b was not altered in the first 7 days of SBM feeding, but a significant up regulation was observed after 3 weeks, suggesting a putative role in chronic stages of SBM induced enteritis. The expression differences of the two PAR-2 transcripts in the feed trials may indicate that they have different roles in the SBM induced enteritis

Suicidal ideation in patients with mental illness and concurrent substance use: analyses of national census data in Norway

Background: Suicidal ideation may signal potential risk for future suicidal behaviors and death. We examined the prevalence of recent suicidal ideation in patients with mental illness and concurrent substance use and explored the clinical and sociodemographic factors associated with suicidal ideation in this patient subgroup, which represents a particular risk group for adverse psychiatric outcomes. Methods: We used national cross-sectional census data in Norway collected from 25,525 patients in specialized mental health services. The analytic sample comprised 3,842 patients with concurrent substance use, defined as having a co-morbid substance use disorder or who reported recent regular alcohol use/occasional illicit drug use. Data included suicidal ideation measured in relation to the current treatment episode, sociodemographic characteristics and ICD-10 diagnoses. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine differential characteristics between patients with and without suicidal ideation. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 25.8%. The suicidal ideation rates were particularly high for those with personality disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression, and for alcohol and sedatives compared with other substances. Patients with suicidal ideation were characterized by being younger, having single marital status, and having poorly perceived social relationships with family and friends. Conclusion: Suicidal ideation in patients with mental illness and concurrent substance use was associated with a number of distinct characteristics. These results might help contribute to an increased focus on a subgroup of individuals at particular risk for suicidality and support suicide prevention efforts in specialized mental health services.publishedVersio

Junipers enable heavily browsed rowan saplings to escape ungulates in boreal forest

submittedVersio

Bias Correction of Operational Storm Surge Forecasts Using Neural Networks

Storm surges can give rise to extreme floods in coastal areas. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute produces 120-hour regional operational storm surge forecasts along the coast of Norway based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), using a model setup called Nordic4-SS. Despite advances in the development of models and computational capabilities, forecast errors remain large enough to impact response measures and issued alerts, in particular, during the strongest events. Reducing these errors will positively impact the efficiency of the warning systems while minimizing efforts and resources spent on mitigation. Here, we investigate how forecasts can be improved with residual learning, i.e., training data-driven models to predict the residuals in forecasts from Nordic4-SS. A simple error mapping technique and a more sophisticated Neural Network (NN) method are tested. Using the NN residual correction method, the Root Mean Square Error in the Oslo Fjord is reduced by 36% for lead times of one hour and 9% for 24 hours. Therefore, the residual NN method is a promising direction for correcting storm surge forecasts, especially on short timescales. Moreover, it is well adapted to being deployed operationally, as i) the correction is applied on top of the existing model and requires no changes to it, ii) all predictors used for NN inference are already available operationally, iii) prediction by the NNs is very fast, typically a few seconds per station, and iv) the NN correction can be provided to a human expert who may inspect it, compare it with the model output, and see how much correction is brought by the NN, allowing to capitalize on human expertise as a quality validation of the NN output. While no changes to the hydrodynamic model are necessary to calibrate the neural networks, they are specific to a given model and must be recalibrated when the numerical models are updated

Effect of diets containing a purified soybean trypsin inhibitor on growth performance, digestive proteases and intestinal histology in juvenile sea bream (Sparus aurata L.)

Juvenile sea bream were fed on diets containing 0.0, 2.0 or 4.0 g/kg of a soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI) for 30 days. The growth performance, total protease activity and intestinal histology were studied after 0,15 and 30 days of dietary treatment. No signi¢cant di¡erences were found in the weight gain, speci¢c growth rate (SGR) and feed conversion rate in fish fed on inhibitor-supplemented diets when compared with those fed on an inhibitor-free diet. Only the SGR at day 15 decreased signi¢cantly with protease inhibitor inclusion, although this effect was not observed at day 30. In relation to proteolytic activity at day 15, the total protease activity in the distal intestine decreased in ¢sh fed on inhibitor-supplemented diets. Zymograms of these extracts showed that the SBTI reduced the intensity of some proteolytic fractions in the distal intestine. A noticeable reduction in the protease activity of the intestinal content in fish fed onthe highest level of soybean inhibitor (4.0 g/kg) was also observed. However, at day 30, the inhibition e¡ect on these active bands was not detected, and the total protease activity was similar to that in ¢sh fed on an inhibitor-free diet. Histological examination revealed no perceptible differences in the intestinal structure between any of the diet groups. In addition, all ¢shweremaintained under experimentation for 10 more days and fed on an inhibitor-free diet to determine whether the possible effects caused by the protease inhibitor could be reverted.The administration of SBTI-supplemented diets did not affect sea bream growth performance or intestine histology after 30 days, and only a decrease in the total alkaline protease activity was found at day 15

Fatal poisonings in Oslo: a one-year observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acute poisonings are common and are treated at different levels of the health care system. Since most fatal poisonings occur outside hospital, these must be included when studying characteristics of such deaths. The pattern of toxic agents differs between fatal and non-fatal poisonings. By including all poisoning episodes, cause-fatality rates can be calculated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fatal and non-fatal acute poisonings in subjects aged ≥16 years in Oslo (428 198 inhabitants) were included consecutively in an observational multi-centre study including the ambulance services, the Oslo Emergency Ward (outpatient clinic), and hospitals, as well as medico-legal autopsies from 1st April 2003 to 31st March 2004. Characteristics of fatal poisonings were examined, and a comparison of toxic agents was made between fatal and non-fatal acute poisoning.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Oslo, during the one-year period studied, 103 subjects aged ≥16 years died of acute poisoning. The annual mortality rate was 24 per 100 000. The male-female ratio was 2:1, and the mean age was 44 years (range 19-86 years). In 92 cases (89%), death occurred outside hospital. The main toxic agents were opiates or opioids (65% of cases), followed by ethanol (9%), tricyclic anti-depressants (TCAs) (4%), benzodiazepines (4%), and zopiclone (4%). Seventy-one (69%) were evaluated as accidental deaths and 32 (31%) as suicides. In 70% of all cases, and in 34% of suicides, the deceased was classified as drug or alcohol dependent. When compared with the 2981 non-fatal acute poisonings registered during the study period, the case fatality rate was 3% (95% C.I., 0.03-0.04). Methanol, TCAs, and antihistamines had the highest case fatality rates; 33% (95% C.I., 0.008-0.91), 14% (95% C.I., 0.04-0.33), and 10% (95% C.I., 0.02-0.27), respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Three per cent of all acute poisonings were fatal, and nine out of ten deaths by acute poisonings occurred outside hospital. Two-thirds were evaluated as accidental deaths. Although case fatality rates were highest for methanol, TCAs, and antihistamines, most deaths were caused by opiates or opioids.</p

Atlantic Salmon Reovirus Infection Causes a CD8 T Cell Myocarditis in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.)

Heart and skeletal inflammation (HSMI) of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) is a disease characterized by a chronic myocarditis involving the epicardium and the compact and spongious part of the heart ventricle. Chronic myositis of the red skeletal muscle is also a typical finding of HSMI. Piscine reovirus (PRV) has been detected by real-time PCR from farmed and wild salmon with and without typical changes of HSMI and thus the causal relationship between presence of virus and the disease has not been fully determined [1]. In this study we show that the Atlantic salmon reovirus (ASRV), identical to PRV, can be passaged in GF-1 cells and experimental challenge of naïve Atlantic salmon with cell culture passaged reovirus results in cardiac and skeletal muscle pathology typical of HSMI with onset of pathology from 6 weeks, peaking by 9 weeks post challenge. ASRV replicates in heart tissue and the peak level of virus replication coincides with peak of heart lesions. We further demonstrate mRNA transcript assessment and in situ characterization that challenged fish develop a CD8+ T cell myocarditis