Evaluating drivers of spatiotemporal variability in individual condition of a bottom-associated marine fish, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)

An organism's body condition describes its mass given its length and is often positively associated with fitness. The condition of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Baltic Sea has declined dramatically since the early 1990s, possibly due to increased competition for food and hypoxia. However, the effects of biotic and abiotic variables on body condition have not been evaluated at local scales, which is important given spatial heterogeneity. We evaluate changes in distribution, experienced environmental conditions, and individual-level condition of cod in relation to covariates at different spatial scales using geostatistical models with spatial and spatiotemporal random effects. Sprat, Saduria entomon, temperature and oxygen were positively associated with condition, and depth was negatively associated. However, the effects of explanatory variables were small-spatial and spatiotemporal latent variables explained 5.7 times more variation than all covariates together (year excluded). Weighting environmental oxygen with local biomass densities revealed steeper declining trends compared to the unweighted oxygen in the environment, while the effect of weighting was less clear for condition. Understanding the drivers of spatiotemporal variation in body condition is critical for predicting responses to environmental change and to effective fishery management; yet low explanatory power of covariates on individual condition constitutes a major challenge

The Swedish mobile Internet: A study of entrepreneurship during 1998-2005

This paper addresses entrepreneurship in the emerging Swedish mobile Internet industry. Entrepreneurship is defined as the creation of a new venture. The unique data set underlying this work consists of 249 ventures that were active in the mobile Internet industry during 1998-2004. The entry/exit pattern and their performance in 2000-2004 were studied along with VC involvement in this industry.On a population level, exits were surprisingly few, sales were growing and the number of employees was decreasing. Concerning profits, the population loses enormous amounts of money each year. Venture capital appears to have a rather negative impact on performance initially. However, the VC-backed ventures displayed strong performance improvements at the end of the investigated period

Lymph node tissue kallikrein-related peptidase 6 mRNA: a progression marker for colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: A most important characteristic feature for poor prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC) is the presence of lymph node metastasis. Determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) mRNA levels in lymph nodes has proven powerful for quantification of disseminated tumour cells. Here, we investigate the utility of human tissue kallikrein-related peptidase 6 (KLK6) mRNA as a progression biomarker to complement CEA mRNA, for improved selection of patients in need of adjuvant therapy and intensified follow-up after surgery. METHODS: Lymph nodes of pTNM stage I-IV CRC-(166 patients/503 lymph nodes) and control (23/108) patients were collected at surgery and analysed by quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: Lymph node KLK6 positivity was an indicator of poor outcome (hazard ratio 3.7). Risk of recurrence and cancer death increased with KLK6 lymph node levels. Patients with KLK6 lymph node levels above the 90th percentile had a hazard ratio of 6.5 and 76 months shorter average survival time compared to patients with KLK6 negative nodes. The KLK6 positivity in lymph nodes with few tumour cells, that is, low CEA mRNA levels, also indicated poor prognosis (hazard ratio 2.8). CONCLUSION: In CRC patients, lymph node KLK6 positivity indicated presence of aggressive tumour cells associated with poor prognosis and high risk of tumour recurrence. British Journal of Cancer (2012) 107, 150-157. doi: 10.1038/bjc.2012.220 www.bjcancer.com Published online 14 June 2012 (C) 2012 Cancer Research U

Secondary Flow in Semi-Circular Ducts

Turbulent secondary flows are motions in the transverse plane, perpendicular to a main, axial flow. They are encountered in non-circular ducts and can, although the velocity is only of the order of 1-3% of the streamwise bulk velocity, affect the characteristics of the mean flow and the turbulent structure. In this work, the focus is on secondary flow in semi-circular ducts which has previously not been reported. Both numerical and experimental analyses are carried out with high accuracy. It is found that the secondary flow in semi-circular ducts consists of two pairs of counter rotating corner vortices, with a velocity in the range reported previously for related configurations. Agreement between simulation and experimental results are excellent when using a second moment closure turbulence model, and when taking the experimental and numerical uncertainty into account. New and unique results of the secondary flow in semi-circular ducts have been derived from verified simulations and validating laser-based experiments

A longitudinal study of perceived health during pregnancy: antecedents and outcomes

Perceived health was studied longitudinally in a sample of 364 nulliparous women. Psychosocial, contextual, and biomedical factors were taken into account to predict medically relevant versus benign symptoms which were then used to predict perceived health over time. The results of structural equation modeling showed that pregnancy adjustment and medically relevant symptoms which were affected by social support, perceived stress, and negative affect predicted later perceived health. The outcomes of perceived health were examined during the third trimester in terms of medical care utilization and emergency room visits. Perceived health solely accounted for medical care utilization, while emergency room visits were accounted by medical care utilization and perceived stress

Seasonal variations of Saanen goat milk composition and the impact of climatic conditions

The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of climatic conditions and their impact on seasonal variations of physico-chemical characteristics of Saanen goat milk produced over a period of 4 years. Lactation period (early, mid and late) and year were considered as factors that influence physico-chemical composition of milk. Pearson's coefficient of correlation was calculated between the physico-chemical characteristics of milk (fat, proteins, lactose, non-fat dry matter, density, freezing point, pH, titrable acidity) and climatic condition parameters (air temperature, temperature humidity index-THI, solar radiation duration, relative humidity). Results showed that all physico-chemical characteristics of Saanen goat milk varied significantly throughout the lactation period and years. The decrease of fat, protein, non-fat dry matter and lactose content in goat milk during the mid-lactation period was more pronounced than was previously reported in the literature. The highest values for these characteristics were recorded in the late lactation period. Observed variations were explained by negative correlation between THI and the physico-chemical characteristics of Saanen goat milk. This indicated that Saanen goats were very prone to heat stress, which implied the decrease of physico-chemical characteristics during hot summers