Image based analysis and modelling of Norway spruce compression

The purpose of mechanical pulping is to separate fibres from the wood matrix and develop them into a form suitable for paper and board production. This fibre separation and development requires a large energy input, where much of this energy is dissipated into heat. Therefore, energy can be saved by designing a process with as little heat dissipation as possible. Numerical simulations would be an effective tool for solving such process design problems, but there is currently no suitable model for the behaviour of the wood. To enable rational wood compression modelling, an image-based stress and strain analysis method for the split-Hopkinson pressure bar compression tests was developed. The results of this image-based stress analysis differed by only approximately 5 % from the strain gauge-based method. The image-based stress analysis is applicable to all split-Hopkins pressure bar testing. An image-based local strain measurement method was developed for earlywood and latewood analysis. The strain analysis method can also be used for strain analysis of other layered materials during high or low strain rate compression. In this study, two models have been developed for the radial compression of Norway spruce: a simple compression model and a dynamic (strain rate dependent) compression model. Both models are based on high strain rate and quasi-static compression tests of Norway spruce at three different temperatures: room temperature, 100°C and 135°C. Native wood, chemically treated wood and mechanically fatigued wood were tested. The local compression behaviour is important for mechanical pulping. The compression models developed here have separate layers for earlywood and latewood compression. The dynamic wood compression model can be used for numerical simulations of the wood deformations, which occur during mechanical pulping. These models are the first high strain rate and high temperature compression models for moist wood which have separate layers for earlywood and latewood. Initial quasi-static simulations were also conducted. One important practical implication for mechanical pulping is that identically repeated compressions does not develop the wood fibres. The fibre should preferably be slightly rotated between compressions in order to get flexible in all directions. The significant difference in EW and LW stiffness suggests that the fibres need different kind of treatment. The wood also needs to be treated at the right temperature since the stiffness is strongly dependent on temperature

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

Image based analysis and modelling of Norway spruce compression

The purpose of mechanical pulping is to separate fibres from the wood matrix and develop them into a form suitable for paper and board production. This fibre separation and development requires a large energy input, where much of this energy is dissipated into heat. Therefore, energy can be saved by designing a process with as little heat dissipation as possible. Numerical simulations would be an effective tool for solving such process design problems, but there is currently no suitable model for the behaviour of the wood. To enable rational wood compression modelling, an image-based stress and strain analysis method for the split-Hopkinson pressure bar compression tests was developed. The results of this image-based stress analysis differed by only approximately 5 % from the strain gauge-based method. The image-based stress analysis is applicable to all split-Hopkins pressure bar testing. An image-based local strain measurement method was developed for earlywood and latewood analysis. The strain analysis method can also be used for strain analysis of other layered materials during high or low strain rate compression. In this study, two models have been developed for the radial compression of Norway spruce: a simple compression model and a dynamic (strain rate dependent) compression model. Both models are based on high strain rate and quasi-static compression tests of Norway spruce at three different temperatures: room temperature, 100°C and 135°C. Native wood, chemically treated wood and mechanically fatigued wood were tested. The local compression behaviour is important for mechanical pulping. The compression models developed here have separate layers for earlywood and latewood compression. The dynamic wood compression model can be used for numerical simulations of the wood deformations, which occur during mechanical pulping. These models are the first high strain rate and high temperature compression models for moist wood which have separate layers for earlywood and latewood. Initial quasi-static simulations were also conducted. One important practical implication for mechanical pulping is that identically repeated compressions does not develop the wood fibres. The fibre should preferably be slightly rotated between compressions in order to get flexible in all directions. The significant difference in EW and LW stiffness suggests that the fibres need different kind of treatment. The wood also needs to be treated at the right temperature since the stiffness is strongly dependent on temperature

Circle-time in Kindergarten : about Leadership and Child influence.

Samlingen är en integrerad del av den svenska förskolan och den cirkulära samlingen härstammar ur Fröbelpedagogiken. Vår studie handlar om pedagogers syn på samlingen samt hur de införlivar demokratin i samlingen. Under den verksamhetsförlagda utbildningen har vi sett olika tillvägagångssätt i samlingen som pedagogerna använt sig av.Vi har använt oss av en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi där vi använt oss av intervjuer för insamlandet av data. Intervjuerna har genomförts med tio ordinarie pedagoger på fyra avdelningar i en kommun i södra Sverige.Genom individuella intervjuer vill vi belysa pedagogers syn på den cirkulära samlingen som verktyg i den pedagogiska verksamheten. Vi vill undersöka hur pedagogerna beskriver organisation och sitt ledarskap för att främja barnens delaktighet och in flytande.Pedagogerna i intervjuerna är överens om att barn ska ha inflytande i samlingen samt att barns intresse och behov ska styra samlingens form. Det råder även en konsensus om att samling inte passar alla barn. Då måste pedagoger bemöta de barn som inte vill eller klarar av en samling där hela gruppen är närvarande. På flera avdelningar väljer pedagogerna att dela upp barngruppen i mindre grupper för att kunna ge alla barn tal-utrymme

Modelling and Simulation of Radial Spruce Compression to Optimize Energy Efficiency in Mechanical Pulping

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Influence of strain rate, temperature and fatigue on the radial compression behaviour of Norway spruce

A dynamic elastoplastic compression model of Norway spruce for virtual computer optimization of mechanical pulping processes was developed. The empirical wood behaviour was fitted to a Voigt-Kelvin material model, which is based on quasi static compression and high strain rate compression tests (QSCT and HSRT, respectively) of wood at room temperature and at high temperature (80-100°C). The effect of wood fatigue was also included in the model. Wood compression stress-strain curves have an initial linear elastic region, a plateau region and a densification region. The latter was not reached in the HSRT. Earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) contributions were considered separately. In the radial direction, the wood structure is layered and can well be modelled by serially loaded layers. The EW model was a two part linear model and the LW was modelled by a linear model, both with a strain rate dependent term. The model corresponds well to the measured values and this is the first compression model for EW and LW that is based on experiments under conditions close to those used in mechanical pulping.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

A novel form of cell type-specific partial IFN-γR1 deficiency caused by a germ line mutation of the IFNGR1 initiation codon

IFN-γR1 deficiency is a genetic etiology of Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases, and includes two forms of complete recessive deficiency, with or without cell surface expression, and two forms of partial deficiency, dominant or recessive. We report here a novel form of partial and recessive Interferon γ receptor 1 (IFN-γR1) deficiency, which is almost as severe as complete deficiency. The patient is homozygous for a mutation of the initiation codon (M1K). No detectable expression and function of IFN-γR1 were found in the patient's fibroblasts. However, IFN-γR1 expression was found to be impaired, but not abolished, on the EBV-transformed B cells, which could respond weakly to IFN-γ. The mechanism underlying this weak expression involves leaky translation initiation at both non-AUG codons and the third AUG codon at position 19. It results in the residual expression of IFN-γR1 protein of normal molecular weight and function. The residual IFN-γ signaling documented in this novel form of partial IFN-γR1 deficiency was not ubiquitous and was milder than that seen in other forms of partial IFN-γR1 deficiency, accounting for the more severe clinical phenotype of the patient, which was almost as severe as that of patients with complete deficiency

Protein-coding variants implicate novel genes related to lipid homeostasis contributing to body-fat distribution.

Body-fat distribution is a risk factor for adverse cardiovascular health consequences. We analyzed the association of body-fat distribution, assessed by waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index, with 228,985 predicted coding and splice site variants available on exome arrays in up to 344,369 individuals from five major ancestries (discovery) and 132,177 European-ancestry individuals (validation). We identified 15 common (minor allele frequency, MAF ≥5%) and nine low-frequency or rare (MAF <5%) coding novel variants. Pathway/gene set enrichment analyses identified lipid particle, adiponectin, abnormal white adipose tissue physiology and bone development and morphology as important contributors to fat distribution, while cross-trait associations highlight cardiometabolic traits. In functional follow-up analyses, specifically in Drosophila RNAi-knockdowns, we observed a significant increase in the total body triglyceride levels for two genes (DNAH10 and PLXND1). We implicate novel genes in fat distribution, stressing the importance of interrogating low-frequency and protein-coding variants