89 research outputs found
The lichen Allocetraria madreporiformis in high-arctic steppes on Svalbard: a result of out-of-Tibet migration?
Published version available at: http://nhm2.uio.no/lichens/nordiclichensociety/Allocetraria madreporiformis is a small, finger-like, fruticose lichen with isolated occurrences in the inner fiord section of the long, straight fiord Wijdefjorden in Svalbard. Several new localities are added and mapped here, and we show that the species is confined to exclusive high-arctic steppe habitats on finetextured, moderately alkaline soil, exposed to wind erosion and aeolian transport of silt and sand. It avoids the most saline steppes and adjacent tundra areas, as indicated by numerous pH samples of mineral soils from sites with and without occurrences of A. madreporiformis. In this open habitat, all otherwise common arcticalpine fruticose lichen species were absent or extremely rare, and a cryptogamic cover was very depauperate. On Svalbard, this species is an exclusive character species of the steppe areas in Inner Wijdefjorden National Park. The genus Allocetraria is strongly centred in the Sino-Himalayan area. It is discussed here that it probably evolved as a response to the very extensive new habitats formed during a series of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau uplift and orogeny events taking place 25–1.6 Ma. This and other aspects affecting current classification alternatives of cetrarioid lichens are also discussed. The habitat preferences of A. madreporiformis appear to have been largely defined by the conditions of its probable area of origin in steppe-like habitats of the northern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
Epiphytic macrolichens in spruce plantations and native birch forests along a coast-inland gradient in North Norway
Psychosocial work stress, leisure time physical exercise and the risk of chronic pain in the neck/shoulders: Longitudinal data from the Norwegian HUNT Study
Objectives: To prospectively investigate if the risk of chronic neck/shoulder pain is associated with work stress and job control, and to assess if physical exercise modifies these associations. Material and Methods: The study population comprised 29 496 vocationally active women and men in the Norwegian Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT Study) without chronic pain at baseline in 1984–1986. Chronic neck/shoulder pain was assessed during a follow-up in 1995–1997. A generalized linear model (Poisson regression) was used to calculate adjusted relative risks (RRs). Results: Work stress was dosedependently associated with the risk of neck/shoulder pain (ptrend < 0.001 in both sexes). The women and men who perceived their work as stressful “almost all the time” had multi-adjusted RRs = 1.27 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1–1.47) and 1.71 (95% CI: 1.46–2), respectively, referencing those with no stressful work. Work stress interacted with sex (p < 0.001). Poor job control was not associated with the risk of neck/shoulder pain among the women (RR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.92–1.19) nor the men (RR = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.95–1.26). Combined analyses showed an inverse dose-dependent association between hours of physical exercise/week and the risk of neck/shoulder pain in the men with no stressful work (ptrend = 0.05) and among the men who perceived their work as “rarely stressful” (ptrend < 0.02). This effect was not statistically significant among the women or among men with more frequent exposure to work stress. Conclusions: Work stress is an independent predictor of chronic neck/shoulder pain and the effect is stronger in men than in women. Physical exercise does not substantially reduce the risk among the persons with frequent exposure to work stress
Interplay between chronic widespread pain and lifestyle factors on the risk of type 2 diabetes: longitudinal data from the Norwegian HUNT Study
Introduction Chronic widespread pain (CWP) and diabetes
commonly co-occur; however, it is unclear whether CWP
infers an additional risk for diabetes among those with
known risk factors for type 2 diabetes. We aimed to
examine if CWP magnifies the effect of adverse lifestyle
factors on the risk of diabetes.
Research design and methods The study comprised
data on 25 528 adults in the Norwegian HUNT Study
without diabetes at baseline (2006–2008). We calculated
adjusted risk ratios (RRs) with 95% CIs for diabetes
at follow-up (2017–2019), associated with CWP and
body mass index (BMI), physical activity, and insomnia
symptoms. The relative excess risk due to interaction
(RERI) was calculated to investigate the synergistic effect
between CWP and adverse lifestyle factors.
Results Compared with the reference group without
chronic pain and no adverse lifestyle factors, those with
BMI ≥30 kg/m2
with and without CWP had RRs for diabetes
of 10.85 (95% CI 7.83 to 15.05) and 8.87 (95% CI 6.49 to
12.12), respectively; those with physical activity <2 hours/
week with and without CWP had RRs for diabetes of 2.26
(95% CI 1.78 to 2.88) and 1.54 (95% CI 1.24 to 1.93),
respectively; and those with insomnia symptoms with and
without CWP had RRs for diabetes of 1.31 (95% CI 1.07 to
1.60) and 1.27 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.56), respectively. There
was little evidence of synergistic effect between CWP and
BMI ≥30 kg/m2
(RERI=1.66, 95%CI −0.44 to 3.76), low
physical activity (RERI=0.37, 95%CI −0.29 to 1.03) or
insomnia symptoms (RERI=−0.09, 95%CI −0.51 to 0.34)
on the risk of diabetes.
Conclusions These findings show no clear interaction
between CWP and adverse lifestyle factors on the risk of
diabetes
The northernmost hyperspectral FLoX sensor dataset for monitoring of high-Arctic tundra vegetation phenology and Sun-Induced Fluorescence (SIF)
A hyperspectral field sensor (FloX) was installed in Adventdalen (Svalbard, Norway) in 2019 as part of the Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS) for monitoring vegetation phenology and Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) of high-Arctic tundra. This northernmost hyperspectral sensor is located within the footprint of a tower for long-term eddy covariance flux measurements and is an integral part of an automatic environmental monitoring system on Svalbard (AsMovEn), which is also a part of SIOS. One of the measurements that this hyperspectral instrument can capture is SIF, which serves as a proxy of gross primary production (GPP) and carbon flux rates. This paper presents an overview of the data collection and processing, and the 4-year (2019–2021) datasets in processed format are available at: https://thredds.met.no/thredds/catalog/arcticdata/infranor/NINA-FLOX/raw/catalog.html associated with https://doi.org/10.21343/ZDM7-JD72 under a CC-BY-4.0 license. Results obtained from the first three years in operation showed interannual variation in SIF and other spectral vegetation indices including MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI), EVI and NDVI. Synergistic uses of the measurements from this northernmost hyperspectral FLoX sensor, in conjunction with other monitoring systems, will advance our understanding of how tundra vegetation responds to changing climate and the resulting implications on carbon and energy balance. Chlorophyll fluorescenceSolar Induced Fluorescence (SIF)ReflectancePhotosynthetic functionMERIS terrestrial chlorophyll index (MTCI)High-Arctic tundrapublishedVersio
Growth responses of Betula pendula ecotypes to red and far-red light
The effect of Red light (R), Far-red light (FR) and R/FR combinations
on shoot growth of latitudinal ecotypes of B. pendula was studied using
special diodes that emit monochromatic lights. When a 12 hrs PAR (110
\u3bcmol m-2 s-1) was extended with R, FR or R/FR ratios, lower
intensities of monochromatic lights could not prevent growth cessation.
At 25 \u3bcmol m-2 s-1, FR compared to R enhanced stem elongation in
all ecotypes. This was due to the inhibitive effect of R on internode
elongation. When day-length was extended by R/FR at various ratios,
there was continuous shoot elongation, but was found to be declining
with increasing ratios. The more the R, the shorter were the internodes
of each plant. B. pendula ecotypes produced branches when PAR light
during the day was extended by incandescent light, but did not do so
when the light extensions were made by monochromatic R or FR or their
combination. Branching increased with decreasing latitude of the
ecotype
Image quality of list-mode proton imaging without front trackers
List mode proton imaging relies on accurate reconstruction of the proton most likely path (MLP) through the patient. This typically requires two sets of position sensitive detector systems, one upstream (front) and one downstream (rear) of the patient. However, for a clinical implementation it can be preferable to omit the front trackers (single-sided proton imaging). For such a system, the MLP can be computed from information available through the beam delivery system and the remaining rear tracker set. In this work, we use Monte Carlo simulations to compare a conventional double-sided (using both front and rear detector systems) with a single-sided system (only rear detector system) by evaluating the spatial resolution of proton radiographs (pRad) and proton CT images (pCT) acquired with these set-ups. Both the pencil beam spot size, as well as the spacing between spots was also adjusted to identify the impact of these beam parameters on the image quality.
Relying only on the pencil beam central position for computing the MLP resulted in severe image artifacts both in pRad and pCT. Using the recently extended-MLP formalism that incorporate pencil beam uncertainty removed these image artifacts. However, using a more focused pencil beam with this algorithm induced image artifacts when the spot spacing was the same as the beam spot size. The spatial resolution tested with a sharp edge gradient technique was reduced by 40% for single-sided (MTF10% = 3.0 lp/cm) compared to double-sided (MTF10% = 4.9 lp/cm) pRad with ideal tracking detectors. Using realistic trackers the difference decreased to 30%, with MTF10% of 4.0 lp/cm for the realistic double-sided and 2.7 lp/cm for the realistic single-sided setup. When studying an anthropomorphic paediatric head phantom both single- and double-sided set-ups performed similarly where the difference in water equivalent thickness (WET) between the two set-ups were less than 0.01 mm in homogeneous areas of the head. Larger discrepancies between the two set-ups were visible in high density gradients like the facial structures. A complete CT reconstruction of a Catphan module was performed. Assuming ideal detectors, the obtained spatial resolution was 5.1 lp/cm for double-sided and 3.8 lp/cm for the single-sided setup. Double- and single-sided pRad with realistic tracker properties returned a spatial resolution of 3.8 lp/cm and 3.2 lp/cm, respectively. Future studies should investigate the development of dedicated reconstruction algorithms targeted for single-sided particle imaging.publishedVersio
An app-delivered self-management program for people with low back pain: protocol for the selfBACK randomized controlled trial.
Background: Low back pain (LBP) is prevalent across all social classes, in all age groups, and across industrialized and developing countries. From a global perspective, LBP is considered the leading cause of disability and negatively impacts everyday life and well-being. Self-management is a recommended first-line treatment, and mobile apps are a promising platform to support self-management of conditions like LBP. In the selfBACK project, we have developed a digital decision support system made available for the user via an app intended to support tailored self-management of nonspecific LBP. Objective: The trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of using the selfBACK app to support self-management in addition to usual care (intervention group) versus usual care only (control group) in people with nonspecific LBP. Methods: This is a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two parallel arms. The selfBACK app provides tailored self-management plans consisting of advice on physical activity, physical exercises, and educational content. Tailoring of plans is achieved by using case-based reasoning (CBR) methodology, which is a branch of artificial intelligence. The core of the CBR methodology is to use data about the current case (participant) along with knowledge about previous and similar cases to tailor the self-management plan to the current case. This enables a person-centered intervention based on what has and has not been successful in previous cases. Participants in the RCT are people with LBP who consulted a health care professional in primary care within the preceding 8 weeks. Participants are randomized to using the selfBACK app in addition to usual care versus usual care only. We aim to include a total of 350 participants (175 participants in each arm). Outcomes are collected at baseline, 6 weeks, and 3, 6, and 9 months. The primary end point is difference in pain-related disability between the intervention group and the control group assessed by the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire at 3 months. Results: The trial opened for recruitment in February 2019. Data collection is expected to be complete by fall 2020, and the results for the primary outcome are expected to be published in fall 2020. Conclusions: This RCT will provide insights regarding the benefits of supporting tailored self-management of LBP through an app available at times convenient for the user. If successful, the intervention has the potential to become a model for the provision of tailored self-management support to people with nonspecific LBP and inform future interventions for other painful musculoskeletal conditions
The Nature Index: A General Framework for Synthesizing Knowledge on the State of Biodiversity
The magnitude and urgency of the biodiversity crisis is widely recognized within
scientific and political organizations. However, a lack of integrated measures
for biodiversity has greatly constrained the national and international response
to the biodiversity crisis. Thus, integrated biodiversity indexes will greatly
facilitate information transfer from science toward other areas of human
society. The Nature Index framework samples scientific information on
biodiversity from a variety of sources, synthesizes this information, and then
transmits it in a simplified form to environmental managers, policymakers, and
the public. The Nature Index optimizes information use by incorporating expert
judgment, monitoring-based estimates, and model-based estimates. The index
relies on a network of scientific experts, each of whom is responsible for one
or more biodiversity indicators. The resulting set of indicators is supposed to
represent the best available knowledge on the state of biodiversity and
ecosystems in any given area. The value of each indicator is scaled relative to
a reference state, i.e., a predicted value assessed by each expert for a
hypothetical undisturbed or sustainably managed ecosystem. Scaled indicator
values can be aggregated or disaggregated over different axes representing
spatiotemporal dimensions or thematic groups. A range of scaling models can be
applied to allow for different ways of interpreting the reference states, e.g.,
optimal situations or minimum sustainable levels. Statistical testing for
differences in space or time can be implemented using Monte-Carlo simulations.
This study presents the Nature Index framework and details its implementation in
Norway. The results suggest that the framework is a functional, efficient, and
pragmatic approach for gathering and synthesizing scientific knowledge on the
state of biodiversity in any marine or terrestrial ecosystem and has general
applicability worldwide
- …