Five-year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial comparing open surgery, foam sclerotherapy and endovenous laser ablation for great saphenous varicose veins

Background: New treatment methods have challenged open surgery as a treatment for great saphenous vein (GSV) insufficiency, the most common being ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy (UGFS) and endovenous laser ablation (EVLA). This study evaluated the long-term results of surgery, EVLA and UGFS in the treatment of GSV reflux. Methods: Patients with symptomatic GSV reflux were randomized to undergo either open surgery, EVLA or UGFS. The main outcome measure was the occlusion rate of the GSV at 5years after operation. Results: The study included 196 patients treated during 2008-2010; of these, 166 (847 per cent) participated in the 5-year follow-up. At 5years, the GSV occlusion rate was 96 (95 per cent c.i. 91 to 100) per cent in the open surgery group, 89 (82 to 98) per cent after EVLA and 51 (38 to 64) per cent after UGFS (P Conclusion: UGFS has significantly inferior occlusion rates compared with open surgery or EVLA, and results in additional treatments.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of a smartphone app for forest sample plot measurements

We evaluated a smartphone app (TRESTIMA(TM)) for forest sample plot measurements. The app interprets imagery collected from the sample plots using the camera in the smartphone and then estimates forest inventory attributes, including species-specific basal areas (G) as well as the diameter (D-gM) and height (H-gM) of basal area median trees. The estimates from the smartphone app were compared to forest inventory attributes derived from tree-wise measurements using calipers and a Vertex height measurement device. The data consist of 2169 measured trees from 25 sample plots (32 m x 32 m), dominated by Scots pine and Norway spruce from southern Finland. The root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) in the basal area varied from 19.7% to 29.3% and the biases from 11.4% to 18.4% depending on the number of images per sample plot and image shooting location. D-gM measurement bias varied from -1.4% to 3.1% and RMSE from 5.2% to 11.6% depending on the tree species. Respectively, H-gM bias varied from 5.0% to 8.3% and RMSE 10.0% to 13.6%. In general, four images captured toward the center of the plot provided more accurate results than four images captured away from the plot center. Increasing the number of captured images per plot to the analyses yielded only marginal improvement to the results.Peer reviewe

Clustering of vacancy defects in high-purity semi-insulating SiC

Positron lifetime spectroscopy was used to study native vacancy defects in semi-insulating silicon carbide. The material is shown to contain (i) vacancy clusters consisting of 4--5 missing atoms and (ii) Si vacancy related negatively charged defects. The total open volume bound to the clusters anticorrelates with the electrical resistivity both in as-grown and annealed material. Our results suggest that Si vacancy related complexes compensate electrically the as-grown material, but migrate to increase the size of the clusters during annealing, leading to loss of resistivity.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Kokeita automaattiruokinnan järjestämiseksi meijerisikalassa

Meijerien Keskusosuusliike Valion Ylitornion meijerin sikalassa suoritetun kahden ruokintakokeen sekä käytännön olosuhteissa tekemiensä havaintojen nojalla kirjoittajat ovat päätyneet seuraaviin johtopäätöksiin. Väkirehujen syöntiä voidaan meijerisikaloissa tarvittavassa määrin rajoittaa ja heran kulutusta nostaa lisäämällä kuivarehuautomaateista vapaasti syötettävään väkirehuseokseen 5—15 % heinäjauhoja tai kuivattua sokerijuurikasleikettä. Karkearehulisien ei tarvitse alentaa rehun hyväksikäyttöä ja tuotantovaikutusta, jos samanaikaisesti huolehditaan siitä, että koko rehuannoksen (hera mukaanluettuna) kuiva-aineen raakakuitupitoisuus ei nouse haitallisen suureksi. Edellä esitettyjä periaatteita soveltamalla tuotteiden laatua ja erityisesti eläinten lihavuusastetta, lihakkuutta ja silavan paksuutta voidaan meijerisikaloissa automaattiruokinnalla säätää suunnilleen yhtä tehokkaasti kuin eläimiä käsin ruokittaessa

Kokeita automaattiruokinnan järjestämiseksi meijerisikalassa. II

Meijerien Keskusosuusliike Valion Ylitornion meijerin sikalassa suoritetuissa toisen vuoden ruokintakokeissa, joissa oli verrattavana a) perusrehu ynnä tuore hera, b) perusrehu + kaurankuorijauholisä ynnä tuore hera sekä c) perusrehu ynnä kuivattu hera, saatiin seuraavat tulokset. Kun kuivarehuseoksen raakakuitupitoisuus nostettiin 6.9 %:sta 9.2 %:iin lisäämällä 40 kilon elopainorajasta alkaen perusrehuun 10 % kaurankuorijauhoja, tämä toimenpide ei pienentänyt kuivarehun eikä lisännyt heran kulutusta. Seurauksena oli jonkinverran pienempi lisäkasvu ja suurempi suhteellinen rehunkulutus kuin vertailuryhmällä. Osittain tämä tulos voi johtua siitä, että heran kulutus jäi tässä kokeessa odotettua pienemmäksi eli vain noin 1200 kiloon eläintä kohden. Kun tuoreen heran sijasta käytettiin kuivattua heraa 50 % kuivarehuseoksessa, niin kokeen alkuvaiheessa 45 kg:n elopainorajaan saakka kuivatulla heralla näytti olevan kasvunopeuteen ja rehun hyväksikäyttöön edullisia vaikutuksia tuoreeseen heraan verrattuna. Suuremmille sioille syötettynä kuivattu hera taas osoittautui eläinten kasvunopeuden nojalla arvostellen vähemmän edulliseksi, mutta tällöinkin kuivatulla heralla saavutettiin kuitenkin käytettyä ry:ä kohden keskimäärin suhteellisesti parempi tuotantovaikutus kuin tuoreella heralla

Gaze-Direction-Based MEG Averaging During Audiovisual Speech Perception

To take a step towards real-life-like experimental setups, we simultaneously recorded magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals and subject's gaze direction during audiovisual speech perception. The stimuli were utterances of /apa/ dubbed onto two side-by-side female faces articulating /apa/ (congruent) and /aka/ (incongruent) in synchrony, repeated once every 3 s. Subjects (N = 10) were free to decide which face they viewed, and responses were averaged to two categories according to the gaze direction. The right-hemisphere 100-ms response to the onset of the second vowel (N100m’) was a fifth smaller to incongruent than congruent stimuli. The results demonstrate the feasibility of realistic viewing conditions with gaze-based averaging of MEG signals

Report of Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) of agricultural products –workshop

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Mapping the risk of forest wind damage using airborne scanning LiDAR

Wind damage is known for causing threats to sustainable forest management and yield value in boreal forests. Information about wind damage risk can aid forest managers in understanding and possibly mitigating damage impacts. The objective of this research was to better understand and quantify drivers of wind damage, and to map the probability of wind damage. To accomplish this, we used open-access airborne scanning light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. The probability of wind-induced forest damage (PDAM) in southern Finland (61°N, 23°E) was modelled for a 173 km2 study area of mainly managed boreal forests (dominated by Norway spruce and Scots pine) and agricultural fields. Wind damage occurred in the study area in December 2011. LiDAR data were acquired prior to the damage in 2008. High spatial resolution aerial imagery, acquired after the damage event (January, 2012) provided a source of model calibration via expert interpretation. A systematic grid (16 m x 16 m) was established and 430 sample grid cells were identified systematically and classified as damaged or undamaged based on visual interpretation using the aerial images. Potential drivers associated with PDAM were examined using a multivariate logistic regression model. Risk model predictors were extracted from the LiDAR-derived surface models. Geographic information systems (GIS) supported spatial mapping and identification of areas of high PDAM across the study area. The risk model based on LiDAR data provided good agreement with detected risk areas (73 % with kappa-value 0,47). The strongest predictors in the risk model were mean canopy height and mean elevation. Our results indicate that open-access LiDAR data sets can be used to map the probability of wind damage risk without field data, providing valuable information for forest management planning