Klosettvattenkvalitet

Växtnäringsämnena i hushållsavloppsvatten kan fångas upp och återföras till åkermark med ett minimum av föroreningar om klosettvatten samlas upp skiljt från hushållets BDT-vatten1. Flera tidigare studier har visat att källsorterat klosettvatten har en bra kvalitet ur växtnärings- och föroreningssynpunkt och kan kvalitetsmässigt i viss mån jämföras med nötflytgödsel. Målet med denna studie har varit att beskriva halter av spårelement i relation till växtnäring (fosfor) i källsorterat klosettvatten samt att identifiera eventuella kvalitetsskillnader hos klosettvatten beroende på ursprung

Diagnostic evaluation of three cardiac software packages using a consecutive group of patients

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of the three software packages 4DMSPECT (4DM), Emory Cardiac Toolbox (ECTb), and Cedars Quantitative Perfusion SPECT (QPS) for quantification of myocardial perfusion scintigram (MPS) using a large group of consecutive patients. Methods: We studied 1,052 consecutive patients who underwent 2-day stress/rest 99mTc-sestamibi MPS studies. The reference/gold-standard classifications for the MPS studies were obtained from three physicians, with more than 25 years each of experience in nuclear cardiology, who re-evaluated all MPS images. Automatic processing was carried out using 4DM, ECTb, and QPS software packages. Total stress defect extent (TDE) and summed stress score (SSS) based on a 17-segment model were obtained from the software packages. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed. Results: A total of 734 patients were classified as normal and the remaining 318 were classified as having infarction and/or ischemia. The performance of the software packages calculated as the area under the SSS ROC curve were 0.87 for 4DM, 0.80 for QPS, and 0.76 for ECTb (QPS vs. ECTb p = 0.03; other differences p < 0.0001). The area under the TDE ROC curve were 0.87 for 4DM, 0.82 for QPS, and 0.76 for ECTb (QPS vs. ECTb p = 0.0005; other differences p < 0.0001). Conclusion: There are considerable differences in performance between the three software packages with 4DM showing the best performance and ECTb the worst. These differences in performance should be taken in consideration when software packages are used in clinical routine or in clinical studies

Structure liming reduces draught requirement on clay soil

Liming with ‘structure lime’, comprising approximately 80–85% ground limestone and 15–20% slaked lime, has been promoted in subsidised environmental schemes in Sweden since 2010 to increase clay aggregate stability and mitigate particulate phosphorus losses to surface waters. To date, approximately 65,000 ha have been structure-limed. Apart from stabilising aggregates, liming may also improve other physical properties, such as soil strength. This study examined the effect of increasing application rate (0–16 t ha-1) of structure lime on soil strength, approximated by horizontal (draught requirement) and vertical (penetrometer resistance) measurements, in eight field soils (clay content 26–38%) to which structure lime had been applied two, three, four or six years previously. Draught requirement when cultivating with a multipurpose cultivator significantly decreased (by 11%) with the highest application rate of structure lime (16 t ha-1) compared with an unlimed control. This reduced the wheel power requirement by 7.1 kW and diesel consumption by 1.2–1.4 L ha-1, and lowered CO2 emissions by 3–4 kg ha-1. To clarify the general effect of structure liming, the mean value of all limed treatments was compared with that of the unlimed control. This showed that structure liming in general significantly reduced the draught requirement (by 7%). However, penetrometer resistance measurements revealed no significant effects of structure liming and no relation between draught requirement and penetrometer resistance measurements. Overall, the results indicate that structure liming can reduce fuel consumption, due to easier soil tillage, and thus lower CO2 emissions

Vall som biogassubstrat

I ett fältförsök på marginalmark odlades och skördades olika vallblandningar som biogassubstrat. Syftet med studien var att (a) undersöka biomassa- och metanavkastningen för de olika vallblandningarna och (b) analysera spridningen av metanpotentialbestämningarnas resultat för att undersöka möjligheter till minskning av analyskostnaderna genom annan provtagnings- och provberedningsstrategi. En gödslad kommersiell vall gav med 8,1 ton ts/ha den högsta biomassaavkastningen vid två skördar per år. Vid bara en skörd per år var det den gödslade kommersiella vallen och den befintliga vegetationen som gav högst biomassaavkastning. Metanpotentialsskillnaderna mellan vallblandningarna var ganska små vid samma skördetidpunkt. Däremot ökar den specifika metanpotentialen (liter metan per kg VS) med två skördar per år. Beräkningarna visade att antalet analyser för metanpotentialbestämningen kan reduceras betydligt när samlingsprover används i analyserna. På detta sätt minskar man variationen inom leden, vilket bidrar till att skillnader mellan olika behandlingar enklare kan upptäckas

Area of ischemia assessed by physicians and software packages from myocardial perfusion scintigrams.

The European Society of Cardiology recommends that patients with >10% area of ischemia should receive revascularization. We investigated inter-observer variability for the extent of ischemic defects reported by different physicians and by different software tools, and if inter-observer variability was reduced when the physicians were provided with a computerized suggestion of the defects

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