Oil spills in cold climates with special reference to the transportation and exploration of hydrocarbons in the Kara Sea

Oil spilled in ice infested waters have frequently been under investigation through the last twenty years. This has been induced by the prospects of large oil reserves offshore both in the American and Russian Arctic. Two oil spill scenarios considering the oil exploration in the Kara Sea have been developed. In this work the fate and behaviour of the oil in ice, environmental conditions in the Kara Sea and the present and past exploration of the region has been summarised. Oil spilled under ice will be encapsulated within the growing ice field for then to be released, without a change in properties, the following season. The movement of the oil will be determined by the motion of the ice. The amount of oil which is contained by the ice and its spreading is determined by the under ice morphology. Oil spilled in open ice will be contained by the ice only to be released when the ice breaks up and melts. No large scale mechanical clean up technology has been developed. Burning might be feasible of newly surfaced or oil contained in leads between floes. However the logistics of such operations will be very expensive and probably not economically feasible. Chemical dispersion might be enhanced due to the thickness of the layer of oil in the broken ice. However, emulsions forms very quickly which decreases the efficiency of the dispersants radically. The scenarios revealed the possibility of spilled oil to be transported out of the Kara Sea and into either the Barents Sea of the polar basin. Possibly to be released into the Barents Sea in the following summer as fresh crude or in the waters surrounding Svalbard after one or two seasons as weathered crude. ·This emphasises the need for international coordination of the drilling activities in the Kara Sea with respect to possible environmental disasters.Digitisation of this thesis was sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin

Farmer’s Awareness on Effective Delivery of Farm Information through ICT Mediated Extension Service in Bangladesh

The main focus of the study was to find out the level of awareness about effective delivery of farm information to the farmers through ICT mediated extension service in Bangladesh. The factors influencing awareness of the farmers and the problems faced by the farmers in getting farm information were also explored. Data were collected from a sample of 100 farmers out of 700. A structured interview schedule and check list were used in collection of data through face to face interviewing and focus group discussion (FGD) during October to November in 2012. The awareness was measured by using a 3 point rating scale and appropriate weights were assigned to each of the responses. By adding the weights of responses awareness score was calculated. The effectiveness of ICT mediated extension services was considered based on amount of information being supplied, acceptability, diversity, demand driven and outcome in using information by the farmers. About two-thirds (68 percent) of the farmers had moderate awareness while almost one fourth (26 percent) having high and only 6 percent had low awareness about effective delivery of farm information by ICT centers. The level of education, farm size, family size, annual income, training exposure, organizational participation and extension media contact of the farmers were significantly correlated with their awareness. The stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that out of 9, four variables such as organizational participation, annual income, farm size and family size of the farmers combinedly explain 50 percent variance regarding awareness of effective delivery of farm information. Rendering inadequate services of field extension agents, frequent power disruption, lack of skilled manpower (extension agents) at ICT centers, lack of training facilities for the farmers, and poor supervision and monitoring of field extension activities were the major problems as mentioned by the farmers for effective dissemination of farm information

Kartlegging av systemintervensjoner i skole: effekt på klassemiljø og prososial atferd

Målet for studien var å undersøke om et program for systemintervensjon (helART) var implementert etter de standarder som brukes internasjonalt og om graden av implementering økte med tiden programmet var brukt. Videre var det også et mål å finne ut om antall år med bruk av programmet påvirket klassemiljøet, målt ved lærernes rapport om bruk av strategier i klassen og deres oppfatning av elevenes prososiale kompetanse og skoleproblemer. Et siste mål var å se om elevens oppfatning av egen prososiale kompetanse hadde sammenheng med hvor lenge de hadde mottatt helART. Det ble gjennomført kartlegging på 21 skoler som hadde brukt helART i varierende antall år. Resultatene viste at implementering av helART var uavhengig av antall år programmet hadde vært brukt, og at få skoler hadde full implementering. Lærernes rapporterte strategier i klassen ble ikke predikert av helART, men av deres oppfattelse av elevenes styrker eller problemer i klassen. Elevenes oppfatning av egen kompetanse hadde delvis sammenheng med antall år helART for ungdomsskoleelever, men ikke for barneskoleeleve

In memoriam Siegfried Pausewang (1937-2012)

  Obituary  

Factors Affecting the Course of Resuscitation From Cardiac Arrest With Pulseless Electrical Activity in Children and Adolescents

Background: Although in-hospital pediatric cardiac arrests and cardiopulmonary resuscitation occur >15,000/year in the US, few studies have assessed which factors affect the course of resuscitation in these patients. We investigated transitions from Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) to Ventricular Fibrillation/pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia (VF/pVT), Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) and recurrences from ROSC to PEA in children and adolescents with in-hospital cardiac arrest. Methods: Episodes of cardiac arrest at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia were prospectively registered. Defibrillators that recorded chest compression depth/rate and ventilation rate were applied. CPR variables, patient characteristics and etiology, and dynamic factors (e.g. the proportion of time spent in PEA or ROSC) were entered as time-varying covariates for the transition intensities under study. Results: In 67 episodes of CPR in 59 patients (median age 15 years) with cardiac arrest, there were 52 transitions from PEA to ROSC, 22 transitions from PEA to VF/pVT, and 23 recurrences of PEA from ROSC. Except for a nearly significant effect of mean compression depth beyond a threshold of 5.7 cm, only dynamic factors that evolved during CPR favored a transition from PEA to ROSC. The latter included a lower proportion of PEA over the last 5 min and a higher proportion of ROSC over the last 5 min. Factors associated with PEA to VF/pVT development were age, weight, the proportion spent in VF/pVT or PEA the last 5 min, and the general transition intensity, while PEA recurrence from ROSC only depended on the general transition intensity. Conclusion: The clinical course during pediatric cardiac arrest was mainly influenced by dynamic factors associated with time in PEA and ROSC. Transitions from PEA to ROSC seemed to be favored by deeper compressions.publishedVersio

Plasma linoleic acid levels and cardiovascular risk factors:results from the Norwegian ACE 1950 Study

Background A high intake of linoleic acid (LA), the major dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), has previously been associated with reduced cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in observational studies. However, recent secondary analyses from clinical trials of LA-rich diet suggest harmful effects of LA on CV health. Methods A total of 3706 participants, all born in 1950, were included in this cross-sectional study. We investigated associations between plasma phospholipid levels of LA and CV risk factors in a Norwegian general population, characterized by a relative low LA and high marine n-3 PUFA intake. The main statistical approach was multivariable linear regression. Results Plasma phospholipid LA levels ranged from 11.4 to 32.0 wt%, with a median level of 20.8 wt% (interquartile range 16.8–24.8 wt%). High plasma LA levels were associated with lower serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (standardized regression coefficient [Std. β-coeff.] −0.04, p = 0.02), serum triglycerides (Std. β-coeff. −0.10, p < 0.001), fasting plasma glucose (Std. β-coeff. −0.10, p < 0.001), body mass index (Std. β-coeff. −0.13, p < 0.001), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Std. β-coeff. −0.04, p = 0.03 and Std. β-coeff. −0.02, p = 0.02, respectively) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (Std. β-coeff. −0.09, p < 0.001). We found no association between plasma LA levels and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, glycated hemoglobin, carotid intima-media thickness, or C-reactive protein. Conclusion High plasma LA levels were favorably associated with several CV risk factors in this study of a Norwegian general population

July 2017 ENCALS statement on edaravone

Peer reviewe

A multimodal cell census and atlas of the mammalian primary motor cortex

ABSTRACT We report the generation of a multimodal cell census and atlas of the mammalian primary motor cortex (MOp or M1) as the initial product of the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN). This was achieved by coordinated large-scale analyses of single-cell transcriptomes, chromatin accessibility, DNA methylomes, spatially resolved single-cell transcriptomes, morphological and electrophysiological properties, and cellular resolution input-output mapping, integrated through cross-modal computational analysis. Together, our results advance the collective knowledge and understanding of brain cell type organization: First, our study reveals a unified molecular genetic landscape of cortical cell types that congruently integrates their transcriptome, open chromatin and DNA methylation maps. Second, cross-species analysis achieves a unified taxonomy of transcriptomic types and their hierarchical organization that are conserved from mouse to marmoset and human. Third, cross-modal analysis provides compelling evidence for the epigenomic, transcriptomic, and gene regulatory basis of neuronal phenotypes such as their physiological and anatomical properties, demonstrating the biological validity and genomic underpinning of neuron types and subtypes. Fourth, in situ single-cell transcriptomics provides a spatially-resolved cell type atlas of the motor cortex. Fifth, integrated transcriptomic, epigenomic and anatomical analyses reveal the correspondence between neural circuits and transcriptomic cell types. We further present an extensive genetic toolset for targeting and fate mapping glutamatergic projection neuron types toward linking their developmental trajectory to their circuit function. Together, our results establish a unified and mechanistic framework of neuronal cell type organization that integrates multi-layered molecular genetic and spatial information with multi-faceted phenotypic properties

The SSE Programme - Project review of The Integrated Agricultural Development Programme, Central Tigray, Ethiopia.

Fra NORAGRIC. Programme implemented by REST, supported by the Development Fund. Tigray, Ethiopia.The review team visited REST' s headquarters in Mekelle, met most of the involved professional staff, consulted miscellaneous project documents, and travelled through areas of field operation in Central Tigray, and met field staff and local authorities, during 13 through 18 October 1997