62 research outputs found
Energy and Exergy Analysis of a Cruise Ship
In recent years, the International Maritime Organization agreed on aiming to reduceshippingâs greenhouse gas emissions by 50% with respect to 2009 levels. Meanwhile, cruise shiptourism is growing at a fast pace, making the challenge of achieving this goal even harder.The complexity of the energy system of these ships makes them of particular interest from anenergy systems perspective. To illustrate this, we analyzed the energy and exergy flow rates of acruise ship sailing in the Baltic Sea based on measurements from one year of the shipâs operations.The energy analysis allows identifying propulsion as the main energy user (46% of the total) followedby heat (27%) and electric power (27%) generation; the exergy analysis allowed instead identifyingthe main inefficiencies of the system: while exergy is primarily destroyed in all processes involvingcombustion (76% of the total), the other main causes of exergy destruction are the turbochargers,the heat recovery steam generators, the steam heaters, the preheater in the accommodation heatingsystems, the sea water coolers, and the electric generators; the main exergy losses take place in theexhaust gas of the engines not equipped with heat recovery devices. The application of clustering ofthe shipâs operations based on the concept of typical operational days suggests that the use of fivetypical days provides a good approximation of the yearly shipâs operations and can hence be usedfor the design and optimization of the energy systems of the ship
Absolute quantification of perfusion by dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI using Bookend and VASO steady-state CBV calibration: a comparison with pseudo-continuous ASL.
Dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI (DSC-MRI) tends to return elevated estimates of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV). In this study, subject-specific calibration factors (CFs), based on steady-state CBV measurements, were applied to rescale the absolute level of DSC-MRI CBF
Patient-reported outcomes one year after positive sentinel lymph node biopsy with or without axillary lymph node dissection in the randomized SENOMAC trial
Introduction: This report evaluates whether health related quality of life (HRQoL) and patient-reported arm morbidity one year after axillary surgery are affected by the omission of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Methods: The ongoing international non-inferiority SENOMAC trial randomizes clinically node-negative breast cancer patients (T1-T3) with 1-2 sentinel lymph node (SLN) macrometastases to completion ALND or no further axillary surgery. For this analysis, the first 1181 patients enrolled in Sweden and Denmark between March 2015, and June 2019, were eligible. Data extraction from the trial database was on November 2020. This report covers the secondary outcomes of the SENOMAC trial: HRQoL and patient-reported arm morbidity. The EORTC QLQC30, EORTC QLQ-BR23 and Lymph-ICF questionnaires were completed in the early postoperative phase and at one-year follow-up. Adjusted one-year mean scores and mean differences between the groups are presented corrected for multiple testing.Peer reviewe
Crystal structure of the P2 C-repressor: a binder of non-palindromic direct DNA repeats
As opposed to the vast majority of prokaryotic repressors, the immunity repressor of temperate Escherichia coli phage P2 (C) recognizes non-palindromic direct repeats of DNA rather than inverted repeats. We have determined the crystal structure of P2 C at 1.8âĂ
. This constitutes the first structure solved from the family of C proteins from P2-like bacteriophages. The structure reveals that the P2 C protein forms a symmetric dimer oriented to bind the major groove of two consecutive turns of the DNA. Surprisingly, P2 C has great similarities to binders of palindromic sequences. Nevertheless, the two identical DNA-binding helixes of the symmetric P2 C dimer have to bind different DNA sequences. Helix 3 is identified as the DNA-recognition motif in P2 C by alanine scanning and the importance for the individual residues in DNA recognition is defined. A truncation mutant shows that the disordered C-terminus is dispensable for repressor function. The short distance between the DNA-binding helices together with a possible interaction between two P2 C dimers are proposed to be responsible for extensive bending of the DNA. The structure provides insight into the mechanisms behind the mutants of P2 C causing dimer disruption, temperature sensitivity and insensitivity to the P4 antirepressor
Body fatness during childhood and adolescence and incidence of breast cancer in premenopausal women: a prospective cohort study
INTRODUCTION: Body mass index (BMI) during adulthood is inversely related to the incidence of premenopausal breast cancer, but the role of body fatness earlier in life is less clear. We examined prospectively the relation between body fatness during childhood and adolescence and the incidence of breast cancer in premenopausal women. METHODS: Participants were 109,267 premenopausal women in the Nurses' Health Study II who recalled their body fatness at ages 5, 10 and 20 years using a validated 9-level figure drawing. Over 12 years of follow up, 1318 incident cases of breast cancer were identified. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to compute relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for body fatness at each age and for average childhood (ages 5â10 years) and adolescent (ages 10â20 years) fatness. RESULTS: Body fatness at each age was inversely associated with premenopausal breast cancer incidence; the multivariate RRs were 0.48 (95% CI 0.35â0.55) and 0.57 (95% CI 0.39â0.83) for the most overweight compared with the most lean in childhood and adolescence, respectively (P for trend < 0.0001). The association for childhood body fatness was only slightly attenuated after adjustment for later BMI, with a multivariate RR of 0.52 (95% CI 0.38â0.71) for the most overweight compared with the most lean (P for trend = 0.001). Adjustment for menstrual cycle characteristics had little impact on the association. CONCLUSION: Greater body fatness during childhood and adolescence is associated with reduced incidence of premenopausal breast cancer, independent of adult BMI and menstrual cycle characteristics
STUDIES OF THE LEVEL STRUCTURES OF TUNGSTEN-181, OSMIUM-185 AND OSMIUM-187 BY RADIOACTIVE DECAY SPECTROSCOPY.
Abstract not availabl
KartlÀggning av den nordiska livsmedelskonsumtionens pÄverkan pÄ biologisk mÄngfald
The climate impact of food production has been lively debated over the last decades. It is e.g. well known that some products have a higher climate impact in comparison to other food products. The biodiversity impact of different food products is however less known. To steer the food production in a positive direction as well as to enable consumers, restaurants, public kitchens, and the food industry to make well-informed decisions, we need to address and measure this impact. The aim of this study has been to examine the biodiversity impact of Nordic and European food consumption. In this report we present (1) a brief summary of biodiversity indicators linked to food production and consumption, (2) different methods to evaluate biodiversity impact of food products and (3) a literature review of studies that assess biodiversity impacts of food products and diets. Based on the literature review, we identify food products suggested to have a higher respectively lower negative impact on biodiversity and discuss what changes that could promote a Nordic diet with lower negative impact on biodiversity. Finally, we highlight knowledge gaps and possibilities for future work. There are different methods to examine the biodiversity impact on food products, such as life cycle assessment, input-output-model, and mapping tools. Biodiversity footprints are often based on the land use (area and intensity) in combination with parameters linked to where the production takes place and thus what biodiversity values can be affected. The consumed amount of food is also often considered â a product with a low impact per kg can get a high impact when consumed to a high degree and vice versa. Our literature review shows a variety of food products with high negative biodiversity impact. Particularly, products that are known drivers of deforestation in tropical regions, such as palm oil, coffee, and cacao â as well as meat and/or animal products that have been fed with soybeans derived from tropical regions have a high negative impact on biodiversity. On the other hand, consumption of foods as vegetables, starchy roots, and pulses â ideally with domestic origin â are examples of foods indicated to have lower biodiversity impact which would be beneficial to eat more of in the Nordic diet. There are also examples of agricultural systems where human interference is crucial for maintaining a high level of biodiversity, for example keeping grazing animals on high-naturevalue-grasslands. If these lands are abandoned or planted with forest, numerous of species will be extinct. Thus, meat linked to these grasslands can also support biodiversity, especially in the Nordic countries where there are relatively many of these landscapes left (in comparison to the rest of Europe). As the studies reviewed varied in their scope, methods, and results, they are difficult to compare. More research is needed to confirm our conclusions. Furthermore, none of the methods are flawless and there are obvious difficulties with finding a transferable and scalable unit â like CO2-equivalents â since biodiversity impacts are highly dynamic and sitespecific. Additionally, most of the reviewed studies do not consider transformation of natural areas driven by food production, e.g., deforestation, and may therefore be underestimating the impacts. In future studies, the reference systems may also be discussed and further developed, and more taxonomic groups (e.g., arthropods such as insects) should preferably be included
Ethical considerations in relation to personalised nutrition : An overview of Work Package 5, with respect to ethics
The objectives of Food4Me work package 5 included a baseline assessment of the ethical and legal aspects of personalised nutrition at the start of the project in 2011, as well as a final assessment at the end of the project (2015), taking into account results achieved in other work packages. The initial assessment made a number of ethical issues visible, most of them relating to the consumer of personalised nutrition service. The results depicted in this publication indicate that many of the questions raised in relation to these issues remain unsolved, and in some cases they seem to be neglected in relation to the services offered by internet companies
KartlÀggning av den nordiska livsmedelskonsumtionens pÄverkan pÄ biologisk mÄngfald
The climate impact of food production has been lively debated over the last decades. It is e.g. well known that some products have a higher climate impact in comparison to other food products. The biodiversity impact of different food products is however less known. To steer the food production in a positive direction as well as to enable consumers, restaurants, public kitchens, and the food industry to make well-informed decisions, we need to address and measure this impact. The aim of this study has been to examine the biodiversity impact of Nordic and European food consumption. In this report we present (1) a brief summary of biodiversity indicators linked to food production and consumption, (2) different methods to evaluate biodiversity impact of food products and (3) a literature review of studies that assess biodiversity impacts of food products and diets. Based on the literature review, we identify food products suggested to have a higher respectively lower negative impact on biodiversity and discuss what changes that could promote a Nordic diet with lower negative impact on biodiversity. Finally, we highlight knowledge gaps and possibilities for future work. There are different methods to examine the biodiversity impact on food products, such as life cycle assessment, input-output-model, and mapping tools. Biodiversity footprints are often based on the land use (area and intensity) in combination with parameters linked to where the production takes place and thus what biodiversity values can be affected. The consumed amount of food is also often considered â a product with a low impact per kg can get a high impact when consumed to a high degree and vice versa. Our literature review shows a variety of food products with high negative biodiversity impact. Particularly, products that are known drivers of deforestation in tropical regions, such as palm oil, coffee, and cacao â as well as meat and/or animal products that have been fed with soybeans derived from tropical regions have a high negative impact on biodiversity. On the other hand, consumption of foods as vegetables, starchy roots, and pulses â ideally with domestic origin â are examples of foods indicated to have lower biodiversity impact which would be beneficial to eat more of in the Nordic diet. There are also examples of agricultural systems where human interference is crucial for maintaining a high level of biodiversity, for example keeping grazing animals on high-naturevalue-grasslands. If these lands are abandoned or planted with forest, numerous of species will be extinct. Thus, meat linked to these grasslands can also support biodiversity, especially in the Nordic countries where there are relatively many of these landscapes left (in comparison to the rest of Europe). As the studies reviewed varied in their scope, methods, and results, they are difficult to compare. More research is needed to confirm our conclusions. Furthermore, none of the methods are flawless and there are obvious difficulties with finding a transferable and scalable unit â like CO2-equivalents â since biodiversity impacts are highly dynamic and sitespecific. Additionally, most of the reviewed studies do not consider transformation of natural areas driven by food production, e.g., deforestation, and may therefore be underestimating the impacts. In future studies, the reference systems may also be discussed and further developed, and more taxonomic groups (e.g., arthropods such as insects) should preferably be included
NÀtverkens betydelse för CleanTech-industrin i VÀstra Götalandsregionen
Clean Technology, CleanTech, Ă€r ursprungligen ett amerikanskt begrepp som relativt nyligen etablerades i Sverige. EU:s definition av CleanTech visar pĂ„ dess bredd: âall teknik som Ă€r mindre skadlig för miljön Ă€n tillgĂ€ngliga alternativâ. CleanTech-branschen har under den se-naste tiden fĂ„tt mycket uppmĂ€rksamhet och lyfts fram som en potentiell tillvĂ€xtindustri. Den avancerade tekniken som finns inom CleanTech leder ofta till en lĂ„ng utvecklingsprocess som Ă€r kostsam och riskfylld för investerare, vilket lett till att CleanTech-företag har uttryckt svĂ„righeter med att fĂ„ kapital till att utveckla sin affĂ€rsidĂ©.
Ett tillvÀxtfrÀmjande företagsklimat Àr viktigt för att CleanTech-företagen i Sverige ska fÄ möjlighet att utvecklas. De faktorer som krÀvs för att en sÄdan utveckling ska komma till stÄnd Àr framförallt kunskap och kapital. Deltagande i nÀtverk, och de mötesplatser som nÀtverken skapar, kan anses vara en effektiv metod för att skaffa sig kontakter med tillgÄng till dessa resurser.
Uppsatsen fokuserar pÄ hur nÀtverken i VÀstra Götalandsregionen uppfattas, och huruvida mötesplatserna leder till samarbeten och investeringar i CleanTech-industrin. Vidare be-handlas hur samverkan mellan stat, industri och akademi fungerar samt om detta kan pÄver-ka tillvÀxten av CleanTech-företag i regionen. Eftersom studien undersöker hur investerare och företag med kapitalbehov trÀffas, och hur nÀtverken arbetar för detta, utgÄr studien genomgÄende frÄn de tre aktörerna; investerare, företag och nÀtverk. Representanter frÄn dessa grupper har deltagit i de intervjuer som har genomförts. Totalt ingÄr 30 nÀtverk, före-tag och investerare verksamma i VÀstra Götalandsregionens CleanTech-industri i studien.
I arbetet presenteras avslutningsvis ett resultat som Àr baserat pÄ analysen av de svar som aktörerna gav under intervjuerna. Resultatet visar att de intervjuade anser att nÀtverken Àr en viktig del i intressenternas arbete. NÀtverken behövs för att skapa mötesplatser dÀr for-mella kontakter knyts. Intressenterna anser ocksÄ att det finns ett stort antal nÀtverk för CleanTech-industrin i VÀstra Götalandsregionen. Vidare visar studien att det idag uppfattas finnas gott om kapital att investera i CleanTech-branschen och nÀtverken anses viktiga mö-tesplatser mellan investerare och företag. MÄnga större investerare har utvecklade samar-beten och saminvesteringar Àr vanliga. Samarbeten Àr Àven vanligt förekommande mellan tvÄ av parterna, stat, industri och akademi medan det dÀremot Àr mer sÀllsynt att alla tre parter samarbetar. Slutligen visar undersökningen att staten anses pÄverka marknaden ge-nom subventioner och regler och styr dÀrmed till stor del utvecklingen av CleanTech i Sveri-ge. Offentliga organisationer och nÀtverk anses vara aktiva inom Cleantech-branschen men det finns ett missnöje bland de VÀstsvenska företagen med hur statliga och frÀmst kommu-nala upphandlingar hanteras
- âŠ