Combining genetic and non-genetic information to solve forensic identification problems

Forensic identification is the process of identifying for judicial purposes using scientific methods. Such techniques may be applied to humans, animals or objects. In this thesis the focus is on identifying humans. Forensic identification problems involving humans range from standard paternity cases to complex identification problems involving a large number of victims. In a murder case there may be trace evidence at the crime scene which helps identify the perpetrator. In a paternity case DNA analysis can determine whether or not a man fathered a child. In identification cases investigators will make multiple hypotheses in the form of pedigrees. Out of these at most one can be true. The most likely hypothesis may be found through statistical analysis. Several forensic methods exist and may be applied for identification. When multiple data sources are available, it would be favourable for researchers to be able to combine the results based on all available data. The goal of this thesis is to provide a framework for solving identification problems using multiple forms of data for the same hypothesis tests. Specifically, DNA data will be paired with other non-genetic data in the data analysis. Combining DNA with other data from the forensic case is desired because it allows researchers more material to draw conclusions from. This is particularly useful in cases where no conclusion may be drawn from DNA analysis alone. One such case involves two full siblings of the same sex who have gone missing, where neither sibling has descendants. If DNA is found from one of them, it is impossible to determine which of the siblings it belongs to even if DNA data from their family is accessible. Another way other data may assist in a forensic case is that information like age may be used to limit the hypotheses space, thus simplifying the forensic case. This emphasizes why multiple types of forensic data should be used in forensic analysis. The concept of combining different kinds of information for identification is the core of this thesis

Seasonal metabolism and carbon export potential of a key coastal habitat : The perennial canopy-forming macroalga Fucus vesiculosus

The important role of macroalgal canopies in the oceanic carbon (C) cycle is increasingly being recognized, but direct assessments of community productivity remain scarce. We conducted a seasonal study on a sublittoral Baltic Sea canopy of the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus, a prominent species in temperate and Arctic waters. We investigated community production on hourly, daily, and seasonal timescales. Aquatic eddy covariance (AEC) oxygen flux measurements integrated ~ 40 m2 of the seabed surface area and documented considerable oxygen production by the canopy year‐round. High net oxygen production rates of up to 35 ± 9 mmol m−2 h−1 were measured under peak irradiance of ~ 1200 μmol photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) m−2 s−1 in summer. However, high rates > 15 mmol m−2 h−1 were also measured in late winter (March) under low light intensities < 250 μmol PAR m−2 s−1 and water temperatures of ~ 1°C. In some cases, hourly AEC fluxes documented an apparent release of oxygen by the canopy under dark conditions, which may be due to gas storage dynamics within internal air spaces of F. vesiculosus. Daily net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) was positive (net autotrophic) in all but one of the five measurement campaigns (December). A simple regression model predicted a net autotrophic canopy for two‐thirds of the year, and annual canopy NEM amounted to 25 mol O2 m−2 yr−1, approximately six‐fold higher than net phytoplankton production. Canopy C export was ~ 0.3 kg C m−2 yr−1, comparable to canopy standing biomass in summer. Macroalgal canopies thus represent regions of intensified C assimilation and export in coastal waters.Peer reviewe

Lærer politiet av kriser?

Målsetningen med denne undersøkelsen er å se nærmere på problemstillingen: Hvordan jobber politiet med organisatorisk læring etter en krise? For å besvare problemstillingen har vi utformet fire forskningsspørsmål med utgangspunkt i de fire momentene i læringssirkelen: Evaluering, læringspunkter, implementering, og øving og trening. Forskningsspørsmålene har vært: Hvordan jobber politiet med å evaluere egen innsats etter en krise? Hvordan følger politiet opp læringspunktene identifisert i evalueringer? Hvordan jobber politiet med implementeringsprosessen? Hvordan implementeres læringspunktene inn i politiets øving og trening? For å avgrense oppgaven har vi valgt å ta utgangspunkt i Sør-Øst politidistrikt og Oslo politidistrikt som begge de to siste årene har håndtert kriser, henholdsvis Kongsberghendelsen den 13. oktober 2021 og terrorhendelsen i Oslo 25. juni 2022. Disse to hendelsene danner grunnlaget for vår undersøkelse. For å besvare våre forskningsspørsmål har vi basert oss på informasjon hentet inn igjennom 14 kvalitative intervjuer. Vi har intervjuet ansatte som er ansvarlig for kompetanseheving i Politidirektoratet, Sør-Øst politidistrikt og Oslo politidistrikt, samt innsatspersonell som har vært direkte involvert i en av de to krisene vi har fokusert på i undersøkelsen vår. Undersøkelsen viser at det mangler en helhetlig tilnærming til evalueringsprosessen som gjennomføres etter kriser, og det er variasjoner i hvordan politidistriktene følger opp læringspunktene som blir avdekket i evalueringene. Videre er det viktig at det settes av tilstrekkelig tid og ressurser for å gjennomføre implementeringsprosessen. Det er også viktig å prioritere og repetere mest mulig realistisk øving og trening for å styrke og opprettholde innsatspersonellets kompetanse. Basert på undersøkelsen anbefaler vi at politiet etablerer et nasjonalt system for erfaringslæring for å sikre en helhetlig tilnærming til hvordan organisatorisk læring gjennomføres i hele politiet. Konsekvensene av at det mangler et helhetlig system for hele politiet, er at det er store variasjoner i den organisatoriske læringen, samt at det vanskeliggjør læring på tvers av politidistrikt. Dette kan i ytterste konsekvens ha en negativ innvirkning på politiets evne til å håndtere fremtidige kriser.The aim of this master thesis is to study the following problem statement: How does the police work with organized learning after a crisis? To answer the aim of the study we have designed four research questions based on the four stages of the learning circle: Evaluation, learning points, implementation and exercises. These are: How does the police evaluate their own performance after a crisis? How does the police assess the learning points identified in evaluations? How does the police work with the implementation process? How does the police implement the learning points into training and practice? We have studied the Sør-Øst Police District and Oslo Police District, which in the later years have been responsible for handling several crises as the Kongsberg incident on the 13. October 2021 and the terror incident in Oslo the 25. June 2022, respectively. These two serious incidents and the subsequent processes in the police are the main cases studied. To answer our research questions, we have gathered information based on 14 qualitative interviews. We have interviewed employees in the police responsible for competence development in the National Police Directorate, Sør-Øst Police District and Oslo Police District, in addition to police response personnel whom were directly involved in one of the two incidents we have focused on in the study. The study document that the approach to the evaluation process after a crisis is partly deficient and lack comprehensiveness, and that the police districts' follow-up of the learning points varies. In addition, the prioritization of the implementation process with sufficient time and resources can be improved. This is important to ensure realistic exercises for the police to maintain and improve their competence. To ensure a comprehensive approach to organizational learning, we recommend that the police establish a national system to learn from experiences after a crisis. The consequences of not having such a system are large variations in the approach to organizational learning, and a unsatisfactory learning processes among police districts. In a worst-case scenario, this may have a negative consequence on the polices ability to handle future crises

Metabolism of a subtidal rocky mussel reef in a high-temperate setting: pathways of organic C flow

Peer reviewe

In vivo inhibition of neutrophil activity by a FAS (CD95) stimulating module: arterial in-line application in a porcine cardiac surgery model

AbstractObjectiveCardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass is associated with aberrant neutrophil activation and potentially severe pathogenic sequelae. This experimental study was done to evaluate a leukocyte inhibition module that rapidly inactivates neutrophils through CD95 stimulation.MethodsGerman landrace pigs (4 groups, each n = 5) underwent cardiac surgery without cardiopulmonary bypass (group I), with cardiopulmonary bypass (group II), with cardiopulmonary bypass plus a leukocyte filter (group III), and with cardiopulmonary bypass plus a leukocyte inhibition module (group IV). The leukocyte filter or leukocyte inhibition module was introduced into the arterial line of the heart-lung machine.ResultsLeukocyte counts were decreased by up to 43% in group IV compared with values in group II (P = .023). In group IV, but not in groups I to III, no delay in spontaneous neutrophil apoptosis was observed after annexin V–propidium iodide staining. Late apoptotic (11.7%) or necrotic neutrophils (9.3%) were detected in 2 animals (group IV). Tumor necrosis factor α serum levels increased over time in groups I to III (>2-fold) but remained at baseline levels in group IV (P < .05). Interleukin 8–mediated chemotactic neutrophil transmigration activity increased over time in groups I to III but was totally abrogated in group IV at any time point. The perioperative increase of creatine kinase and creatine kinase MB levels was lower in groups III (1.5-fold and 1.3-fold, respectively) and IV (1.2-fold and 1.5-fold, respectively) compared with values in group II (both 1.9-fold).ConclusionsThe leukocyte inhibition module downregulated cardiopulmonary bypass–related neutrophil activity and thus might be beneficial in cardiac surgery and other clinical settings with unappreciated neutrophil activation

Seasonal ecosystem metabolism across shallow benthic habitats measured by aquatic eddy covariance

Abstract Shallow benthic habitats are hotspots for carbon cycling and energy flow, but metabolism (primary production and respiration) dynamics and habitat-specific differences remain poorly understood. We investigated daily, seasonal, and annual metabolism in six key benthic habitats in the Baltic Sea using ~?2900?h of in situ aquatic eddy covariance oxygen flux measurements. Rocky substrates had the highest metabolism rates. Habitat-specific annual primary production per m2 was in the order Fucus vesiculosus canopy?>?Mytilus trossulus reef?>?Zostera marina canopy?>?mixed macrophytes canopy?>?sands, whereas respiration was in the order M. trossulus?>?F. vesiculosus?>?Z. marina?>?mixed macrophytes?> sands?>?aphotic sediments. Winter metabolism contributed 22?31% of annual rates. Spatial upscaling revealed that benthic habitats drive >?90% of ecosystem metabolism in waters ≤5?m depth, highlighting their central role in carbon and nutrient cycling in shallow waters.Non peer reviewe

Advice on fishing opportunities for Barents Sea capelin in 2024 — ICES subareas 1 and 2 excluding Division 2.a west of 5°W

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Advice on fishing opportunities for Barents Sea capelin in 2024 — ICES subareas 1 and 2 excluding Division 2.a west of 5°W

Source at https://www.hi.no/hi/nettrapporter