Protecting forest edges using trap logs - Limited effects of associated push-pull strategies targeting Ips typographus

Bark beetles can cause epidemic outbreaks and kill millions of cubic meters of economical and ecologically important forests around the world. It is well known what attracts and what repels different species of bark beetle, and these chemical cues can be used to protect trees and catch the beetles without using pesticides. Applying this knowledge, we investigated the use of push-pull strategies with trap logs along susceptible edges of a Swedish boreal spruce forest. The repellents (push) used were non-host volatiles (NHV) attached to tree trunks at the forest edge, and the attractants (pull) was a commercial aggregation pheromone attached to trap logs. The aim was to test whether the Ips typographus catch could be significantly increased by combining a push-pull system with traditional trap logs, thereby providing additional protection. The experiment was performed over two years and included the main flight period of I. typographus. The study sites were clear-cuts that had been harvested the preceding winter, and sun-exposed forest edges of mature spruce were targeted for protection. A full factorial setup was used comprising two treatments (repellent and attractant) and a control. Seven replicates of the trap logs were used, three during the first year and four during the second. The number of established I. typographus maternal galleries per square meter of log surface was used as the response variable. The trap logs captured large numbers of I. typographus, at an average density of 353 and 169 maternal galleries per m(2) during year 1 and year 2, respectively, over all treatments. Based on the catch data, with a sufficient number of trap logs, the risk of tree mortality at forest edges may be reduced and we recommend its general use. However, we did not see any significant effect of either the repellent or the attractant on the density of maternal galleries. Hence, we cannot recommend the addition of chemical cues to improve the efficiency of trap logs. Although trap logs are efficient in capturing bark beetles and hence may protect forest edges, it does not imply that they can provide protection on a larger scale. In line with other studies, we hence recommend that forest management to target nature-based solutions that strengthen the resilience of forest stands, by using mixed forest stands and resistant plant species, and nurture habitats for natural predators of I. typographus

ACCOUNTABILITY AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE : CASE STUDY: BAMBUIY ENGINEERING SERVICES & TECHNIQUES (B.E.S.T) SARL

This research work was to evaluate the impact of employee performance in an organization. This followed the observation that accountability is often perceived negatively by most employers and employees in an organization. It is often assumed that a greater level of accountability will positively affect the performance of employees in an organization; however, the relationship has not been studied extensively in an organization. The target was the effects of accountability on employee performance and as main objectives. This research also wanted to show proofs of accountability, the impediments of effective accountability, and lastly to find out how accountability is perceived in the organization. This research provides both quantitative and qualitative evidence regarding the impact of accountability on employee performance in an organization. This research used both primary and secondary methods of collecting data with emphases on the primary source with the use of appropriate utilization of questionnaires, observation and interviews with workers. A sample size of 40 respondents was a representation of the population. Technique used for this research was the random sampling technique to enable every member of the population to have an equal chance of being selected. The percentage count method has been used to analyze the data collected and the results presented. The findings suggest that levels of accountability manifested in staffing, performance evaluation, and compensation all positively and significantly affect the employee performance in an organization. The findings support the study’s argument that accountability should be stressed for better performance and highlight the need for the careful design of accountability mechanisms in an organization. Ultimately, this study may serve as a foundation for future efforts to establish more appropriate accountability and performance arrangements

Selvitys akkuklusterin osaamisen kysynnästä ja alan koulutuksen houkuttelevuudesta

Kansallisen akkustrategian (tammikuu 2021) yhtenä tavoitteena on kehittää osaamista vastaamaan alan nykyisiä ja tulevia tarpeita. Tämä selvitys kartoitti akkuarvoketjun osaamisen kysyntää yrityksissä sekä alan koulutuksen houkuttelevuutta lukiolaisten, opiskelijoiden ja alanvaihtajien keskuudessa. Yritykset tunnistivat kasvavan osaajapulan koko arvoketjussa ja ovat valmiita osallistumaan alan koulutuksen kehittämiseen. Suurin määrällinen tarve on tuotanto- ja prosessityöntekijöille. Osaamistarpeina painotettiin koko akkuarvoketjun, mukaan lukien akkuteknologian sovellusten ymmärrystä, teknistä syväosaamista, liiketoimintaosaamista, vastuullisuus- ja ympäristöasioita sekä asiakastarpeiden ja markkinoiden ymmärrystä. Akkualaa ei tunneta vielä riittävän hyvin suomalaisten nuorten ja opiskelijoiden keskuudessa, vaikka siihen suhtaudutaan positiivisesti. Akkuala vastaa hyvin nuorten työelämäodotuksia liittyen mm. työn kiinnostavuuteen ja ilmastohaasteisiin vaikuttamiseen. Toisaalta alalla tunnistetut vastuullisuushaasteet mietityttivät. Kasvava tietämys lisää sekä kiinnostusta että positiivisia mielikuvia akkualasta. Johtopäätösten yhteenvetona esitetään viisi kehitysideakokonaisuutta, jotka liittyvät riittävän laaja-alaisen osaamisen takaamiseen, ammatillisen koulutuksen ja toimialakuvan kehittämiseen sekä yhteistyön ja kansainvälisen liikkuvuuden lisäämiseen

Concerted action of the PHD, chromo and motor domains regulates the human chromatin remodelling ATPase CHD4

CHD4, the core subunit of the Nucleosome Remodelling and Deacetylase (NuRD) complex, is a chromatin remodelling ATPase that, in addition to a helicase domain, harbors tandem plant homeo finger and chromo domains. By using a panel of domain constructs we dissect their roles and demonstrate that DNA binding, histone binding and ATPase activities are allosterically regulated. Molecular shape reconstruction from small-angle X-ray scattering reveals extensive domain-domain interactions, which provide a structural explanation for the regulation of CHD4 activities by intramolecular domain communication. Our results demonstrate functional interdependency between domains within a chromatin remodeller. Crown Copyright © 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical society. All rights reserved

Target genes, variants, tissues and transcriptional pathways influencing human serum urate levels.

Elevated serum urate levels cause gout and correlate with cardiometabolic diseases via poorly understood mechanisms. We performed a trans-ancestry genome-wide association study of serum urate in 457,690 individuals, identifying 183 loci (147 previously unknown) that improve the prediction of gout in an independent cohort of 334,880 individuals. Serum urate showed significant genetic correlations with many cardiometabolic traits, with genetic causality analyses supporting a substantial role for pleiotropy. Enrichment analysis, fine-mapping of urate-associated loci and colocalization with gene expression in 47 tissues implicated the kidney and liver as the main target organs and prioritized potentially causal genes and variants, including the transcriptional master regulators in the liver and kidney, HNF1A and HNF4A. Experimental validation showed that HNF4A transactivated the promoter of ABCG2, encoding a major urate transporter, in kidney cells, and that HNF4A p.Thr139Ile is a functional variant. Transcriptional coregulation within and across organs may be a general mechanism underlying the observed pleiotropy between urate and cardiometabolic traits.The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project was supported by the Common Fund of the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health, and by NCI, NHGRI, NHLBI, NIDA, NIMH, and NINDS. Variant annotation was supported by software resources provided via the Caché Campus program of the InterSystems GmbH to Alexander Teumer

Research and Design of a Routing Protocol in Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks

无线传感器网络，作为全球未来十大技术之一，集成了传感器技术、嵌入式计算技术、分布式信息处理和自组织网技术，可实时感知、采集、处理、传输网络分布区域内的各种信息数据，在军事国防、生物医疗、环境监测、抢险救灾、防恐反恐、危险区域远程控制等领域具有十分广阔的应用前景。 本文研究分析了无线传感器网络的已有路由协议，并针对大规模的无线传感器网络设计了一种树状路由协议，它根据节点地址信息来形成路由，从而简化了复杂繁冗的路由表查找和维护，节省了不必要的开销，提高了路由效率，实现了快速有效的数据传输。 为支持此路由协议本文提出了一种自适应动态地址分配算——ADAR（AdaptiveDynamicAddre...As one of the ten high technologies in the future, wireless sensor network, which is the integration of micro-sensors, embedded computing, modern network and Ad Hoc technologies, can apperceive, collect, process and transmit various information data within the region. It can be used in military defense, biomedical, environmental monitoring, disaster relief, counter-terrorism, remote control of haz...学位：工学硕士院系专业：信息科学与技术学院通信工程系_通信与信息系统学号：2332007115216

The effect of caffeine on performance during resistance training – A systematic overview

Sammanfattning Titel: Koffeinets inverkan på prestationsförmågan vid styrketräning – En systematisk översiktsartikel Författare: Amanda Jonsson och Erica Bender Handledare: Mette Axelsen Examinator: Anna Winkvist Linje: Dietistprogrammet 180/240 hp Typ av arbete: Examensarbete 15 hp Datum: 2015-03-31 Bakgrund: Produkter med högt innehåll av koffein har under senare år blivit populärt att inta för att optimera den fysiska prestationen. Koffeinet påverkar mekanismer i kroppen som teoretisk sett skulle kunna vara gynnsamma för att prestera bättre vid träning. Olika studier har emellertid påvisat olika resultat för koffeinets inverkan på prestationsförmågan. Syfte: Syftet med denna översiktsartikel, är att undersöka effekten av ett högt koffeinintag före styrketräning på prestationsförmågan genom att mäta muskeluthållighet. Sökväg: En systematisk litteratursökning i databaserna PubMed, Scopus och Cochrane med sökorden: ”Caffeine”, ”strength”, ”muscle”, "resistance training", "muscle strength", "strength training", "athletic performance", ”repetitions to failure”, ”muscular endurande” och ”endurance training”. Urvalskriterier: RCT- och humanstudier på friska individer mellan 16-50 år med erfarenhet av styrketräning. Studier med ett koffeinintag >5 mg/kg kroppsvikt där deltagarna utför dynamiska styrkelyft (ej isokenetiska maskiner) på en vikt >60 % av 1 RM - maxvikten vid en utförd repetition, samt att deltagarna skulle ha lika kostintag, avstå från koffein och andra supplement inom begränsad tid före interventionerna. Datainsamling och analys: Insamling av artiklar utifrån inklusions- och exklusionskriterierna samt genomförd kvalitetsgranskning enligt SBU:s granskningsmall för RCT-studier. Den slutliga sammanvägningen och evidensgraderingen bedömdes utifrån SBU:s GRADE-system. Resultat: Fyra RCT-studier ligger till grund för resultatet, en med hög samt tre med medelhög studiekvalité. Samtliga studier mätte effektmåttet muskeluthållighet i bänkpress varav en studie påvisade en signifikant skillnad. Två studier mätte effektmåttet i benpress där en studie visade på signifikant skillnad. Endast en studie mätte effektmåttet i rodd och axelpress, ingen gav signifikant skillnad. Slutsats: Det tycks inte finnas någon effekt av koffein >5 mg/kg kroppsvikt på antal repetitioner till misslyckande vid bänkpress, rodd eller axelpress hos unga personer (låg evidens ++). Det saknas underlag för effekten av koffein >5 mg/kg kroppsvikt på antal repetitioner till misslyckande vid benpress hos unga personer (mycket låg evidens +).Abstract Title: The effect of caffeine on performance during resistance training – A systematic overview Author: Amanda Jonsson and Erica Bender Supervisor: Mette Axelsen Examiner: Anna Winkvist Programme: Dietician study programme, 180/240 ECTS Type of paper: Examination paper, 15 hp Date: 2015-03-31 Background: Products with high content of caffeine has in recent years become popular for optimizing physical performance. Caffeine affects mechanisms in our body which can be beneficial to perform better during exercise, but the theories have not yet been systematically reviewed. Objective: The purpose of this review article, is to examine the acute effect of caffeine intake before strength training on athletic performance with the outcome muscle endurance. Search strategy: A systematic literature search in databases PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane using keywords: ”Caffeine”, ”strength”, ”muscle”, "resistance training", "muscle strength", "strength training", "athletic performance", ”repetitions to failure”, ”muscular endurance” and ”endurance training”. Selection criteria: Healthy subjects, 16-50 years old, with experience in strength training. Studies with a caffeine intake > 5 mg/kg body weight, which participants performed dynamic strength exercises on a weight > 60% of their 1 RM. Participants would consume the same diet, abstain from caffeine and other supplements within the limited time before the intervention. Data collection and analysis: Collection of articles is based on inclusion and exclusion criterias and an implement of quality control according to the SBU’s review template for RCT-studies. The final combined weighting and evidence grading was assessed with SBU’s GRADE-system. Main results: four RCT-studies was included, one with high and three with medium quality. Only one of the studies, who measured muscular endurance for benchpress, showed significantly improved performance. One of the two studies, who measured endurance for legpress, showed a significantly improved performance. One study measured endurance for lat row and shoulderpress, but was not able to demonstrate significantly improved performance. Conclusions: There does not seems to be an effect of caffeine >5 mg/kg body weight on repetitions to failure at bench press, rowing or shoulder press in young people (low evidence ++). There is no reliable data on the effect of caffeine >5 mg/kg body weight on repetitions to failure at leg press in young people (very low evidence +)