Sealworm (Pseudoterranova decipiens) infection in grey seals (Halichoerus grypus), cod (Gadus morhua) and shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) in the Baltic Sea

The anisakid nematode Pseudoterranova decipiens, known as the sealworm or cod worm, can infect the flesh of several fish species. The parasite causes cosmetic problems for the fish industry and can cause abdominal discomfort if consumed by humans. There are only scattered studies on the abundance or distribution of the sealworm in fish and seals in the Baltic Sea. To remedy this situation, the extent of sealworm infection was investigated in cod (Gadus morhua) and shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) collected along the Swedish coast. A relative presence of the sealworm was also investigated in samples from grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) stomachs. Up to 100 % of the fish were infected in some of the areas. Sculpin were generally worse infected than cod, both in abundance and prevalence of parasites. General linear models showed a significant correlation between the number of seals in an area and the prevalence of sealworms in cod. There was a sharp decrease of infected fish in areas with salinity lower than 7 aEuro degrees. Even though the northern Baltic proper and the southern Bothnian Sea have a high number of grey seals, only one sealworm was found in a sculpin in that region, and none in cod. In grey seal stomachs the sealworm was only found in samples from the central Baltic proper; further north, all anisakid nematodes identified in seals were Contracaecum osculatum. The results indicate that seal presence drives the distribution in the southern parts of the Baltic and that low salinity, or some other variable which correlates with salinity, limits the distribution in the northern part

Påvisning av bjørn og andre rovdyr i reinbeitedistrikt Beahceveai/Pasvik 5A/5C

-Ved bruk av 10 hårfeller ble det påvist 5 ulike bjørn i kalvingslandet til reinbeitedistrikt 5A/5C fra 15 april til slutten av juni 2015. Det ble også observert individer og sportegn av jerv, gaupe og kongeørn i kalvingslandet. Dataene fra radio-bjeller (Telespor) og e-bjeller (Findmysheep) som ble båret av henholdsvis 20 og 100 simler, indikerte hvordan reinen brukte området og det er også at det er mulig å tolke bevegelsesmønstre og bevegelseshastigheter hos simlene i relasjon til rovdyrene. Ingen av de fem bjørnene var kjent fra området tidligere år og på den andre siden ble det ikke påvist noen av bjørnene som var kjent fra området i 2013 og 2014

Påvisning av bjørn og andre rovdyr i reinbeitedistrikt Beahceveai/Pasvik 5A/5C

-Ved bruk av 10 hårfeller ble det påvist 5 ulike bjørn i kalvingslandet til reinbeitedistrikt 5A/5C fra 15 april til slutten av juni 2015. Det ble også observert individer og sportegn av jerv, gaupe og kongeørn i kalvingslandet. Dataene fra radio-bjeller (Telespor) og e-bjeller (Findmysheep) som ble båret av henholdsvis 20 og 100 simler, indikerte hvordan reinen brukte området og det er også at det er mulig å tolke bevegelsesmønstre og bevegelseshastigheter hos simlene i relasjon til rovdyrene. Ingen av de fem bjørnene var kjent fra området tidligere år og på den andre siden ble det ikke påvist noen av bjørnene som var kjent fra området i 2013 og 2014

Catholic Social Teaching and the Christian Responsibility to the Poor

This paper examines the development of the Catholic Church’s understanding of the Christian responsibility to people who are poor through papal and conciliar documents, Scripture, and the writings of patristic authors

A change in habit: Benedictine sisters, Vatican II and the pursuit of a meaningful renewal

Description of interviews conducted by the author in December 2011 and January 2012 of several older sisters from Saint Benedict\u27s Monastary in St. Joseph, Minnesota. The purpose of these interviews was four-fold. The first was to get a sense of why they chose to join the monastery during the 1940\u27s and 50\u27s; secondly to get a clearer picture of what life was like prior to the Second Vatican Council; thirdly to understand how these women experienced the changes brought about through their renewal process, and fourthly to find out why they choose to stay in the Catholic Church

Functional details of human HtrA2 protease studied by NMR spectroscopy

Cells rely on an array of cellular machineries in the protein quality control system (PQC) to maintain the health of the collective proteome. The HtrA family of serine proteases are found in all kingdoms of life and function in the PQC by degrading damaged and aggregated proteins as well as by acting as molecular chaperones. The human mitochondrial serine protease HtrA2 functions as a pro-apoptotic agent in addition to its protease function in the mitochondrial PQC where it targets a diverse set of proteins including presenilins, α-synuclein and amyloid-β42. Dysfunction of HtrA2 is associated to multiple diseases including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, ischemic cerebral small-vessel disease, and multiple types of cancer. As such, HtrA2 is an important target of study and the structural details of the HtrA2 functional cycle remain incomplete to date. In this thesis, I have focused on detailing the allosteric activation of HtrA2 as well as characterizing the interaction between HtrA2 and its natural substrates XIAP and -synuclein by using solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy as my main method of choice. I showed that HtrA2 protease activity can be modulated by divalent cations binding to the HtrA2-PDZ domain, providing novel insight into the link between how metal dyshomeostasis can influence the PQC and subsequently lead to disease. I further detailed the allosteric activation pathway of HtrA2 and show for the first time that also the amino-terminal helix of HtrA2, harboring a motif critical for interaction with inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, is affected by allosteric activation. My characterization of the interaction between HtrA2 and XIAP shows previously unreported weak interactions between XIAP and the HtrA2-PDZ domain and reveals that while mutations in the IAP-binding motif of HtrA2 drastically diminishes the interaction with XIAP, it does not alter the proteolytic efficiency of HtrA2 towards XIAP but hampers the ability to stimulate the HtrA2 proteolytic activity by use of divalent cations. Further, I show that HtrA2 can degrade monomeric α-synuclein and Tau isoforms Tau-39 and Tau-40. In conclusion, my results provide novel insights into the structural details of the HtrA2 functional cycle in atomical resolution and widens our understanding of the role of HtrA2 in apoptotic cell regulation and in the progression of neurological disease

Development of Vacon Frequency Converter Fan Testing for Challenging Operating Conditions

Challenging operating conditions have raised the need for a study on the quality of the fans in Vacon air-cooled frequency converters at Danfoss Drives Oy. This thesis mapped the phenomena caused by corrosion on the fans of frequency converters and examined the need for additional testing for this com-ponent. By comparing various standards related to mixed flowing gas testing, a suitable testing method was determined. The three-week-long tests included the measurements determined in the standards, as well as corrosion cubes, which were analyzed to examine the level of corrosion in the testing. The cube analysis was also compared to the corrosion results of a real-life application in a wastewater management plant. The topic arose from the need to study fan quality and possibly develop fan testing, but the tests performed and the results of the corrosion cubes reveal that there is currently no need for new equipment or methods for fan testing. The 120 mm fans conform to ANSI/ISA-71.04-2013 classification of GX (severe), which indicates that the quality of the fans is sufficient along with the fact that the fans did not break down in extreme testing. HALT testing at 70 °C continues to be the go-to test method for new fans.Vaativissa olosuhteissa olevien ilmajäähdytteisten Vacon-taajuusmuuttajien puhaltimet ovat aiheuttaneet tutkimuksen tarpeen puhaltimien laadusta Danfoss Drives Oy:llä. Opinnäytetyössä kartoitettiin korroosion aiheuttamia ilmiöitä taajuusmuuttajien puhaltimille ja tarkasteltiin lisätestauksen tarvetta tälle komponentille. Eri ympäristöolosuhdetestaukseen liittyviä standardeja vertaamalla päädyttiin sopivaan testaustapaan. Kolme viikkoa kestäneisiin testeihin sisältyivät standardeihin sidonnaisten mittausten lisäksi korroosiokuutiot, joiden analyysin kautta päästiin tarkastelemaan korroosion tasoa testausympäristössä. Kuutioanalyysiä verrattiin myös todellisen käyttökohteen, eli jätevedenkäsittelylaitoksen, korroosiotuloksiin. Aihe syntyi tarpeesta tutkia puhaltimien laatua ja mahdollisesti kehittää niiden testausta, mutta suoritettujen testien ja korroosiokuutioiden tulokset osoittavat, että tällä hetkellä ei ole tarvetta uudelle laitteistolle tai menetelmille puhaltimien testaukseen. 120 millimetrin kokoluokan puhaltimet täyttävät ANSI/ISA-71.04-2013 GX-luokituksen (vakava), mikä osoittaa, että puhaltimien laatu on riittävä, kun tuulettimet eivät menneet rikki äärimmäisissä testeissä. HALT-testaus 70 celsiusasteessa on jatkossakin uusien puhaltimien testimenetelmä MFG-testauksen sijasta

The symple choice algorythm for estimating of parametersof network protetion prioroties in analitical hierarchic process

Humans depend on services provided by ecosystems, and how services are affected by climate change is increasingly studied. Few studies, however, address changes likely to affect services from seminatural ecosystems. We analyzed ecosystem goods and services in natural and seminatural systems, specifically how they are expected to change as a result of projected climate change during the 21st century. We selected terrestrial and freshwater systems in northernmost Europe, where climate is anticipated to change more than the global average, and identified likely changes in ecosystem services and their societal consequences. We did this by assembling experts from ecology, social science, and cultural geography in workshops, and we also performed a literature review. Results show that most ecosystem services are affected by multiple factors, often acting in opposite directions. Out of 14 services considered, 8 are expected to increase or remain relatively unchanged in supply, and 6 are expected to decrease. Although we do not predict collapse or disappearance of any of the investigated services, the effects of climate change in conjunction with potential economical and societal changes may exceed the adaptive capacity of societies. This may result in societal reorganization and changes in ways that ecosystems are used. Significant uncertainties and knowledge gaps in the forecast make specific conclusions about societal responses to safeguard human well-being questionable. Adapting to changes in ecosystem services will therefore require consideration of uncertainties and complexities in both social and ecological responses. The scenarios presented here provide a framework for future studies exploring such issues

Biomarker responses in fish from Frierfjorden and Eidanger

Årsliste 2004There have been high inputs of dioxins and dibenzofurans into the Frierfjord. The aim of the project reported here was to clarify whether there were observable responses in fish collected from Frierfjord and the adjacent Eidangerfjord that could be associated with exposure to dioxins and dibenzofurans. Three species of fish, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), trout (Salmo trutta) and flounder (Platichthys flesus) were sampled during three field campaigns. Other results have shown that the two areas did not differ by more than a factor 2 to 3 in dioxin exposure. In both cod and trout, individuals from Frierfjord generally had higher activity and level of cytochrome P4501A than fish from Eidangerfjord, indicating that the 2-3 times higher dioxin exposure causes increased phase-I enzyme activity. Cod and flounder from both areas had much higher hepatic cytochrome P4501A activity than that seen in reference areas. Differences between the three species were apparent for both phase-II and antioxidant enzyme responses. It can be concluded that dioxin inputs in to the fjord does affect fish in the area and that the effects decreased with decreasing exposure.Norwegian Research Council Norsk Hydr