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Genetic Regulation of Diatom Photosynthesis
Get PDFDiatoms (Bacillariophyceae) are considered to be the most diverse class of algae, including as many as 250 genera and having possibly as many as 200,000 species. Because of their complex evolutionary history, they are referred to as having a mix-and-match genome with contributions from various sources, including red and green algae, bacteria and viruses. Diatoms are a ubiquitous class of algae that can virtually be found in every environment as long as water and sunlight are available. The capability to exploit and thrive in a wide range of habitats and ecological niches may be an explanation for the large differentiation observed at genome-scale levels within and between species. High gene redundancy and the capacity to activate fast responses to environmental triggers make diatoms highly successful, especially in environments characterized by high nutrient supply and abrupt fluctuations in light. In this chapter, we summarize the available genomes, discuss some photosynthesis-related features characteristic of diatoms and outline key features of photosynthetic regulation in terms of light quality and quantity. We also present an overview of diatom knockout mutants produced using novel genetic engineering techniques and discuss some attempts to employ these techniques to perform strain optimization for future commercial exploitation of diatoms.acceptedVersio
Effect of diel light cycles on vertical migration patterns of Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837) copepodids measured in an in situ mesocosm
Get PDFThe ectoparasitic salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis Krøyer, 1837) persists as a major hindrance for continued growth of the Norwegian salmon industry. Shielding technologies or management strategies are being used to reduce the likelihood of contact in the net pens between the salmon and the sea lice’s infectious copepodid stage. Knowledge about the vertical distribution and diel migration patterns of the planktonic sea lice stages are inevitably a premise for such water-depth-dependent avoidance technologies to be efficient; however, not many studies have investigated diel vertical migration patterns of sea lice in situ or in relevant scales. In this work, we aimed to monitor the diel migration of L. salmonis copepodids in the vertical plane without the influence of hydrographical forces, using sufficient water column depth of 11 m, natural thermoclines, and natural exogenous light conditions. We followed a cohort of copepodids over the course of 4 days and measured their vertical distribution in the water column twice per hour in a custom made mesocosm, using automatic particle detection and machine learning to analyse position and migration patterns. The L. salmonis copepodid population displayed reverse diel migration, and we found a statistically significant interaction between depth and time. During the day, copepodids were found in the upper 1 m of the water column, before the majority of the population descended to 1–2 m depth during night-time. A small fraction of the population remained in the upper part of the water column also during night-time. A significantly higher fraction of the copepodid population resided in the upper metre during daylight hours compared to other depths. These results could be utilised as input in sea lice dispersal models which are important management tools in today’s sea lice prevention strategies and regulatory frameworks.publishedVersio
TEAPOT: Summary of LiDAR related work in WP3
Get PDFThis memo summarises the work done on positioning with LiDAR technology within the TEAPOT project. The aim is to get insights to the performance of LiDAR technology as a source og positioning technology under snowy conditions. In particular, we focus on the LiDARs ability to update a global position without GNSS availability, using 1) a visual odometry based algorithm that navigates using the differences between successive LiDAR images, and 2) navigation within an existing georeferenced point cloud.publishedVersio
Health-Promoting Housing and Care Concepts for Older People with Dementia?
Get PDFNorwegian municipalities require increasing the number of care places. The main challenge for the municipalities is to obtain enough high-quality and suitable residential facilities. As buildings are often inflexible structures, they will impact their daily lives for decades. The question is whether the environment can support and promote health for the residents. These concepts have been planned over the last 10 years and built over the past three years. They were inspired by a similar concept in Hoegeweyk, the Netherlands, supported by a state-of-the-art report based on relevant research published in SINTEF 2015. This knowledge has been translated into three concepts (two nursing homes and one care housing) in three different communities in Norway. A case study has been conducted to examine the implementation of these new concepts. The primary questions posed include: Do these concepts operate as intended? What have been the experiences of the staff, residents, and relatives regarding the solutions? How was the process, from idea to construction, and how was the care concept implemented? We are exploring whether this provides health-promoting experiences. We conducted in-depth interviews to gather data and analyzed the buildings, care concepts and architectural plans. The physical solutions and service models in our study have shown to strongly influence each other, leading to promising outcomes. The fact that the residents can move around in a sheltered, nice outdoor area inspires them to walk and gives them a feeling of freedom and contact with nature. Smaller groups provide an experience of domesticity and strengthen person-centered care. Other citizens are invited to use the common spaces in the buildings, such as children from kindergarten, a dancing group, a quire, etc. Bringing the outside world in, increased mobility, daylight, and fresh air seems to support health. These positive outcomes underscore the potential of our health-promoting housing and care concepts for the elderly with dementia.publishedVersio
Investigating the socio-political acceptance of negative emission technologies: A group model building approach
Get PDFReaching climate targets can require sustainability transition strategies that include negative emissions technologies, hence, there is a current need for more social science research on these technologies. In this study, we focus on four negative emissions technologies: (1) converting algae and/or waste bioresources into power, heat, and/or hydrogen with CCS (bioCCS), (2) the removal of CO2 from water (direct ocean capture), (3) the removal of CO2 from air (direct air capture), and, lastly, (4) the removal of CH4 from air. Through group model building (GMB) workshops, we examine stakeholder perspectives on reaching negative emissions by 2040 in Norway and the barriers and thresholds for socio-political acceptance of the four technologies. Stakeholders highlighted that to reduce emissions to negative emissions by 2040 in Norway, policymakers should ensure better science-based policies, laws, incentives, and regulations. These science-based policies, laws, incentives, and regulations, referred to as ‘framework conditions’ by the stakeholders, can help industrial and political leaders to feel secure in their decision making. For socio-political acceptance, policymakers should ensure framework conditions that facilitate the availability and management of resources, mostly energy. Policymakers should take heed to the fact that despite technological differences, timeframes for implementation, physical requirements for implementation, and technological readiness levels, the main exogenous variables driving socio-political acceptance are largely similar across the four technologies, potentially facilitating the political process of implementing them simultaneously or separately. Methane removal from air, however, could lack socio-political acceptance due to being sometimes seen as a mitigation technology rather than a removal technology. Overall, these results are a good starting point for a discussion on concrete policymaking actions for the development and potential large scale technological deployment of negative emission technologies.publishedVersio
Improvement of the 2007–2015 Earthquake Catalog Along the 300 km Long Postglacial Merasjärvi–Stuoragurra Fault Complex in Northern Fennoscandia Using Automatic Event Detection
Get PDFWe present an updated and validated seismic catalog for the northern Fennoscandian region, focusing on postglacial faults from the Merasjärvi fault system in the southwest to the Iešjávri fault system in the northeast. This work involved a comprehensive review of continuous waveforms derived from open datasets from 2007 to 2015 and processed using the Regressive ESTimator algorithm. The primary objective was to refine the delineation of seismicity along the above-mentioned postglacial faults and highlight their seismic potential. Our analysis revealed distinct waveform patterns originating primarily from two main sources: approximately 15% were associated with areas mapped as postglacial faults, and the remainder of the events outside these areas, 89%, were concentrated in areas with active mines. Compared to previously reported events in the Fennoscandian Earthquake Catalogue (FENCAT), we observed a 22% increase in seismic activity within postglacial fault zones. These results demonstrate that the Regressive ESTimator algorithm not only improves the detection of tectonic seismicity but also effectively identifies seismic signals resulting from mining activities in the study area. The Merasjärvi, Lainio–Suijavaara, Palojärvi, and Maze and Iešjávri fault systems appear to form a continuous deformation complex of approximately 300 km long, which we propose naming the Merasjärvi–Stuoragurra fault complex.publishedVersio
Why Not In My BackYard? Verktøy for bedre nabodialog
Get PDFDette verktøyet skal gi innspill til kommuner om hva som kan bidra til bedre nabodialog i ulike faser ved etablering av boliger for mennesker med sammensatte og komplekse utfordringer.
I noen tilfeller vil blant annet utbyggingstiltak i et eksisterende nabolag bli møtt med skepsis. Dette kan forekomme når kommuner planlegger å bygge eller ta i bruk eksisterende boliger til personer med en atferd som kan oppleves utfordrende. Ofte kan skepsisen være basert på fordommer mot enkelte grupper, eller det kan være basert på kjennskap til at negative hendelser i nabolag har oppstått.
Vi har samlet noen erfaringer om hva som bør inngå for å etablere, utvikle og vedlikeholde en god nabodialog både før, under og etter innflytting. Dette verktøyet er et resultat av et felles prosjekt mellom forskere i Geminisenteret for helsefremmende arkitektur og omgivelser (HelsA)1, og samarbeidskommunene Stavanger, Trondheim, Tromsø og Verdal. Med støtte fra Husbanken har Geminisenteret HelsA og de fire kommunene i løpet av et år (2023-2024) hatt jevnlige møter og workshops for å jobbe fram gode grep. Kommunene har gitt innspill til hvilke behov de har og i hvilke tilfeller naboreaksjoner oppleves som særlig utfordrende.
Verktøyet skal testes ut og revideres høsten 2025.publishedVersio
Experiments on ice load reductions on dams
Get PDFStatic ice loads are a significant aspect of the design of hydropower dams in Norway due to their low height. Results are presented from a preliminary study to investigate whether elastic foam could be used to reduce static ice loads. Frames with stress cells were mounted on the dam at Taraldsvikfossen reservoir near Narvik in the winter of 2016/17, with some frames covered by closed-cell elastic foam. Ice loads were due to thermal events and water level changes. In the presented measurements, the magnitude of stresses on foam-covered frames was typically 10% of the magnitude of the stresses at the reference frame.Experiments on ice load reductions on damspublishedVersio
Resipientundersøkelse Adventfjorden 2023. Vannøkologiske undersøkelser i Adventfjorden, Longyearbyen – resultater fra undersøkelser av bunndyrssamfunn, sedimenter og vannkvalitet i fjord påvirket av avløpsvann
Get PDFSINTEF har på oppdrag fra Longyearbyen lokalstyre gjennomført en resipientundersøkelse med kartlegging av miljøtilstanden i Adventfjorden, som resipient for utslipp av avløpsvann fra Longyearbyen. Undersøkelsen omfattet prøvetaking og analyse av bunndyr, sediment- og sjøvannsprøver med vurdering av kjemisk og økologisk status, der fysisk-kjemiske parametere i vann og sediment, prioriterte metaller og mangfoldindekser for bunndyr benyttes som miljøparametere.
Resultatene fra resipientundersøkelsen 2023 viser et høyere individantall og lavere diversitet i området nært utslippspunktet for avløpsvann enn i stasjoner som ligger lengre unna. Sammenlignet med undersøkelser tilbake i tid har antall individer av indikatorarter økt. Metallkonsentrasjonene i sedimentprøver fra 2023 er i nivå med påviste konsentrasjoner fra tidligere års resipientundersøkelser.publishedVersio
Effect of a vapor barrier in combination with active external rewarming for cold-stressed patients in a prehospital setting: a randomized, crossover field study
Get PDFBackground: Use of a vapor barrier in the prehospital care of cold-stressed or hypothermic patients aims to reduce evaporative heat loss and accelerate rewarming. The application of a vapor barrier is recommended in various guidelines, along with both insulating and wind/waterproof layers and an active external rewarming device; however, evidence of its effect is limited. This study aimed to investigate the effect of using a vapor barrier as the inner layer in the recommended “burrito” model for wrapping hypothermic patients in the field.
Methods: In this, randomized, crossover field study, 16 healthy volunteers wearing wet clothing were subjected to a 30-minute cooling period in a snow chamber before being wrapped in a model including an active heating source either with (intervention) or without (control) a vapor barrier. The mean skin temperature, core temperature, and humidity in the model were measured, and the shivering intensity and thermal comfort were assessed using a subjective questionnaire. The mean skin temperature was the primary outcome, whereas humidity and thermal comfort were the secondary outcomes. Primary outcome data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).
Results: We found a higher mean skin temperature in the intervention group than in the control group after approximately 25 min (p < 0.05), and this difference persisted for the rest of the 60-minute study period. The largest difference in mean skin temperature was 0.93 °C after 60 min. Humidity levels outside the vapor barrier were significantly higher in the control group than in the intervention group after 5 min. There were no significant differences in subjective comfort. However, there was a consistent trend toward increased comfort in the intervention group compared with the control group.
Conclusions: The use of a vapor barrier as the innermost layer in combination with an active external heat source leads to higher mean skin rewarming rates in patients wearing wet clothing who are at risk of accidental hypothermia.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05779722.publishedVersio