Lillestrøm Centre of Expertise

It is generally assumed that population size of all wild animal species is regulated through density-dependent mechanisms, but the mechanisms responsible have been difficult to identify for elephants and large whales. We have used information on physiological reproductive mechanisms in humans in a stochastic computer simulation study to explore how known density-dependent fertility mechanisms in humans could regulate population size in a hypothetical large mammal species, assuming no deliberate interference with sexual or reproductive processes. Two physiological reproductive mechanisms in women are dependent on nutrition in utero or early life: age at menarche and post-partum amenorrhea during lactation and were included in the model. If large female mammals in general have physiological reproductive mechanisms similar to human females, strong density-dependence mechanisms will be the result, but with a substantial delay, 20 to 50years. The model results are discussed in relation to what is known about populations of the Eastern North Pacific gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) and elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya.

The risk factors influencing the natural course of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are complex and heterogeneous, and few systematic reviews to date have focused on this issue. The aim of the study is to identify the risk factors for disease development and progression in each stage of CKD. We conducted electronic literature searches of PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library up to October 15, 2012, for observational studies evaluating the risk factors on the development or progression of CKD. Eligible studies should have collected repeated information that could evaluate changes in renal function. Extracted information from all the included studies was synthesized narratively. Quality assessments were performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. An exploratory random-effects meta-analysis was performed where feasible to pool effect sizes across studies for a specific risk factor in a specific outcome. We identified 38 cohort studies and 2 case-control studies from 40 articles, with a total of 318,898 participants from 14 countries. The follow-up duration ranged from 1.5 to 16 years. The majority of the included studies were of high quality. The baseline CKD stages of the included studies ranged from normal to later stages, and only 19 studies could be classified into a specific range of CKD stages during follow-up. Three risk factors from studies of the same baseline and follow-up CKD stages were eligible for the exploratory meta-analysis, including male sex, substantial proteinuria, and diabetes. The hazard ratios for the progression from CKD stages 3-5 to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) were 1.37 (95% confidence interval 1.17-1.62), 1.64 (1.01-2.66), and 1.16 (0.98-1.38) for male sex, substantial proteinuria, and diabetes, respectively. In conclusion, our analyses comprehensively summarize the initiating and perpetuating factors for CKD. Male sex and substantial proteinuria are significant perpetuating factors for the progression from late stage CKD to ESRD, and diabetes may play a minor role for the outcome of ESRD among patients with later stages of CKD.

Abstract The age and tectonic significance of two basement granitoids cored on the Utsira High, Viking Graben, North Sea, are constrained by zircon LA-ICPMS data. Syenite in well 25/10-2R is dated to 482±2 Ma, with εHf (482) values from −4.4 to −5.8, and granite in well 16/1-12 yields an age of 436±3 Ma with εHf (436) values from +3.7 to −0.5. The evolved Hf-signature of the syenite demonstrates 482 Ma reworking of Palaeoproterozoic–Archaean crust, interpreted to reflect Taconian–Grampian orogenesis. New and recently published data from the offshore Caledonides allow a first-order correlation of the Utsira High basement with the surrounding on- and offshore Caledonides. The Utsira High occupies a similar position with respect to Dalradian rocks as the Scottish Midland Valley terrane. Geophysical data indicate a volcanic arc beneath the East Shetland Basin, forming a northwards continuation of the Utsira High basement. We propose that the offshore volcanic arc segments represent the northeastern continuation of the Scottish Grampian orogen across the Mesozoic North Sea rift. A north-striking terrane boundary fault is proposed to separate the volcanic arc from the East Shetland Platform and merge northwards with the offshore extension of the Great Glen Fault–Møre Trøndelag Fault Complex. Supplementary material: U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopic data are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18705 .

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A deep draft fishing boat was used to generate internal waves in a glacially-fed Norwegian fjord during August 1995. Data from a CCD camera, and X-band delta-K radar were used to compute the internal wave dispersion relation. The optically derived dispersion relation agreed with theoretical calculations based on nearby CTD casts. The radar observations also showed good agreement with the CTD casts but in addition exhibited a nondispersive feature which may be attributed to nonlinear scattering of the radar signal from the surface roughness.

1. Introduction.Nomizu [2] classified semi-symmetric hypersurfaces in Euclidean spaces.In this paper, we shall give a classification of semisymmetric Lorentzian hypersurfaces in Minkowski spaces.We recall that a semi-or pseudo-Riemannian manifold M is said to be semi-symmetric, if it satisfies the condition R R = 0, whereby R is the Riemmann-Christoffel curvature tensor of M and where the first tensor acts on the second one as a derivation.Semi-symmetry is a proper generalization of local symmetry, and was first studied by Cartan and Lichnerowicz.Recently, a general study of semi-symmetric Riemannian manifolds was made by Szabό [4].The main results of this paper can be stated as follows.

Serial determinations of beta 2-microglobulin, lactoferrin and lysozyme in CSF were performed in 14 patients with acute cerebrovascular lesions. Marked elevations were noted in patients with cerebral bleeding or hemorrhagic infarction. Patients with infarction without signs of bleeding or with cerebrovascular lesions undetectable by computed tomography also had an increase in these proteins. The increases in CSF of beta 2-microglobulin, lactoferrin and lysozyme could not be explained by a damaged blood-brain barrier but was believed to be a local product of the central nervous system. Peak levels of lactoferrin and lysozyme were noted on day 2-3 after onset of symptoms. Lactoferrin then declined while lysozyme remained elevated for another few days. beta 2-microglobulin gradually increased reaching peak levels on day 4-5 and remained elevated even 2 weeks after the onset of symptoms. We suggest that the increases of lactoferrin, lysozyme and beta 2-microglobulin reflect various inflammatory reactions mediated by granulocytes, macrophages and lymphocytes, respectively.

Deaths associated with strokes from 1963 to 1975 among 36,860 adult residents of Washington County, Maryland, were studied in relation to the hardness of drinking water at home, assessed on the basis of 1,569 water samples taken during this period. There was no satisfactory evidence that water hardness was related to stroke mortality. Age was a strongly related factor. There was little or no association with sex, marital status, socio-economic status as reflected by education or housing, smoking history, or frequency of church attendance.