Stability of SrFeO3 based materials in the presence of SiOx species in humid atmosphere at high temperatures and pressures

Strontium silicate was found on the surface of La_0.2Sr_0.8Fe_0.79Cr_0.2Mg_0.01O₃ exposed to hydrogen containing humid atmospheres at 1000 °C and 30 bars. Silica originated from the furnace tube material and was transported via the gas phase as a gaseous silica hydrate. Fe and Sr were initially preferentially expelled from the perovskite grain boundaries to give Sr₂SiO₄ at the surface, along with a secondary Fe-rich phase and a LaCrO₃-rich grain boundary region. Eventually, Fe and Sr were drawn from the grains, leaving a porous structure. This investigation highlights the importance of avoiding Si sources near Sr-rich membranes in humid atmospheres at high temperatures.     

Bulk tank raw milk microbiota differs within and between farms: A moving goalpost challenging quality control

Microbial contamination of bovine raw milk often occurs at the farm. To acquire a deeper knowledge of the microbiota of farm tank milk, we studied milk from 45 farms situated in 2 geographical areas in Norway. Each farm was visited on 3 different occasions, with at least 2 wk between visits. We combined both bacterial cell counts and a sequence variant inference method of amplicon-based high-throughput sequencing to achieve a high-resolution overview of the microbiota in each sample. Compositional variation of the farm milk microbiota was shown in relation to the 2 areas, between the farms and between the sampling times. Despite the near constant level of bacteria enumerated in milk from each individual farm, the dominant microbiota differed significantly between the samplings. The predominant microbiota was dominated by spoilage genera, such as Pseudomonas and Bacillus, as well as the dairy fermentation genus Lactococcus and mastitis-causing organisms (Streptococcus). Analysis of the identified sequence variants within these genera showed that the populations of Pseudomonas and Lactococcus in milk had similar composition between the farms, but that Bacillus and, in particular, Streptococcus populations changed between collection days from the same farm and between farms and geographical areas. Furthermore, the levels and composition of Bacillus and Paenibacillus were different between the 2 geographical areas. The results presented here provide new insight into the farm milk microbiota and show that this microbiota is a dynamic community highly subject to variation.     

Quantifying security risk level from CVSS estimates of frequency and impact

Modern society relies on and profits from well-balanced computerized systems. Each of these systems has a core mission such as the correct and safe operation of safety critical systems or innovative and effective operation of e-commerce systems. It might be said that the success of these systems depends on their mission. Although the concept of “well-balanced” has a slightly different meaning for each of these two categories of systems, both have to meet customer needs, deliver capabilities and functions according to expectations and generate revenue to sustain today’s highly competitive market. Tighter financial constraints are forcing safety critical systems away from dedicated and expensive communication regimes, such as the ownership and operation of dedicated communication links, towards reliance on third parties and standardized means of communication. As a consequence, knowledge about their internal structures and operations is more widely and publicly available and this can make them more prone to security attacks. These systems are, therefore, moving towards a remotely exploitable environment and the risks associated with this must be controlled.Risk management is a good tool for controlling risk but it has the inherent challenge of quantitatively estimating frequency and impact in an accurate and trustworthy way. Quantifying the frequency and impact of potential security threats requires experience-based data which is limited and rarely reusable because it involves company confidential data. Therefore, there is a need for publicly available data sources that can be used in risk estimation. This paper presents a risk estimation model that makes use of one such data source, the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). The CVSS Risk Level Estimation Model estimates a security risk level from vulnerability information as a combination of frequency and impact estimates derived from the CVSS. It is implemented as a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) topology, which allows not only the use of CVSS-based estimates but also the combination of disparate information sources and, thus, provides the ability to use whatever risk information that is available. The model is demonstrated using a safety- and mission-critical system for drilling operational support, the Measurement and Logging While Drilling (M/LWD) system.     

Identification and Evaluation of 21 Novel Microsatellite Markers from the Autumnal Moth (Epirrita autumnata) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae)

The autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) is a cyclically outbreaking forest Lepidoptera with circumpolar distribution and substantial impact on Northern ecosystems. We have isolated 21 microsatellites from the species to facilitate population genetic studies of population cycles, outbreaks, and crashes. First, PCR primers and PCR conditions were developed to amplify 19 trinucleotide loci and two tetranucleotide loci in six multiplex PCR approaches and then analyzed for species specificity, sensitivity and precision. Twelve of the loci showed simple tandem repeat array structures while nine loci showed imperfect repeat structures, and repeat numbers varied in our material between six and 15. The application in population genetics for all the 21 microsatellites were further validated in 48 autumnal moths sampled from Northern Norway, and allelic variation was detected in 19 loci. The detected numbers of alleles per locus ranged from two to 13, and the observed and expected heterozygosities varied from 0.04 to 0.69 and 0.04 to 0.79, respectively. Evidence for linkage disequilibrium was found for six loci as well as indication of one null allele. We find that these novel microsatellites and their multiplex-PCR assays are suitable for further research on fine- and large-scale population-genetic studies of Epirrita autumnata.     

Studies on two insect pests

Samples of two insect species, the Blossom beetle (Meligethes aeneusF.) and the Turnip seed weevil (Ceuthorrhynchus assimilisPayk.), were taken at various occasions in a winter rape field, both in areas treated with DDT and in areas untreated. As indicated by sweep net samples the DDT treatments caused a considerable reduction in the population level of the Blossom beetle. On the other hand, the treatments were associated with no significant decrease in the abundance of the Turnip seed weevil. Gas chromatography analyses showed large amounts of residue in both species in samples from the DDT‐treated areas. In the Turnip seed weevil, residues were also clearly demonstrated in samples from the areas where no DDT was used. The results indicate that DDT contaminated specimens spread at most to a limited extent in the Blossom beetle, while a movement of contaminated specimens to the untreated areas was evident in the Turnip seed weevil.     

Biotope patterns and amphibian distribution as assessment tools in urban landscape planning

We investigated how information on biotope patterns over time and spatio-temporal distribution patterns of focal species (amphibians) in Stockholm, can assist in identifying landscape-ecological zones and give support to urban planning. Species data were combined with biotope patterns interpreted from aerial photographs (1998 and 1945/1950). These were then compared with information on roads with heavy traffic (1998 and 1950), with anticipated serious isolation effects. Spatial analyses were conducted using GIS (ArcView). We found that temporal distribution of amphibians is negatively related to increased fragmentation of valuable biotope configurations. Our use of context sensitive data on biotopes and species, provided insight into the ability of ecosystems to buffer land cover changes. We identified a time-lag of several decades between changes in urban land and road traffic intensity, and the response in species occurrence. This time-lag is not recognised in present-day planning and, therefore, the view of the status of wetland biodiversity in Stockholm’s natural and semi-natural areas remains too optimistic. To maintain the resilience of biotopes in urban areas, we argue that organisations responsible for implementing any active plan regarding biodiversity should more fully consider comprehensive reference data in their analysis programme, i.e. biotope and species data with a time-span that covers all land and waters in the given municipality. This is to develop a greater capacity to adapt physical planning work to the different risk of biodiversity loss in specifically chosen areas.     

Physical Thermodynamic Model of Alkali and Alkaline-Earth Fluorozirconate Glass-Forming Melts

A physical model for the thermodynamics of glass-forming alkali and alkaline-earth fluorozirconate melts is presented that takes into consideration the strong negative deviation from ideal behavior that is manifested by deep eutectic wells in the phase diagrams and large exothermic heats of mixing. The model is based on chemical equilibria between anionic complexes with six- to eight-fold coordination of zirconium and a simple Temkin model for the free energy of mixing. Calculated phase diagrams and liquidliquid heats of mixing agree well with the experimental data. The model predicts six-fold coordination of zirconium in glass-forming melts, which implies that the fragile nature of fluorozirconate glasses can be explained by a significant increase in the coordination of zirconium when the melt is quenched to the glassy state.     

Manufacture and characterization of acid-coagulated fresh cheese made from casein concentrates obtained by acid diafiltration

This study aimed to investigate the production of acid-coagulated fresh cheese by using slightly acid diafiltered (DF) microfiltered (MF) casein concentrates (8% protein). Three different acidifying agents were tested during DF: carbon dioxide, lactic acid, and citric acid. Fresh cheese was manufactured using acid-DF casein concentrates, or casein concentrates DF with just water, and compared with cheese manufactured using MF casein concentrates without DF. The fresh cheeses were characterized for composition, rheological, and sensorial properties. Acid-DF casein concentrates improved acidification kinetics during cheesemaking and reduced casein leakage to cheese whey, compared with cheese from regular MF casein concentrate. Among the rheological properties investigated in this study, the storage modulus of the fresh cheese was higher when DF of the casein concentrate was performed with nonacidified DF water or when DF water was acidified with citric acid. However, fresh cheese made from casein concentrate diafiltered with DF water acidified by citric acid was most liked in a sensory ranking test.