Associations between driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,speeding and seatbelt use among fatally injured car drivers in Norway

Since 2005, all fatal road traffic crashes in Norway have been analyzed in-depth by multidisciplinary investigation teams organized by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). During the period 2005–2010, 608 drivers of cars or vans were killed in road traffic crashes. Blood samples were collected from 372 (61%) of the drivers and analyzed for alcohol and a large number of psychoactive drugs at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH). After coupling the analytical results with the NPRA crash database, 369 drivers with a fatal outcome were identified and included. Alcohol or drug concentrations in blood above the legal limits were found in 39.8% of the drivers who were investigated for alcohol or drug impairment; 33.9% had blood alcohol concentrations above 0.5 g/L or concentrations of drugs above the equivalent Norwegian legal impairment limits or concentrations of amphetamines above 200 μg/L. Among drivers with a fatal outcome who had been impaired by alcohol or drugs, 64.6% were unbelted and 71.7% were speeding when the crash occurred; whereas 24.2% and 33.2% of the sober drivers were unbelted or speeding, respectively. Statistically significant associations were found between impairment by alcohol or amphetamines and driving unbelted or speeding. Excessive speeding is one of the main reasons for road traffic crashes and together with being unbelted the main reasons for a fatal outcome. This behavior might in many cases be due to increased risk-taking or negligence of safety measures as a result of alcohol or drug use.     

Concentrations of cytokines in plasma of patients with large burns: their relation to time after injury, burn size, inflammatory variables, infection, and outcome

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) are structurally related growth factors that exert their biological actions by binding to the same cell-surface receptor, EGF receptor. However, in chicken cells, human EGF binds with approximately 100-fold lower affinity than human TGF-alpha. In a previous study, we localized EGF/TGF-alpha receptor immunohistochemically in the granulosa and theca of the developing follicles of laying hens. We have also shown that TGF-alpha binds to cell-surface receptors of the granulosa cells. The present study characterizes the nature of the EGF/TGF-alpha receptor. Immunoprecipitation of receptor proteins from cultured granulosa cells with an anti-EGF receptor antibody (12E) shows the expression of a 170-kDa receptor protein. The expression of the receptor protein decreases with follicular enlargement between the F3 and F1. Incubation of the cells with [125I]TGF-alpha followed by cross-linking with bis(sulphosuccinimidyl)suberate showed that TGF-alpha binds a similar (170 kDa) receptor protein immunoprecipitated with the 12E anti-EGF receptor antibody. The binding of TGF-alpha to granulosa cells caused receptor protein oligomerization, yielding the monomeric (170 kDa) and dimeric (340 kDa) protein forms. Oligomerization seemed to favour the formation of the dimeric rather than the monomeric form. Culturing granulosa cells with luteinizing hormone or follicle-stimulating hormone increased the expression of both monomer and dimer forms of the receptor proteins compared with the control. Western blotting analysis with anti-phosphotyrosine antibody revealed that the lysates of TGF-alpha-stimulated cells express phosphotyrosine-containing receptor proteins of 170 kDa and 340 kDa. The results show that chicken granulosa cells express the 170-kDa EGF/TGF-alpha receptor protein, which dimerizes on binding to TGF-alpha, suggesting that the receptor protein may be involved in the signal transduction of TGF-alpha actions in the chicken granulosa cells.     

Speckle contrast of the sum of N partially correlated speckle patterns

In this paper a general method is presented for calculating the theoretical speckle contrast of a sum of correlated speckle patterns, motivated by the need to suppress the presence of speckle in laser projection displays. The method is applied to a specific example, where correlated speckle patterns are created by sequentially passing light through partially overlapping areas on a diffuser, before being projected onto a screen. This design makes it possible to find a simple expression for the correlation between speckle patterns. When the set of correlations involves symmetry, it is shown that the expression for the speckle contrast becomes simpler. The difference in performance between discretely and continuously varying speckle patterns is also investigated. In an example with speckle reduction by a rotating sinusoidal grating, it is found that continuous variation gives a speckle contrast that is 0.61 times the contrast obtained by discretely summing the maximum number of independent patterns.     

An empirical study of variations in COTS-based software development processes in the Norwegian IT industry

More and more software projects use Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components. Although previous studies have proposed specific COTS-based development processes, there are few empirical studies that investigate how to use and customize COTS-based development processes for different project contexts. This paper describes an exploratory study of state-of-the-practice of COTS-based development processes. Sixteen software projects in the Norwegian IT companies have been studied by structured interviews. The results are that COTS-specific activities can be successfully incorporated in most traditional development processes (such as waterfall or prototyping), given proper guidelines to reduce risks and provide specific assistance. We have identified four COTS-specific activities—the build vs. buy decision, COTS component selection, learning and understanding COTS components, and COTS component integration – and one new role, that of a knowledge keeper. We have also found a special COTS component selection activity for unfamiliar components, combining Internet searches with hands-on trials. The process guidelines are expressed as scenarios, problems encountered, and examples of good practice. They can be used to customize the actual development processes, such as in which lifecycle phase to put the new activities into. Such customization crucially depends on the project context, such as previous familiarity with possible COTS components and flexibility of requirements.

Comparative Neuropharmacology and Pharmacokinetics of Methamphetamine and Its Thiophene Analog Methiopropamine in Rodents

Methiopropamine is a novel psychoactive substance (NPS) that is associated with several cases of clinical toxicity, yet little information is available regarding its neuropharmacological properties. Here, we employed in vitro and in vivo methods to compare the pharmacokinetics and neurobiological effects of methiopropamine and its structural analog methamphetamine. Methiopropamine was rapidly distributed to the blood and brain after injection in C57BL/6 mice, with a pharmacokinetic profile similar to that of methamphetamine. Methiopropamine induced psychomotor activity, but higher doses were needed (E_max 12.5 mg/kg; i.p.) compared to methamphetamine (E_max 3.75 mg/kg; i.p.). A steep increase in locomotor activity was seen after a modest increase in the methiopropamine dose from 10 to 12.5 mg/kg, suggesting that a small increase in dosage may engender unexpectedly strong effects and heighten the risk of unintended overdose in NPS users. In vitro studies revealed that methiopropamine mediates its effects through inhibition of norepinephrine and dopamine uptake into presynaptic nerve terminals (IC₅₀ = 0.47 and 0.74 µM, respectively), while the plasmalemmal serotonin uptake and vesicular uptake are affected only at high concentrations (IC₅₀ > 25 µM). In summary, methiopropamine closely resembles methamphetamine with regard to its pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamic effects and mechanism of action, with a potency that is approximately five times lower than that of methamphetamine.     

Water spray cooling of stainless and C-Mn steel

This paper describes laboratory cooling experiments of C-Mn and stainless steel with a water/air nozzle. Experiments included use of both the steady state and the transient experimental method. The heat transfer coefficient was calculated both analytically and by a numerical method. The heat transfer coefficient was evaluated as a function of steel surface temperature, water flux, material and water/air flow. It was found that by increasing the water flux the heat transfer coefficient also increased. The Leidenfrost point was shifted to higher temperatures. Increasing air flow was also found to increase the heat transfer coefficient. Maximum heat transfer coefficient was twice as large for the C-Mn steel as for the stainless steel. Comparison of the steady state and transient experimental method showed good agreement in the temperature range 200 – 500°C, and with a water flux of 2I/m²s. Above 500°C it was difficult to obtain stable conditions for the steady state experiments.     

Influence of hydrogen from cathodic protection on the fracture susceptibility of 25%Cr duplex stainless steel - Constant load SENT testing and FE-modelling using hydrogen influenced cohesive zone elements

Laboratory experiments and cohesive zone simulation of Hydrogen Induced Stress Cracking in SENT tests specimens of 25%Cr duplex stainless steel have been performed. A polynomial formulation of the traction separation law and hydrogen dependent critical stress was applied. Best agreement with the experiments was found for an initial critical stress of 2200 MPa and a critical separation of 0.005 mm. Proposed threshold stress intensity factor and lower bound net section stress is 20 MPa√m and 480 MPa. High crack growth rates and typical hydrogen influenced fracture topography suggest large influence of the stress and strain in the fracture process zone on the hydrogen diffusion rate.     

Genetic variability among isolates of Listeria monocytogenes from food products,clinical samples and processing environments,estimated by RAPD typing

RAPD analysis with four primers was used to examine the genetic relationship among 432 strains of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from clinical and veterinarian cases of listeriosis, dairy, vegetable, meat- and fish-based food items, environmental samples and samples collected from one transport terminal, one poultry-processing company and four Atlantic salmon-processing plants. The purpose of the study was to determine whether clinical isolates belonged to a specific genetic group, whether links could be made between food groups and clinical cases and whether specific genetic groups were associated with specific food products or processing units. There was great genetic variability among the isolates, which produced a total of 141 RAPD composites based on the RAPD analysis with four primers. The RAPD composites divided in two major clusters and clinical isolates were evenly distributed in both of them. None of the isolates from food products had the same RAPD composite as isolates from human patients, thus, no particular food commodity could be linked to clinical cases. Each food-processing environment was contaminated with more than one RAPD composite and the genetic variability found within each company was, in most cases, of approximately the same magnitude as the variability found when considering all the samples. In each plant, one or a few types persisted over time, indicating the presence of an established in-house flora. Our results indicate that most of the analysed cases of listeriosis were sporadic and, further, that these cases cannot be traced to a few specific food sources. We also found that no particular RAPD composite was better suited for survival in specific food types or food-processing environments, indicating that although differences may be found in virulence properties of individual strains, all L. monocytogenes must be treated as potentially harmful.