Mechano-sorptive creep in pulp fibres and paper

The factors affecting mechano-sorptive creep of wood and paper have been investigated for a long time. It has also been argued that single wood fibres do not exhibit mechano-sorptive creep and that the reasons for the accelerated creep under moisture cycling conditions instead are related to the bonds between the fibres. In order to examine the relevance of this argument, measurements on single pulp fibres of different composition were performed in tension, and the mechano-sorptive creep was compared to that of papers made from the same source of pulp fibres. All fibres tested were found to exhibit an increased creep rate during moisture cycling as compared to constant humidity conditions. Thus, pulp fibres show mechano-sorptive creep and in this sense behave similar to solid wood or paper products made thereof. A linear relation between the creep strain rate during cyclic humidity and the creep strain rate at a constant humidity was also noted for both fibres and paper. This relation was not affected by changes in hemicelluloses content or composition, neither for fibres nor for papers made of these fibres. However, in all cases, papers showed a much higher mechano-sorptive creep than the corresponding fibres they were made of.     

The effects of fish farm effluents on the water quality in the Åland archipelago, Baltic Sea

The main aim of this study was to increase our knowledge on how fish farm effluents influences the surface water quality in the Åland archipelago (Baltic Sea). A second aim was to conduct critical model tests of three models that predicts the impact of farm emitted phosphorus on total phosphorus (TP), chlorophyll and Secchi depth. Extensive field studies were conducted between 1997 and 1999 in nine defined coastal areas with, and four reference areas without, fish farms. According to our results the most significant effects on TP concentrations, periphytic growth and phytoplankton standing crop was observed in two coastal bays with small to moderate fish farm production (≈70 tonnes per year). The significant effects in each bay was mainly due to the small size of the bay (0.48 and 0.73 km²) and the shallow mean water depth (3 and 3.8 m), rather than long water retention times (2 and 6 days). Due to a very large fish farm production (800 tonnes per year), we also observed significant effects in a coastal area of moderate size (8 km²), which had a theoretical water retention time of about 8 days. No significant effects of fish farm effluents on the surface water quality were observed in the other six areas. Furthermore, our data shows that, besides the fish farm effluents, the import of nutrients from the surrounding sea and the sediment resuspension may have a decisive effect on the water quality in the studied areas. Finally, we can conclude that at least two of the tested models are useful in context of environmental management.     

Genome-wide association analysis identifies loci for type 2 diabetes and triglyceride levels

New strategies for prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) require improved insight into disease etiology. We analyzed 386,731 common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 1464 patients with T2D and 1467 matched controls, each characterized for measures of glucose metabolism, lipids, obesity, and blood pressure. With collaborators (FUSION and WTCCC/UKT2D), we identified and confirmed three loci associated with T2D-in a noncoding region near CDKN2A and CDKN2B, in an intron of IGF2BP2, and an intron of CDKAL1-and replicated associations near HHEX and in SLC30A8 found by a recent whole-genome association study. We identified and confirmed association of a SNP in an intron of glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) with serum triglycerides. The discovery of associated variants in unsuspected genes and outside coding regions illustrates the ability of genome-wide association studies to provide potentially important clues to the pathogenesis of common diseases.     

Helicobacter pylori SabA adhesin in persistent infection and chronic inflammation

Helicobacter pylori adherence in the human gastric mucosa involves specific bacterial adhesins and cognate host receptors. Here, we identify sialyl-dimeric-Lewis x glycosphingolipid as a receptor for H. pylori and show that H. pylori infection induced formation of sialyl-Lewis x antigens in gastric epithelium in humans and in a Rhesus monkey. The corresponding sialic acid-binding adhesin (SabA) was isolated with the "retagging" method, and the underlying sabA gene (JHP662/HP0725) was identified. The ability of many H. pylori strains to adhere to sialylated glycoconjugates expressed during chronic inflammation might thus contribute to virulence and the extraordinary chronicity of H. pylori infection.