Heavy rain may cause significant erosion and damage to natural and anthropogenic landforms. The purpose of this paper is to describe the most extensive events of soil erosion from heavy rain that are recorded in Sweden and how the prerequisites of this weather phenomena is affected by different future climate scenarios. The described events are Falu Coppermine 1666, Fulufjället 1997 and Hagfors 2004. Information about future conditions for heavy rain is from the climate model program of the Swedish Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (SMHI). In all the described places, there is considerable declination, which is a much contributing caused by erosion. Slope erosion takes place when the soil is saturated with water and starts sliding. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and the Swedish Geotechnical Institute (SGI) have used 17° as threshold value when making inventories of areas subject to risk of rapid soil erosion. The composition of the vegetation and the soils affects the ability to absorb water and withstand erosion. Areas sensitive to erosion has been identified but the occurrence of extreme heavy rain is hard to calculate, as its appearance is difficult to predict as it depends upon incidental local factors. The climate modeling’s of the SMHI indicates however, an increased intensity of the heaviest rainfalls even at relatively moderate global temperature increases / Kraftig nederbörd kan orsaka omfattande erosionsskador på naturliga och antropogena formationer. Syftet med detta arbete är att beskriva tre av de mest omfattande erosionsorsakande regnvädren som har beskrivits i Sverige och hur förutsättningarna för detta väderfenomen påverkas av olika klimatscenarier. De beskrivna händelserna är Falu gruva 1666, Fulufjället 1997 och Hagfors 2004. Information om framtida förutsättningar för kraftiga skyfall har inhämtats genom SMHI:s klimatmodelleringsprogram. Vid samtliga lokaler finns det betydande deklination vilket är en kraftigt bidragande orsak till erosion när jorden mättas av vatten och börjar flyta. MSB och SGI har använt 17° som tröskelvärde vid inventering av riskområden. Även vegetationens och jordarternas sammansättning och vattenmättnad påverkar markens förmåga att motstå erosion. Känsliga områden för erosion kan identifieras men förekomsten av extrema regnoväder är svårberäknad då de dess förekomst är beroende av tillfälliga lokala faktorer. SMHI:s program för modelleringar visar dock en ökad intensitet för de kraftigare regnen även vid relativt måttliga globala temperaturhöjningar.

No description available.

Background Sarcopenia and age-related cognitive decline (ARCD) are important age-related conditions which significantly impact upon the quality of life of older adults. ARCD is a well-established research area, whereas sarcopenia is a relatively new field. Research into the inter-relationships between them and possible common underlying mechanistic processes is lacking. Methods Several research techniques were used: a large systematic review; the development of an image analysis technique to measure neck muscle size on volumetric MR brain scans; the subsequent use of the technique in elderly cohort studies; statistical modelling to investigate the role of glucocorticoids in sarcopenia; and an invasive clinical study to develop a novel technique to measure the activity of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11βHSD1) in the human brain in vivo. Results I consistently found a relationship between: some measures of brain structure and muscle size; markers of brain structure and muscle function, mostly grip strength and gait speed; and cognition and muscle function. However, I found no relationship between current cognition and muscle size in any of the above studies. Cortisol was identified as a possible explanatory factor in the relationship between both cognition and brain volume with gait speed. I found an association between markers of immunosenescence and sarcopenia (neck muscle CSA and grip strength) and an association between expression of the cortisol amplifying enzyme 11βHSD1 and quadriceps strength. I developed a technique to measure 11βHSD1 activity across the human brain, which found that the amount of cortisol produced within the brain was not detectable and highlighted the asymmetries within the cerebrovascular venous system. Conclusions Further longitudinal studies looking at the association between sarcopenia and ARCD are now required to investigate these important relationships further and hopefully this will lead to improved therapeutic options.

Class of 2014 Abstract / Specific Aims: To assess older adults’ knowledge of medications associated with an increased risk of falls and to evaluate the impact of pharmacist counseling on knowledge of medication-related fall risk. Subjects: Community-dwelling adults 60 and older. Methods: Data were collected using an online questionnaire consisting of 15 knowledge-based items to determine awareness of medication-related fall risk, four items to determine pharmacist counseling experience, fall history, and number of medications taken, and two items to collect demographic information (age and gender). Main Results: Two hundred and six community-dwelling older adults (mean age = 69.07 years, SD = 5.59) participated in the study by completing all or part of the questionnaire. The number of older adults who reported having fallen within the last five years was 90 (43.7%). The knowledge-based portion of the questionnaire was completed in its entirety by 162 older adults (80 males, 81 females, one unreported gender; mean age = 68.7 years, SD = 5.12). One hundred and nineteen of 162 (73.5%) questionnaire respondents scored below 70% on the knowledge assessment (mean score 49.3%, SD = 26.8). The 12 respondents (7.6%) who reported having received counseling from a pharmacist regarding medication-related fall risk scored significantly higher on the knowledge assessment compared to the 145 respondents who did not (mean score 61.66% versus 48.09%, p = 0.01). Conclusion: A majority of community-dwelling older adults lacked knowledge of medications associated with an increased risk of falling. However, those who had been counseled by a pharmacist demonstrated greater awareness of medication-related fall risk. Thus, pharmacist counseling of older adults regarding medications and fall risk should be promoted.

No description available.

The isotopic composition of ozone depleting methyl halides may provide valuable information on the sources and sinks of these compounds. However, so far mostly stable carbon isotope analysis of methyl chloride and methyl bromide (CH3Br) has been attempted. Especially halogen isotope analysis has been hindered by the challenge to obtain sufficiently large amounts of methyl halides to meet the detection limits of existing isotope analytical methods. The purpose of this doctoral thesis was to develop both a high-volume cryogenic collection system for methyl bromide (Article II) and an analytical technique being able to analyze the sampled amounts of CH3Br for its Br isotopic composition, which was accomplished by using gas chromatography multiple-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Article I). These methods were applied in the field campaign from which we report the first bromine isotopic values of CH3Br in the atmosphere (Article III), being in the range of -0.47 to + 1.75 ‰ vs. SMOB (Standard Mean Ocean Bromide). A laboratory study on pectin and halophyte plant material (Article IV) gave an insight in Br isotope composition of abiotically formed CH3Br which may be a main source to the atmospheric budget. These plant experiments yielded δ81Br values of 0 to -2 ‰ SMOB. Atmospheric CH3Br and this potential source showed partly distinct δ81Br ranges and demonstrate the potential of Br isotopes for source apportionment. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Accepted. Paper 3: Submited. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) play a key role for ozone depletion in the polar stratosphere. Its magnitude depends on the type of PSC and its lifetime and extent. This thesis presents PSC observations conducted with the Esrange lidar and the space-borne CALIPSO lidar. PSCs are separated into three types according to their optical properties. The occurrence rate of the different types which are often observed simultaneously as well as their interaction and connection is not well understood. To better understand the processes that govern PSC formation, observations need to be combined with a detailed view of the atmospheric background in which PSCs develop, exist, and are transformed from one type to another. This thesis introduces a new channel of the Esrange lidar for temperature profiling at heights below 35 km. The design of this channel and first temperature measurements within PSCs and cirrus clouds are presented. This is an important step since the majority of PSC-related literature extracts temperatures within PSCs from reanalysis data. In contrast to ground–based measurements space–borne lidar does not rely on cloud–free conditions. Hence, it provides an unprecedented opportunity for studying the connection between PSCs and the underlying synoptic–scale conditions which manifest as tropospheric clouds. This thesis shows that most of the PSCs observed in the Arctic during winter 2007/08 occurred in connection with tropospheric clouds. A combined analysis of ground-based and space-borne lidar observation of PSCs in combination with microphysical modeling can improve our understanding of PSC formation. A first case study of this approach shows how a PSC that was formed by synoptic-scale processes is transformed into another type while passing the Scandinavian mountains. Today a variety of classification schemes provides inconsistent information on PSC properties and types. This thesis suggests a unified classification scheme for lidar measurements of PSCs. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. </p><p> </p>

Abstract Women claiming refugee status in Canada must demonstrate to the Immigration and Refugee Board [IRB] that their claim is valid and plausible. Canada’s legislative framework acknowledges that gender-related persecution can qualify as a ground for refugee status under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees [Refugee Convention]. Specifically, the IRB’s Chairperson’s Guideline 4 – Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution [Gender Guidelines] assist IRB decision-makers in deciding gender-related refugee claims by offering options for procedural accommodation and analytical guidance in the evaluation of gender-related claims. The Gender Guidelines aim to ensure decision-makers have “the degree of knowledge, understanding, and sensitivity” needed to make a “fair and correct judgment” of gender-related claims (Griffith v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1999] FCJ No 1142 (QL)). The purpose of this research is to critically examine the use of the Gender Guidelines in IRB decisions on gender-related refugee claims and Federal Court judicial reviews of those claims. Looking at 166 Federal Court of Canada judicial reviews of gender-related claims of persecution previously rejected at the IRB level from 2003 to 2013, I used a grounded theory methodological basis and content analysis approach informed by Michel Foucault’s insights on power relationships and Judith Butler’s insights on performativity to examine discursive deployment of gender in refugee determinations through the treatment of the Gender Guidelines. I examined four legal standards used in these judicial reviews of gender-related claim determination—credibility assessments, plausibility assessments, availability of state protection, and the availability of an internal flight alternative [IFA]. I analyzed the application of these standards and looked at how variables such as country of origin or type of persecution or extrajudicial factors such as Canadian political discourse and rigid understandings of gender identity result in inconsistent application of the Gender Guidelines, thereby violating women refugee claimants’ right to procedural fairness. Several recommendations are made for changes at both the IRB and Federal Court level to correct identified barriers and to ensure all claims related to gender-related persecution have a full and fair opportunity to provide evidence and have it considered on its merits.

We live in a busy and complex world, so the ability to focus our attention on relevant information at the expense of the irrelevant is essential in allowing us to avoid distraction. However, it is also important that our attention be captured by external stimuli that, although irrelevant to the task at hand, may nevertheless provide information about important changes to our immediate environment. This capture/orienting of attention is an involuntary, fundamental, and biological mechanism necessary for survival. The present thesis employed event-related potentials (ERPs), the minute responses of the brains electrical activity, to examine how changes in the acoustic environment can lead to the capture of attention. Study 1 examined an ERP component, the P3a, which is associated with the processes that lead to the forced capture of attention by external stimuli. This intrusion into consciousness can be studied using an auditory sequence, the oddball paradigm, which consists of a frequently occurring and homogenous ‘standard’ stimulus. At times, a feature of the standard is changed to form a rarely occurring ‘deviant’. If the extent of change between standard and deviant is large enough, processes associated with attention capture may be activated. Study 1 of this thesis employed a more time-efficient multi-feature optimal paradigm, which allows for the presentation of numerous deviants in one auditory sequence. The standard stimulus was a pure tone. Four of the six deviants were created by changing a single feature of the standard (frequency, duration, increase and decrease in intensity), while the remaining two deviants varied on more than one feature from the standard (environmental sounds, white noise). Results revealed that only the environmental sounds (i.e. animal sounds, human voices, musical instruments) and white noise bursts, elicited the P3a, while the other four deviants did not. Studies 2 and 3 determined whether the attention capture processes associated with the P3a could be observed during the sleep onset and sleep periods, where awareness of the external environment is diminished. For sleep to be of benefit it needs to remain as undisturbed as possible, without constant awakenings by irrelevant external input, however, the sleeping organism must still have the ability to become conscious of possibly relevant input that requires immediate action. In Study 2, a P3a was elicited again following only the environmental sound and white noise deviants across wakefulness and the sleep onset period. Surprisingly, during definitive sleep, the environmental sounds continued to elicit a P3a suggesting that attention capture processes may still remain active during sleep. Nonetheless, only the first 30 minutes of sleep were examined. Study 3 was then conducted to examine the P3a across the entire night. Results revealed that the environmental sounds did, in fact, elicited a P3a during both NREM and REM sleep. The present thesis demonstrates that attention capture mechanisms, observed during wakefulness, are also active during sleep onset and sleep when awareness of the external environment is diminished. This is especially critical because the sleeping organism may be vulnerable to external danger, requiring the immediate ability to orient attention to incoming information, leading to awaking and conscious awareness.

Migration and mobility processes are thought to be important (yet complex) modulators of health related risk and vulnerability as experienced by people who use drugs. Few studies in Canada have examined this relationship, and there is no research available addressing this specific aspect of health and well-being in people who use drugs in Ottawa-Gatineau. While migration can be defined as a permanent (or near permanent) relocation process, mobility refers to a person's temporary or short-term movement between geographic locations (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 2001). Understanding how the reasons for mobility and migration, typically described as “push and pull” factors, and the processes itself impact on the local community is invaluable for informing intervention in terms of type, location and timing and identifying solutions to reduce the inequalities resulting in and from the migration process. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence and geography of mobility and migration among study participants, characterize the circumstances surrounding the mobility and migration process, and explore their impact on health related outcomes, among people who use drugs in Ottawa-Gatineau, Canada. Understanding the prevalence, patterns and characteristics of mobility and migration events may offer greater insight into the associated health risks, which in turn will assist in the development of targeted health and social services for this group. We hypothesized that the act of moving itself, as well as type of mobility and migration (i.e. specific push and pull factors), may be associated with health risk behaviours and health outcomes. People 18 years or older currently living in Ottawa-Gatineau, and who used illicit drugs in the past six months were recruited using respondent-driven sampling. Geography of lifetime migration was mapped, and health related outcomes and access to social support services were evaluated against lifetime and recent migration and travel. Quantitative analysis of health and social support related outcomes was carried out by comparison of means and proportions between groups, and complemented by qualitative exploration of push and pull factors and effects of the last mobility and migration events. Our study identified a heterogeneous inner-city population of people who use drugs where widespread homelessness, incarceration, low income and a high degree of mobility and migration placed individuals at varying levels of health-related vulnerability. Participants moved to Ottawa-Gatineau from all over Canada and other countries, but most arrived from within Ontario. Multiple factors were involved in the decision to migrate and in choosing Ottawa-Gatineau in particular. Escaping a negative environment and seeking out family connections were the most commonly cited “push and pull” factors, respectively. Maintaining family connections was also identified as a major reason for mobility or lack thereof among travelers and non-travelers alike. There was evidence to suggest that the mobility and migration processes affected health, drug use and access to resources among some of the participants and for a wide variety of reasons. Comparing the two groups using t-test for means and Chi-square (or Fisher’s exact) test for proportions, we found crack cocaine and injection drug users who migrated recently to be poorly connected to harm reduction services and thus at particularly high risk for blood-borne infections and other drug-related harms. Similarly, participants using crack cocaine or injection drugs and who traveled were significantly less likely to access social support services. In this study we have shown that within a broad cohort of people who use drugs in Ottawa-Gatineau, subjects are a highly mobile group, and face a considerable number of environmental challenges that predispose individuals to increasing risk behaviour even when using drugs only occasionally. This vulnerability is greatest in the period following migration. While push and pull factors may vary by place, a common theme identified in this study is the perceived and actual positive influence of family. Further research employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods using a socioecological, intersectionality and lifecourse approach (Egan, et al., 2011) may provide added insights into the role of family in modulating vulnerability through social connectedness and support among drug users as they navigate the mobility and migration process.