Sense of Humor and General Life Satisfaction in Association with the Biological Effects of Resistance Training in People with Impaired Glucose Tolerance

The aim of the study was to investigate associations between psychological and biological changes due to resistance training in people with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Subjects were randomized into maximal (MRT) versus endurance resistance training (ERT) groups. Intervention periods lasted four months. All subjects had blood work that suggested IGT at the initial screening. The ERT acted as a wait-list control group when the MRT performed their training. Baseline scores on general life satisfaction (LISAT) and sense of humor (SHQ-6: a positive coping resources) were obtained. Potential differences between groups (types of intervention and intervention versus control) were investigated by analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA). Correlations were calculated in each group to estimate the degree of covariance between biological and psychological changes from pre- to post-intervention by Pearson and Spearman coefficients. Sense of humor tended to be correlated with a positive reduction of insulin following MRT as well as with reduction in body fat following ERT. Differences across the intervention groups in changes from pre- to post-training in biological variables (glucose, insulin, muscle mass, and corrected percentage of fat) as well as psychological variables (general life satisfaction and sense of humor) were not significant, whereas differences in BMI and weight were significant. By investigating the intervention groups separately in comparison to the control group, the MRT revealed significant improvement by reduction in insulin, percentage of fat, BMI and weight. The ERT caused significant improvements for insulin and percentage of fat, while general life satisfaction had a significant negative development.

Field observations and interpretation of extensional fracture in hard rock surrounding deep underground openings

Extensional fracturing often occurs in hard rock masses during excavation at depths,for example,>1000 m below the ground surface.Surface-parallel fractures are created in the surrounding rock mass,which is typically subjected to stresses parallel to the free rock surfaces after excavation.These are called extensional fractures because the strains perpendicular to the fracture planes are extensional and the opposite surfaces of each fracture tend to separate from each other as soon as the fracture is created.These fractures predominantly propagate parallel to the maximum principal stressσ1 in the surrounding rock mass.This study analyses extensional fractures observed during excavations in cut-and-fill mining stopes in a deep metal mine.This analysis explores the process of extensional fracturing during excavation in an undisturbed rock mass.In general,intensive spalling occurred on the roof surfaces immediately after the excavation of the undisturbed rock mass.This spalling terminated after a certain depth of rock failure,while burst sounds intermediately emitted from the surrounding rock mass,indicating that rock fracturing was ongoing at depth.In the subsequent cutting slices,the spacing between the extensional fractures decreased with increasing mine-out space in the stope.An extensional fracturing criterion was proposed based on microscopic observations of microcrack development in the rock in response to applied stress.The crack initiation and extensional fracturing processes are associated with two critical extensional strains which are related to the secondary stress state in the position.In areas close to the free rock surface whereσ3=0,the stress for crack initiation is(σ1+σ2)=0.4σc,whereas the stress for extensional fracturing is(σ1+σ2)=0.8σc.

PROPOSAL OF A NORWEGIAN ZEB DEFINITION:ASSESSING THE IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGN

Conceptually a Zero Emission Building(ZEB)is a building with greatly reduced energy demand and able to generate electricity(or other carriers)from renewable sources in order to achieve a carbon neutral balance.However,a clear and agreed definition of Zero Emission Building(ZEB)is yet to be achieved,both internationally and in Norway.However,it is understood that both the definition and the surrounding energy supply system will affect significantly the way buildings are designed to achieve the ZEB goal.A formal definition of ZEB is characterized by a set of criteria that are:the system boundary,feeding-in possibilities,balance object,balancing period,credits,crediting method,energy performance and mismatch factors.For each criterion different options are available,and the choice of which options are more appropriate to define ZEBs may depend on the political targets laying behind the promotion of ZEBs,hence may vary from country to country.This paper focuses on two of these criteria:energy performance and credits used to measure the ZEB balance.For each criterion different options are considered and the implications they have on the building design are assessed.The case study is on a typical Norwegian single family house.It is shown that for certain choices on the two criteria options,a paradoxical situation could arise.When using off-site generation based on biomass/biofuels,achieving the ZEB balance may be easier for high energy consuming buildings than for efficient ones.This is the exact opposite of what ZEBs are meant to promote:design of energy efficient buildings with on-site generation options.Recommendations on how to avoid such a paradox are suggested.

Well-Posedness of Stochastic Continuity Equations on Riemannian Manifolds

The authors analyze continuity equations with Stratonovich stochasticity,■ρ+divh[ρo(u(t,x)+∑_(i=1)^(N)a_(i)(x)w_(i)(t))]=0defined on a smooth closed Riemannian manifold M with metric h.The velocity field u is perturbed by Gaussian noise terms Wi(t),:WN(t)driven by smooth spatially dependent vector fields a1(x),...,aN(x)on M.The velocity u belongs to L_(t)^(1)W_(x)^(1,2)with divh u bounded in Lf,for p>d+2,where d is the dimension of M(they do not assume div_(h) u∈L_(t,x)^(∞)).For carefully chosen noise vector fields ai(and the number N of them),they show that the initial-value problem is well-posed in the class of weak L^(2) solutions,although the problem can be ill-posed in the deterministic case because of concentration effects.The proof of this“regularization by noise”result is based on a L^(2) estimate,which is obtained by a duality method,and a weak compactness argument.

Finding Maintenance Project to Priority

The electric power system is an ageing infrastructure and the need for making reinvestments is increasing. Strict economic regulation of the DSOs （distribution system operators）, forces them to search for more efficient work processes and improved technical solutions. The main challenges for network companies today are implementing new technologies and become more efficient in every part of the asset management. The work processes must be optimized and the right projects must be prioritized for reinvestment. The purpose of this paper is to give insight into some of the challenges electric distribution companies are facing today. This paper is based on experiences from NTE Nett AS--an electric distribution company in the middle of Norway. The paper also describes some of the measures that have been done in NTE Nett and what people believe will be the situation in the future.

High-throughput calculations of charged point defect properties with semi-local density functional theory— performance benchmarks for materials screening applications

Calculations of point defect energetics with Density Functional Theory(DFT)can provide valuable insight into several optoelectronic,thermodynamic,and kinetic properties.These calculations commonly use methods ranging from semi-local functionals with a-posteriori corrections to more computationally intensive hybrid functional approaches.For applications of DFT-based high-throughput computation for data-driven materials discovery,point defect properties are of interest,yet are currently excluded from available materials databases.This work presents a benchmark analysis of automated,semi-local point defect calculations with a-posteriori corrections,compared to 245“gold standard”hybrid calculations previously published.We consider three different a-posteriori correction sets implemented in an automated workflow,and evaluate the qualitative and quantitative differences among four different categories of defect information:thermodynamic transition levels,formation energies,Fermi levels,and dopability limits.We highlight qualitative information that can be extracted from high-throughput calculations based on semi-local DFT methods,while also demonstrating the limits of quantitative accuracy.