University of Stavanger

Risk assessment and management was established as a scientific field some 30–40 years ago. Principles and methods were developed for how to conceptualise, assess and manage risk. These principles and methods still represent to a large extent the foundation of this field today, but many advances have been made, linked to both the theoretical platform and practical models and procedures. The purpose of the present invited paper is to perform a review of these advances, with a special focus on the fundamental ideas and thinking on which these are based. We have looked for trends in perspectives and approaches, and we also reflect on where further development of the risk field is needed and should be encouraged. The paper is written for readers with different types of background, not only for experts on risk.

We address the problem of finding sparse solutions to an underdetermined system of equations when there are multiple measurement vectors having the same, but unknown, sparsity structure. The single measurement sparse solution problem has been extensively studied in the past. Although known to be NP-hard, many single-measurement suboptimal algorithms have been formulated that have found utility in many different applications. Here, we consider in depth the extension of two classes of algorithms-Matching Pursuit (MP) and FOCal Underdetermined System Solver (FOCUSS)-to the multiple measurement case so that they may be used in applications such as neuromagnetic imaging, where multiple measurement vectors are available, and solutions with a common sparsity structure must be computed. Cost functions appropriate to the multiple measurement problem are developed, and algorithms are derived based on their minimization. A simulation study is conducted on a test-case dictionary to show how the utilization of more than one measurement vector improves the performance of the MP and FOCUSS classes of algorithm, and their performances are compared.

In this paper, we review most major filtering approaches to texture feature extraction and perform a comparative study. Filtering approaches included are Laws masks (1980), ring/wedge filters, dyadic Gabor filter banks, wavelet transforms, wavelet packets and wavelet frames, quadrature mirror filters, discrete cosine transform, eigenfilters, optimized Gabor filters, linear predictors, and optimized finite impulse response filters. The features are computed as the local energy of the filter responses. The effect of the filtering is highlighted, keeping the local energy function and the classification algorithm identical for most approaches. For reference, comparisons with two classical nonfiltering approaches, co-occurrence (statistical) and autoregressive (model based) features, are given. We present a ranking of the tested approaches based on extensive experiments.

A frame design technique for use with vector selection algorithms, for example matching pursuits (MP), is presented. The design algorithm is iterative and requires a training set of signal vectors. The algorithm, called method of optimal directions (MOD), is an improvement of the algorithm presented by Engan, Aase and Husoy see (Proc. ICASSP '98, Seattle, USA, p.1817-20, 1998). The MOD is applied to speech and electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, and the designed frames are tested on signals outside the training sets. Experiments demonstrate that the approximation capabilities, in terms of mean squared error (MSE), of the optimized frames are significantly better than those obtained using frames designed by the algorithm of Engan et. al. Experiments show typical reduction in MSE by 20-50%.

What is qualitative research? If we look for a precise definition of qualitative research, and specifically for one that addresses its distinctive feature of being "qualitative," the literature is meager. In this article we systematically search, identify and analyze a sample of 89 sources using or attempting to define the term "qualitative." Then, drawing on ideas we find scattered across existing work, and based on Becker's classic study of marijuana consumption, we formulate and illustrate a definition that tries to capture its core elements. We define qualitative research as an iterative process in which improved understanding to the scientific community is achieved by making new significant distinctions resulting from getting closer to the phenomenon studied. This formulation is developed as a tool to help improve research designs while stressing that a qualitative dimension is present in quantitative work as well. Additionally, it can facilitate teaching, communication between researchers, diminish the gap between qualitative and quantitative researchers, help to address critiques of qualitative methods, and be used as a standard of evaluation of qualitative research.

Abstract The genetic make-up of an individual contributes to the susceptibility and response to viral infection. Although environmental, clinical and social factors have a role in the chance of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and the severity of COVID-19 1,2 , host genetics may also be important. Identifying host-specific genetic factors may reveal biological mechanisms of therapeutic relevance and clarify causal relationships of modifiable environmental risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection and outcomes. We formed a global network of researchers to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity. Here we describe the results of three genome-wide association meta-analyses that consist of up to 49,562 patients with COVID-19 from 46 studies across 19 countries. We report 13 genome-wide significant loci that are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection or severe manifestations of COVID-19. Several of these loci correspond to previously documented associations to lung or autoimmune and inflammatory diseases 3–7 . They also represent potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection. Mendelian randomization analyses support a causal role for smoking and body-mass index for severe COVID-19 although not for type II diabetes. The identification of novel host genetic factors associated with COVID-19 was made possible by the community of human genetics researchers coming together to prioritize the sharing of data, results, resources and analytical frameworks. This working model of international collaboration underscores what is possible for future genetic discoveries in emerging pandemics, or indeed for any complex human disease.

Low dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs) are a recent and alternative technology to thermodynamic inhibitors for preventing gas hydrates from plugging oil and gas production wells and pipelines. LDHIs are divided into two main categories, kinetic inhibitors (KHIs) and anti-agglomerants (AAs), both of which are successfully being used in field applications. This paper reviews the research and development of LDHIs with emphasis on the chemical structures that have been designed and tested. The mechanisms of both KHIs and AAs are also discussed.

PURPOSE: Quality of life (QOL) is an important concept in the field of health and medicine. QOL is a complex concept that is interpreted and defined differently within and between disciplines, including the fields of health and medicine. The aims of this study were to systematically review the literature on QOL in medicine and health research and to describe the country of origin, target groups, instruments, design, and conceptual issues. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted to identify research studies on QOL and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The databases Scopus, which includes Embase and MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched for articles published during one random week in November 2016. The ten predefined criteria of Gill and Feinstein were used to evaluate the conceptual and methodological rigor. RESULTS: QOL research is international and involves a variety of target groups, research designs, and QOL measures. According to the criteria of Gill and Feinstein, the results show that only 13% provided a definition of QOL, 6% distinguished QOL from HRQOL. The most frequently fulfilled criteria were: (i) stating the domains of QOL to be measured; (ii) giving a reason for choosing the instruments used; and (iii) aggregating the results from multiple items. CONCLUSION: QOL is an important endpoint in medical and health research, and QOL research involves a variety of patient groups and different research designs. Based on the current evaluation of the methodological and conceptual clarity of QOL research, we conclude that the majority QOL studies in health and medicine have conceptual and methodological challenges.

The detection of gravitational waves originating from a neutron-star merger, GW170817, by the LIGO and Virgo Collaborations has recently provided new stringent limits on the tidal deformabilities of the stars involved in the collision. Combining this measurement with the existence of two-solar-mass stars, we generate a generic family of neutron-star-matter equations of state (EOSs) that interpolate between state-of-the-art theoretical results at low and high baryon density. Comparing the results to ones obtained without the tidal-deformability constraint, we witness a dramatic reduction in the family of allowed EOSs. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the maximal radius of a 1.4-solar-mass neutron star is 13.6 km, and that the smallest allowed tidal deformability of a similar-mass star is Λ(1.4 M_{⊙})=120.

We investigate the potential for the eLISA space-based interferometer to detect the stochastic gravitational wave background produced by strong first-order cosmological phase transitions. We discuss the resulting contributions from bubble collisions, magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, and sound waves to the stochastic background, and estimate the total corresponding signal predicted in gravitational waves. The projected sensitivity of eLISA to cosmological phase transitions is computed in a model-independent way for various detector designs and configurations. By applying these results to several specific models, we demonstrate that eLISA is able to probe many well-motivated scenarios beyond the Standard Model of particle physics predicting strong first-order cosmological phase transitions in the early Universe.

In response to the 2013 Update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics, the Future Circular Collider (FCC) study was launched, as an international collaboration hosted by CERN. This study covers a highest-luminosity high-energy lepton collider (FCC-ee) and an energy-frontier hadron collider (FCC-hh), which could, successively, be installed in the same 100 km tunnel. The scientific capabilities of the integrated FCC programme would serve the worldwide community throughout the 21st century. The FCC study also investigates an LHC energy upgrade, using FCC-hh technology. This document constitutes the second volume of the FCC Conceptual Design Report, devoted to the electron-positron collider FCC-ee. After summarizing the physics discovery opportunities, it presents the accelerator design, performance reach, a staged operation scenario, the underlying technologies, civil engineering, technical infrastructure, and an implementation plan. FCC-ee can be built with today's technology. Most of the FCC-ee infrastructure could be reused for FCC-hh. Combining concepts from past and present lepton colliders and adding a few novel elements, the FCC-ee design promises outstandingly high luminosity. This will make the FCC-ee a unique precision instrument to study the heaviest known particles (Z, W and H bosons and the top quark), offering great direct and indirect sensitivity to new physics.

The article gives an overview of phytic acid in food and of its significance for human nutrition. It summarises phytate sources in foods and discusses problems of phytic acid/phytate contents of food tables. Data on phytic acid intake are evaluated and daily phytic acid intake depending on food habits is assessed. Degradation of phytate during gastro-intestinal passage is summarised, the mechanism of phytate interacting with minerals and trace elements in the gastro-intestinal chyme described and the pathway of inositol phosphate hydrolysis in the gut presented. The present knowledge of phytate absorption is summarised and discussed. Effects of phytate on mineral and trace element bioavailability are reported and phytate degradation during processing and storage is described. Beneficial activities of dietary phytate such as its effects on calcification and kidney stone formation and on lowering blood glucose and lipids are reported. The antioxidative property of phytic acid and its potentional anticancerogenic activities are briefly surveyed. Development of the analysis of phytic acid and other inositol phosphates is described, problems of inositol phosphate determination and detection discussed and the need for standardisation of phytic acid analysis in foods argued.

Algorithms for data-driven learning of domain-specific overcomplete dictionaries are developed to obtain maximum likelihood and maximum a posteriori dictionary estimates based on the use of Bayesian models with concave/Schur-concave (CSC) negative log priors. Such priors are appropriate for obtaining sparse representations of environmental signals within an appropriately chosen (environmentally matched) dictionary. The elements of the dictionary can be interpreted as concepts, features, or words capable of succinct expression of events encountered in the environment (the source of the measured signals). This is a generalization of vector quantization in that one is interested in a description involving a few dictionary entries (the proverbial "25 words or less"), but not necessarily as succinct as one entry. To learn an environmentally adapted dictionary capable of concise expression of signals generated by the environment, we develop algorithms that iterate between a representative set of sparse representations found by variants of FOCUSS and an update of the dictionary using these sparse representations. Experiments were performed using synthetic data and natural images. For complete dictionaries, we demonstrate that our algorithms have improved performance over other independent component analysis (ICA) methods, measured in terms of signal-to-noise ratios of separated sources. In the overcomplete case, we show that the true underlying dictionary and sparse sources can be accurately recovered. In tests with natural images, learned overcomplete dictionaries are shown to have higher coding efficiency than complete dictionaries; that is, images encoded with an overcomplete dictionary have both higher compression (fewer bits per pixel) and higher accuracy (lower mean square error).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, unusual consumer behavior, such as hoarding toilet paper, was reported globally. We investigated this behavior when fears of consumer market disruptions started circulating, to capture human behavior in this unique situation. Based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, we propose a structural model connecting exposure to online information sources (environmental stimuli) to two behavioral responses: unusual purchases and voluntary self-isolation. To test the proposed model, we collected data from 211 Finnish respondents via an online survey, and carried out analysis using PLS-SEM. We found a strong link between self-intention to self-isolate and intention to make unusual purchases, providing empirical evidence that the reported consumer behavior was directly linked to anticipated time spent in self-isolation. The results further revealed exposure to online information sources led to increased information overload and cyberchondria. Information overload was also a strong predictor of cyberchondria. Perceived severity of the situation and cyberchondria had significant impacts on people's intention to make unusual purchases and voluntarily self-isolate. Future research is needed to confirm the long-term effects of the pandemic on consumer and retail services.

The operationalization of smart specialization policy has been rather limited because a coherent set of analytical tools to guide the policy directives remains elusive. We propose a policy framework around the concepts of relatedness and knowledge complexity. We show that diversifying into more complex technologies is attractive but difficult for European Union regions to accomplish. Regions can overcome this diversification dilemma by developing new complex technologies that build on local related capabilities. We use these findings to construct a policy framework for smart specialization that highlights the potential risks and rewards for regions of adopting competing diversification strategies.

In the social sciences, two prevailing definitions of risk are: (1) risk is a situation or event where something of human value (including humans themselves) is at stake and where the outcome is uncertain; (2) risk is an uncertain consequence of an event or an activity with respect to something that humans value. According to these definitions, risk expresses an ontology (a theory of being) independent of our knowledge and perceptions. In this paper, we look closer into these two types of definitions. We conclude that the definitions provide a sound foundation for risk research and risk management, but compared to common terminology, they lead to conceptual difficulties that are incompatible with the everyday use of risk in most applications. By considering risk as a state of the world, we cannot conclude, for example, about the risk being high or low, or compare different options with respect to risk. A rephrasing of the two definitions is suggested: Risk refers to uncertainty about and severity of the consequences (or outcomes) of an activity with respect to something that humans value.

INTRODUCTION: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) is one of the most widely used questionnaires to assess physical activity (PA). Validation studies for the IPAQ have been executed, but still there is a need for studies comparing absolute values between IPAQ and accelerometer in large population studies. PURPOSE: To compare PA and sedentary time from the self-administered, short version of the IPAQ with data from ActiGraph accelerometer in a large national sample. METHODS: A total of 1751 adults (19-84 yr) wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT1M) for seven consecutive days and completed the IPAQ-Short Form. Sedentary time, total PA, and time spent in moderate to vigorous activity were compared in relation to sex, age, and education. RESULTS: Men and women reported, on average, 131 min·d (SE = 4 min·d) less sedentary time compared with the accelerometer measurements. The difference between self-reported and measured sedentary time and vigorous-intensity PA was greatest among men with a lower education level and for men 65 yr and older. Although men reported 47% more moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared with women, there were no differences between sexes in accelerometer-determined MVPA. Accelerometer-determined moderate PA was reduced from 110 to 42 min·d (62%) when analyzed in blocks of 10 min (P < 0.0001) compared with 1-min blocks. The main correlation coefficients between self-reported variables and accelerometer measures of physical activity were between 0.20 and 0.46. CONCLUSIONS: The participants report through IPAQ-Short Form more vigorous PA and less sedentary time compared with the accelerometer. The difference between self-reported and accelerometer-measured MVPA increased with higher activity and intensity levels. Associations between the methods were affected by sex, age, and education, but not body mass index.

MC was funded by the Royal Society under the Newton International Fellowship program. GD would like to thank CNPq (Brazil) for financial support. MH was supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (grant number ST/P000819/1), and the Academy of Finland (grant number 286769). SJH was supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (grant number ST/P000819/1). The work of JK was supported by Department of Energy (DOE) grant DE-SC0019195 and NSF grant PHY-1719642. TK and GS are funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Germany's Excellence Strategy - EXC 2121 \\Quantum Universe" - 390833306. JMN is supported by Ramon y Cajal Fellowship contract RYC-2017-22986, and also acknowledges support from the Spanish MINECO's "Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa" Programme under grant SEV-2016-0597, from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreements 690575 (RISE InvisiblesPlus) and 674896 (ITN ELUSIVES) and from the Spanish Proyectos de I+D de Generacion de Conocimiento via grant PGC2018-096646-A-I00. KR is funded by the Academy of Finland grants 308791, 319066 and 320123. PS is supported by the Cluster of Excellence "Precision Physics, Fundamental Interactions, and Structure of Matter"(PRISMA+ EXC 2118/1) funded by the German Research Foundation(DFG). PS would like to thank Moritz Breitbach and Eric Madge for providing the data for figures (14), (15) and (16), and Eric Madge for checking the ptplot code. DJW (ORCID ID 0000-00016986-0517) was supported by an Science and Technology Facilities Council Ernest Rutherford Fellowship, grant no. ST/R003904/1, by the Research Funds of the University of Helsinki, and by the Academy of Finland, grant nos. 286769, 324882 and 328958. The original LISA Cosmology Working Group preprint number of this paper is \\LISA CosWG-19-04".

Abstract: We review the physics opportunities of the Future Circular Collider, covering its e+e-, pp, ep and heavy ion programmes. We describe the measurement capabilities of each FCC component, addressing the study of electroweak, Higgs and strong interactions, the top quark and flavour, as well as phenomena beyond the Standard Model. We highlight the synergy and complementarity of the different colliders, which will contribute to a uniquely coherent and ambitious research programme, providing an unmatchable combination of precision and sensitivity to new physics.

CONTEXT: Defibrillation as soon as possible is standard treatment for patients with ventricular fibrillation. A nonrandomized study indicates that after a few minutes of ventricular fibrillation, delaying defibrillation to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) first might improve the outcome. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of CPR before defibrillation on outcome in patients with ventricular fibrillation and with response times either up to or longer than 5 minutes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Randomized trial of 200 patients with out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation in Oslo, Norway, between June 1998 and May 2001. Patients received either standard care with immediate defibrillation (n = 96) or CPR first with 3 minutes of basic CPR by ambulance personnel prior to defibrillation (n = 104). If initial defibrillation was unsuccessful, the standard group received 1 minute of CPR before additional defibrillation attempts compared with 3 minutes in the CPR first group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Primary end point was survival to hospital discharge. Secondary end points were hospital admission with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), 1-year survival, and neurological outcome. A prespecified analysis examined subgroups with response times either up to or longer than 5 minutes. RESULTS: In the standard group, 14 (15%) of 96 patients survived to hospital discharge vs 23 (22%) of 104 in the CPR first group (P =.17). There were no differences in ROSC rates between the standard group (56% [58/104]) and the CPR first group (46% [44/96]; P =.16); or in 1-year survival (20% [21/104] and 15% [14/96], respectively; P =.30). In subgroup analysis for patients with ambulance response times of either up to 5 minutes or shorter, there were no differences in any outcome variables between the CPR first group (n = 40) and the standard group (n = 41). For patients with response intervals of longer than 5 minutes, more patients achieved ROSC in the CPR first group (58% [37/64]) compared with the standard group (38% [21/55]; odds ratio [OR], 2.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-4.63; P =.04); survival to hospital discharge (22% [14/64] vs 4% [2/55]; OR, 7.42; 95% CI, 1.61-34.3; P =.006); and 1-year survival (20% [13/64] vs 4% [2/55]; OR, 6.76; 95% CI, 1.42-31.4; P =.01). Thirty-three (89%) of 37 patients who survived to hospital discharge had no or minor reductions in neurological status with no difference between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with standard care for ventricular fibrillation, CPR first prior to defibrillation offered no advantage in improving outcomes for this entire study population or for patients with ambulance response times shorter than 5 minutes. However, the patients with ventricular fibrillation and ambulance response intervals longer than 5 minutes had better outcomes with CPR first before defibrillation was attempted. These results require confirmation in additional randomized trials.