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Nanoparticles in aluminium |
Sigmund J. Andersen and Calin D. Marioara of SINTEF Material and Chemistry have been awarded SINTEF's Award for Outstanding Research for 2007, for their work on characterizing the structures and characteristics of the nanoparticles that precipitate in aluminium alloys during heat treatment.
This work is of great importance for the strength and forming capacity of the metal being treated, and with modern high-resolution microscopy precipitates down to only a few atoms in size can be studied. These scientists have done pioneering work on mapping particles in a type of alloy with widespread industrial applications. Getting better understanding of these particles opens the prospect of developing aluminium alloys with even better properties than those of current materials.
Norway nearly leads the world when it comes to problems from chronic pain. Chronic muscle and skeletal pain is the most common reason for disability payments and long-term sick leave. Now, researchers from NTNU and St. Olavs Hospital will find out whether Norwegians are actually afflicted by a new lifestyle-related illness or whether citizens are simply more susceptible to pain than before.
As part of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), 6000 people will be studied and interviewed over the next five years in what will be the world’s largest survey of pain. With a steady stream of information from each individual on their physical condition, exercise, social situations, illnesses, medicines and pain, researchers believe they will be able to find answers to the many unsolved puzzles surrounding pain.
Oil spill lab in Murmansk |
Following a suggestion from SINTEF's Department of Marine Environmental Technology and the Norwegian Coastal Directorate, StatoilHydro has financed the development of an oil spill laboratory in Murmansk. The lab was officially opened in June 2008.
The new laboratory will help the Norwegian authorities to deal with oil spills off the coast of Norway that are caused by accidents involving Russian oil tankers. It will also help improve contingency planning off northwest Russia.
The laboratory has been set up at the Federal State Enterprise Murmansk Centre for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (MCSM). The Russian personnel have received training at SINTEF.
From the left: interpreter Irina Popova, Elena Gorshenina from the Murmansk laboratory and Oddveig Bakken from SINTEF.
Predisposition to pre-eclampsia |
Roughly five per cent of pregnant women in Norway are stricken with pre-eclampsia. The reason behind the disease remains unknown, but now firm figures have revealed a connection to other illnesses.
A study conducted at NTNU’s Department of Public Health and General Medicine shows that women who are at risk of heart and circulatory diseases, obesity and diabetes are also clearly in the danger zone for pre-eclampsia. A family history of these illnesses gives a pregnant woman double the risk of pre-eclampsia, compared to women who do not have a family history of the illnesses.
Fish is not only good for our bodies, but also for the climate, as is shown by an environmental balance sheet that has been drawn up by SINTEF for the Norwegian National Association of Fishing and Aquaculture Industries. The research project shows that one kilo of salmon delivered to a consumer in France is responsible for emissions corresponding to 3 kg of CO2 equivalent. The corresponding figure for beef is 15.8 kg, while for pork it is 6.4 kg and for poultry, 4.6 kg.
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Professor Ole-Jan Iversen at NTNU believes that he has discovered the protein that is the cause of the chronic inflammation disease known as psoriasis. This protein bears the name of Pso p27, and Iversen has found a clear link between the production of Pso p27 and psoriasis activity in the body. The next step is to identify the gene that produces the protein, which Iversen hopes to do in the course of the coming year.
The rising level of activity in the Arctic means that we need more knowledge and better contingency planning. Around 20 international scientists spent May 2008 finding out how an oil spill behaves in ice-covered waters. The full-scale trial that took place to the east of Hopen Island in May was described as extremely successful. It comprised a series of trials of skimmers and fireproof oil-booms, and tests of burning floating oil. There was also an experiment that involved remote monitoring via satellite.
The experiment was part of the Joint Industry Programme on oil spill contingency for Arctic and ice-covered waters, which started in September 2006. This is the world's largest R&D programme to date on oil spill contingency planning, with a total budget of around NOK 60 million spread over three and a half years.
The more violence a woman experiences, the more physical illnesses she is likely to have later – without any medical connection between the illness and the violence. This finding comes from research in a cooperative study by NTNU, Akershus University Hospital and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Researchers were surprised by the find, but believe that episodes of violence trigger stress hormones that weaken the body’s immune system.
Charcoal for solar cell silicon |
Research scientists at SINTEF Materials and Chemistry are well on the way to purifying wood shavings and charcoal enough to satisfy the requirements for raw materials for the silicon used in solar cells. Carbon is part of the silicon production process, and it needs to be extremely pure for the production of high-grade silicon for solar cells. It is particularly important to keep the content of phosphorus and boron as low as possible. The researchers have used a specially designed high-pressure plant at SINTEF to run a series of pilot trials to purify wood shavings and charcoal. So far the results have been promising.
A guest researcher at NTNU, Dolly Jørgensen, has shown that the beginnings of modern government were intimately linked with sanitary conditions in earlier times. One of urbanization’s most pressing problems in the Middle Ages was actually sewage.
The custom of the time was to cast garbage and excrement into the streets. This became untenable in growing cities, and communal ordinances came into force. But it took public authorities to implement these ordinances, and the ultimate extension of this was the rise of hierarchies of local power – the beginning of public administration and bureaucracy.
SINTEF scientists are developing a system that is capable of acting as a memory and communication support system for elderly people and dementia sufferers who live in their own homes. An analogue and digital clock shows the time, and icons such as the sun and the moon help them to know whether it is day or night.
Appointments can be plotted on a weekly calendar, and the system warns its elderly users when these are due. It also offers a simple communication system that will link users, their families and home help services. The system is due to be tested on elderly people in Trondheim at the turn of the year. The MPOWER project is being supported by the EU, and it aims to develop IT services and tools that will make it easier and cheaper for the European IT sector to aim for the growing market presented by elderly people.
After breast or belly reduction surgery, there is often skin “left over”. Now a research group in Trondheim is using this extra skin to find out how it reacts to different alginates. The hypothesis is that special types of alginate can have a beneficial effect on the process of healing wounds in special patient groups. The ultimate goal is to develop a new type of alginate bandage. The project participants include NTNU, SINTEF and Algipharma, a Norwegian company.
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