Swedish Defence Research Agency

About: Swedish Defence Research Agency is a government organization based out in Stockholm, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Radar & Synthetic aperture radar. The organization has 1413 authors who have published 2731 publications receiving 56083 citations. The organization is also known as: Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut.

CanSNPer: a hierarchical genotype classifier of clonal pathogens

Abstract: Advances in typing methodologies have recently reformed the field of molecular epidemiology of pathogens. The falling cost of sequencing technologies is creating a deluge of whole genome sequencing ...

Biomonitoring of continuous microbial community adaptation towards more efficient phenol-degradation in a fed-batch bioreactor

Abstract: The anaerobic degradation of phenol was studied in a fed-batch culture. Nitrate was added as electron acceptor and phenol was provided three times, to a final concentration of 200 mg/l. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and terminal fraction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) were used and compared in order to monitor the microbial succession in the reactor. Phenol degradation started after an initial lag phase of 14 days and was then completed within a few days. In addition, the duration of the lag phase was shortened and the degradation rate was increased after each phenol amendment. Nitrate reduction correlated with microbial growth and phenol depletion, confirming that the degradation was carried out anaerobically. Results from the DNA analysis showed that the structure of the microbial community changed after each phenol amendment. This study confirms the potential for anaerobic degradation of environmental pollutants and also confirms that microbial acclimation towards faster degradation rates occurred upon repeated substrate amendments. Furthermore, both of the DNA-based techniques described the phenol degradation-linked community shifts with similar general results. RAPD is a faster, simpler technique that gives a higher resolution and consequently reflects the shifts in the microbial community structure better, whereas T-RFLP is more suitable for phylogenetic studies.

A Mathematical Modeling Study of Tracer Mixing in a Continuous Casting Tundish

Abstract: A mathematical model based on a water model was developed to study the tracer mixing in a single strand tundish. The mixing behavior of black ink and KCl solution was simulated by a mixed composition fluid model, and the data were validated by water modeling results. In addition, a model that solves the scalar transport equation (STE) without any physical properties of the tracer was studied and the results were compared to predictions using the density-coupled model. Furthermore, the mixing behaviors of different amounts of KCl tracers were investigated. Before the model was established, KCl tracer properties such as the KCl molecule diffusion (KMD), the water molecule self-diffusion (WSD) in KCl solution, and the KCl solution viscosity (KV) were evaluated. The RTD curve of 250 mL KCl for the KMD case was closer to the water modeling results than that of the case implemented with only density. Moreover, the ensemble average deviation of the RTD curves of the cases implemented with KMD + WSD, KMD + KV, and KMD + WSD + KV to the KMD case is less than 0.7 pct. Thus, the water self-diffusion and KV were neglected, while the KCl density and KMD were implemented in the current study. The flow pattern of black ink was similar to the STE result i.e., the fluid flowed upwards toward the top surface and formed a large circulating flow at the outlet nozzle. The flow behavior of the 100, 150, and 250 mL KCl cases exhibited a strong tendency to sink to the tundish bottom, and subsequently flow through the holes in the dam. Thereafter, it propagated toward the outlet nozzle. Regarding the KCl tracer amount, the tracer concentration propagated to the outlet nozzle much faster for the larger amount case than for the smaller amount cases. However, the flow pattern for the 50 mL KCl case was somewhat different. The fluid propagated to the top surface which acted like black ink during the initial injection, and subsequently the fluid flowed throughout the holes at a much slower pace. The breakthrough time and peak concentration of RTD curves of model predictions and water modeling results showed a good agreement (all difference within 12.5 pct) for the 100, 150, and 250 mL KCl cases.

The toxic potential of a fourth-generation E-cigarette on human lung cell lines and tissue explants

Abstract: The use of electronic cigarettes (E‐cigs) is rapidly increasing. The latest generation of E‐cigs is highly customizable, allowing for high heating coil temperatures. The aim of this study was to as ...