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The oak-dominated woodlands and forests of northern Europe have experienced dramatic declines due to agriculture, urbanization, and conifer-dominated production forestry. These losses have had a substantial negative impact on biodiversity due to the large number of forest species which depend on oak and the environments oak-dominated forests provide. Production oak stands may serve as a means of supplementing or complementing the habitat provided by the limited remaining natural oak remnants in this region. Here we evaluate the extent to which oak plantations in temperate southern Sweden provide habitat and resources for bird communities, by surveying and contrasting the bird species composition and diversity found in mature and young production oak stands (5 and 8 replicates respectively) and protected oak-dominated remnant forests (5 replicates). The mature production stands possessed a bird community partially overlapping in bird species composition, and comparable in species richness (34 species) to that found within protected oak forests (39 species). Furthermore, the production oak forests surveyed hosted threatened or near threatened bird species, including black woodpecker ( Dryocopus martius ), goldcrest ( Regulus regulus ), starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ), and yellowhammer ( Emberiza citrinella ). Though production oak forests cannot replace the habitat provided by protected oak forests, these stands do appear to provide conditions consistent with the habitat and resource requirements of a diverse cross-section of bird species in this region, including species of substantial conservation concern. Production oak forests thus have the capacity to make a positive contribution to biodiversity conservation, as well as providing a diverse range of goods and services to society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Coatings of SiO2–TiO2 films are frequently used in a number of optical thin film applications. In this work we present results from depositing films with variable Si/Ti ratios prepared by reactive sputtering. The different Si/Ti ratios were obtained by varying the target composition of composite single targets. Compared to co-sputtering this facilitates process control and composition uniformity of the films. Varying the oxygen supply during sputter deposition can result in films ranging from metallic/substoichiometric to stoichiometric oxides. Transmittance spectra of the different films are presented and the optical constants are determined from these spectra. Furthermore, the deposition process, films structure and composition of the films are discussed. The study shows that by choosing the right composition and working in the proper oxygen flow range, it is possible to tune the refractive index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Titanium dioxide thin films have many interesting properties and are used in various applications. High refractive index of titania makes it attractive for the glass coating industry, where it is used in low-emissivity and antireflective coatings. Magnetron sputtering is the most common deposition technique for large area coatings and a high deposition rate is therefore of obvious interest. It has been shown previously that high rate can be achieved using substoichiometric targets. This work deals with reactive magnetron sputtering of titanium oxide films from TiO x targets with different oxygen contents. The deposition rate and hysteresis behaviour are disclosed. Films were prepared at various oxygen flows and all films were deposited onto glass and silicon substrates with no external heating. The elemental compositions and structures of deposited films were evaluated by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, elastic recoil detection analysis and X-ray diffraction. All deposited films were X-ray amorphous. No significant effect of the target composition on the optical properties of coatings was observed. However, the residual atmosphere is shown to contribute to the oxidation of growing films. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

BACKGROUND: For men with localised prostate cancer, surgery provides a survival benefit compared with watchful waiting. Treatments are associated with morbidity. Results for functional outcome and quality of life are rarely reported beyond 10 years and are lacking from randomised settings. We report results for quality of life for men in the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group Study Number 4 (SPCG-4) after a median follow-up of more than 12 years. METHODS: All living Swedish and Finnish men (400 of 695) randomly assigned to radical prostatectomy or watchful waiting in SPCG-4 from 1989 to 1999 were included in our analysis. An additional 281 men were included in a population-based control group matched for region and age. Physical symptoms, symptom-induced stress, and self-assessed quality of life were evaluated with a study-specific questionnaire. Longitudinal data were available for 166 Swedish men who had answered quality-of-life questionnaires at an earlier timepoint. FINDINGS: 182 (88%) of 208 men in the radical prostatectomy group, 167 (87%) of 192 men in the watchful-waiting group, and 214 (76%) of 281 men in the population-based control group answered the questionnaire. Men in SPCG-4 had a median follow-up of 12·2 years (range 7-17) and a median age of 77·0 years (range 61-88). High self-assessed quality of life was reported by 62 (35%) of 179 men allocated radical prostatectomy, 55 (34%) of 160 men assigned to watchful waiting, and 93 (45%) of 208 men in the control group. Anxiety was higher in the SPCG-4 groups (77 [43%] of 178 and 69 [43%] of 161 men) than in the control group (68 [33%] of 208 men; relative risk 1·42, 95% CI 1·07-1·88). Prevalence of erectile dysfunction was 84% (146 of 173 men) in the radical prostatectomy group, 80% (122 of 153) in the watchful-waiting group, and 46% (95 of 208) in the control group and prevalence of urinary leakage was 41% (71 of 173), 11% (18 of 164), and 3% (six of 209), respectively. Distress caused by these symptoms was reported significantly more often by men allocated radical prostatectomy than by men assigned to watchful waiting. In a longitudinal analysis of men in SPCG-4 who provided information at two follow-up points 9 years apart, 38 (45%) of 85 men allocated radical prostatectomy and 48 (60%) of 80 men allocated watchful waiting reported an increase in number of physical symptoms; 50 (61%) of 82 and 47 (64%) of 74 men, respectively, reported a reduction in quality of life. INTERPRETATION: For men in SPCG-4, negative side-effects were common and added more stress than was reported in the control population. In the radical prostatectomy group, erectile dysfunction and urinary leakage were often consequences of surgery. In the watchful-waiting group, side-effects can be caused by tumour progression. The number and severity of side-effects changes over time at a higher rate than is caused by normal ageing and a loss of sexual ability is a persistent psychological problem for both interventions. An understanding of the patterns of side-effects and time dimension of their occurrence for each treatment is important for full patient information. FUNDING: US National Institutes of Health; Swedish Cancer Society; Foundation in Memory of Johanna Hagstrand and Sigfrid Linnér. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM OF THE STUDY: To make a comprehensive, detailed inventory of gastrointestinal symptoms reported by gynaecological cancer survivors and control women from the general population. METHOD: We identified a cohort of 789 eligible women in the Stockholm and Gothenburg areas, treated with pelvic radiotherapy during the period 1991-2003, alone or as combined treatment, for gynaecological cancer. As controls, we randomly recruited 478 women, frequency matched by age and residence from the Swedish Population Registry. We collected data in 2006 by means of a study-specific, validated, postal questionnaire including 351 questions covering symptoms from the pelvic region. We asked about demographics, psychological and quality-of-life issues as well as social functioning. RESULTS: Participation was 78% for cancer survivors and 72% for controls. Mean follow-up was 7.2 years. In this large, population-based study, the greatest age-adjusted absolute risk difference between cancer survivors and control women was observed for the symptom defaecation urgency with faecal leakage and the highest age-adjusted relative risk for emptying of all stools into clothing without forewarning. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer survivors having undergone pelvic radiotherapy alone or as part of combined treatment between the period 1991-2003 for a gynaecological malignancy had a higher occurrence of long-lasting gastrointestinal symptoms as compared to population controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]