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Based on ethnographic research in a local RCCG congregation, the Jesus House in Midtown, Sweden, this article focuses on the meaning of pastorship to its founding pastor, John, and on the nature of the relationship between John and his congregation. Results show that to John, pastorship means hard work but also an opportunity for social mobility. As he founded the Jesus House, John took on considerable financial risk, realistically turning him into a church-owner. Furthermore, the relationship between pastor and congregation implies a contract where John is expected to protect his congregants from illness and death. As a congregant dies, a crisis hits and the congregation starts to break apart. In order to save his congregation, John first appeals to his own spiritual powers, but then resorts to pleading to the structures of plausibility within the congregation. As the paper argues, this shows the importance of both cognitive and relational aspects of meaning-making.

Aims Left ventricular diastolic pressure estimation is essential for characterization of heart failure (HF). Patients with normal resting left atrial (LA) pressures (LAP), but steep LAP elevation on exertion, pose a particular diagnostic challenge. Current recommendations on echocardiographic LAP estimation have limited accuracy. Our aim was to investigate whether LA mechanical alterations assessed by LA strain (LA-GS) can contribute to non-invasive LAP diagnostics. Methods and results Simultaneous echocardiographic and right heart catheterization (RHC) data at rest and during exercise was analyzed in 164 prospectively enrolled patients, referred for RHC due to HF symptoms. 56% had preserved ejection fraction (pEF). At rest, 97 patients displayed elevated mean pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PAWPM); further 32 patients had normal resting, but elevated PAWPM during exercise. LA-GS demonstrated a stronger relationship with resting PAWPM (r = − 0.61, p

Using a hermeneutical method, this study seeks to understand Christian Zionism as a meaningful practice in late modern Sweden. We visited four Christian Zionist conferences where we observed, analy...

The flavonoid content in leaves of Zostera marina and the endangered Zostera noltii, including mono- and disulphated flavonoids, from different sample localities were characterized. Seasonal variation of both individual and total flavonoid, as well as rosmarinic acid concentration were revealed. Minor amounts of luteolin 7-(6″-malonyl)glucoside ( 6 ) and apigenin7-(6″-malonyl)glucoside ( 11 ) were identified in Z. noltii for the first time. The total flavonoid content was found to be higher in Z. noltii than in Z. marina at most of the examined localities, and the qualitative flavonoid content was somewhat different in the two species. The quantitative variation of flavonoids and rosmarinic acid was found to be relatively consistent from year to year in Z. marina during a period of three years. The two species appeared though to have a different flavonoid production in the various seasons at the West coast. While Z. marina had the highest content in young leaves in May or June, with a markedly decrease from June to September and the lowest measured content in February, Z. noltii had the lowest measured flavonoid content in May/June followed by an increase from June to September and the highest measured content during wintertime in February. The observed seasonal differences may be related to the fact that Z. noltii is considered a perennial, thermophilous species, and the increasing flavonoid production during the colder seasons from September to March/April in Norway may serve as a protective function.

Syncope is the chief complaint in 1-2 percent of emergency department visits. Syncope belongs to the broader category transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), defined as a short loss of consciousness with loss of awareness and responsiveness, and with subsequent amnesia for the event. Syncope is defined as TLOC due to cerebral hypoperfusion, with rapid onset and spontaneous complete recovery. The main categories of syncope are reflex syncope, orthostatic hypotension, and cardiac syncope. The 2018 guidelines by the European Society of Cardiology emphasizes the process of risk stratification in the initial management of suspected syncope. Risk stratification serves to separate the patients with likely orthostatic and reflex syncope with good prognosis from the patients with likely cardiac syncope and high short-term risk of an adverse outcome. It determines the appropriate next level of care. Further evaluation should be based on clinical suspicion and frequency of symptoms.

This paper seeks to understand how the environment is constructed as a faith issue by environmental coordinators and activists in the Lutheran Church of Sweden. The main results are: 1. On the whole, respondents do not feel environmentalism emanates out of their religious engagement, but that it is something they brought with them. 2. Respondents emphasize instrumentality. A wealthy Church is considered to be an important resource for the sake of creating a sustainable society. Conversely, respondents emphasize environmentalism as a way of proving the relevance of the Church to an estranged society. 3. Theologically, respondents struggle to negotiate between maintaining a communitarian, anti-individualistic eco-theology, while staying within the boundaries of classic Christianity, not crossing over to pantheism. Eco-theology is felt to be stretching the boundaries, developing biblical motifs beyond what they are traditionally thought to mean. The data is analyzed using Peter Beyer’s concepts of religious function and religious performance.

This study examines how the hope for peace in the Middle East is articulated in Swedish Christian Zionist movements, both publicly and in private interviews with leaders and speakers. The article s ...

Steiner and Lundberg examine how Israeli Messianic leaders articulate the hope for peace in the Middle East. More specifically, they draw attention to how Messianic leaders understand the Middle Eastern conflicts and whether this understanding could be considered as radical. All of the informants underline the complexity of the conflicts and most of them tend to emphasize their permanence. The informants are pessimists regarding the conflict, half of them describe it in fatalist terms. This colours their hope for peace; they expect an escalation of the Middle Eastern conflicts, even the apocalypse. And lastly, the informants prefer a one-state solution. In comparison to the Israeli political mainstream, like Likud, the Messianic movement is not necessarily radical.

Herein, the polyphenolic content in extracts of Ruppia cirrhosa (Petagna) Grande and Ruppia maritima L.was fully characterized for the first time. High amounts of the main compound chicoric acid (CA) (≤30.2 ± 4.3 mg/g) were found in both Ruppia species. In addition, eight flavonoids, namely the 3-O-glucopyranosides and 3-O-galactopyranosides, as well as malonylated 3-O-glycosides of quercetin and isorhamnetin, were isolated and identified. The antioxidant activity of Ruppia cirrhosa extracts and isolated compounds was investigated spectrophotometrically by a 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·) radical scavenging assay. IC50 values were 31.8–175.7 μg/mL for Ruppia cirrhosa extracts and 12.1–88.4 μg/mL for isolated flavonoids. Both individual and total phenolic and flavonoid content were quantified in crude extracts using analytical HPLC. The relative high amount of total flavonoids ranged from 5.9 to 14.7 mg/g in both species, with concentrations of individual flavonoids ranging from 0.4 to 2.9 mg/g dry weight. The content of chicoric acid was twofold more in Ruppia maritima than in Ruppia cirrhosa. Seasonal variation of the quantitative content in Ruppia cirrhosa was examined. Total flavonoid content ranged from 8.4 mg/g in October to 14.7 mg/g in August, whereas the highest concentration of chicoric acid was observed in March (29.2 mg/g). publishedVersion

By differentiations we derive from the functional equation $$\varphi (F(x)+G(y))+\psi (H(x)+K(y))-\omega (x+y)=0 \quad \quad \quad \quad (1)$$ a functional-differential equation, which does not contain $${\varphi ,\psi ,\omega }$$ . If a list [F, G, H, K] of analytic functions satisfies the latter equation, then there are analytic $${\varphi ,\psi ,\omega }$$ such that $${[F,G,H,K,\varphi ,\psi ,\omega]}$$ satisfies (1). This gives rise to a procedure for obtaining all analytic solutions of (1). A few applications of this procedure are shown.

In many parts of Europe, extensive changes in vegetation have taken place during recent decades. In Norway, forest expansion is a major trend, with an increase in volume of 20.3% during the period 1994-2008. The annual increase has more than doubled since 1967. This study was carried out to gain more insight into the complexity of vegetation dynamics and alterations in a lowland area on the coast of W Norway, and to identify the driving forces behind these changes. Field surveys were carried out with aerial photo interpretation and vegetation mapping. Spatial analysis was carried out using GIS. Historical sources were identified, interpreted, and used to generate information on land-use during recent centuries. Supplementary methods consisted of soil profile analysis and dendrochronology. Climate data were used to analyse climatic trends in the past 90 years since 1923. Forest expansion was a major trend during 1956-1994. In 1956, 49.5% of the area was covered by forest, and by 1994 the coverage had increased with 53.4%. Forestation continued during 1994-2003 and 2003-2007, but at rates far lower than in the previous period (4.0 and 3.8% increases, compared to 53.4%). Forest expansion was most extensive during 1956-1994, a period with no clear trend in mean July temperatures. A distinct increase in mean July temperatures occurred during the period 1994-2003 and again in 2003-2007, when the rate of forestation was far lower than in previous decades. This is an indication that a factor other than climate change is the most important driving force for vegetation change, forest expansion in particular. Forestation did not start simultaneously throughout all parts of the study area, but at different times on different landholdings. Forestation initially started on plots where livestock grazing first came to an end (in the 1930s), and lastly on plots where grazing came to an end three decades later, in the 1960s. The different starting times of forestation is reflected in the present age structure of the forest stands on the eight landholdings studied. The conclusion is drawn that changes in land-use are the major driving force behind the distinct process of forestation that occurred during the 20th century.

The vegetation dynamics and landscape management during 20 years of a temperate deciduous forest protected as a nature reserve in western Norway are analysed. Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), an alien species in northern Europe, has become abundant in parts of the forest and the paper discusses how nature management has formulated and interpreted the introduction of sycamore. Scientists and nature managers regard the species as aggressive and a threat to the local natural biodiversity, but in this respect empirical evidence has been replaced by assumption and prejudice, and this is critically reviewed in the paper. The development of the forest has been monitored annually since 1988 and the long-term forest dynamics and behaviour of sycamore are discussed in relation to the attitudes of nature managers. The views held by nature managers are based on their own values and ideas regarding what is valuable nature, and alien species are often assumed to be invasive and aggressive, yet with no reference...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technique of whole-body magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) of patients with a standard clinical scanner. Thirty-three patients referred for stenoses, occlusions, aneurysms, assessment of patency of vascular grafts, vasculitis and vascular aplasia were examined in a 1.5-T scanner using its standard body coil. Three-dimensional sequences were acquired in four stations after administration of one intravenous injection of 40 ml conventional gadolinium contrast agent. Different vessel segments were evaluated as either diagnostic or nondiagnostic and regarding the presence of stenoses with more than 50% diameter reduction, occlusions or aneurysms. Of 923 vessel segments, 67 were not evaluable because of poor contrast filling (n=31), motion artefacts (n=20), venous overlap (n=12) and other reasons (n=4). Stenoses of more than 50%, occlusions or aneurysms were observed in 26 patients (129 segments). In nine patients additional unsuspected pathology was found. In 10 out of 14 patients (71/79 segments) there was conformity between MRA and digital subtraction angiography regarding the grade of stenosis. This study shows that whole-body MRA with a standard clinical scanner is feasible. Motion artefacts and the timing of the contrast agent through the different segments are still problems to be solved.

Considerations in behavioral sciences lead to the functional equations F(G(x, y), z) = G(F(x, z), F(y, z)) and f(x + φ(y − x)) = f(x) + ψ(f(y) − f(x)). The variables run over certain intervals on the real axis, and we assume that x ≤ y. We give the solutions of both equations under assumptions of continuity and strict monotonicity. For the functions $t\,\mapsto\,G(t,y),t\,\mapsto\,\varphi(t)-t$ and $t\,\mapsto\,\psi(t)-t$ and the monotonicity is weakened to philandering.

This study aims at improving the comprehension of the alpine treeline, partly as a means of projecting landscape evolution in an anticipated warmer future. The main problem to be solved is to distinguish effects and responses of climate change and human impact, two driving forces which have both caused an increase in the altitude of the alpine treeline over the past century. Thus, an interdisciplinary approach has been transposed to the Norwegian mountains, combining socio-geographical, landscape ecological and adjusted dendroecological methods. Preliminary results presented for the continental Norwegian mountain region Vaga, Oppland, prove the treeline to be in a regeneration stage after a period of major human forced depression. Climatic conditions at the treeline and growth rates of birches indicate that the treeline is not at its distribution limit. Consistent grazing pressure and dense vegetation cover is the most likely explanation.

A nature protected area within agricultural landscapes is analysed based on studies of landscape metrics, vegetation and soil, as well as measurements of the water and matter balance. Landscape metrics analyses show the influences of agriculture in shaping the landscape over the past 65 years. Increased separation between intensively used agricultural land and low-productive wet fen areas is found. Both individual patches and the total area of arable land have increased in size. Changes restricted to the nature reserve are identified as to sedimentation and vegetation succession. Expansion of reed and Salix shrubs profits from nutrient fluxes from arable land and drainage canals. Plant compositions differ with regard to the complex nutrient balance which is affected by hydrologic conditions. Scenarios are drawn which indicate that extensive land use and landscape management neither prevent sedimentation processes nor reverse the successive development. We conclude that future changes in bird species compo...

Extensive forest expansion has taken place across Europe during recent decades. Forest expansion is also a major trend in orway, with an annual increase of about 24.6 million m3 during 2007–11. Sim...

The functional equation¶\( \varphi (x+ y) =\frac{f(x) g(y) + h(x) l(y)}{m(x) + n (y)} \),¶where the real valued, continuous functions \( \varphi,f,g,\ldots,n \) are all unknown, is solved in an arbitrary rectangle in \( {\Bbb R}^2 \). The proof is based on differentiation. To do this without differentiability assumptions we have to use a concept of derivative, more flexible than the classical one.

This paper is based on findings from a study on irrigation in Peruvian agriculture, carried out in 1991–1992. Irrigation systems in Lambayeque, North Peru, consist of both old and new canals for ro...

Lundberg, A. 1996. Environmental change and nature management in Norway. Norsk geogr. Tidsskr. Vol. 50, 143–156. Oslo. ISSN 0029-1951. Changes in the flora and vegetation of the littoral zone of S. and W. Norway are analysed by studying the response of plants to changes in climate and land-use patterns. When coastal ecosystems and landscapes are studied through a time series, they appear to be maintained by different climate regimes or types of land use, in particular agriculture. Consequently, they should be expected to change with changing climates or land-use systems. Three examples are analysed: the changing distribution and abundance of Cranibe maritima, fluctuations in the number of seabirds in seabird colonies, and the vegetation dynamics of salt marshes. The analysis indicates that the theory of stability and ecological balance as the ultimate state of developments is a myth. Norwegian nature conservation has so far failed to cope with the changing status of coastal landscapes and ecosystems.

Mountain ecosystems are commonly regarded as being highly sensitive to global change. Due to the system complexity and multifaceted interacting drivers, however, understanding current responses and predicting future changes in these ecosystems is extremely difficult. We aim to discuss potential effects of global change on mountain ecosystems and give examples of the underlying response mechanisms as they are understood at present. Based on the development of scientific global change research in mountains and its recent structures, we identify future research needs, highlighting the major lack and the importance of integrated studies that implement multi-factor, multi-method, multi-scale, and interdisciplinary research.

This introduction gives an account of the aims and theoretical background of this issue on Austevoll. To fully understand processes of change, interactions between macro, meso and micro levels are discussed. A summary of the papers is given.

A dynamic model of man-nature interactions is applied in order to understand the changing coastal landscape. Ecosystem dynamics, structural processes and individual and local preferences are integrated elements in the study's theoretical concept. Traditional land use of the fishing and farming system has created a mixed landscape with heathlands, bogs and forests. Any parts of the landscape were utilized, but as a rule productivity and ecological carrying capacity were maintained. Structural changes during the 1960–1970s (industrial fisheries) and 1980s (fish-farming) brought decline in agriculture, and landscape structure is now responding to these events. Many parts of the landscape are less intensively used than before, but some are being used more intensively than ever. If diversity of ecosystems and local resource bases are to be maintained in future, environmental considerations in landscape planning and management will have to be taken more seriously than they have been up to now.

Professor Tore Ouren died on 17 August 1995, aged 77 years. His scientific disciplines were economic geography and botany, each of which he studied separately, or in combination. His geographic background is very apparent in his studies on plant immigration and plant geography, and his botanical knowledge can be traced in several of his geographic works. About 46% of his publications can be classified as geography, while the remainder are more botanical in character. Tore Ouren was born in Trondheim on 5 June 1918. His father was Doctor Henrik Ouren and his mother Signe Ouren, nee Jenssen. He completed his secondary education at Trondheim College of Economics in 1936, and then left for Bergen. Here he completed an undergraduate degree course at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in 1939, and added a graduate teaching diploma specializing in geography in 1940. He continued 'his formal education even after this, and, unlike most of his contemporaries, he now changed to (or rather we should say: continu...

In this paper we determine all iseomorphic pairs (isomorphic pairs with monotonic, thus continuous isomorphisms) of continuous, strictly increasing, linearly homogeneous functions defined on cartesian squares I 2 and J 2 of intervals of positive numbers or on their restrictions $$ D_{} := \{(x, y) \in I^{2}\, \vert\: x \geq y\}, $$ and $$ \{(u, \upsilon) \in J^{2}\, \vert\: u \leq \upsilon\} $$ or $$ \{(u, \upsilon) \in J^{2}\, \vert\: u \geq \upsilon\}. $$ We prove that, if the iseomorphy is nontrivial, then each homogeneous function is a (weighted) geometric or power mean or a joint pair of such means. In functional equations terminology this means that all nontrivial continuous strictly increasing linearly homogeneous solutions G, H (with the continuous strictly monotonic F also unknown) of the equation $$ F[G(x, y] = H[F(x), F(y)] $$ on D < or D > are weighted geometric or power means, while on I 2 they are joint pairs of weighted geometric means or of weighted power means.

Associate Professor Roger G. Bennett died on 14 October 2008, at the age of 66 years. His scientific interests had started with physical geography but later developed in natural resource management...

A Secular Age : Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007, 874 pp.

Professor Peter Sjoholt was 80 on 8 July 2005. He defended his doctoral thesis in 1982 and was appointed Professor of Geography at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen in 1985. His major academic interests are central place theory, urban development, service industries, tropical colonization, and other themes in economic geography. He retired in 1995 but is still active.

Changes in coastal cultural landscapes during the last 250 years have been studied by analysing old maps and topographical descriptions and by collecting data on the present situation. Distinct changes in the structure and function of the landscape have occurred throughout this period, and the commonly used expression “traditional cultural landscapes” is proved to have limited meaning if not explicitly referred to a definite space-and-time context. The structural and functional changes that have occurred are due to changes in agriculture (land use) and more recently also to long-range atmospheric depositions.

(2004). Editorial: Environmental change, human efforts and nature management. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography: Vol. 58, Environmental change, human efforts and nature management (guest ed. Anders Lundberg), pp. 145-146.

(2003). Book reviews - Litteraturanmeldelser R@nneseth, Ottar. 2001. Gard og gjerde. Faser i utviklingen av Jaerens kulturlandskap . [Farm and fence. Phases in the development of the cultural landscape of Jaeren.] Translated to Norwegian by Frans-Arne Stylagar. Erling Skjalgssonselskapet, Stavanger. 273 pp. ISBN 82-91640-13-0. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography: Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 62-62.

A real solution of the functional equationϕ(x + ψ(y − x)) = f(x) + g(y) + h(x)k(y) on a setΩ ⊂ ℝ2 is a 6-tuple (f, g, h, k, ϕ, ψ) of real valued functions such that the equation is identically fulfilled onΩ. Except for cases known before—e.g. whenψ is linear—we present all real solutions in an arbitrary region where the functions have derivatives of second order.

The paper describes a land use conflict in the coastal zone of Western Norway. The author shows that such conflicts arise due to lack of environmental and conservation data. To avoid land use conflicts, it is inadequate to consider economic and technical aspects, only. It is shown how landscape planning must include several land use interests to be successful. The methods of landscape geography are considered to be useful towards this end.