| 1. |
- Bernacka Wojcik, Iwona, et al.
(författare)
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Flexible Organic Electronic Ion Pump for Flow-Free Phytohormone Delivery into Vasculature of Intact Plants
- 2023
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Ingår i: Advanced Science. - : WILEY. - 2198-3844. ; 10:14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant vasculature transports molecules that play a crucial role in plant signaling including systemic responses and acclimation to diverse environmental conditions. Targeted controlled delivery of molecules to the vascular tissue can be a biomimetic way to induce long distance responses, providing a new tool for the fundamental studies and engineering of stress-tolerant plants. Here, a flexible organic electronic ion pump, an electrophoretic delivery device, for controlled delivery of phytohormones directly in plant vascular tissue is developed. The c-OEIP is based on polyimide-coated glass capillaries that significantly enhance the mechanical robustness of these microscale devices while being minimally disruptive for the plant. The polyelectrolyte channel is based on low-cost and commercially available precursors that can be photocured with blue light, establishing much cheaper and safer system than the state-of-the-art. To trigger OEIP-induced plant response, the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) in the petiole of intact Arabidopsis plants is delivered. ABA is one of the main phytohormones involved in plant stress responses and induces stomata closure under drought conditions to reduce water loss and prevent wilting. The OEIP-mediated ABA delivery triggered fast and long-lasting stomata closure far away from the delivery point demonstrating systemic vascular transport of the delivered ABA, verified delivering deuterium-labeled ABA.
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| 2. |
- Ahlman, Therese, et al.
(författare)
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Organic producers' preferences regarding traits important in dairy production
- 2012
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Ingår i: Landbauforschung Völkenrode. Sonderheft. - 0376-0723. ; 362, s. 343-346
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Much effort has been put on the development and promotion of organic dairy products, but little attention has been paid to the foundation of the production, i.e. the animal material. The process of developing sustainable breeding strategies, in agreement with the goals for organic production, should involve identification of traits especially important in organic production. The aim of this study is to identify organic and conventional producers' preferences regarding traits important in dairy production. A web based questionnaire has been developed and answered by 468 dairy farm-ers in Sweden (26 % organic producers). The results show that organic producers rank traits relat-ed to resistance to diseases higher than conventional producers, while milk production, lactation curve, temperament and claw and leg health were ranked higher by conventional farmers. This in-dicates a need for breeding goals adjusted to satisfy farmers with different type of production.
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| 3. |
- Algers, Anne, et al.
(författare)
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Peer review of OER is not comprehensive- power and passion call for other solutions
- 2014
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this article is to support the discussion on the role of OER for sustainable development by (i) highlighting the need for a critical debate on issues related to quality of OER and (ii) emphasizing that both accuracy and legitimacy is essential for quality. Higher education has a societal responsibility to formally educate students and to be involved in informal learning of members of society. OER are used as a hybrid of learning artefacts and methodology in this process, but quality assurance systems may influence trust and therefore the scale of OER adoption. Quality of research and traditional resources used in higher education are assessed by the use of peer review, but this process has been criticised for neither being standardised and objective, nor reliable for detecting fraud. Furthermore it is questioned because it is time consuming and expensive, and has been accused for stealing ideas, and for blocking and slowing down the publication of scientific results of competitors. Peer review is sometimes used in the quality assurance of OER, but has been criticised since OER are constantly changing and centralised control systems are lacking. Furthermore, OER can with reference to the wisdom of the crowd be argued to be of higher quality than resources developed by single individuals, since it is a collegial activity similar to the creative exchange in research when researchers are building upon each other’s work and discuss their findings with fellow researchers in order to get a shared understanding. Different types of index are sometimes used in peer review based on tools which measure different dimensions. Such tools tend to be instrumental and some academics are considering other and more inclusive approaches such as ratings and recommendation. The balance between accuracy and legitimacy in OER practices deserves further research, especially when dealing with contested subject areas. Thus, the question is not only if the OER is accurate, in the sense without errors or demonstrating scientific reliable results, but if it shares with you the value-laden presuppositions about what is important. Food quality and animal welfare are aspects of sustainability which are of high interest not only to scientists and students but also to citizens and consumers. Individuals need to be assisted to become more aware of the complexities surrounding ethical decision making and more conscious of their own ethical Research Approaches and Perceptions in ODL 89 orientation in the contested areas of food quality and animal welfare, in order to make informed consumer choices, influence the food production methods and levels of animal welfare and articulate their stance in sustainable development. Consequently, food quality and animal welfare have legitimacy because of ethical concerns in the society. To access the adequacy of those scientific conceptions the research community must therefore be in dialogue with society and address the current ethical concerns. This article presents empirical research highlighting the interplay between accuracy, meaning if the content is current knowledge without errors, and legitimacy, meaning if the content is relevant to the learner and based on the value system of the learner or the general accepted value system in a certain context. It highlights the power structures and question if higher education has the authority to be the main assessor of OER in the future, and if peer review is the only and preferred methodology for quality assessment. It asks the question if the wisdom of the crowd and its demand for knowledge is building the legitimacy of OER and how that corresponds to the quality assessment of OER, and therefore how this might contribute to a sustainable development of society. The fourth generation activity theory is about expansive learning, and builds on the idea that there are inner contradictions within the learners’ activity system and that knowledge creation transcends the context given, and is therefore found to be a useful framework for analysing the peer review process. Since openness is both the objectives and the instruments in OER a peer review assessment of the artefact cannot be comprehensive but requires a complex mix of quality instruments enabling users to be involved in the quality process. As previously suggested the interaction between (i) the network of users of OER and (ii) the network in publishing industry and formal education may form the future solution for the quality of OER and for sustainable development.
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| 4. |
- Algers, Anne, 1961, et al.
(författare)
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Peer Reviewing of OER in a Contested Domain – an Activity Theoretical Analysis
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Interactive Online Learning. - 1541-4914. ; 13:4, s. 21-38
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Globally, we experience numerous initiatives to increase the adoption of open educational resources (OER), but quality concerns challenge the adoption. In this study we present an analysis of the peer review process of an OER. The OER under review is produced by the European Commission (EU). It has the goal to teach children about farm animal welfare. Following discussions with the EU about its quality, a panel review was conducted. The group of peers used a quality evaluation tool for initial individual assessment, which was then discussed in four consecutive meetings. Video recordings from the meetings and the final report constitute the research data. Cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) was used as the analytical framework. The results indicated that the main areas of negotiations were the content quality of the OER and the adoption of the OER in teaching practices. The examination of these concerns using CHAT indicated that the peer review process neither leads to accuracy nor legitimacy. In summary, OER and in particular the quality assessment of OER challenge the boundaries of higher education. A combination of peer review and crowd source review is suggested to underpin the openness and thus increase adoption of OER.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Magnus
(författare)
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Experimental Design and Updating of Finite Element Models
- 1997
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis deals with two partly related topics: model updating and actuator/sensor placement concerning finite element (FE) models of large, flexible mechanical structures.The importance of accurate dynamical FE models of mechanical structures in, e.g., aviation/aerospace applications are steadily increasing. For instance, a sufficient accurate model may reduce the expenses for ground vibration testing and wind-tunnel experiments substantially. It is therefore of high industrial interest to obtain accurate models of flexible structures. One approach is to improve a parameterized, initial FE model using measurements of the real structure, so-called model updating. For a fast, successful model updating, three requirements must be fulfilled. The model updating must be computationally cheap, which requires an efficient model reduction technique. The cost function describing the deviation between the model output and the measurements must have good convexity properties so that an estimation of the parameters corresponding to the global optimum is likely to be obtained. Finally, the optimization methods must be reliable. A novel mode-pairing free cost function is presented, and together with a proposed general procedure for model updating, a cheap model updating formulation with good parameter estimation properties is obtained.Actuator and sensor placement is a part of the experimental design. It is performed in advance of the vibrational experiment in order to ensure high quality measurements. Using a nominal FE model of the structure, an actuator/sensor placement can be made. Actuator/sensor placement tasks are generally discrete, non-convex optimization problems of high complexity. One is therefore restricted to the use of sub-optimal algorithms in order to fulfill time and memory storage requirements. A computationally cheap algorithm for general actuator/sensor placement objectives are proposed. A generalization of an actuator/sensor placement criterion for model updating, and a novel noise-robust actuator placement criterion for experimental modal analysis are proposed.
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| 7. |
- Axelsson, Louise, et al.
(författare)
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The meaning of animal well-being- for farmers and dairy farm employees
- 2024
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Ingår i: Agricultural and Food Science. - 1459-6067 .- 1795-1895. ; 33, s. 30-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dairy farms in Sweden have undergone a structural change. The number of family farms has decreased, while the number of large dairy farms with employees caring for the animals has increased. This changing situation has created a new farming landscape. From that perspective, it is crucial to gain insight into what factors contribute to the well-being of humans and animals on big dairy farms. Twenty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted on three farms. Farmers and employees were interviewed. The material was analysed using a qualitative approach inspired by qualitative content analysis. For the farmers and employees, animal well-being was central for various reasons and from different perspectives. Despite the differences, the impact of animal well-being was interlinked between the two groups. An increased and deeper understanding of the different perspectives and needs arising from the different roles of farmers and employees can provide new knowledge about factors important for improvinganimal well-being.
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| 8. |
- Axelsson, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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The Challenge of Transdisciplinary Research : A Case Study of Learning by Evaluation for Sustainable Transport Infrastructures
- 2020
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 12:17, s. 1-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While transdisciplinary (TD) research is desired in order to solve real world sustainability issues, this may be challenging for both academic and non-academic participants. Supporting learning through evaluation, we analyzed a project aiming at sustainable transport infrastructures. After developing a TD research framework as a benchmark, two external independent evaluators interviewed all project researchers, representatives for end-users, and donors. The evaluators compared results with the framework, and evaluators and participants critically reflected on the results together. There were three inconsistencies relative to the framework: (1) limited understanding of TD research among project management, end-users, and most of the researchers; (2) no structured learning process among end-users; instead, they expressed very diverse opinions about what they expected from the project; (3) project leaders had limited understanding of the special challenges of TD research, did not fully understand the status of the project's social system, and thus did not act as facilitators of the required collaborative learning process. Non-academic participants saw themselves as customers and not as partners in the knowledge production process. We conclude that TD problem-solving research requires much time and needs facilitation and training. A preparatory phase with a lower level of funding would be helpful in preparing for TD processes.
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| 9. |
- Bernacka Wojcik, Iwona, et al.
(författare)
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Implantable Organic Electronic Ion Pump Enables ABA Hormone Delivery for Control of Stomata in an Intact Tobacco Plant
- 2019
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Ingår i: Small. - : Wiley-VCH Verlagsgesellschaft. - 1613-6810 .- 1613-6829. ; 15:43
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electronic control of biological processes with bioelectronic devices holds promise for sophisticated regulation of physiology, for gaining fundamental understanding of biological systems, providing new therapeutic solutions, and digitally mediating adaptations of organisms to external factors. The organic electronic ion pump (OEIP) provides a unique means for electronically-controlled, flow-free delivery of ions, and biomolecules at cellular scale. Here, a miniaturized OEIP device based on glass capillary fibers (c-OEIP) is implanted in a biological organism. The capillary form factor at the sub-100 mu m scale of the device enables it to be implanted in soft tissue, while its hyperbranched polyelectrolyte channel and addressing protocol allows efficient delivery of a large aromatic molecule. In the first example of an implantable bioelectronic device in plants, the c-OEIP readily penetrates the leaf of an intact tobacco plant with no significant wound response (evaluated up to 24 h) and effectively delivers the hormone abscisic acid (ABA) into the leaf apoplast. OEIP-mediated delivery of ABA, the phytohormone that regulates plants tolerance to stress, induces closure of stomata, the microscopic pores in leafs epidermis that play a vital role in photosynthesis and transpiration. Efficient and localized ABA delivery reveals previously unreported kinetics of ABA-induced signal propagation.
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| 10. |
- Blennow Nordström, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Neuropsychological outcome after cardiac arrest : results from a sub-study of the targeted hypothermia versus targeted normothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (TTM2) trial
- 2023
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Ingår i: Critical Care. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1364-8535 .- 1466-609X. ; 27:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment is common following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), but the nature of the impairment is poorly understood. Our objective was to describe cognitive impairment in OHCA survivors, with the hypothesis that OHCA survivors would perform significantly worse on neuropsychological tests of cognition than controls with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Another aim was to investigate the relationship between cognitive performance and the associated factors of emotional problems, fatigue, insomnia, and cardiovascular risk factors following OHCA.METHODS: This was a prospective case-control sub-study of The Targeted Hypothermia versus Targeted Normothermia after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (TTM2) trial. Eight of 61 TTM2-sites in Sweden, Denmark, and the United Kingdom included adults with OHCA of presumed cardiac or unknown cause. A matched non-arrest control group with acute MI was recruited. At approximately 7 months post-event, we administered an extensive neuropsychological test battery and questionnaires on anxiety, depression, fatigue, and insomnia, and collected information on the cardiovascular risk factors hypertension and diabetes.RESULTS: Of 184 eligible OHCA survivors, 108 were included, with 92 MI controls enrolled. Amongst OHCA survivors, 29% performed z-score ≤ - 1 (at least borderline-mild impairment) in ≥ 2 cognitive domains, 14% performed z-score ≤ - 2 (major impairment) in ≥ 1 cognitive domain while 54% performed without impairment in any domain. Impairment was most pronounced in episodic memory, executive functions, and processing speed. OHCA survivors performed significantly worse than MI controls in episodic memory (mean difference, MD = - 0.37, 95% confidence intervals [- 0.61, - 0.12]), verbal (MD = - 0.34 [- 0.62, - 0.07]), and visual/constructive functions (MD = - 0.26 [- 0.47, - 0.04]) on linear regressions adjusted for educational attainment and sex. When additionally adjusting for anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia, hypertension, and diabetes, executive functions (MD = - 0.44 [- 0.82, - 0.06]) were also worse following OHCA. Diabetes, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and fatigue were significantly associated with worse cognitive performance.CONCLUSIONS: In our study population, cognitive impairment was generally mild following OHCA. OHCA survivors performed worse than MI controls in 3 of 6 domains. These results support current guidelines that a post-OHCA follow-up service should screen for cognitive impairment, emotional problems, and fatigue.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03543371. Registered 1 June 2018.
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