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| 2. |
- Lindberg, Richard, et al.
(författare)
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Screening of human antibiotic substances and determination of weekly mass flows in five sewage treatment plants in Sweden
- 2005
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 39:10, s. 3421-3429
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Twelve antibiotic substances for human use, including trimethoprim and representatives of the fluoroquinolone (FQ), sulfonamide (SA), penicillin (PE), cephalosporin (CE), nitroimidazole (NI), tetracycline (TC), and macrolide (MA) groups, were subjected to a screening study at five Swedish sewage treatment plants (STPs) during one week in 2002 and one week in 2003. The analytes were extracted from raw sewage water, final effluent, and sludge by solid-phase extraction (SPE) or liquid-solid extraction (as appropriate) and then identified and quantified by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. The most frequently detected antibiotics in the matrices considered in this study were norfloxacin, ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, and doxycycline. The other analytes were only detected in a few samples. Analysis of the weekly mass flows through each STP showed that FQs were partly eliminated from the water during sewage water treatment and the highest amounts of these substances were found in sludge. Sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim were mainly found in raw sewage water and final effluent, but these substances had balancing mass flows, indicating that they too can withstand sewage water treatment. The mass flow patterns for doxycycline were more complex, with high amounts occurring in sludge in some cases, suggesting that the behavior of this analyte may be more strongly influenced by the treatment process and other variables at individual STPs. The environmental load (the sum of the amounts in the final effluent and sludge) normalized to the number of inhabitants in the catchment area of each investigated STP compared with theoretical predictions based on consumption data (in parentheses) showed good correlations: norfloxacin, 0.8 (0.9); ofloxacin, 0.3 (0.2); ciprofloxacin, 1.3 (3.5); sulfamethoxazole, 0.2 (0.4); trimethoprim, 1.1 (1.0); and doxycycline, 0.7 (0.4) mg per person per week. The results show that reasonably accurate predictions of environmental load of these antibiotics can be time-effectively derived from consumption data without additional measurements.
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| 3. |
- Richter, Hans O., et al.
(författare)
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The effects of inverting prisms on the horizontal-vertical illusion : a systematic effect of downward gaze
- 2007
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Ingår i: Experimental Brain Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0014-4819 .- 1432-1106. ; 183:1, s. 9-15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this work is to compare the relative contributions from the extraocular and sensory systems on the magnitude of the horizontal-vertical illusion (HVI). The visual HVI refers to the general tendency to overestimate vertical extensions of small-scale lines on a picture plane relative to the horizontal by 4-16% depending on the method of measurement. The HVI line stimuli consisted of luminous vertical and horizontal lines forming "L-profiles" located in the frontoparallel plane at a 45 cm viewing distance, collinearly with a binocular gaze. The home position of gaze was aligned to the center of the screen with the ear-eye angle concordant with the environmental horizontal. Illusion strength was quantified when subjects fixated the HVI line stimuli in four quadrants of the visual field. The HVI was also viewed through prism lenses that inverted the retinal images by 180 degrees , thereby dissociating the sensory "up-down" direction from the oculomotor up-down frame of reference. The results revealed a systematically lower magnitude of the HVI in the bottom visual field regardless of whether subjects fixated the HVI with the distorting prisms or without. Taken together, these results suggest that the HVI is sensitive to small-angle gaze shifts. In agreement with several recent findings, these results are interpreted as implying that the brain imposes an enhanced analytic structure on the ascending sensory information during downward gaze.
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| 4. |
- Wennberg, Louise, et al.
(författare)
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Information security - an application of a systems approach
- 2006
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Ingår i: Kybernetes. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0368-492X .- 1758-7883. ; 35:6, s. 786-796
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose – The paper aims to describe and discuss the establishment of customer care centres in Sweden with particular concerns about information security.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is part of a series about information security and the approach is to study the subject within an organisation and initially to understand how it works.Findings – An effective way was found to embrace as many factors as possible by using a theory that contains the characteristics of the organisation. It was found that a combination of general systems theory and classic information systems theory was very successful.Practical implications – The new systems and new structure within the Corporation of Swedish Pharmacies (Apotekes) will in future create better conditions for customers and the opportunity to have products delivered at home or by collection from the centres.Originality/value – Describes new and ongoing developments aimed at improving customer care and demonstrates the application of system theory to the resulting organisation and implementation.
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| 5. |
- Wennberg, Patrik, 1972-
(författare)
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Beyond the established risk factors of myocardial infarction : lifestyle factors and novel biomarkers
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Age, male sex, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, and obesity are considered as established risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Several of these established cardiovascular risk factors are strongly influenced by lifestyle. Novel biomarkers from different mechanistic pathways have been associated with cardiovascular risk, but their clinical utility is still uncertain. The overall objective of the thesis was to evaluate the associations between certain lifestyle factors (physical activity and snuff use), biomarkers reflecting the haemostatic and the inflammatory systems and risk of a future first-ever myocardial infarction. A prospective incident nested case-control study design was used with a total of 651 cases of myocardial infarction and 2238 matched controls from the population-based Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study. The effects of commuting activity, occupational and leisure time physical activity on risk of myocardial infarction were studied. A clearly increased risk of myocardial infarction was found for car commuting compared to active commuting (walking, cycling or going by bus). High versus low leisure time physical activity was associated with decreased risk of myocardial infarction. Low occupational physical activity was associated with risk of myocardial infarction in men. The risk of myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death was studied in male snuff users compared to non-tobacco users. No increased risk was found for myocardial infarction or sudden cardiac death among snuff users without a previous history of smoking. However, for sudden cardiac death the study did not have statistical power to detect small differences in risk. Plasma levels of haemostatic markers have previously shown to be associated with risk of myocardial infarction, but as haemostatic markers are also acute-phase reactants, it is not clear if their association with myocardial infarction is independent of inflammatory markers. In the present study, the haemostatic markers D-dimer, von Willebrand factor (VWF), tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), and tissue plasminogen activator/plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 complex (t-PA/PAI-1 complex) were associated with risk of myocardial infarction after adjustment for established risk factors and the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Furthermore, the addition of eight haemostatic and inflammatory markers could improve the predictive ability for future myocardial infarction beyond that of a model utilizing only established risk factors. Established risk factors and novel biomarkers were explored as potential mediators of the reduced risk of myocardial infarction related to active commuting. A combination of established risk factors, haemostatic and inflammatory markers appeared to explain a substantial proportion (40%) of the difference in risk for myocardial infarction between active commuters and car commuters. IL-6, t-PA, t-PA/PAI-1 complex, apo B/apo A-1 ratio, and BMI seemed to be the largest potential mediators when tested individually. In conclusion, regular physical activity such as active commuting is associated with reduced risk of a first-ever myocardial infarction. This effect could in part be mediated through a beneficial influence on haemostasis and inflammation, as well as a positive impact on established risk factors. Several haemostatic markers are associated with risk of myocardial infarction independent of established risk factors and inflammatory markers. The combination of haemostatic and inflammatory markers may enhance predictive ability beyond established risk factors. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that snuff use increases the risk of myocardial infarction.
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| 6. |
- Wennberg, Patrik, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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The effects of commuting activity and occupational and leisure time physical activity on risk of myocardial infarction
- 2006
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Ingår i: European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation. - : Wolters Kluwer. - 1741-8267 .- 1741-8275. ; 13:6, s. 924-930
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AB Background: Risk reduction of myocardial infarction has been shown for leisure time physical activity. The results of studies on occupational physical activity and risk of myocardial infarction are incongruous and studies on commuting activity are scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate how commuting activity, occupational physical activity and leisure time physical activity were associated with risk of future first myocardial infarction.Design: We used a prospective incident case-referent study design nested in Vasterbotten Intervention Program and the Northern Sweden MONICA study.Methods: Commuting habits, occupational physical activity, leisure time physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed at baseline screening and compared in 583 cases (20% women) with a first myocardial infarction and 2098 matched referents.Results: Regular car commuting was associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction versus commuting by bus, cycling or walking [odds ratio (OR) 1.74; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.20-2.52] after multivariate adjustment. High versus low leisure time physical activity was associated with reduced risk of myocardial infarction (OR 0.69; 95% CI, 0.50-0.95) after adjustment for occupational physical activity and commuting activity, but the association was not statistically significant after further multivariate adjustment. After multivariate adjustment we observed a reduced risk for myocardial infarction in men with moderate (OR 0.70; 95% CI, 0.50-0.98) or high (OR 0.67; 95% CI, 0.42-1.08) versus low occupational physical activity.Conclusions: We found a clear association between car commuting and a first myocardial infarction and a corresponding inverse association with leisure time physical activity, while the impact of occupational physical activity on the risk of myocardial infarction was weaker. (C) 2006 European Society of Cardiology
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| 7. |
- Wennberg, Patrik, et al.
(författare)
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The risk of myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death amongst snuff users with or without a previous history of smoking.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0954-6820 .- 1365-2796. ; 262:3, s. 360-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk of a first myocardial infarction (MI) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) amongst male snuff users. DESIGN: We used a prospective incident case-referent study design nested in the population-based Västerbotten Intervention Program and the Northern Sweden MONICA study. SUBJECTS: Tobacco habits and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed at baseline screening and compared in 525 male MI cases (including 93 SCD cases) and 1798 matched referents. RESULTS: Myocardial infarction occurred on average 4 years and 2 months after the baseline screening. No increased risk for MI was found amongst snuff users without a previous history of smoking compared with nontobacco users after adjustments for body mass index, leisure time physical activity, educational level and cholesterol level (OR 0.82; 95% CI, 0.46-1.43). For snuff users with a previous history of smoking, the adjusted OR was 1.25 (95% CI, 0.80-1.96). Significantly increased risk for MI was found in current smokers with or without current snuff use. For SCD cases with survival time<24 h, the adjusted OR for snuff users without previous history of smoking was 1.18 (95% CI, 0.38-3.70) and for cases with survival time<1 h the OR was 0.38 (95% CI, 0.08-1.89). CONCLUSIONS: We found no increased risk for MI amongst snuff users without a previous history of smoking. Amongst snuff users with a previous history of smoking, the tendency towards an increased risk for MI may reflect the residual risk from former smoking. This study does not support the hypothesis that the risk for SCD is increased amongst snuff users.
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