| 1. |
- Burden, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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Integrating Entrepreneurial Experiences with Sustainable Development Education
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to address the challenge of teaching sustainable development to computer engineering students. Part of the problem is that they perceive the topic as irrelevant for their future profession. The chosen approach was to introduce a project element into a course on sustainable development where the students developed applications for sustainable mobility together with the local public transport authority, an academic institution and a multinational telecom company. Thus the course project was organized to facilitate entrepreneurial experiences, as defined in the EU's EntreComp model, as well as relating theoretical concepts to experiences in a concrete context. The students were then asked to analyze and reflect upon their design choices and approaches in relation to sustainable development and ethical considerations. The findings conclude that the course changes improved the overall student satisfaction while succeeding in anchoring sustainable development in a context the students could relate to. The collaboration was also perceived as fruitful by the external stakeholders who encouraged the students to stay in touch for their bachelor theses and internships. The theoretical implication is a first attempt in integrating sustainable development education with entrepreneurial experiences while the practical implication is a description of how the integration can be realized. The contribution is therefor of value for both educational researchers by opening novel research opportunities and teachers by describing new possibilities for sustainable development education.
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| 2. |
- Burden, Håkan, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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Teaching sustainable development through entrepreneurial experiences
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. - : Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.. - 1467-6370 .- 1758-6739. ; 22:1, s. 142-156
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The purpose of this study is to address the challenges of teaching sustainable development to computer engineering students. Part of the problem is that they perceive the topic as irrelevant for their future profession. Design/methodology/approach: To address this challenge, we introduced a project element into a course on sustainable development where the students developed applications for sustainable mobility together with the local public transport authority, an academic institution and a multinational telecom company. Findings: The findings conclude that the course changes improved the overall student satisfaction while succeeding in anchoring sustainable development in a context which the students can relate to. The collaboration was also perceived as fruitful by the external stakeholders who encouraged the students to stay in touch for their bachelor theses and internships. Research limitations/implications: The theoretical implication is a first attempt in integrating sustainable development education with entrepreneurial experiences, whereas the practical implication is a description of how the integration can be realized. Practical implications: The contribution is therefore of value for both educational researchers to open novel research opportunities and for teachers to describe new possibilities for sustainable development education. Originality/value: The contribution describes how entrepreneurial experiences can be used to motivate engineering students in mandatory courses on sustainable development and ethics. The approach is novel in that the approach has not been described earlier in this context.
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| 3. |
- Paul, Dirk S., et al.
(författare)
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Increased DNA methylation variability in type 1 diabetes across three immune effector cell types
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) has substantially increased over the past decade, suggesting a role for non-genetic factors such as epigenetic mechanisms in disease development. Here we present an epigenome-wide association study across 406,365 CpGs in 52 monozygotic twin pairs discordant for T1D in three immune effector cell types. We observe a substantial enrichment of differentially variable CpG positions (DVPs) in T1D twins when compared with their healthy co-twins and when compared with healthy, unrelated individuals. These T1D-associated DVPs are found to be temporally stable and enriched at gene regulatory elements. Integration with cell type-specific gene regulatory circuits highlight pathways involved in immune cell metabolism and the cell cycle, including mTOR signalling. Evidence from cord blood of newborns who progress to overt T1D suggests that the DVPs likely emerge after birth. Our findings, based on 772 methylomes, implicate epigenetic changes that could contribute to disease pathogenesis in T1D.
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| 4. |
- Stefanucci, Luca, et al.
(författare)
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SMIM1 absence is associated with reduced energy expenditure and excess weight
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Ingår i: Med (New York, N.Y.). - 2666-6340.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Obesity rates have nearly tripled in the past 50 years, and by 2030 more than 1 billion individuals worldwide are projected to be obese. This creates a significant economic strain due to the associated non-communicable diseases. The root cause is an energy expenditure imbalance, owing to an interplay of lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors. Obesity has a polygenic genetic architecture; however, single genetic variants with large effect size are etiological in a minority of cases. These variants allowed the discovery of novel genes and biology relevant to weight regulation and ultimately led to the development of novel specific treatments.METHODS: We used a case-control approach to determine metabolic differences between individuals homozygous for a loss-of-function genetic variant in the small integral membrane protein 1 (SMIM1) and the general population, leveraging data from five cohorts. Metabolic characterization of SMIM1 -/- individuals was performed using plasma biochemistry, calorimetric chamber, and DXA scan. FINDINGS: We found that individuals homozygous for a loss-of-function genetic variant in SMIM1 gene, underlying the blood group Vel, display excess body weight, dyslipidemia, altered leptin to adiponectin ratio, increased liver enzymes, and lower thyroid hormone levels. This was accompanied by a reduction in resting energy expenditure.CONCLUSION: This research identified a novel genetic predisposition to being overweight or obese. It highlights the need to investigate the genetic causes of obesity to select the most appropriate treatment given the large cost disparity between them.FUNDING: This work was funded by the National Institute of Health Research, British Heart Foundation, and NHS Blood and Transplant.
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