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| 2. |
- Kärrman, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Forskning- och innovationsagenda för återvinning av näringsämnen ur avlopp
- 2020
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Research and Innovation Agenda for Recovery of Nutrients from WastewaterProjects funded on the topic of nutrient recovery and reuse in Sweden over the past years have been scattered, lacking a coherence in direction and coordination between the numerous research funding organizations. This agenda has been developed with the purpose of creating a framework and common understanding of what research and innovation is necessary to move forward in a transition to a circular nutrient economy. The goal was to identify and prioritize the R&I needs in order to enable a productive dialogue between investors, researchers and other crucial societal actors including organizations, the public sector and the industry.The results and conclusions presented in this report are mainly drawn from a workshop in September 2019, with around 40 participants representing the water and wastewater sector, municipalities, academia, the agricultural sector, the industry and Swedish national agencies.In the transition to a more circular management of nutrients including waste streams, several challenges were identified. The identified challenges in a nutshell:- Current system solutions are not optimized, there is a lack of holistic approach- Business models and incentives to choose products based on recovered nutrients on the market are missing- Technology needed for circular management of nutrients are in general on a low technology readiness level- Recovered nutrient products must maintain a uniform and high quality in order to compete on the market and the requirements should be the same for all fertilizers.The agenda concludes that the research and innovation actions to meet the challenges should follow a holistic approach that includes the entire value chain of nutrient management in the food system. All essential nutrients in the food system and other resources in its waste streams should be considered, to maximize efficient and circular nutrient management. Based on this understanding, that a holistic approach is of such importance to target the identified challenges, the research and innovation needs were identified as:- Develop a national plant nutrient management strategy that describes holistically how to manage nutrients overall in a circular economy- Develop goals and targets for nutrient recovery from wastewater based on this nutrient management strategy (the Swedish inquiry on sludge management suggested a requirement of 60 % phosphorus recovery from wastewater treatment plants, this should just be the beginning and goals should also be set for other nutrients)- A larger interdisciplinary R&I effort regarding the recovery goals should be coordinated to analyze how the transition to a circular management of nutrients best can be accomplished on a systems level- Provide support to develop business models for optimal collaboration between different actors in different parts of the value chain and maximized resource efficiency- Technology development and demonstrations aligned with the holistic approach for circular management of nutrients in the suggested national nutrient management strategy
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| 3. |
- Lundin, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Mutational Pathways and Trade-Offs Between HisA and TrpF Functions : Implications for Evolution via Gene Duplication and Divergence
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-302X. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When a new activity evolves by changes in a pre-existing enzyme this is likely to reduce the original activity, generating a functional trade-off. The properties of this trade-off will affect the continued evolution of both functions. If the trade-off is strong, gene duplication and subsequent divergence would be favored whereas if the trade-off is weak a bi-functional enzyme could evolve that performs both functions. We previously showed that when a bi-functional HisA enzyme was evolved under selection for both HisA and TrpF functions, evolution mainly proceeded via duplication-divergence and specialization, implying that the trade-off is strong between these two functions. Here, we examined this hypothesis by identifying the mutational pathways (i.e., the mutational landscape) in the Salmonella enterica HisA enzyme that conferred a TrpF-like activity, and examining the trade-offs between the original and new activity. For the HisA enzyme there are many different paths toward the new TrpF function, each with its own unique trade-off. A total of 16 single mutations resulted in HisA enzyme variants that acquired TrpF activity and only three of them maintained HisA activity. Twelve mutants were evolved further toward increased TrpF activity and during evolution toward improved TrpF activity the original HisA activity was completely lost in all lineages. We propose that, aside from various relevant ecological factors, two main genetic factors influence whether evolution of a new function proceeds via duplication – divergence (specialization) or by evolution of a generalist: (i) the relative mutation supply of the two pathways and (ii) the shape of the trade-off curve between the native and new function.
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| 4. |
- Månsson, Linda, et al.
(författare)
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Older adults' preferences for, adherence to and experiences of two self-management falls prevention home exercise programmes : a comparison between a digital programme and a paper booklet
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC Geriatrics. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2318. ; 20:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Fall prevention exercise programmes are known to be effective, but access to these programmes is not always possible. The use of eHealth solutions might be a way forward to increase access and reach a wider population. In this feasibility study the aim was to explore the choice of programme, adherence, and self-reported experiences comparing two exercise programmes – a digital programme and a paper booklet.Methods: A participant preference trial of two self-managed fall prevention exercise interventions. Community-dwelling adults aged 70 years and older exercised independently for four months after one introduction meeting. Baseline information was collected at study start, including a short introduction of the exercise programme, a short physical assessment, and completion of questionnaires. During the four months intervention period, participants self-reported their performed exercises in an exercise diary. At a final meeting, questionnaires about their experiences, and post-assessments, were completed. For adherence analyses data from diaries were used and four subgroups for different levels of participation were compared. Exercise maintenance was followed up with a survey 12 months after study start.Results: Sixty-seven participants, with mean age 77 ± 4 years were included, 72% were women. Forty-three percent chose the digital programme. Attrition rate was 17% in the digital programme group and 37% in the paper booklet group (p = .078). In both groups 50–59% reported exercise at least 75% of the intervention period. The only significant difference for adherence was in the subgroup that completed ≥75% of exercise duration, the digital programme users exercised more minutes per week (p = .001). Participants in both groups were content with their programme but digital programme users reported a significantly higher (p = .026) degree of being content, and feeling supported by the programme (p = .044). At 12 months follow-up 67% of participants using the digital programme continued to exercise regularly compared with 35% for the paper booklet (p = .036).Conclusions: Exercise interventions based on either a digital programme or a paper booklet can be used as a self-managed, independent fall prevention programme. There is a similar adherence in both programmes during a 4-month intervention, but the digital programme seems to facilitate long-term maintenance in regular exercise.
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| 5. |
- Pettersson, Beatrice, et al.
(författare)
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Effectiveness of a self-managed digital exercise programme to prevent falls in older community-dwelling adults : study protocol for the Safe Step randomised controlled trial
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 10:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Exercise interventions have a strong evidence base for falls prevention. However, exercise can be challenging to implement and often has limited reach and poor adherence. Digital technology provides opportunities for both increased access to the intervention and support over time. Further knowledge needs to be gained regarding the effectiveness of completely self-managed digital exercise interventions. The main objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of a self-managed digital exercise programme, Safe Step, in combination with monthly educational videos with educational videos alone, on falls over 1 year in older community-dwelling adults.Methods and analysis: A two-arm parallel randomised controlled trial will be conducted with at least 1400 community-living older adults (70+ years) who experience impaired balance. Participants will be recruited throughout Sweden with enrolment through the project website. They will be randomly allocated to either the Safe Step exercise programme with additional monthly educational videos about healthy ageing and fall prevention, or the monthly education videos alone. Participants receiving the exercise intervention will be asked to exercise at home for at least 30 min, 3 times/week with support of the Safe Step application. The primary outcome will be rate of falls (fall per person year). Participants will keep a fall calendar and report falls at the end of each month through a digital questionnaire. Further assessments of secondary outcomes will be made through self-reported questionnaires and a self-test of 30 s chair stand test at baseline and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after study start. Data will be analysed according to the intention-to-treat principle.Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained by The Regional Ethical Review Board in Umeå (Dnr 2018/433-31). Findings will be disseminated through the project web-site, peer-reviewed journals, national and international conferences and through senior citizen organisations’ newsletters.Trial registration number: NCT03963570.
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| 6. |
- Schiffer, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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Structural inheritance in the North Atlantic
- 2020
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Ingår i: Earth-Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0012-8252 .- 1872-6828. ; 206
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The North Atlantic, extending from the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone to the north Norway-Greenland-Svalbard margins, is regarded as both a classic case of structural inheritance and an exemplar for the Wilson-cycle concept. This paper examines different aspects of structural inheritance in the Circum-North Atlantic region: 1) as a function of rejuvenation from lithospheric to crustal scales, and 2) in terms of sequential rifting and opening of the ocean and its margins, including a series of failed rift systems. We summarise and evaluate the role of fundamental lithospheric structures such as mantle fabric and composition, lower crustal inhomogeneities, orogenic belts, and major strike-slip faults during breakup. We relate these to the development and shaping of the NE Atlantic rifted margins, localisation of magmatism, and microcontinent release. We show that, although inheritance is common on multiple scales, the Wilson Cycle is at best an imperfect model for the Circum-North Atlantic region. Observations from the NE Atlantic suggest depth dependency in inheritance (surface, crust, mantle) with selective rejuvenation depending on time-scales, stress field orientations and thermal regime. Specifically, post-Caledonian reactivation to form the North Atlantic rift systems essentially followed pre-existing orogenic crustal structures, while eventual breakup reflected a change in stress field and exploitation of a deeper-seated, lithospheric-scale shear fabrics. We infer that, although collapse of an orogenic belt and eventual transition to a new ocean does occur, it is by no means inevitable.
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| 7. |
- Wedenoja, Satu, et al.
(författare)
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Fetal HLA-G mediated immune tolerance and interferon response in preeclampsia
- 2020
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Ingår i: EBioMedicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-3964. ; 59
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Fetal immune tolerance is crucial for pregnancy success. We studied the link between preeclampsia, a severe pregnancy disorder with uncertain pathogenesis, and fetal human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) and other genes regulating maternal immune responses.Methods: We assessed sex ratios and regulatory HLA-G haplotypes in population cohorts and series of preeclampsia and stillbirth. We studied placental mRNA expression of 136 genes by sequencing and HLA-G and interferon alpha (IFNα) protein expression by immunohistochemistry.Findings: We found underrepresentation of males in preeclamptic births, especially those delivered preterm or small for gestational age. Balancing selection at HLA-G associated with the sex ratio, stillbirth, and preeclampsia. We observed downregulation of HLA-G, its receptors, and many other tolerogenic genes, and marked upregulation of IFNA1 in preeclamptic placentas.Interpretation: These findings indicate that an evolutionary trade-off between immune tolerance and protection against infections at the maternal-fetal interface promotes genetic diversity in fetal HLA-G, thereby affecting survival, preeclampsia, and sex ratio. We highlight IFNA1 as a potential mediator of preeclampsia and a target for therapeutic trials.
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