| 1. |
- Gustafsson, Kerstin, et al.
(författare)
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Direct and indirect effects of the fungicide azoxystrobin in outdoor brackish water microcosms
- 2010
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Ingår i: Ecotoxicology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0963-9292 .- 1573-3017. ; 19:2, s. 431-444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effects of the strobilurin fungicide azoxystrobin were studied in brackish water microcosms, with natural plankton communities and sediment. Two experiments were conducted: Experiment 1 (nominal conc. 0, 15 and 60 mu g/L, 24-L outdoor microcosms for 21 days) and a second, follow-up, Experiment 2 (nominal conc. 0, 3, 7.5, 15 mu g/L, 4-L indoor microcosms for 12 days). The microcosms represent a simplified brackish water community found in shallow semi-enclosed coastal areas in agricultural districts in the Baltic Sea region. Measured water concentrations of the fungicide (Experiment 1) were, on average, 83 and 62% of nominal concentrations directly after application, and 25 and 30% after 21 days, for the low and high dose treatments, respectively, corresponding to mean DT50-values of 15.1 and 25.8 days, for low and high dose treatments, respectively. In Experiment 1, direct toxic effects on calanoid copepods at both test concentrations were observed. Similarly, in Experiment 2, the copepod abundance was significantly reduced at all tested concentrations. There were also significant secondary effects on zooplankton and phytoplankton community structure, standing stocks and primary production. Very few ecotoxicological studies have investigated effects of plant protection products on Baltic organisms in general and effects on community structure and function specifically. Our results show that azoxystrobin is toxic to brackish water copepods at considerably lower concentrations than previously reported from single species tests on freshwater crustaceans, and that direct toxic effects on this ecologically important group may lead to cascade effects altering lower food webs and ecosystem functioning.
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| 2. |
- Nilsson, Mats E., et al.
(författare)
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Auditory masking of wanted and unwanted sounds in a city park
- 2010
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Ingår i: Noise Control Engineering Journal. - : Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE). - 0736-2501 .- 2168-8710. ; 58:5, s. 524-531
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Auditory masking of unwanted sounds by wanted sounds has been suggested as a tool for outdoor acoustic design. Anecdotal evidence exists for successful applications, for instance the use of fountain sounds for masking road traffic noise in urban parks. However, basic research on auditory masking of environmental sounds is lacking. Therefore, we conducted two listening experiments, using binaural recordings from a city park in Stockholm exposed to traffic noise from a main road and sound from a large fountain located in the center of the park. In the first experiment, 17 listeners assessed the loudness of the road traffic noise and fountain sounds from recordings at various distances from the road, with or without the fountain turned on. In the second experiment, 16 listeners assessed the loudness of systematic combinations of a singular fountain sound and a singular road traffic noise. The results of the first experiment showed that the fountain sound reduced the loudness of road traffic noise close to the fountain, and that the fountain sound was equally loud or louder than the road traffic noise in a region 20-30 m around the fountain. This suggests that the fountain added to the quality of the city park soundscape by reducing the loudness of the (presumably unwanted) traffic noise. On the other hand, results from the second experiment showed that road traffic noise was harder to mask than fountain sound, and that the partial loudness of both sources was considerably less than expected from a model of energetic masking. This indicates that auditory processes, possibly related to target-masker confusion, may reduce the overall masking effect of environmental sounds.
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| 3. |
- Granhall, Ulf, et al.
(författare)
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Bacterial community diversity in paper mills processing recycled paper
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1367-5435 .- 1476-5535. ; 37:10, s. 1061-1069
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Paper mills processing recycled paper suffer from biofouling causing roblems both in the mill and final product. The total bacterial ommunity composition and identification of specific taxa in the process ater and biofilms at the stock preparation and paper machine areas in a ill with recycled paper pulp was described by using a DNA-based pproach. Process water in a similar mill was also analyzed to nvestigate if general trends can be found between mills and over time. acterial community profiles, analyzed by terminal-restriction fragment ength polymorphism (T-RFLP), in process water showed that the dominant eaks in the profiles were similar between the two mills, although the verall composition was unique for each mill. When comparing process ater and biofilm at different locations within one of the mills, we bserved a separation according to location and sample type, with the iofilm from the paper machine being most different. 16S rRNA gene clone ibraries were generated and 404 clones were screened by RFLP analysis. rouping of RFLP patterns confirmed that the biofilm from the paper achine was most different. A total of 99 clones representing all RFLP atterns were analyzed, resulting in sequences recovered from nine acterial phyla, including two candidate phyla. Bacteroidetes epresented 45% and Actinobacteria 23% of all the clones. Sequences with imilarity to organisms implicated in biofouling, like Chryseobacterium pp. and Brevundimonas spp., were recovered from all samples even though he mill had no process problems during sampling, suggesting that they re part of the natural paper mill community. Moreover, many sequences howed little homology to as yet uncultivated bacteria implying that aper mills are interesting for isolation of new organisms, as well as or bioprospecting.
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| 4. |
- Alvarsson, Jesper J., et al.
(författare)
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Stress Recovery during Exposure to Nature Sound and Environmental Noise
- 2010
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - Basel, Schweiz : MDPI Publishing. - 1660-4601 .- 1661-7827. ; 7:3, s. 1036-1046
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research suggests that visual impressions of natural compared with urban environments facilitate recovery after psychological stress. To test whether auditory stimulation has similar effects, 40 subjects were exposed to sounds from nature or noisy environments after a stressful mental arithmetic task. Skin conductance level (SCL) was used to index sympathetic activation, and high frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV) was used to index parasympathetic activation. Although HF HRV showed no effects, SCL recovery tended to be faster during natural sound than noisy environments. These results suggest that nature sounds facilitate recovery from sympathetic activation after a psychological stressor.
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| 5. |
- Figueroa, Ricardo, et al.
(författare)
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A transmembrane inner nuclear membrane protein in the mitotic spindle
- 2010
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Ingår i: Nucleus (Austin). - 1949-1042. ; 1:3, s. 249-253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have recently characterized a novel transmembrane protein of the inner nuclear membrane of mammalian cells. The protein has two very interesting features. First, despite being an integral membrane protein it is able to concentrate in the membranes colocalizing with the mitotic spindle in metaphase and anaphase. Hence, the protein was named Samp1, Spindle associated membrane protein 1. Secondly, it displays a functional connection to centrosomes. This article discusses various aspects of Samp1 in relation to possible cellular function(s).
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| 6. |
- Vågerö, Denny
(författare)
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The East- West health divide in Europe : Growing and shifting eastwards
- 2010
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Ingår i: European Review. - 1062-7987 .- 1474-0575. ; 18:1, s. 23-34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over a four-decade long period, a health gap has opened up between European countries, in particular along the East/West dimension. One could speak of a European health divide. The divide is growing larger and, at the same time, shifting eastwards, leaving countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova at an increasing health disadvantage. Health inequalities, or differences between social classes, within European countries also seem to have been growing for the last couple of decades. Those countries that were previously led by communist regimes today show larger health inequalities than do countries in Western Europe. The countries that were once part of the Soviet Union demonstrate the most alarming health trends, with large segments of the population actually experiencing falling life expectancies. Reducing global and European health inequalities so that the health chances of a newborn child are not dependent on which country and social class he or she is born in, is a truly formidable task, which implies an entirely new way of seeing human development.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Boström, Magnus, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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NGO power in global social and environmental standard-setting
- 2010
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Politics. - : Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press (MIT Press): Arts & Humanities Titles etc. - 1526-3800 .- 1536-0091. ; 10:4, s. 36-59
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have seen a worldwide increase in new nonstate, multi-stakeholder organizations setting standards for socially and environmentally responsible behavior. These standard-setting arenas offer new channels for political participation for NGOs. Scholars have drawn attention to the rise and the role of NGOs in global politics, but there is less research on the power and long-term implications of NGO participation in transnational multi-stakeholder standard-setting. This article analyzes NGOs within three such global organizations: the Forest Stewardship Council, the Marine Stewardship Council, and the International Organization for Standardization on Social Responsibility. Using a power-based perspective, we demonstrate the impact that NGOs can have on multi-stakeholder work. In doing so, we analyze four types of NGO power: symbolic, cognitive, social, and monitoring power. The article further emphasizes institutional, structural, and discursive factors within multi-stakeholder organizations that create certain challenges to NGO power and participation in the longer term.
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| 9. |
- Gentile, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Soviet housing : who built what and when? The case of Daugavpils, Latvia
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Historical Geography. - : Elsevier. - 0305-7488 .- 1095-8614. ; 36:4, s. 453-465
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Throughout much of the Soviet period, access to housing was a major consideration, both for individual citizens and employers intent on increasing their number of employees. Because of the heavy emphasis on industry, and despite the progress made within the area since the late 1950s, Soviet urban residential provision never managed to fully recover from the acute housing shortage that characterized the Stalin years. In this paper, we address the quantitative side of housing construction during the socialist era. Using the mid-sized diversified industrial town of Daugavpils (Latvia) as a case study, we set out to investigate the extent to which employers were involved in decisions concerning housing provision. To do this, we consult a large volume of archival records, our focus being on documents tracing entries indicating that new living quarters were ready and could be allocated to employees of sponsoring organizations and enterprises.
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| 10. |
- Gentile, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Spaces of Priority : The Geography of Soviet Housing Construction in Daugavpils, Latvia
- 2010
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Ingår i: Annals of the Association of American Geographers. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0004-5608 .- 1467-8306. ; 100:1, s. 112-136
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As a result of the absence of a land market, socialist-era cities tended to look different from their market-economy equivalents. The difference was made more pronounced by the fact that the command economy also favored industrial investment over infrastructure and housing. Yet, with an increasing appetite for additional labor, needed by production units to ensure plan fulfillment, housing became a means to recruit and retain employees. Not all employers could afford to put resources into such ononproductiveo investment, however, and the literature suggests that the notion of priorities allows for discriminating between those enterprises that enjoyed soft budget constraints, and therefore could afford to spend money on worker welfare, and those that could not. As a heuristic framework based on the economics of shortage, the priority model is compelling, but as yet it lacks empirical substantiation. Setting out to test the landscapes of priority model of urban development, this article details the developments of housing construction in Daugavpils, Latvia, during the Soviet period. Based on extensive archive and field research covering all newly constructed or converted housing projects over the period from 1951 to 1991, it yields considerable, if not unqualified, support for the model that until now has not been made subject to systematic empirical tests.
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