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- Jensen, Tina Kold, et al.
(författare)
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Prenatal Exposure to Phthalates and Anogenital Distance in Male Infants from a Low-Exposed Danish Cohort (2010-2012)
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. - : National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 124:7, s. 1107-1113
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Phthalates comprise a large class of chemicals used in a variety of consumer products. Several have anti-androgenic properties, and in rodents prenatal exposure has been associated with reduced anogenital distance (AGD)-the distance from the anus to the genitals in male offspring. Few human studies have been conducted, but associations between the anti-androgenic phthalates and male AGD have been reported. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to study the association between phthalate exposure in late pregnancy in Danish women pregnant in 2010-2012 and AGD in their male infants at 3 months of age (n = 273). METHODS: In the Odense child cohort study, urinary concentrations of 12 phthalate metabolites of diethyl, di-n-butyl, diisobutyl, di(2-ethylhexyl), butylbenzyl, and diisononyl phthalate (DEP, DnBP, DiBP, DEHP, BBzP, and DiNP, respectively) were measured among 245 mothers of boys at approximately gestational week 28 (range, 20.4-30.4) and adjusted for osmolality. AGD, penile width, and weight were measured 3 months after the expected date of birth. Associations between prenatal phthalate and AGD and penile width were estimated using multivariable linear regression adjusting for age and weight-for-age standard deviation score. RESULTS: Phthalate levels were lower in this population than in a recent Swedish study in which phthalates were measured in the first trimester. No consistent associations were seen between any prenatal phthalate and AGD or penile width. Most associations were negative for exposures above the first quartile, and for ln-transformed exposures modeled as continuous variables, but there were no consistent dose-response patterns, and associations were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: We found no significant trends towards shorter AGD in boys with higher phthalates exposures in this low exposed Danish population.
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- Meier, H. E. Markus, et al.
(författare)
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Ensemble Modeling of the Baltic Sea Ecosystem to Provide Scenarios for Management
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 43:1, s. 37-48
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a multi-model ensemble study for the Baltic Sea, and investigate the combined impact of changing climate, external nutrient supply, and fisheries on the marine ecosystem. The applied regional climate system model contains state-of-the-art component models for the atmosphere, sea ice, ocean, land surface, terrestrial and marine biogeochemistry, and marine food-web. Time-dependent scenario simulations for the period 1960-2100 are performed and uncertainties of future projections are estimated. In addition, reconstructions since 1850 are carried out to evaluate the models sensitivity to external stressors on long time scales. Information from scenario simulations are used to support decision-makers and stakeholders and to raise awareness of climate change, environmental problems, and possible abatement strategies among the general public using geovisualization. It is concluded that the study results are relevant for the Baltic Sea Action Plan of the Helsinki Commission.
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- Schiele, Miriam A., et al.
(författare)
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Therapygenetic effects of 5-HTTLPR on cognitive-behavioral therapy in anxiety disorders : A meta-analysis
- 2021
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Ingår i: European Neuropsychopharmacology. - : Elsevier. - 0924-977X .- 1873-7862. ; 44, s. 105-120
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is a recurring debate on the role of the serotonin transporter gene linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in the moderation of response to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in anxiety disorders. Results, however, are still inconclusive. We here aim to perform a meta-analysis on the role of 5-HTTLPR in the moderation of CBT outcome in anxiety disorders. We investigated both categorical (symptom reduction of at least 50%) and dimensional outcomes from baseline to post-treatment and follow-up. Original data were obtained from ten independent samples (including three unpublished samples) with a total of 2,195 patients with primary anxiety disorder. No significant effects of 5-HTTLPR genotype on categorical or dimensional outcomes at post and follow-up were detected. We conclude that current evidence does not support the hypothesis of 5-HTTLPR as a moderator of treatment outcome for CBT in anxiety disorders. Future research should address whether other factors such as long-term changes or epigenetic processes may explain further variance in these complex gene-environment interactions and molecular-genetic pathways that may confer behavioral change following psychotherapy.
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- Alsved, Malin, et al.
(författare)
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Airborne bacteria in hospital operating rooms during ongoing surgery
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- IntroductionPost-operative infections obtained from open-wound surgeries constitute an unnecessary load on both healthcare and affected patients. It is well established that increased air cleanliness reduces the number of post-operative infections. Therefore, the ventilation system is important in order to reduce the number of infectious particles in the air during surgery. Ventilation with high airflow, as in operating rooms, consumes a high amount of energy and it is thus desirable to find energy efficient solutions. ObjectivesThe purpose of this work was to evaluate air quality, energy efficiency and working environment comfort for three different ventilation techniques in operating rooms. MethodThe newly developed ventilation system temperature controlled airflow (TcAF) was compared with the conventionally used turbulent mixed airflow (TMA) and laminar airflow (LAF). In total, 750 air sample measurements were performed during 45 orthopaedic operations: 15 for each type of ventilation system [1]. The concentration of colony forming units (CFU)/m3 was measured at three locations in the rooms: close to the wound (<0.5 m), at the instrument table and peripherally in the room. The working environment comfort was evaluated in a questionnaire.ResultsOur study shows that both LAF and TcAF maintains CFU concentrations in the air during ongoing surgery significantly below 10 CFU/m3 at the wound and at the instrument table, and for TcAF also in the periphery of the room, see Figure 1. The median CFU concentration in TMA was at or above 10 CFU/m3 at all locations. TcAF used less than half the airflow to that of LAF, resulting in a 28% reduction in energy consumption. The working environment comfort was perceived less noisy and having less draft in the TcAF than the LAF ventilation.SummaryBoth the LAF and TcAF ventilation maintain high air cleanliness with low CFU concentrations throughout the operation. TMA is less efficient in removing bacteria from the air close to the patient.
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- Andersson, Kristina E, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of oats on plasma cholesterol and lipoproteins in C57BL/6 mice are substrain specific.
- 2010
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Ingår i: British Journal of Nutrition. - 1475-2662. ; 103, s. 513-521
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cholesterol-lowering effects of oats have been demonstrated in both animals and human subjects. However, the crucial properties of oat-containing diets that determine their health effects need to be further investigated to optimise their use. A mouse model would be a valuable tool, but few such studies have been published to date. We investigated the effects of oat bran on plasma cholesterol and lipoproteins in two substrains of C57BL/6 mice. Western diet was made atherogenic by the addition of 0.8 % cholesterol and 0.1 % cholic acid. After 4 weeks on atherogenic diet, total plasma cholesterol had increased from 1.86-2.53 to 3.77-4.40 mmol/l. In C57BL/6NCrl mice, inclusion of 27 and 40 % oat bran reduced total plasma cholesterol by 19 and 24 %, respectively, reduced the shift from HDL to LDL+VLDL and caused increased faecal cholesterol excretion. There was no effect of oat bran on plasma levels of the inflammatory markers fibrinogen, serum amyloid A or TNF-alpha. Contrary to findings in C57BL/6NCrl mice, there was no sustained effect of oat bran (27 or 40 %) on plasma cholesterol in C57BL/6JBomTac mice after 4 weeks of feeding. Thus, C57BL/6NCrl mice fed an atherogenic diet are a good model for studies of physiological effects of oats, whereas a substrain derived from C57BL/6J, raised in a different breeding environment and likely possessing functional genetic differences from C57BL/6N, is considerably less responsive to oats. The present finding that two substrains of mice respond differently to oats is of practical value, but can also help to elucidate mechanisms of the cholesterol-lowering effect of oats.
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- Andersson, Lotta, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Serious gaming - a tool for mind-set transformations related to climate adaptation?
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As part of the governmental mission to act as knowledge brokers in the field of adaptation to climate change, the Swedish National Knowledge Centre for Climate Change Adaptation, together with Linköping University, is developing a serious game concept with the aim to provide an experience of how different functions in society are influenced by choices or lack of choice of climate adaptation measures. The game is primarily targeted towards high-school students, but could also be used by, e.g., practitioners and politicians in municipalities that recently have initiated work on climate change adaptation. Sharing experiences from game sessions could contribute to the development of a common understanding of the needs and benefits of adaptation actions. In its present version the game is developed in Minecraft as a single-player game. Moderated dialogues between players are a vital part of the game, with the aim to address: What are the consequences (cost-benefits) related to actions taken (or not taken)? How to take decisions with consideration to uncertainty and natural variability (provided from a climate generator)? The concept has been evaluated from testing with high-school students and teachers. The potential of to engage students seems to be promising, especially when the game has been integrated in a role-play setting, where the players reflect upon different societal roles and perspectives. However, for some teachers the integration of gaming in education has been perceived as a technical challenge. The next step of the work will therefore include provision of a simpler web-based in order to increase the audience that feels comfortable with the use the game concept. However, while technical and methodological challenges remain, the use of serious gaming has been shown to support dialogues and engagement and will now be tested together with politicians in three Swedish municipalities under guidance of high-school students from the participating municipalities.
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