| 1. |
- López-Isac, Elena, et al.
(författare)
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Brief Report : IRF4 Newly Identified as a Common Susceptibility Locus for Systemic Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Cross-Disease Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Studies
- 2016
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Ingår i: Arthritis & Rheumatology. - : Wiley. - 2326-5191 .- 2326-5205. ; 68:9, s. 2338-2344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are autoimmune diseases that have similar clinical and immunologic characteristics. To date, several shared SSc–RA genetic loci have been identified independently. The aim of the current study was to systematically search for new common SSc–RA loci through an interdisease meta–genome-wide association (meta-GWAS) strategy. Methods: The study was designed as a meta-analysis combining GWAS data sets of patients with SSc and patients with RA, using a strategy that allowed identification of loci with both same-direction and opposite-direction allelic effects. The top single-nucleotide polymorphisms were followed up in independent SSc and RA case–control cohorts. This allowed an increase in the sample size to a total of 8,830 patients with SSc, 16,870 patients with RA, and 43,393 healthy controls. Results: This cross-disease meta-analysis of the GWAS data sets identified several loci with nominal association signals (P < 5 × 10−6) that also showed evidence of association in the disease-specific GWAS scans. These loci included several genomic regions not previously reported as shared loci, as well as several risk factors that were previously found to be associated with both diseases. Follow-up analyses of the putatively new SSc–RA loci identified IRF4 as a shared risk factor for these 2 diseases (Pcombined = 3.29 × 10−12). Analysis of the biologic relevance of the known SSc–RA shared loci identified the type I interferon and interleukin-12 signaling pathways as the main common etiologic factors. Conclusion: This study identified a novel shared locus, IRF4, for the risk of SSc and RA, and highlighted the usefulness of a cross-disease GWAS meta-analysis strategy in the identification of common risk loci.
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| 2. |
- Beltran, Francisco, et al.
(författare)
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Solar Heat Pumps and Self-Consumption Can (and should) electricity suppliers encourage thermal storage?
- 2022
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Ingår i: 2022 BuildSim Nordic, BSN 2022. - : EDP Sciences.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Heat pumps and water tanks can be used to increase PV self-consumption in buildings without any additional equipment, but there is sometimes a lack of economic incentives to maximize it that limits economic gains. Therefore, pricing conditions need to change in order to make self-consumption strategies more interesting for prosumers. This study aims at determining what, if any, unsubsidized market conditions could lead to economically motivated self-consumption control strategies with solar heat pumps. A sensitivity analysis is used on multiple pricing models based on current market conditions for a solar PV and ground source heat pump system for a single-family house in Norrköping, Sweden. The results show that control strategies aimed at maximizing self-consumption have very little impact on net costs, regardless of pricing model or variation in price. Feed-in-bonus is the most important aspect when comparing different pricing schemes, and no other sensitivity comes close.
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| 3. |
- Beltran, Francisco, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainable Tokyo 2040 - Minato Ward : Japan's Green Window to the World
- 2018
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In order to improve the life quality of its inhabitants, show the world Japan's commitment to protect the environment, and position itself as a game changer in the global energy sector, what would be a better place where to start from than Minato City, in order to make it Japan’s Green Window to the World.Four different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used to quantify the accomplishment of the objective of making Minato sustainable by 2040. Based on a qualitative system model for Minato, quantitative models were developed using both HOMER Pro® and the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP). For these models, three different scenarios are used: one representing a business as usual scenario, another showing what the future would look like if all the existing policies and goals were to be met, and the last one depicting what necessary improvements and investments should be made to achieve a sustainable Minato by 2040. A technical and economic analysis of the results of the models was made, resulting in what is thought to be the best proposal for Minato.The proposal consists in the installation of 3 195 MW of onshore wind power and 456 MW of solar PV, both to be constructed in three phases. From the 16 364,2 MW of expected necessary installed capacity in Minato for 2040, 61,1% will come from the grid, 19,5% from the wind turbines, 2,8% from solar PV, 11,1% from stored energy in batteries, 5,4% from Hydrogen, and the remaining 0,1% from the already existing incineration plant. The overall proposition has a NPV of ¥ 2,64 Trillion, and decreases emissions in Minato to 1,0 million tonnes of CO2. The final system has an efficiency of 70,5% and a renewable energy fraction of 59,1%. Even though the KPIs goals are not met with this proposal, a large part of the road is covered towards a sustainable city. The renewable energy fraction increases from 9,5% to 59,1%, the total primary energy supply (per year perperson) and the CO2 emissions are reduced by 66% and 86% respectively, and the crowdedness factor is brought down from 173% to 150%, all with regards to base year 2015. If compared to the goals set by the Japanese Government for 2030, (22-24% renewables in primary energy matrix, 26% emissions reduction and 24% self-sufficiency ratio) it can be seen that the values obtained for the Nokko scenario would largely exceed them.
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| 4. |
- Bernal, Ximena E., et al.
(författare)
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Empowering Latina scientists
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 363:6429, s. 825-826
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 5. |
- Bull, Philip, et al.
(författare)
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Beyond ΛCDM : Problems, solutions, and the road ahead
- 2016
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Ingår i: Physics of the Dark Universe. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-6864. ; 12, s. 56-99
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite its continued observational successes, there is a persistent (and growing) interest in extending cosmology beyond the standard model, Lambda CDM. This is motivated by a range of apparently serious theoretical issues, involving such questions as the cosmological constant problem, the particle nature of dark matter, the validity of general relativity on large scales, the existence of anomalies in the CMB and on small scales, and the predictivity and testability of the inflationary paradigm. In this paper, we summarize the current status of Lambda CDM as a physical theory, and review investigations into possible alternatives along a number of different lines, with a particular focus on highlighting the most promising directions. While the fundamental problems are proving reluctant to yield, the study of alternative cosmologies has led to considerable progress, with much more to come if hopes about forthcoming high-precision observations and new theoretical ideas are fulfilled.
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| 6. |
- Diliegros-Godines, C. J., et al.
(författare)
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Mechanical and tribological properties of CdO + SnO2 thin films prepared by sol–gel
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology. - : Springer. - 0928-0707 .- 1573-4846. ; 74:1, s. 114-120
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the mechanical and tribological properties of transparent conductive oxide CdO + SnO2 coatings. The films were deposited on glass substrates by the sol–gel technique using, as precursor solution, a mixture of CdO and SnO2 solutions obtained at room temperature. Depending on the Sn atomic concentration percentage values the X-ray diffraction patterns show three types of films constituted of (1) CdO + Cd2SnO4, (2) Cd2SnO4 and (3) Cd2SnO4 + CdSnO3 crystals. Reciprocal microfriction tests revealed that films with Cd2SnO4 phase have friction values in the range 0.48–0.51 and a low wear rate of ~5 × 10−5 mm3 N−1 m−1. Nanoindentation tests have shown an increment of the elastic modulus from 50 GPa for CdO + Cd2SnO4 films to 90 GPa for Cd2SnO4 films, while the hardest coating was the one constituted by Cd2SnO4 crystals with H = 5.7 GPa, comparable to the hardness and elastic modulus reported for ITO films.
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| 7. |
- Duarte, Helder, et al.
(författare)
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Can amphibians take the heat? : Vulnerability to climate warming in subtropical and temperate larval amphibian communities
- 2012
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 18:2, s. 412-421
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Predicting the biodiversity impacts of global warming implies that we know where and with what magnitude these impacts will be encountered. Amphibians are currently the most threatened vertebrates, mainly due to habitat loss and to emerging infectious diseases. Global warming may further exacerbate their decline in the near future, although the impact might vary geographically. We predicted that subtropical amphibians should be relatively susceptible to warming-induced extinctions because their upper critical thermal limits (CTmax) might be only slightly higher than maximum pond temperatures (Tmax). We tested this prediction by measuring CTmax and Tmax for 47 larval amphibian species from two thermally distinct subtropical communities (the warm community of the Gran Chaco and the cool community of Atlantic Forest, northern Argentina), as well as from one European temperate community. Upper thermal tolerances of tadpoles were positively correlated (controlling for phylogeny) with maximum pond temperatures, although the slope was steeper in subtropical than in temperate species. CTmax values were lowest in temperate species and highest in the subtropical warm community, which paradoxically, had very low warming tolerance (CTmaxTmax) and therefore may be prone to future local extinction from acute thermal stress if rising pond Tmax soon exceeds their CTmax. Canopy-protected subtropical cool species have larger warming tolerance and thus should be less impacted by peak temperatures. Temperate species are relatively secure to warming impacts, except for late breeders with low thermal tolerance, which may be exposed to physiological thermal stress in the coming years.
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| 8. |
- Francisco, Beltrán, et al.
(författare)
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Empirical investigation of solar photovoltaic-thermal collectors for heat pump integration
- 2024
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Ingår i: Applied Thermal Engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 1359-4311 .- 1873-5606. ; 248
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study empirically investigates the optimal design features of photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collectors for integration with ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems, considering technical and economic factors. Outdoor experiments are conducted in Stockholm, Sweden, comparing five unglazed and uninsulated PVT collector designs a) Reference Sheet & Tube b) Sheet & Tube with a narrow air gap between PV and absorber plate c) Box-channel polypropylene d) Finned tube and e) Box-channel aluminum with fins at operating temperatures below ambient. The findings indicate that the box-channel aluminum design with fins, characterized by a superior combination of high zero-loss efficiency and a high U-value, emerges as the ideal PVT design for integration with ground source heat pumps, taking into account both technical and economic considerations. Despite having a relative specific thermal cost 9% higher than the reference collector, this design demonstrates the capability to generate 2,096 kWh/(m2a) of thermal energy, marking an 83.3% increase compared to the reference, with a 136% higher energy-to-mass ratio.
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| 9. |
- Ibstedt, Sebastian, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Concerted Evolution of Life Stage Performances Signals Recent Selection on Yeast Nitrogen Use.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Molecular biology and evolution. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1537-1719 .- 0737-4038. ; 32:1, s. 153-161
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Exposing natural selection driving phenotypic and genotypic adaptive differentiation is an extraordinary challenge. Given that an organism's life stages are exposed to the same environmental variations, we reasoned that fitness components, such as the lag, rate, and efficiency of growth, directly reflecting performance in these life stages, should often be selected in concert. We therefore conjectured that correlations between fitness components over natural isolates, in a particular environmental context, would constitute a robust signal of recent selection. Critically, this test for selection requires fitness components to be determined by different genetic loci. To explore our conjecture, we exhaustively evaluated the lag, rate, and efficiency of asexual population growth of natural isolates of the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a large variety of nitrogen-limited environments. Overall, fitness components were well correlated under nitrogen restriction. Yeast isolates were further crossed in all pairwise combinations and coinheritance of each fitness component and genetic markers were traced. Trait variations tended to map to quantitative trait loci (QTL) that were private to a single fitness component. We further traced QTLs down to single-nucleotide resolution and uncovered loss-of-function mutations in RIM15, PUT4, DAL1, and DAL4 as the genetic basis for nitrogen source use variations. Effects of SNPs were unique for a single fitness component, strongly arguing against pleiotropy between lag, rate, and efficiency of reproduction under nitrogen restriction. The strong correlations between life stage performances that cannot be explained by pleiotropy compellingly support adaptive differentiation of yeast nitrogen source use and suggest a generic approach for detecting selection.
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| 10. |
- Malein, Viktor, et al.
(författare)
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Culture, Economic Stress, and Missing Girls
- 2024
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Cultural norms play a pivotal role in shaping how societies respond to crises. This study examines the causal effect of ethnic-specific gender norms on gender-biased mortality during resource shocks. Studying the 1891-1892 Russian famine, we compare cohorts born before and after the famine in districts differentially affected by the famine and with diverse gender norms. Our findings reveal that areas where women were depicted more negatively suffered a more skewed sex ratio favouring male survival. Our empirical exercise further stresses the importance of the cultural channel in driving these results and emphasizes the role of agency in survival outcomes. This study sheds light on the profound influence of cultural norms on survival-relevant decisions during crises, pointing at culturally ingrained channels of discrimination.
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