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| 2. |
- Chen, XD, et al.
(författare)
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Non-invasive early detection of cancer four years before conventional diagnosis using a blood test
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 11:1, s. 3475-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Early detection has the potential to reduce cancer mortality, but an effective screening test must demonstrate asymptomatic cancer detection years before conventional diagnosis in a longitudinal study. In the Taizhou Longitudinal Study (TZL), 123,115 healthy subjects provided plasma samples for long-term storage and were then monitored for cancer occurrence. Here we report the preliminary results of PanSeer, a noninvasive blood test based on circulating tumor DNA methylation, on TZL plasma samples from 605 asymptomatic individuals, 191 of whom were later diagnosed with stomach, esophageal, colorectal, lung or liver cancer within four years of blood draw. We also assay plasma samples from an additional 223 cancer patients, plus 200 primary tumor and normal tissues. We show that PanSeer detects five common types of cancer in 88% (95% CI: 80–93%) of post-diagnosis patients with a specificity of 96% (95% CI: 93–98%), We also demonstrate that PanSeer detects cancer in 95% (95% CI: 89–98%) of asymptomatic individuals who were later diagnosed, though future longitudinal studies are required to confirm this result. These results demonstrate that cancer can be non-invasively detected up to four years before current standard of care.
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| 4. |
- da Silva, A. F., et al.
(författare)
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Optical properties of in situ doped and undoped titania nanocatalysts and doped titania sol-gel nanofilms
- 2006
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Ingår i: Applied Surface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-4332 .- 1873-5584. ; 252:15, s. 5365-5367
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we present spectroscopic properties of doped and undoped titanium dioxide (TiO2) as nanofilms prepared by the sol-gel process with rhodamine 6G doping and studied by photoacoustic absorption, excitation and emission spectroscopy. The absorption spectra of TiO2 thin films doped with rhodamine 6G at very low concentration during their preparation show two absorption bands, one at 2.3 eV attributed to molecular dimmer formation, which is responsible for the fluorescence quenching of the sample and the other at 3.0 eV attributed to TiO2 absorption, which subsequently yields a strong en-fission band at 600 nm. The electronic band structure and optical properties of the rutile phase of TiO2 are calculated employing a fully relativistic, full-potential, linearized, augmented plane-wave (FPLAPW) method within the local density approximation (LDA). Comparison of this calculation with experimental data for TiO2 films prepared for undoped sol-gels and by sputtering is performed.
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| 5. |
- Hirons, M., et al.
(författare)
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Pursuing climate resilient coffee in Ethiopia – A critical review
- 2018
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Ingår i: Geoforum. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-7185. ; 91, s. 108-116
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper provides a multi-scalar examination of the Ethiopian coffee sector and its pursuit of climate resilience. Concern is growing about the potential impact of climate change on Arabica coffee in Ethiopia and the 25 million livelihoods it supports. Arabica coffee has a relatively narrow envelope of climatic suitability and recent studies suggest that the area of bioclimatically suitable space for the species in its native Ethiopia could decline dramatically in the coming decades. We adopt a critical perspective on resilience that reflects on the situated nature of the ecology/science of coffee and climate change and the operation of social, economic, and discursive power across scales, paying particular attention to the differentiated impacts of climate change and associated resilience strategies. This analysis begins by reviewing Ethiopia's Climate Resilient Green Economy strategy and argues that the current lack of attention to coffee is inappropriate considering the coffee sector's vulnerability to climate change, economic importance and association with forests. The paper then examines the contemporary coffee sector which provides the context for reflecting on three potential responses to the threat climate change poses; a spatial response from farmers, adaptive farm management responses such as changing shade levels and the development of the country's genetic resources to cultivate improved varieties. The analysis explores the disconnect between the interventions emerging from national and international institutions and the local context. The multi-scale approach highlights the presence of complex normative trade-offs associated with pursing climate resilience strategies and reinforces the importance of appreciating the dynamics which influence decision-making in the country.
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| 6. |
- Hirons, M., et al.
(författare)
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Understanding Poverty in Cash-crop Agro-forestry Systems : Evidence from Ghana and Ethiopia
- 2018
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Ingår i: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-8009. ; 154, s. 31-41
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper examines the linkages between cash-crop income and other dimensions of poverty to interrogate assumptions regarding the relationship between agricultural income and poverty alleviation. The analysis treats poverty as a multi-dimensional and socially disaggregated phenomenon. The paper employs a mixed methods approach to case studies of Ghana and Ethiopia to explore two critical issues. First, how income from cash crops is linked with other dimensions of poverty. Second, how income and land are socially disaggregated. The paper then draws on qualitative data to critically reflect on how poverty is understood within studied communities. The results show that some, but not all, indicators of poverty vary across income quartiles and that significant differences exist across social groups. The analysis suggests that although cash crops are essential, focusing on increasing income from cash crops will not necessarily have a predictable or progressive impact on wellbeing. Furthermore, the analysis highlights how contextual factors, such as the provision of communal services, the nature of land holdings and the quality of local governance mediate the potential poverty alleviating outcomes of income increases. Future development of sustainable intensification strategies should focus on the prevalence of trade-offs and the fundamental social relations underpinning poverty dynamics.
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| 7. |
- Morel, Alexandra C., et al.
(författare)
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Landscape and management influences on smallholder agroforestry yields show shifts during a climate shock
- 2024
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Ingår i: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. - 0167-8809. ; 366
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sustaining yields for smallholder perennial agriculture under a rapidly changing climate regime may require consideration of landscape features and on-farm management decisions in tandem. Optimising landscape and management may not be possible for maximising yields in any one year but maintaining heterogeneous landscapes could be an important climate adaptation strategy. In this study, we observed elevation, forest patch and shade management gradients affecting smallholder coffee (Coffea arabica) yields in a ‘normal’ year versus the 2015/16 El Niño. We generally found a benefit to yields from having leguminous shade trees and low canopy openness, while maintaining diverse shade or varying canopy openness had more complex influences during a climate shock. The two years of observed climate shock were dominated by either drought or high temperatures, with yield responses generally negative. Climate projections for East Africa predict more erratic rainfall and higher temperatures, which will disproportionately impact smallholder farmers.
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| 8. |
- Morel, Alexandra C., et al.
(författare)
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The structures underpinning vulnerability : Examining landscape-society interactions in a smallholder coffee agroforestry system
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 14:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Smallholder farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture are particularly vulnerable to extreme climate events and, therefore, it is necessary to identify adaptive measures that would increase farmer resilience to these shocks. The management options in a low-input system, like forest coffee (Coffea arabica), are limited and there are several factors out of farmers' control driving their vulnerability to changing climatic conditions. These can relate to social structures and landscape factors, which can interact to reduce farmers' adaptive capacity, creating a state of contextual vulnerability. We explored the potential synergies of this interaction across elevation, patch area and shade management gradients for smallholder coffee farms around the UNESCO Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve in Ethiopia before, during and immediately following the 2015/16 El Niño. We documented a dramatic collapse in coffee yields across all farms, resulting in coffee incomes 29.5% ±18.0% and 19.5% ±10.0% of 2014 incomes in 2015 and 2016, respectively. We identified farms at elevations between 1500 and 1600 m with canopy openness between 40% and 45% as being consistently low yielding over our study period. We found these farmers had the highest rates of income diversification and, therefore, were already exhibiting adaptive capacity. Farmers with the largest income losses were spatially concentrated between 1600 and 1700 m, located in larger patch areas with lower canopy openness. Farmers at this elevation have access to poor infrastructure, restrictions on shade management and reported higher dependence on income from coffee, indicating an interaction of biotic and social factors exacerbating their vulnerability. Unfortunately, due to a nationally declared state of emergency, we were unable to survey farmers on the adaptive measures they undertook; therefore, we are limited in assessing their resilience. However, we do show the importance of considering both biotically and socially-mediated influences for assessing smallholder vulnerability, particularly barriers to diversifying incomes.
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