| 1. |
- Andersson, Pontus, 1971, et al.
(författare)
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The electron affinity of phosphorus
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Physics B-Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics. ; 40:20, s. 4097-4107
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 2. |
- Bettiga, Maurizio, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Plasma membrane as a crucial player in acetic acid effect on yeast
- 2017
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Ingår i: IMYA12- 12th International Meeting on Yeast Apoptosis, Bari, Italy • 14-18 May 2017.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Weak organic acids such as formic, acetic or lactic acid are known inhibitors of microbial growth and fermentation. Acetic acid toxicity to yeast cells has been explained by different theories, involving specific signaling effects triggering an active cell death program, reduction of intracellular pH and acetate anion accumulation. Regardless of the fact whether the actual effect of acetate involves one of these mechanisms or a combination thereof, acetic acid inhibits yeast metabolism and affects yeast viability. This has a high impact on the feasibility of the new generation of fermentation processes, based on the naturally acetic acid-rich lignocellulosic substrates. It is therefore highly desirable to obtain a strain with increased capacity of coping with high acetic acid concentrations in the fermentation medium. Acetic acid is thought to be internalized by yeast cells in its undissociated form, by crossing the hydrophobic barrier of plasma membrane. Thus, in our work we focused on the investigation of membrane properties and how these influence the tolerance of yeast to acetic acid. First, we demonstrated with lipidomics analysis of membrane lipids that the yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii, showing extraordinary tolerance to acetic acid, has a plasma membrane which is rich in sphingolipids. Next, we combined membrane molecular dynamics and in vivo measurements to confirm the specific role of sphingolipids in altering the permeability of plasma membrane to acetic acid. Finally, we investigated the effect of alcohols on the acetic acid permeation rate through the membrane. Our ultimate goal is to engineer the membrane composition of an industrial yeast strain towards reduced permeability, in order to obtain higher acetic acid tolerance.
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| 3. |
- Broberg, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Potentialstudie för biogassubstrat i Västra Götaland, Halland och Skåne
- 2022
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The potential of producing biogas by digestion from substrates in Västra Götaland, Halland and Skåne has in this study been estimated to approximately 5 900 GWh per year, of which 2 300 GWh are found in Västra Götaland, 650 GWh in Halland and 3 000 GWh in Skåne. The estimated potential is based on the current amounts of the substrate categories food waste, agricultural residues, manure, sludge from sewage treatment plants and industrial organic residues. For each of the three regions, the largest contributor to the current substrate potential is agricultural residues. This category contributes with approximately 3 900 GWh annually in total for the three regions. However, to be able to fully realize the potential of the agricultural residues there are logistic and technical challenges to be solved. Manure accounts for the second largest contribution to the potential, approximately 1 000 GWh per year for the three regions. The conditions to realize the manure potential are good with national production support in place for this substrate category.The study also includes a brief investigation of future substrate categories focused on marine substrates, grass and hay harvesting, industrial wastewater and biological methanation. From the future substrates, a contribution of a total of 3 600 GWh per year will be added to the estimated potential for the three regions. The largest addition is potential biological methanation of the carbon dioxide streams from the total substrate potential from the current categories, approximately 3 000 GWh annually. Thereafter, the largest contributing future substrate category is industrial wastewater. Including the future substrate flows, a total biogas potential of 9 500 GWh per year was estimated for Västra Götaland, Skåne and Halland together. To realize the potential, close cooperation between substrate owners, gas producers and municipalities are needed together as well as a long-term policy landscape.
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| 4. |
- Carnohan, Shane, et al.
(författare)
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Minskad belastning på dricksvattenresursen genom industriell-urban vattensymbios
- 2023
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Vattenbrist är en akut global, och i många områden växande, utmaning. Pågående klimatförändringar och växande behov i stora delar av världen förändrar både tillgången och efterfrågan på rent vatten. Europa står inför flera akuta vattenrelaterade utmaningar med betydande säkerhets- och miljömässiga konsekvenser. Perioder av återkommande vattenbrist är en av de främsta utmaningarna som redan har drabbat flertalet europeiska länder, särskilt utsatt är området kring medelhavet. Men, även i Sverige är vattenbrist en utmaning som äventyrar försörjning av både dricksvatten och vatten till industri och jordbruk i flera regioner i de södra och sydöstra delarna av landet. I både Vimmerby och Visby, Kalmar och Gotlands län, ses vattenbrist i dag som den främsta utmaningen för att säkra dricksvattenförsörjningen. Risken för vattenbrist förväntas öka i framtiden för båda dessa städer då pågående klimatförändringar bidrar till ökade säsongsvariationer i både nederbörd och temperatur. Utöver vattenbrist brottas båda städerna dessutom med att upprätthålla en god vattenkvalitet. Avrinning från jordbruket (bekämpningsmedel, gödselmedel, etc.) och föroreningar från urbana hårdgjorda ytor som letar sig ned i grund- och ytvattenkällor utgör en ständig risk för vattenkvaliteten i den samhällsviktiga dricksvattenförsörjningen. För att adressera dessa utmaningar och säkra tillgången till dricksvatten i tillräcklig mängd och av god kvalitet även i framtiden behövs ett övergripande tillvägagångssätt, som omfattar hållbara metoder för hantering av grundvatten, förbättrad övervakning av vattenkvalitet och utveckling av robusta strategier som möjliggör anpassning till att klara av ett föränderligt klimat. I detta projekt har konceptet industriell-urban vattensymbios utforskats som en möjlig lösning för att bidra till säkrad vattentillgång och minskad belastning på lokala dricksvattenresurser, med städerna Visby och Vimmerby som fallstudieobjekt. Vattensymbios är ett systematiskt samarbete där olika aktörer i samhället (industri, kommunala verksamheter, jordbruk, m.fl.) agerar tillsammans för att optimera vattenanvändningen och minska avfallet genom lösningar som faciliterar utbyte och återanvändning av vatten, biprodukter och resurser på ett ömsesidigt fördelaktigt sätt. Till exempel kan renat industriavloppsvatten återanvändas för jordbruksbevattning eller som kylvatten i närliggande industrier, vilket minskar efterfrågan på dricksvatten. Detta tillvägagångssätt främjar ett effektivt resursutnyttjande som minimerar vattenslöseri och minskar systemets totala miljöpåverkan. Projektets övergripande syfte har varit att utreda hur en industriell-urban vattensymbios skulle kunna utformas i Visby och Vimmerby för att minska belastningen på lokala vattenresurser genom nyttjandet av mjölkkondensat från Arla Foods AB’s som en möjlig vattenkälla. Utöver detta har projektet syftat till att utveckla och tillämpa en arbetsprocess för uppbyggnaden av lokala vattensymbiosinitiativ genom strukturerade intressentinvolverande metoder. I ett samarbete mellan lokala VA-bolag, kommunala och privata verksamheter och vattenanvändare, och forskare från RISE har en nulägesbedömning av vattentillgång, vattenbehov, vattenbalansmodellering och en kartläggning av vattenflöden tillgängliga för en framtida symbios genomförts. Tekniska möjligheter att effektivisera vattenanvändningen genom recirkulering och utbyte av vattenströmmar av varierande kvalitet har undersökts och utvärderats genom en kombination av teknoekonomisk analys och kvalitativ utvärdering tillsammans med medverkande vattenproducenter och verksamheter. Även hinder för implementering av vattensymbioser har undersökts (juridiska, tekniska och affärsmässiga) och förslag på åtgärder för att överbrygga dessa har tagits fram. Resultaten från projektet pekar på tydliga likheter och skillnader mellan de två fallstudieområdena. Bland verksamheter i både Visby och Vimmerby anses intern effektivisering och återanvändning av vatten vara en mer genomförbar lösning än vattensymbios i samverkan med andra verksamheter. Samtidigt ansågs symbioslösningar ha en större besparingspotential och kunna bidra med riskminimerande diversifiering bort från enbart en vattenkälla. För att symbioslösningar skall vara gångbara krävs dock att dessa sker inom ett relativt avgränsat geografiskt område för att minimera kostnader kopplade till transport av vatten mellan aktörer. För att utveckla symbiossamarbeten som fungera långsiktigt är tillit en avgörande aspekt. Även omfattande tillit mellan verksamheter lyftes som en avgörande faktor för ett få till symbioslösningar. Den tekno-ekonomiska bedömningen i projektet genomfördes utifrån perspektivet av ett generellt företag med kommunal dricksvattenförsörjning. För ett sådant företag kommer den ekonomiska bärkraften för vattenbesparande åtgärder att bero på den relativa kostnaden för vattenrening lokalt jämfört med kostnaden för att köpa dricksvatten från kommunen. Effekterna av detta framgår tydligt när man jämför fallen Visby och Vimmerby. I Visby visar resultaten att både intern återanvändning och industriell symbios kan vara ekonomiskt lönsamma lösningar utifrån industrins perspektiv. Rening och recirkulering med hjälp av RO membran och efterföljande polering bedömdes som mest lönsamt (med en återbetalningstid på cirka 3,5 år) av de fem möjliga åtgärder som studerades. Lösningen uppskattades kunna spara motsvarande vattenbehovet hos 500 typhushåll. I Vimmerby verkar ingen av åtgärderna medföra ekonomisk lönsamhet, då kostnaderna för samtliga fall är högre än dagens kostnader för kommunaltdricksvatten. Anledningen till skillnaden i lönsamhet mellan Visby och Vimmerby förklaras huvudsakligen av skillnaden i prissättningsmodell som används i av respektive VA-bolag i de två kommunerna. Utöver prissättningsmodellens roll som möjliggörare eller hinder för vattensymbios så identifierades utveckling av ett system för klassificering av vattenflöden enligt olika kvalitetsklasser, ökad kunskap om olika vattenklassers hållbarhet, och utveckling av lagar & regler för recirkulering och användning av vatten som viktiga områden för att facilitera effektivare vattenanvändning genom symbios. Detta projekt är ett av de första i Sverige med uttalat fokus på industriell-urban vattensymbios. Lärdomar från projektet kommer vara värdefulla för att vidare utreda möjligheten för symbioslösningar i Visby och Vimmerby, men även i andra kommuner runt om i Sverige. Flera frågeställningar kvarstår att undersöka. Till exempel har detta projekt inte studerat hur variationer i vattentillgång och vattenbehov över säsongen, eller dygnet, påverkar de studerade symbioslösningarna. Dessutom behövs mer detaljerade analyser av de hydrologiska förutsättningarna i respektive fall för att säga något om hur de studerade lösningarna kan påverka den lokala vattenbalansen under olika framtidsscenarier. Vidare bör den teknoekonomiska bedömningen som genomförts förstärkas genom att inkludera mer exakta kostnadsuppgifter (till exempel leverantörspriser på utrustning), inverkan av marknadsfluktuationer, och andra osäkerheter.
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| 5. |
- Dinede, Getachew, et al.
(författare)
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Foodborne hazards in food in Burkina Faso, 1990-2019 : a systematic review and meta-analysis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2571-581X. ; 7
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Foodborne diseases impose substantial public health burden and jeopardize socio-economic development worldwide. While accurate information on foodborne hazards is needed for informed decision in food safety interventions, such information is scarce in developing countries such as Burkina Faso. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting foodborne hazards in foods in Burkina Faso to describe the present knowledge of the situation.Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline was used to conduct this review. Abstracts were searched in PubMed and CAB direct between 1 January 1990 to 30 September 2019. We used random-effects models to estimate pooled prevalence and I2 values to measure heterogeneity between studies.Results: 188 articles were identified, of which 14 are included in this review: 12 were on bacterial hazards (Salmonella, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus, E. coli, Shigella), three on fungal hazards and one on parasitic hazards (Toxoplasma gondii). The overall pooled prevalence of Salmonella spp. was 13% (95% CI: 8–21), the highest in lettuce: 50% (95% CI: 30–70) and the lowest in milk: 1.2% (95% CI: 0–5), demonstrating substantial variation among the studies (I2 = 85, 95% CI: 79–90%, p < 0.01). Campylobacter spp. was reported in chicken carcass, with 50% of the samples being positive. The overall pooled microbial load of Staphylococcus in the studied food samples was 3.2 log (95% CI: 2.8–3.6) CFU per g or ml of food, the highest in poultry samples: 4.5 log (95% CI: 2.8–6.2) CFU per g or ml of food. The overall pooled prevalence of Escherichia coli (E. coli) was 40% (95% CI: 29–51), the highest in beef intestines: 62% (95% CI: 22–91) and the lowest in dairy products: 31% (95% CI: 17–50), showing substantial variation across the studies (I2 = 86, 95% CI: 80–90%, p < 0.01).Conclusion: Our results showed widespread contamination of foods with foodborne hazards across various food value chains indicating poor hygienic handling of foods, raising consumers’ health risk due to foodborne illnesses from the foods. We recommend promotion of awareness creation in food safety and improved monitoring of hazards in food.
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| 6. |
- Eggers, Kai M., 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin-Based Strategies for the Assessment of Chest Pain Patients : A Review of Validation and Clinical Implementation Studies
- 2018
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Ingår i: Clinical Chemistry. - : American Association for Clinical Chemistry. - 0009-9147 .- 1530-8561. ; 64:11, s. 1572-1585
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The introduction of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) assays has improved the early assessment of chest pain patients. A number of hs-cTn-based algorithms and accelerated diagnostic protocols (ADPs) have been developed and tested subsequently. In this review, we summarize the data on the performance and clinical utility of these strategies. CONTENT: We reviewed studies investigating the diagnostic and prognostic performance of hs-cTn algorithms [level of detection (LoD) strategy, 0/1-h, 0/2-h, and 0/3-h algorithms) and of hs-cTn-based ADPs, together with the implications of these strategies when implemented as clinical routine. The LoD strategy, when combined with a nonischemic electrocardiogram, is best suited for safe rule-out of myocardial infarction and the identification of patients eligible for early discharge from the emergency department. The 0/1-h algorithms appear to identify most patients as being eligible for rule-out. The hs-cTn-based ADPs mainly focus on prognostic assessment, which is in contrast with the hs-cTn algorithms. They identify smaller proportions of rule-out patients, but there is increasing evidence from prospective studies on their successful clinical implementation. Such information is currently lacking for hs-cTn algorithms. CONCLUSIONS: There is a trade-off between safety and efficacy for different hs-cTn-based strategies. This trade-off should be considered for the intended strategy, along with its user-friendliness and evidence from clinical implementation studies. However, several gaps in knowledge remain. At present, we suggest the use of an ADP in conjunction with serial hs-cTn results to optimize the early assessment of chest pain patients. (C) 2018 American Association for Clinical Chemistry
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| 7. |
- Gazu, Lina, et al.
(författare)
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Foodborne disease hazards and burden in Ethiopia : A systematic literature review, 1990-2019
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2571-581X. ; 7
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Foodborne disease (FBD) affects millions of people each year, posing a health burden similar to malaria, tuberculosis or HIV. A recent World Bank study estimated the productivity losses alone attributed to unsafe food within Africa at $20 billion in 2016, and the cost of treating these illnesses at an additional $3.5 billion. Ethiopia faces multiple food safety challenges due to lack of infrastructure and basic pre-requisites for food safety such as clean water and environment, washing facilities, compounded by limited implementation of food safety regulations, and a lack of incentives for producers to improve food safety. A consolidation of our understanding and evidence of the source, nature and scale of FBD in Ethiopia is needed to inform policy and future research. We performed a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of publications on FBD occurrence in Ethiopia including hazard presence and impact.Method: The SLR followed Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines. We searched PubMed and CAB-Direct for relevant publications between 1990 and 2019 (inclusive). Observational studies and reviews were included. Two reviewers screened titles and abstracts, and retained publications were reviewed in full for quality and data extraction.Result: In total 128 articles met the inclusion criteria. Most articles focused on the identification of biological hazards in food. High levels of microbial contamination in different food value chains were often found in the small, ad hoc, observational studies that dominated the literature. Raw milk (22/128, 17.0%) and raw beef (21/128, 16.4%) were the most studied food products. Foodborne (FB) parasites were often found at higher rates in food than bacterial and viral pathogens, possibly due to differences in ease of identification. High levels of bacterial contamination on the hands of food handlers were widely reported. There were no reports on the incidence of human FBDs or resulting health and economic impacts.Conclusion: Our findings reflect existing concerns around food safety in Ethiopia. A lack of substantial, coordinated studies with robust methodologies means fundamental gaps remain in our knowledge of FBD in Ethiopia, particularly regarding FBD burden and impact. Greater investment in food safety is needed, with enhanced and coordinated research and interventions.
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| 8. |
- Isacs, Lina
(författare)
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Deliberating value : On the theory and practice of valuation of nature from neoclassical to ecological economics
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is about whether it is a good idea to place monetary value on nature, to remedy the fact that we treat it as having no particular value to us humans, although it clearly has. The thesis is based on five research papers that can be said to position themselves on opposite sides in the debate on monetisation of nature. The first two papers consider the basis of neoclassical environmental economics and apply the value theory and valuation methods from normative neoclassical welfare theory, on which monetisation of nature is based. The other three papers examine, with increasing degrees of criticism, this theory of value and especially its central assumption that value can be derived from people’s choices, or “revealed preferences”. The thesis itself is a “reflective story” about the journey I made as I learned to think about and understand neoclassical environmental economics in new ways. I reflect upon my work from a philosophy of science perspective, consider how for-granted-taken ideas from neoclassical economics affect environmental economic analysis and its conclusions, and examine the subject of value and valuation from what has become my new theoretical standpoint, ecological economics. It concerns meta-theoretical questions about ontology, that is, ideas in a research discipline about how things really are (what is), and epistemology, ideas about how researchers can provide relevant knowledge about reality. Such ideas are often taken for granted in neoclassical economic analysis and how they affect the analysis and its conclusions is not seldom unreflective. In the thesis, I move from explaining why neoclassical environmental economists advocate monetisation and pricing of nature as important solutions to environmental problems, to exemplifying how this turned out in research projects intended to serve as decision support in practice, and then to exploring and clarifying an alternative theory of value and valuation from ecological economics based on value pluralism and so-called deliberative valuation. In a concluding discussion, I point out that there are reasons to be sceptical about whether monetisation of nature is the right path to follow if we want to change our unsustainable relationship with nature and tackle the serious ecological crises we currently face. I show that monetisation of nature in practice requires a considerable amount of pragmatism, since the applied version of the theory deviates far from its idealised claims about the possibility to capture actual, total values. I also show that the descriptive (so-called positive) part of neoclassical theory and its normative part overlap in a way that makes it very difficult to speak of “objective” science in environmental economics. Instead, and despite strong recognition in the discipline that environmental problems are “market failures”, neoclassical theory has an ethical and ideological bias that favours individuals’ freedom of choice and market solutions, at the expense of collective decision-making and discussions about values that cannot be quantified. The important contribution of the thesis is that it clarifies the consequences of a central idea in the theory behind environmental economic analysis, namely the idea of values as commensurable, that is, measurable in one single unit. This idea links to the misleading conception of choices as “trade-offs”, where all choices are essentially viewed as the result of people’s constant exchange of costs and benefits within themselves in every choice they make, with the result that everything gets better (or at least not worse). Based on my research, I suggest that, in reality, people do not generally “make” trade-offs. If anything, people try to avoid them, especially when it comes to difficult choices, such as those concerning the true value of nature, because such choices involve moral conflicts between values that are incommensurable. As a basis for valuing transformational change, monetisation is therefore unsuitable, as it conceals rather than reveals the ethical dilemmas that are the very definition of sustainability problems and causes us to search for the efficient or so-called “optimal” solutions claimed possible in neoclassical theory and rhetoric, although such solutions do not exist. What we need instead is to represent public opinion in environmental decision-making in ways that do not conceal people’s actual moral considerations. Environmental valuation is political. It must be done together with others through reason-sensitive means, where people’s actual experiences of value conflicts – within us and between us – can be deliberated before making decisions. This makes decision-making more complex, but as an alternative to monetisation, this realism is not necessarily unrealistic. The fact that incommensurability is grounded in human experience means that the complexity of social and environmental decision-making has a real counterpart in conflicts within ourselves. One could see this as a potentiality, because we may have more confidence in people’s ability to recognise the relevance and necessity of less simplification and more complexity in decision-making. People need to “deliberate values” rather than “consuming” them and being expected to express all sorts of values through money.
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| 9. |
- Isacs, Lina, PhD, et al.
(författare)
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'I didn't count "willingness to pay" as part of the value' : Monetary valuation through respondents' perspectives
- 2024
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Ingår i: Environmental Values. - : Sage Publications. - 0963-2719 .- 1752-7015. ; 33:2, s. 163-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A frequent justification in the literature for using stated preference methods (SP) is that they are the only methods that can capture the so-called total economic value (TEV) of environmental changes to society. Based on follow-up interviews with SP survey respondents, this paper addresses the implications of that argument by shedding light on the construction of TEV, through respondents' perspective. It illuminates the deficiencies of willingness to pay (WTP) as a measure of value presented as three aggregated themes considering respondents' unintentionality, their retraction once they understood that their WTP could be decisive in cost-benefit analysis and the inherent incompleteness of WTP. We discuss why the TEV discourse persists, how it conceals rather than reveals broader notions of value and in what ways our results support the development of alternative approaches that truly endorse plurality in environmental valuation and decision-making.
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| 10. |
- Isacs, Lina, PhD, et al.
(författare)
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I didn't count "willingness to pay" as part of the value' : monetary valuation through stated preference study respondents' perspective
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environmental Values. - : White Horse Press. - 0963-2719 .- 1752-7015.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A frequent justification in the literature for using stated preference methods (SP) is that they are the only methods that can capture the so-called total economic value (TEV) of environmental changes to society. Based on follow-up interviews with SP survey respondents, this paper addresses the implications of that argument by shedding light on the construction of TEV, through respondents’ perspective. It illuminates the deficiencies of willingness to pay (WTP) as a measure of value, presented as three aggregated themes considering respondents’ unintentionality, their retraction once they understood that their WTP could be decisive in cost-benefit analysis and the inherent incompleteness of WTP. We discuss why the TEV discourse persists, how it conceals rather than reveals broader notions of value and in what ways our results support the development of alternative approaches that truly endorse plurality in environmental valuation and decision making.
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