| 1. |
- Abrego, Nerea, et al.
(författare)
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Airborne DNA reveals predictable spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 631, s. 835-842
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fungi are among the most diverse and ecologically important kingdoms in life. However, the distributional ranges of fungi remain largely unknown as do the ecological mechanisms that shape their distributions1,2. To provide an integrated view of the spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi, we implemented a globally distributed standardized aerial sampling of fungal spores3. The vast majority of operational taxonomic units were detected within only one climatic zone, and the spatiotemporal patterns of species richness and community composition were mostly explained by annual mean air temperature. Tropical regions hosted the highest fungal diversity except for lichenized, ericoid mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi, which reached their peak diversity in temperate regions. The sensitivity in climatic responses was associated with phylogenetic relatedness, suggesting that large-scale distributions of some fungal groups are partially constrained by their ancestral niche. There was a strong phylogenetic signal in seasonal sensitivity, suggesting that some groups of fungi have retained their ancestral trait of sporulating for only a short period. Overall, our results show that the hyperdiverse kingdom of fungi follows globally highly predictable spatial and temporal dynamics, with seasonality in both species richness and community composition increasing with latitude. Our study reports patterns resembling those described for other major groups of organisms, thus making a major contribution to the long-standing debate on whether organisms with a microbial lifestyle follow the global biodiversity paradigms known for macroorganisms4,5.
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| 2. |
- Carney Almroth, Bethanie, 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the effects of textile leachates in fish using multiple testing methods: From gene expression to behavior
- 2021
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Ingår i: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. - : Elsevier BV. - 0147-6513 .- 1090-2414. ; 207
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The textile industry, while of major importance in the world economy, is a toxic industry utilizing and emitting thousands of chemical substances into the aquatic environment. The aim of this project was to study the potentially harmful effects associated with the leaching of chemical residues from three different types of textiles: sportswear, children’s bath towels, and denim using different fish models (cell lines, fish larvae and juvenile fish). A combination of in vitro and in vivo test systems was used. Numerous biomarkers, ranging from gene expression, cytotoxicity and biochemical analysis to behavior, were measured to detect effects of leached chemicals. Principle findings indicate that leachates from all three types of textiles induced cytotoxicity on fish cell lines (RTgill-W1). Leachates from sportswear and towels induced mortality in zebrafish embryos, and chemical residues from sportswear reduced locomotion responses in developing larval fish. Sportswear leachate increased Cyp1a mRNA expression and EROD activity in liver of exposed brown trout. Leachates from towels induced EROD activity and VTG in rainbow trout, and these effects were mitigated by the temperature of the extraction process. All indicators of toxicity tested showed that exposure to textile leachate can cause adverse reactions in fish. These findings suggested that chemical leaching from textiles from domestic households could pose an ecotoxicological threat to the health of the aquatic environment.
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| 3. |
- Eleftheriou, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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Indication of Thalamo-Cortical Circuit Dysfunction in Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus : A Tensor Imaging Study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a disorder with unclear pathophysiology. The diagnosis of iNPH is challenging due to its radiological similarity with other neurodegenerative diseases and ischemic subcortical white matter changes. By using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) we explored differences in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) in iNPH patients (before and after a shunt surgery) and healthy individuals (HI) and we correlated the clinical results with DTI parameters. Thirteen consecutive iNPH-patients underwent a pre- and post-operative clinical work-up: 10m walk time (w10mt) steps (w10ms), TUG-time (TUGt) and steps (TUGs); for cognitive function MMSE. Nine HI were included. DTI was performed before and 3 months after surgery, HI underwent DTI once. DTI differences analyzed by manually placing 12 regions-of-interest. In patients motor and balance function improved significantly after surgery (p=0.01, p=0.025). Higher nearly significant FA values found in the patients vs HI pre-operatively in the thalamus (p=0.07) accompanied by an almost significant lower ADC (p=0.08). Significantly FA and ADC-values were found between patients and HI in FWM (p=0.02, p=0.001) and almost significant (p=0.057) pre- vs postoperatively. Postoperatively we found a trend towards the HIs FA values and a strong significant negative correlation between FA changes vs. gait results in the FWM (r=-0.7, p=0.008). Our study gives a clear indication of an ongoing pathological process in the periventricular white matter, especially in the thalamus and in the frontal white matter supporting the hypothesis of a shunt reversible thalamo-cortical circuit dysfunction in iNPH.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Guerrero, José-Luis, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the hydrological robustness of model-parameter values with alpha shapes
- 2013
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Ingår i: Water resources research. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0043-1397 .- 1944-7973. ; 49:10, s. 6700-6715
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Estimation of parameter values in hydrological models has gradually moved from subjective, trial-and-error methods into objective estimation methods. Translation of nature's complexity to bit operations is an uncertain process as a result of data errors, epistemic gaps, computational deficiencies, and other limitations, and relies on calibration to fit model output to observed data. The robustness of the calibrated parameter values to these types of uncertainties is therefore an important concern. In this study, we investigated how the hydrological robustness of the model-parameter values varied within the geometric structure of the behavioral (well-performing) parameter space with a depth function based on α shapes and an in-depth posterior performance analysis of the simulations in relation to the observed discharge uncertainty. The α shape depth is a nonconvex measure that may provide an accurate and tight delimitation of the geometric structure of the behavioral space for both unimodal and multimodal parameter-value distributions. WASMOD, a parsimonious rainfall-runoff model, was applied to six Honduran and one UK catchment, with differing data quality and hydrological characteristics. Model evaluation was done with two performance measures, the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and one based on flow-duration curves. Deep parameter vectors were in general found to be more hydrologically robust than shallow ones in the analyses we performed; model-performance values increased with depth, deviations to the observed data for the high-flow aspects of the hydrograph generally decreased with increasing depth, deep parameter vectors generally transferred in time with maintained high performance values, and the model had a low sensitivity to small changes in the parameter values. The tight delimitation of the behavioral space provided by the α shapes depth function showed a potential to improve the efficiency of calibration techniques that require further exploration. For computational reasons only a three-parameter model could be used, which limited the applicability of this depth measure and the conclusions drawn in this paper, especially concerning hydrological robustness at low flows.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Guerrero, Jose-Luis, et al.
(författare)
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Temporal variability in stage-discharge relationships
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Hydrology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-1694 .- 1879-2707. ; 446, s. 90-102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although discharge estimations are central for water management and hydropower, there are few studies on the variability and uncertainty of their basis; deriving discharge from stage heights through the use of a rating curve that depends on riverbed geometry. A large fraction of the world's river-discharge stations are presumably located in alluvial channels where riverbed characteristics may change over time because of erosion and sedimentation. This study was conducted to analyse and quantify the dynamic relationship between stage and discharge and to determine to what degree currently used methods are able to account for such variability. The study was carried out for six hydrometric stations in the upper Choluteca River basin, Honduras, where a set of unusually frequent stage-discharge data are available. The temporal variability and the uncertainty of the rating curve and its parameters were analysed through a Monte Carlo (MC) analysis on a moving window of data using the Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology. Acceptable ranges for the values of the rating-curve parameters were determined from riverbed surveys at the six stations, and the sampling space was constrained according to those ranges, using three-dimensional alpha shapes. Temporal variability was analysed in three ways: (i) with annually updated rating curves (simulating Honduran practices), (ii) a rating curve for each time window, and (iii) a smoothed, continuous dynamic rating curve derived from the MC analysis. The temporal variability of the rating parameters translated into a high rating-curve variability. The variability could turn out as increasing or decreasing trends and/or cyclic behaviour. There was a tendency at all stations to a seasonal variability. The discharge at a given stage could vary by a factor of two or more. The quotient in discharge volumes estimated from dynamic and static rating curves varied between 0.5 and 1.5. The difference between discharge volumes derived from static and dynamic curves was largest for sub-daily ratings but stayed large also for monthly and yearly totals. The relative uncertainty was largest for low flows but it was considerable also for intermediate and large flows. The standard procedure of adjusting rating curves when calculated and observed discharge differ by more than 5% would have required continuously updated rating curves at the studied locations. We believe that these findings can be applicable to many other discharge stations around the globe.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Hartell, Eva, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Informerat samtycke i flerspråkig skolmiljö
- 2021
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Ingår i: Lärarnas forskningskonferens 2021. ; , s. 45-
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bedömning av transversella färdigheter i STEM (ATSSTEM) är ett innovativt utveckling- och forskningsprojekt med en experimentell design, som syftar till att förbättra digitala bedömningsformer av elevers kunskaper och ämnesövergripande färdigheter inom STEM [matematik, naturvetenskap och teknik]. Detta Erasmus+ projekt bedrivs i grundskolor och gymnasieskolor runt om i Europa och pågår mellan 2019–2022. Haninge kommun och Institutionen för lärande vid Kungliga Tekniska högskolan deltar i ATSSTEM-partnernätverket tillsammans med 11 andra utbildningsinstitutioner som befinner sig på olika nivåer av utbildningssystemet i åtta europeiska länder. Ämnesövergripande undervisningsupplägg med fokus på Agenda 2030 utvecklas och prövas tillsammans med lärare från skolor runt om i Europa. Från Sverige deltar sju grundskolor i Haninge kommun. Frågeställningar - Hur kommunicerar vi informerat samtycke i en flerspråkig miljö? - Hur kan vi kommunicera med vårdnadshavare på andra språk än svenska om potentiella fördelarna och risker med praktiknära skolforskning för deras barn? - Hur kan vi engagera vårdnadshavare med olika språkbakgrund för att få dem att känna sig del av forskningen och förklara vårdnadshavarnas och elevernas rättigheter och de garantier de kan förvänta sig? - Vilka logistik- och kostnadskrav ställer detta på forskargrupper? - Hur resurssätter vi lärare och forskare att kommunicera med vårdnadshavare i flerspråkiga miljöer med avseende på informerat samtycke? Resultat och diskussion I syfte att säkerställa att vårdnadshavare och elever på pilotskolorna kunde tillgodogöra sig innehållet i samtyckesformuläret beslutade projektgruppen att översätta dokumentet till några av de mest förekommande språken i Haninge engelska, arabiska, polska, ryska och turkiska. Vi vill till detta seminarium bjuda in publiken till en dialog där vi diskuterar och delar erfarenheter i den etiskt utmanande frågan om hur man kommunicerar informerat samtycke i en flerspråkig skolmiljö.
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| 10. |
- Hartell, Eva, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Seeking informed consent in a multilingual school environment : ATSSTEM - project
- 2021
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Ingår i: PATT38 Book of Abstracts. - Turku, Finland. ; , s. 29-30
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Assessment of Transversal Skills in STEM (ATSSTEM) is an innovative policy experimentation project, which aims to enhance digital assessment of students’ transversal skills in STEM. This Erasmus+ project is situated in primary and secondary schools in and run between 2019– 2022. The Department of Education in Haninge municipality and the Department of Learning at KTH Royal Institute of Technology partake in the ATSSTEM partner network together with 11 other educational institutions, operating on different levels of the educational system across 8 European countries. Integrated STEM learning activities focusing Agenda 2030 is developed and piloted together with teachers in 7 primary and secondary schools in Haninge municipality in Sweden. Following regular ethical requirements for educational research projects; the research team seeks informed consent from the students’ guardians as the students involved are underaged. The pilot schools in municipality of Haninge are fortunate to have students from all over the world, and a number of families have recently immigrated to Sweden. STEM education has a strong policy focus at European and national levels on widening opportunities for under-represented groups. With the purpose to emphasis informed, we therefore decided to translate the informed consent form to a number of languages [e.g. Arabic, Spanish and Polish] spoken at home in our pilot schools. We would like to invite audience to discuss and share experience in the ethically challenging matter of communicating informed consent in a multilingual school environment with the following suggested prompts.How can we communicate with parents in other languages (and with different cultural expectations) about the potential benefits of research to their children?How can we engage parents from different backgrounds to make them feel part of research and explain the rights of parents and students and the safeguards they can expect?What logistic and costs requirements does this place on research teams? How do we resource teachers and researchers to communicate with parents in multi-lingual environments?
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