| 1. |
- Bixby, H., et al.
(author)
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Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults
- 2019
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 569:7755, s. 260-4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.
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| 3. |
- Mishra, A, et al.
(author)
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Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents' growth and development
- 2023
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 615:7954, s. 874-883
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.
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| 4. |
- Ahmadi, Zahra, 1966-
(author)
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Market orientation and public housing companies in the Swedish declining market
- 2016
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The licentiate thesis consists of three papers with the particular topic in public housing. They discuss how the public housing companies manage the transition to higher economic demands meeting increased customer and market requirements. These studies focus specifically on how the public housing company deal with market challenges associated with the decision to demolish, maintain and/or new construction. Market-oriented perspective can be a tool for the public housing companies to achieve better customer value and enhance economic development. Although the market orientation concept has contributed to valuable improvements in research, the thesis assumes that it is necessary to distinguish between that the public housing companies operate market-oriented to meet customer requirements and their focus on innovation.Paper I develops market/innovation types and then investigates how public housing companies adapt to these types. It was found that economic conditions in the municipality have a major impact on the housing companies, causing them to act innovatively and create superior customer value by innovations. The study confirms that the implementation of market and innovation orientation contributes to competitive advantages in growing markets, while weak economic conditions impair implementation in declining markets.Paper II addresses how public housing companies in declining markets act based on the concept of market intelligence. This study suggested and tested whether there is a positive link between collecting customer information, disseminating it in the organization, and responding to customer needs, and whether this link has an impact on strategic performance. The result shows that weak links exist in the process; the efficiency of intelligence distribution in public housing companies is affected mainly by their responsiveness to customer needs.Paper III also addresses the public housing companies’ market strategies in declining markets. This study, based on a market-strategic perspective, compares how public housing companies act in relation to customer wants compared to the private housing market. The result shows that public housing companies are more engaged in carrying out new construction, renovation, and reconstruction, as well as taking more social responsibility compared to the private sector. In particular, their concern for the customers’ social needs is evident.
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| 5. |
- Ahmadi, Zahra, 1966-, et al.
(author)
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The market intelligence impact on strategic performance in declining markets
- 2017
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In: International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. - : Serials Publications. - 0972-7302. ; 15:15, s. 457-473
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examines how companies in declining markets operate in the context of market intelligence, responding to customer needs and applying them to strategic performance. A quantitative survey was sent to 214 public housing companies. The results indicate that market intelligence creates commitment and is significant. A positive relationship was found between data gathering, dissemination, and responsiveness, which indicates that the companies comprehend market needs but companies have difficult to manage construction strategies that improve strategic performance. There was a low value of strategic performance; a link between market intelligence and the chosen strategy was not confirmed. Companies know what the market wants but base their decision on previous strategic performance on economic conditions in the municipality instead.
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| 9. |
- Asp, Michaela, et al.
(author)
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A Spatiotemporal Organ-Wide Gene Expression and Cell Atlas of the Developing Human Heart
- 2019
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In: Cell. - : CELL PRESS. - 0092-8674 .- 1097-4172. ; 179:7, s. 1647-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The process of cardiac morphogenesis in humans is incompletely understood. Its full characterization requires a deep exploration of the organ-wide orchestration of gene expression with a single-cell spatial resolution. Here, we present a molecular approach that reveals the comprehensive transcriptional landscape of cell types populating the embryonic heart at three developmental stages and that maps cell-type-specific gene expression to specific anatomical domains. Spatial transcriptomics identified unique gene profiles that correspond to distinct anatomical regions in each developmental stage. Human embryonic cardiac cell types identified by single-cell RNA sequencing confirmed and enriched the spatial annotation of embryonic cardiac gene expression. In situ sequencing was then used to refine these results and create a spatial subcellular map for the three developmental phases. Finally, we generated a publicly available web resource of the human developing heart to facilitate future studies on human cardiogenesis.
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| 10. |
- Asp, Michaela, et al.
(author)
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An organ‐wide gene expression atlas of the developing human heart
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The human developing heart holds a greater proportion of stem-cell-like cells than the adult heart. However, it is not completely understood how these stem cells differentiate into various cardiac cell types. We have performed an organ-wide transcriptional landscape analysis of the developing heart to advance our understanding of cardiac morphogenesis in humans. Comprehensive spatial gene expression analyses identified distinct profiles that correspond not only to individual chamber compartments, but also distinctive regions within the outflow tract. Furthermore, the generated spatial expression reference maps facilitated the assignment of 3,787 human embryonic cardiac cells obtained from single-cell RNA-sequencing to an in situlocation. Through this approach we reveal that the outflow tract contains a wider range of cell types than the chambers, and that the epicardium expression profile can be traced to several cell types that are activated at different stages of development. We also provide a 3D spatial model of human embryonic cardiac cells to enable further studies of the developing human heart.
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