| 1. |
- Bernacka Wojcik, Iwona, et al.
(författare)
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Flexible Organic Electronic Ion Pump for Flow-Free Phytohormone Delivery into Vasculature of Intact Plants
- 2023
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Ingår i: Advanced Science. - : WILEY. - 2198-3844. ; 10:14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant vasculature transports molecules that play a crucial role in plant signaling including systemic responses and acclimation to diverse environmental conditions. Targeted controlled delivery of molecules to the vascular tissue can be a biomimetic way to induce long distance responses, providing a new tool for the fundamental studies and engineering of stress-tolerant plants. Here, a flexible organic electronic ion pump, an electrophoretic delivery device, for controlled delivery of phytohormones directly in plant vascular tissue is developed. The c-OEIP is based on polyimide-coated glass capillaries that significantly enhance the mechanical robustness of these microscale devices while being minimally disruptive for the plant. The polyelectrolyte channel is based on low-cost and commercially available precursors that can be photocured with blue light, establishing much cheaper and safer system than the state-of-the-art. To trigger OEIP-induced plant response, the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) in the petiole of intact Arabidopsis plants is delivered. ABA is one of the main phytohormones involved in plant stress responses and induces stomata closure under drought conditions to reduce water loss and prevent wilting. The OEIP-mediated ABA delivery triggered fast and long-lasting stomata closure far away from the delivery point demonstrating systemic vascular transport of the delivered ABA, verified delivering deuterium-labeled ABA.
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| 2. |
- Ahlman, Therese, et al.
(författare)
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Organic producers' preferences regarding traits important in dairy production
- 2012
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Ingår i: Landbauforschung Völkenrode. Sonderheft. - 0376-0723. ; 362, s. 343-346
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Much effort has been put on the development and promotion of organic dairy products, but little attention has been paid to the foundation of the production, i.e. the animal material. The process of developing sustainable breeding strategies, in agreement with the goals for organic production, should involve identification of traits especially important in organic production. The aim of this study is to identify organic and conventional producers' preferences regarding traits important in dairy production. A web based questionnaire has been developed and answered by 468 dairy farm-ers in Sweden (26 % organic producers). The results show that organic producers rank traits relat-ed to resistance to diseases higher than conventional producers, while milk production, lactation curve, temperament and claw and leg health were ranked higher by conventional farmers. This in-dicates a need for breeding goals adjusted to satisfy farmers with different type of production.
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| 3. |
- Algers, Anne, et al.
(författare)
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Peer review of OER is not comprehensive- power and passion call for other solutions
- 2014
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this article is to support the discussion on the role of OER for sustainable development by (i) highlighting the need for a critical debate on issues related to quality of OER and (ii) emphasizing that both accuracy and legitimacy is essential for quality. Higher education has a societal responsibility to formally educate students and to be involved in informal learning of members of society. OER are used as a hybrid of learning artefacts and methodology in this process, but quality assurance systems may influence trust and therefore the scale of OER adoption. Quality of research and traditional resources used in higher education are assessed by the use of peer review, but this process has been criticised for neither being standardised and objective, nor reliable for detecting fraud. Furthermore it is questioned because it is time consuming and expensive, and has been accused for stealing ideas, and for blocking and slowing down the publication of scientific results of competitors. Peer review is sometimes used in the quality assurance of OER, but has been criticised since OER are constantly changing and centralised control systems are lacking. Furthermore, OER can with reference to the wisdom of the crowd be argued to be of higher quality than resources developed by single individuals, since it is a collegial activity similar to the creative exchange in research when researchers are building upon each other’s work and discuss their findings with fellow researchers in order to get a shared understanding. Different types of index are sometimes used in peer review based on tools which measure different dimensions. Such tools tend to be instrumental and some academics are considering other and more inclusive approaches such as ratings and recommendation. The balance between accuracy and legitimacy in OER practices deserves further research, especially when dealing with contested subject areas. Thus, the question is not only if the OER is accurate, in the sense without errors or demonstrating scientific reliable results, but if it shares with you the value-laden presuppositions about what is important. Food quality and animal welfare are aspects of sustainability which are of high interest not only to scientists and students but also to citizens and consumers. Individuals need to be assisted to become more aware of the complexities surrounding ethical decision making and more conscious of their own ethical Research Approaches and Perceptions in ODL 89 orientation in the contested areas of food quality and animal welfare, in order to make informed consumer choices, influence the food production methods and levels of animal welfare and articulate their stance in sustainable development. Consequently, food quality and animal welfare have legitimacy because of ethical concerns in the society. To access the adequacy of those scientific conceptions the research community must therefore be in dialogue with society and address the current ethical concerns. This article presents empirical research highlighting the interplay between accuracy, meaning if the content is current knowledge without errors, and legitimacy, meaning if the content is relevant to the learner and based on the value system of the learner or the general accepted value system in a certain context. It highlights the power structures and question if higher education has the authority to be the main assessor of OER in the future, and if peer review is the only and preferred methodology for quality assessment. It asks the question if the wisdom of the crowd and its demand for knowledge is building the legitimacy of OER and how that corresponds to the quality assessment of OER, and therefore how this might contribute to a sustainable development of society. The fourth generation activity theory is about expansive learning, and builds on the idea that there are inner contradictions within the learners’ activity system and that knowledge creation transcends the context given, and is therefore found to be a useful framework for analysing the peer review process. Since openness is both the objectives and the instruments in OER a peer review assessment of the artefact cannot be comprehensive but requires a complex mix of quality instruments enabling users to be involved in the quality process. As previously suggested the interaction between (i) the network of users of OER and (ii) the network in publishing industry and formal education may form the future solution for the quality of OER and for sustainable development.
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| 4. |
- Algers, Anne, 1961, et al.
(författare)
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Peer Reviewing of OER in a Contested Domain – an Activity Theoretical Analysis
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Interactive Online Learning. - 1541-4914. ; 13:4, s. 21-38
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Globally, we experience numerous initiatives to increase the adoption of open educational resources (OER), but quality concerns challenge the adoption. In this study we present an analysis of the peer review process of an OER. The OER under review is produced by the European Commission (EU). It has the goal to teach children about farm animal welfare. Following discussions with the EU about its quality, a panel review was conducted. The group of peers used a quality evaluation tool for initial individual assessment, which was then discussed in four consecutive meetings. Video recordings from the meetings and the final report constitute the research data. Cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) was used as the analytical framework. The results indicated that the main areas of negotiations were the content quality of the OER and the adoption of the OER in teaching practices. The examination of these concerns using CHAT indicated that the peer review process neither leads to accuracy nor legitimacy. In summary, OER and in particular the quality assessment of OER challenge the boundaries of higher education. A combination of peer review and crowd source review is suggested to underpin the openness and thus increase adoption of OER.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Magnus
(författare)
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Experimental Design and Updating of Finite Element Models
- 1997
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis deals with two partly related topics: model updating and actuator/sensor placement concerning finite element (FE) models of large, flexible mechanical structures.The importance of accurate dynamical FE models of mechanical structures in, e.g., aviation/aerospace applications are steadily increasing. For instance, a sufficient accurate model may reduce the expenses for ground vibration testing and wind-tunnel experiments substantially. It is therefore of high industrial interest to obtain accurate models of flexible structures. One approach is to improve a parameterized, initial FE model using measurements of the real structure, so-called model updating. For a fast, successful model updating, three requirements must be fulfilled. The model updating must be computationally cheap, which requires an efficient model reduction technique. The cost function describing the deviation between the model output and the measurements must have good convexity properties so that an estimation of the parameters corresponding to the global optimum is likely to be obtained. Finally, the optimization methods must be reliable. A novel mode-pairing free cost function is presented, and together with a proposed general procedure for model updating, a cheap model updating formulation with good parameter estimation properties is obtained.Actuator and sensor placement is a part of the experimental design. It is performed in advance of the vibrational experiment in order to ensure high quality measurements. Using a nominal FE model of the structure, an actuator/sensor placement can be made. Actuator/sensor placement tasks are generally discrete, non-convex optimization problems of high complexity. One is therefore restricted to the use of sub-optimal algorithms in order to fulfill time and memory storage requirements. A computationally cheap algorithm for general actuator/sensor placement objectives are proposed. A generalization of an actuator/sensor placement criterion for model updating, and a novel noise-robust actuator placement criterion for experimental modal analysis are proposed.
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| 7. |
- Axelsson, Louise, et al.
(författare)
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The meaning of animal well-being- for farmers and dairy farm employees
- 2024
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Ingår i: Agricultural and Food Science. - 1459-6067 .- 1795-1895. ; 33, s. 30-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dairy farms in Sweden have undergone a structural change. The number of family farms has decreased, while the number of large dairy farms with employees caring for the animals has increased. This changing situation has created a new farming landscape. From that perspective, it is crucial to gain insight into what factors contribute to the well-being of humans and animals on big dairy farms. Twenty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted on three farms. Farmers and employees were interviewed. The material was analysed using a qualitative approach inspired by qualitative content analysis. For the farmers and employees, animal well-being was central for various reasons and from different perspectives. Despite the differences, the impact of animal well-being was interlinked between the two groups. An increased and deeper understanding of the different perspectives and needs arising from the different roles of farmers and employees can provide new knowledge about factors important for improvinganimal well-being.
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| 8. |
- Axelsson, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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The Challenge of Transdisciplinary Research : A Case Study of Learning by Evaluation for Sustainable Transport Infrastructures
- 2020
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 12:17, s. 1-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While transdisciplinary (TD) research is desired in order to solve real world sustainability issues, this may be challenging for both academic and non-academic participants. Supporting learning through evaluation, we analyzed a project aiming at sustainable transport infrastructures. After developing a TD research framework as a benchmark, two external independent evaluators interviewed all project researchers, representatives for end-users, and donors. The evaluators compared results with the framework, and evaluators and participants critically reflected on the results together. There were three inconsistencies relative to the framework: (1) limited understanding of TD research among project management, end-users, and most of the researchers; (2) no structured learning process among end-users; instead, they expressed very diverse opinions about what they expected from the project; (3) project leaders had limited understanding of the special challenges of TD research, did not fully understand the status of the project's social system, and thus did not act as facilitators of the required collaborative learning process. Non-academic participants saw themselves as customers and not as partners in the knowledge production process. We conclude that TD problem-solving research requires much time and needs facilitation and training. A preparatory phase with a lower level of funding would be helpful in preparing for TD processes.
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| 9. |
- Bernacka Wojcik, Iwona, et al.
(författare)
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Implantable Organic Electronic Ion Pump Enables ABA Hormone Delivery for Control of Stomata in an Intact Tobacco Plant
- 2019
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Ingår i: Small. - : Wiley-VCH Verlagsgesellschaft. - 1613-6810 .- 1613-6829. ; 15:43
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electronic control of biological processes with bioelectronic devices holds promise for sophisticated regulation of physiology, for gaining fundamental understanding of biological systems, providing new therapeutic solutions, and digitally mediating adaptations of organisms to external factors. The organic electronic ion pump (OEIP) provides a unique means for electronically-controlled, flow-free delivery of ions, and biomolecules at cellular scale. Here, a miniaturized OEIP device based on glass capillary fibers (c-OEIP) is implanted in a biological organism. The capillary form factor at the sub-100 mu m scale of the device enables it to be implanted in soft tissue, while its hyperbranched polyelectrolyte channel and addressing protocol allows efficient delivery of a large aromatic molecule. In the first example of an implantable bioelectronic device in plants, the c-OEIP readily penetrates the leaf of an intact tobacco plant with no significant wound response (evaluated up to 24 h) and effectively delivers the hormone abscisic acid (ABA) into the leaf apoplast. OEIP-mediated delivery of ABA, the phytohormone that regulates plants tolerance to stress, induces closure of stomata, the microscopic pores in leafs epidermis that play a vital role in photosynthesis and transpiration. Efficient and localized ABA delivery reveals previously unreported kinetics of ABA-induced signal propagation.
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| 10. |
- Blennow Nordström, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Neuropsychological outcome after cardiac arrest : results from a sub-study of the targeted hypothermia versus targeted normothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (TTM2) trial
- 2023
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Ingår i: Critical Care. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1364-8535 .- 1466-609X. ; 27:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment is common following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), but the nature of the impairment is poorly understood. Our objective was to describe cognitive impairment in OHCA survivors, with the hypothesis that OHCA survivors would perform significantly worse on neuropsychological tests of cognition than controls with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Another aim was to investigate the relationship between cognitive performance and the associated factors of emotional problems, fatigue, insomnia, and cardiovascular risk factors following OHCA.METHODS: This was a prospective case-control sub-study of The Targeted Hypothermia versus Targeted Normothermia after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (TTM2) trial. Eight of 61 TTM2-sites in Sweden, Denmark, and the United Kingdom included adults with OHCA of presumed cardiac or unknown cause. A matched non-arrest control group with acute MI was recruited. At approximately 7 months post-event, we administered an extensive neuropsychological test battery and questionnaires on anxiety, depression, fatigue, and insomnia, and collected information on the cardiovascular risk factors hypertension and diabetes.RESULTS: Of 184 eligible OHCA survivors, 108 were included, with 92 MI controls enrolled. Amongst OHCA survivors, 29% performed z-score ≤ - 1 (at least borderline-mild impairment) in ≥ 2 cognitive domains, 14% performed z-score ≤ - 2 (major impairment) in ≥ 1 cognitive domain while 54% performed without impairment in any domain. Impairment was most pronounced in episodic memory, executive functions, and processing speed. OHCA survivors performed significantly worse than MI controls in episodic memory (mean difference, MD = - 0.37, 95% confidence intervals [- 0.61, - 0.12]), verbal (MD = - 0.34 [- 0.62, - 0.07]), and visual/constructive functions (MD = - 0.26 [- 0.47, - 0.04]) on linear regressions adjusted for educational attainment and sex. When additionally adjusting for anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia, hypertension, and diabetes, executive functions (MD = - 0.44 [- 0.82, - 0.06]) were also worse following OHCA. Diabetes, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and fatigue were significantly associated with worse cognitive performance.CONCLUSIONS: In our study population, cognitive impairment was generally mild following OHCA. OHCA survivors performed worse than MI controls in 3 of 6 domains. These results support current guidelines that a post-OHCA follow-up service should screen for cognitive impairment, emotional problems, and fatigue.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03543371. Registered 1 June 2018.
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| 11. |
- Blennow Nordström, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Neuropsychological outcome after cardiac arrest : A prospective case control sub-study of the Targeted hypothermia versus targeted normothermia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest trial (TTM2)
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC Cardiovascular Disorders. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2261. ; 20:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: This study is designed to provide detailed knowledge on cognitive impairment after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and its relation to associated factors, and to validate the neurocognitive screening of the Targeted Hypothermia versus Targeted Normothermia after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest trial (TTM2-trial), assessing effectiveness of targeted temperature management after OHCA. Methods: This longitudinal multi-center clinical study is a sub-study of the TTM2-trial, in which a comprehensive neuropsychological examination is performed in addition to the main TTM2-trial neurocognitive screening. Approximately 7 and 24 months after OHCA, survivors at selected study sites are invited to a standardized assessment, including performance-based tests of cognition and questionnaires of emotional problems, fatigue, executive function and insomnia. At 1:1 ratio, a matched control group from a cohort of acute myocardial infarction (MI) patients is recruited to perform the same assessment. We aim to include 100 patients per group. Potential differences between the OHCA patients and the MI controls at 7 and 24 months will be analyzed with a linear regression, using composite z-scores per cognitive domain (verbal, visual/constructive, working memory, episodic memory, processing speed, executive functions) as primary outcome measures. Results from OHCA survivors on the main TTM2-trial neurocognitive screening battery will be compared with neuropsychological test results at 7 months, using sensitivity and specificity analyses. Discussion: In this study we collect detailed information on cognitive impairment after OHCA and compare this to a control group of patients with acute MI. The validation of the TTM2 neurocognitive screening battery could justify its inclusion in routine follow-up. Our results may have a potential to impact on the design of future follow-up strategies and interventions after OHCA. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03543371. Registered 1 June 2018
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Blix Germundsson, Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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Collective agency as a leverage point in multi-actor innovation: Two case studies from Swedish horticulture
- 2023
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Ingår i: Agricultural and Food Science. - 1459-6067 .- 1795-1895. ; 32, s. 166-178
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study is to investigate how horticultural firms meet their need for innovation within the innovation system. A comparative process ethnography approach was applied to two cases of long-term collaboration between multiple actors in Swedish horticulture. The retrospective reconstruction of the cases through documentation and interviews allowed for triangulation of data in a grounded theory approach. The leverage points of the developing collaborative processes were found to be; having agency and a network approach, the forming of collective agency through social learning, enhancing resource access, and operationalization of results. The concept of leverage points is useful for understanding evolutionary changes in multi-actor collaborations. The use of the concept of collective agency contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of demand articulation, illustrating a reciprocal process between the actors' individual agencies, and evolving over time through their social learning. The results point to a need for policymakers and practitioners to develop a broader understanding of how actors work in the innovation system to enhance knowledge development and innovation.
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| 14. |
- Blix Germundsson, Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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Leverage points in farmer, advisor and researcher interactions.
- 2023
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this study is to investigate how agricultural firms can use innovation support services to develop new knowledge and innovation, for their sustainable business development and growth. The methods comprise a qualitative case study with a comparative process ethnography approach, employing two cases of long-term collaborations between multiple actors in Sweden. The findings suggest that the processes of social learning, the forming of collective agency, enhancing of resource access and the operationalizing of results, were leverage points creating the ability to maintain and develop the collaboration over time. The practical implications include how agricultural firms can gain innovative strength and find leverage by forming collective agency with key individuals in order to access complementary competences and resources of others. The theoretical implications include the value of collective agency for multi-actor collaborations, and that a composition of smaller leverage points were found to enable larger change.
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Danelid, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Kartläggning av högskolans elektroniska publicering och rekommendationer för nationell samverkan : Återrapportering till SUHF:s Forum för bibliotekschefer
- 2008
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Resultatet av arbetsgruppens genomförda kartläggning av e-publicering visar att den stora utmaningen för de flesta av SUHF:s medlemmar som idag driver system för e-publicering är att marknadsföra och förankra detta arbete. Det finns svårigheter att nå ut till anställda på det sätt som krävs för att få igång fungerande arbetsflöden och ökad digital publicering. Därför är det nu viktigt att fortsätta utvecklingen med att skapa en bredare förankring vid universitet och högskolor. Kartläggningen visar vidare att intresset för nationell samordning av elektro-nisk publicering är stort hos de lokalt ansvariga för publiceringsfrågor. Här har SUHF en vik-tig funktion att fylla för att bistå med förankring och samordning.Arbetsgruppen för Högskolans elektroniska publicering rekommenderar följande fortsatta åtgärder för nationell samverkan via SUHF/Forum för bibliotekschefer:• SUHF tar ansvar för en permanent övergripande och nationell samverkan kring hög-skolans elektroniska publicering.• SUHF formulerar riktlinjer till lärosätenas ledningar för hur elektronisk publicering, publiceringsredovisning och Open Access kan införlivas i lärosätenas verksamhet.• SUHF bör försöka hitta gemensamma finansieringsformer för funktioner där samord-ning är angelägen.
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| 17. |
- Eklund, D. Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Homologues of the Arabidopsis thaliana SHI/STY/LRP1 genes control auxin biosynthesis and affect growth and development in the moss Physcomitrella patens
- 2010
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Ingår i: Development. - : The Company of Biologists. - 0950-1991 .- 1477-9129. ; 137:8, s. 1275-1284
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The plant hormone auxin plays fundamental roles in vascular plants. Although exogenous auxin also stimulates developmental transitions and growth in non-vascular plants, the effects of manipulating endogenous auxin levels have thus far not been reported. Here, we have altered the levels and sites of auxin production and accumulation in the moss Physcomitrella patens by changing the expression level of homologues of the Arabidopsis SHI/STY family proteins, which are positive regulators of auxin biosynthesis genes. Constitutive expression of PpSHI1 resulted in elevated auxin levels, increased and ectopic expression of the auxin response reporter GmGH3pro:GUS, and in an increased caulonema/chloronema ratio, an effect also induced by exogenous auxin application. In addition, we observed premature ageing and necrosis in cells ectopically expressing PpSHI1. Knockout of either of the two PpSHI genes resulted in reduced auxin levels and auxin biosynthesis rates in leafy shoots, reduced internode elongation, delayed ageing, a decreased caulonema/chloronema ratio and an increased number of axillary hairs, which constitute potential auxin biosynthesis sites. Some of the identified auxin functions appear to be analogous in vascular and non-vascular plants. Furthermore, the spatiotemporal expression of the PpSHI genes and GmGH3pro:GUS strongly overlap, suggesting that local auxin biosynthesis is important for the regulation of auxin peak formation in non-vascular plants.
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| 18. |
- Elfving, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Acute Uncomplicated Febrile Illness in Children Aged 2-59 months in Zanzibar : Aetiologies, Antibiotic Treatment and Outcome
- 2016
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that a large proportion of children with fever in Africa present at primary health care facilities, few studies have been designed to specifically study the causes of uncomplicated childhood febrile illness at this level of care, especially in areas like Zanzibar that has recently undergone a dramatic change from high to low malaria transmission.METHODS: We prospectively studied the aetiology of febrile illness in 677 children aged 2-59 months with acute uncomplicated fever managed by IMCI (Integrated Management of Childhood Illness) guidelines in Zanzibar, using point-of-care tests, urine culture, blood-PCR, chest X-ray (CXR) of IMCI-pneumonia classified patients, and multiple quantitative (q)PCR investigations of nasopharyngeal (NPH) (all patients) and rectal (GE) swabs (diarrhoea patients). For comparison, we also performed NPH and GE qPCR analyses in 167 healthy community controls. Final fever diagnoses were retrospectively established based on all clinical and laboratory data. Clinical outcome was assessed during a 14-day follow-up. The utility of IMCI for identifying infections presumed to require antibiotics was evaluated.FINDINGS: NPH-qPCR and GE-qPCR detected ≥1 pathogen in 657/672 (98%) and 153/164 (93%) of patients and 158/166 (95%) and 144/165 (87%) of controls, respectively. Overall, 57% (387/677) had IMCI-pneumonia, but only 12% (42/342) had CXR-confirmed pneumonia. Two patients were positive for Plasmodium falciparum. Respiratory syncytial virus (24.5%), influenza A/B (22.3%), rhinovirus (10.5%) and group-A streptococci (6.4%), CXR-confirmed pneumonia (6.2%), Shigella (4.3%) were the most common viral and bacterial fever diagnoses, respectively. Blood-PCR conducted in a sub-group of patients (n = 83) without defined fever diagnosis was negative for rickettsiae, chikungunya, dengue, Rift Valley fever and West Nile viruses. Antibiotics were prescribed to 500 (74%) patients, but only 152 (22%) had an infection retrospectively considered to require antibiotics. Clinical outcome was generally good. However, two children died. Only 68 (11%) patients remained febrile on day 3 and three of them had verified fever on day 14. An additional 29 (4.5%) children had fever relapse on day 14. Regression analysis determined C-reactive Protein (CRP) as the only independent variable significantly associated with CXR-confirmed pneumonia.CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study on uncomplicated febrile illness in African children that both applied a comprehensive laboratory panel and a healthy control group. A majority of patients had viral respiratory tract infection. Pathogens were frequently detected by qPCR also in asymptomatic children, demonstrating the importance of incorporating controls in fever aetiology studies. The precision of IMCI for identifying infections requiring antibiotics was low.
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| 19. |
- Gerber, M., et al.
(författare)
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Fitness Moderates the Relationship between Stress and Cardiovascular Risk Factors
- 2016
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Ingår i: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0195-9131. ; 48:11, s. 2075-2081
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose This cross-sectional observational study examined the degree to which cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and self-perceived stress are associated with cardiometabolic risk factors and the overall risk score for cardiovascular diseases. The second aim was to determine whether participants' CRF levels moderate the relationships between stress and cardiometabolic risk. Methods A gender-matched stratified sample (N = 197, 51% men, M-age = 39.2 yr) was used to ensure that participants with varying stress levels were equally represented. CRF was assessed with the angstrom strand bicycle test, and perceived stress was assessed with a single-item question. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), glycated hemoglobin, and total cardiometabolic risk score (sum of the z-standardized residuals of the previously mentioned indicators) were assessed as outcomes. Results Higher LDL-C, TG, and total metabolic risk were found in participants with high stress scores (P < 0.05). In addition, lower SBP, DBP, BMI, LDL-C, TG, and total metabolic risk were observed in participants with high CRF (P < 0.05). Two-way ANCOVA provided significant interaction effects for five of the nine outcome variables (P < 0.05, 3.6%-4.8% of explained variance). Participants with high stress who also had high CRF levels had lower SBP, DBP, LDL-C, TG, and total cardiometabolic risk than participants with high stress but low or moderate CRF levels. No significant main or interaction effects occurred for BMI, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and glycated hemoglobin. Conclusion Better CRF is associated with more favorable levels of several cardiometabolic risk factors, specifically in participants experiencing high stress. Higher CRF may provide some protection against the health hazards of high chronic stress by attenuating the stress-related increase in cardiovascular risk factors.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Jansson, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Efficient Implementation of a Submodel for Composite Materials to be Combined with the FDTD-Algorithm
- 1994
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Ingår i: IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. - : IEEE Magnetics Society. - 0018-9464 .- 1941-0069. ; 30:5, s. 3188-3191
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A submodel to be used for thin sheets of semiconducting materials in combination with the finite difference time domain algorithm for solving Maxwell's equations is derived. Emphasis is concentrated on accomplishing an efficient and robust algorithm. Stability properties of the combined model are also investigated
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| 22. |
- Krafft, Jannica, et al.
(författare)
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Delivering too much, too little or off target-possible consequences of differences in perceptions on agricultural advisory services
- 2021
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Ingår i: Agriculture and Human Values. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0889-048X .- 1572-8366. ; 39, s. 185-199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Advisory services are considered to play an important role in the development of competitiveness and sustainability in agriculture. Advisory services have been studied at policy level, structural level and within case studies, but there is still restricted knowledge about advisors' and farmers' view on advisory services in general. This paper presents the views of Swedish advisors and farmers on advisory services. In a survey-based study, perceptions of farm advisors and full-time farmers in commercial Swedish agriculture on advisory services were identified and statistically analysed, comparing differences between and within the groups. The results are structured around three main themes; motives for a farmer using or not using advisory services, preferred approach by the advisor and future demands on advisory services and their importance today. Possible consequences of differences in perceptions for on-farm service delivery were assessed. Similarities in perceptions on advisory services among advisors and farmers, were found in areas characterised by well-defined questions or production-related issues. Significant differences in perceptions of advisors and farmers emerged in less concrete areas and on topics connected to change, management and strategy. Consequences of discrepancies in perceptions are that advisors may deliver too much, too little or off target, especially when expectations on advisory services are not clearly expressed. A strong and proactive back-office supporting the advisors is needed to prevent these possible consequences.
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| 23. |
- Lagercrantz, Ulf, et al.
(författare)
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Nyctinastic thallus movement in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha is regulated by a circadian clock
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The circadian clock coordinates an organism’s growth, development and physiology with environmental factors. One illuminating example is the rhythmic growth of hypocotyls and cotyledons in Arabidopsis thaliana. Such daily oscillations in leaf position are often referred to as sleep movements or nyctinasty. Here, we report that plantlets of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha show analogous rhythmic movements of thallus lobes, and that the circadian clock controls this rhythm, with auxin a likely output pathway affecting these movements. The mechanisms of this circadian clock are partly conserved as compared to angiosperms, with homologs to the core clock genes PRR, RVE and TOC1 forming a core transcriptional feedback loop also in M. polymorpha.
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
- Larsson, Magnus
(författare)
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Behavioral and Structural Model Based Approaches to Discrete Diagnosis
- 1999
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The basic motivation for this thesis is the fact that things go wrong. With the growing complexity of todays engineering systems, the need has arisen for systematic approaches to failure diagnosis, i.e., fault detection and isolation.In the first part of this thesis an approach for modeling and diagnosis of systems that fall in the area of discrete event dynamic systems is proposed. The approach is applicable to systems that at some level of abstraction have an interesting discrete event dynamics that can display faulty behavior. The systems suitable for this approach typically consist of several interacting components where abrupt, butnon-catastrophic, faults can occur in the components.We use a relational framework for discrete event dynamic systems focusing on a conceptually simple representation of the relationship between inputs, outputs and states of a discrete event system. Faults and faulty behavior are modeled locally using the state variables, and the diagnosis problem basically is to infer the possible states of the system using the system model and observations of the real system, i.e., an observer problem. Detectability and isolatability properties are defined and algorithms for analysis are proposed. The transitions necessary and sufficient for detection can automatically be computed from the system model under certain conditions. We also show how to compute the nest possible fault partition.The second part of this thesis addresses the problem of fault propagation between software modules in a large-scale control system with object oriented architecture. There exists a conflict between object-oriented design goals such as encapsulation and modularity, and the possibility to suppress propagating error conditions. When an object detects an error condition, it is not desirable to perform the extensive querying of other objects that would be necessary to decide how close to the real fault the object is and hence whether it should report to the user.The fault propagation manifests itself as many irrelevant error messages and hence causes problems for system operators and service personnel trying to quickly isolate the real fault. A system developer with insight in the internal system design, can, of course, often easily interpret the multitude of error messages from a fault scenario and isolate the root cause. The key observation is that it can often be done using mental high-level models of the system and the mechanics of the fault propagation. We have made an effort to automate this procedure, and propose a fault isolation scheme as an extra layer between the operator and the core control system. In the fault isolation layer, post-processing of the fault information from the system is performed, to achieve clear and concise fault information to the operator without violating encapsulation and modularity.A high-level and informal explanation model for the fault propagation is presented and a taxonomy for error conditions in an object oriented system is proposed. We present algorithms and methods that use the explanation model and the error condition taxonomy together with a structural system model to form a cause-effect relation on the error messages, that can be used to find the most significant error message(s) in a fault scenario.
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| 26. |
- Larsson, Magnus
(författare)
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On Modeling and Diagnosis of Discrete Event Dynamic Systems
- 1997
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The basic motivation for this thesis is the fact that things go wrong. With the growing complexity of todays engineering systems, the need has arisen for systematic approaches to failure diagnosis. In this thesis an approach for modeling and diagnosis of systems that fall in the area of discrete event dynamic systems is proposed. The approach is applicable to all systems that at some level of abstraction have an interesting discrete event dynamics that can display faulty behavior. The systems suitable for this approach typically consist of several interacting components where abrupt, but non-catastrophic, faults can occur in the components.We use a relational framework for discrete event dynamic systems focusing on a conceptually simple representation of the relationships between inputs, outputs and states of a discrete event system.The modeling philosophy promoted here is to model faults locally, using special fault inputs or fault states only for that purpose. The diagnosis problem then basically is to infer the possible values of the unobservable fault inputs and states using the system model and observations of the real system.A fault is said to be detectable if there exists a transition in the system model that leads to a detection in a finite number of steps. The transition necessary for detection can automatically be computed from the system model under certain conditions. We also show how to compute the finest possible fault partition.
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
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| 29. |
- Lindblom, Jessica, et al.
(författare)
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Decision Making in Agriculture : Farmers' Lifeworld in Theory and Practice
- 2013
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The challenges facing the agriculture sector are immense and a wide range of factors and demands influence it on both local and global level. Making decisions under such circumstances is a complex and delicate task in which goal conflicts cannot easily be resolved. This puts farmers in a rather difficult position as it is impossible for a single individual to make informed and appropriate decisions, which strongly emphasizes the need for an increased collaboration between farmers and other actors in the agricultural sector. This paper aims to explore in more detail farmers' lifeworld which refers to their social environment and working life. Particular focus will be on the socially situated organization of collaborative activities in farmers' lifeworld and the ways in which technologies and artifacts can be present in practical action. For instance, agricultural advisory situations can be considered complex social systems where people with different backgrounds, experiences, and expectations collaborate by means of a wide range of artifacts to develop some common understanding and shared knowledge. We suggest that theories of distributed and situated cognition and the methodologies that come with them are well suited to capture farmers' lifeworld and their daily working practices. Material from an ongoing workplace study will be used for illustration purposes to provide concrete examples.
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| 30. |
- Lindblom, Jessica, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Next Generation Decision Support Systems for Farmers : Sustainable Agriculture through Sustainable IT
- 2016
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Ingår i: Farming Systems Facing Global Challenges: Capacities and Strategies.. - Berlin : IFSA Europe. - 9783981395754 ; , s. 49-57
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The core of many changes towards a more sustainable agriculture is the individual decision-maker. The decisions of each farmer have impacts on sustainability and are made in a complex world of contradictious interests and values. Agricultural decision support systems (AgriDSS) will be a major contributor in the realization of a viable farm economy with less negative environmental impact, but it must not only provide current and relevant information. Current DSSs available to farmers, advisors, experts, and policy makers are not used to their full potential. One reason is that they fail to capture the actual needs of the farmers and to understand their decision-making in practice. They are not adapted to the high complexity characterizing sustainable land use decision-making. Among farmers the acceptance of these systems are low, partly because existing DSS are based on what scientists and system developers consider as necessary. As a result, new linkages and better understanding between different stakeholders in agriculture has to be improved. The user-centred design (UCD) approach can answer the core of the identified problems of most DSSs, because it put the farmers’ experience in focus and involve them early and continuously in the design process. In this paper we discuss next generation’s AgriDSS which are useful and useable for farmers and other stakeholders. By introducing theories from UCD, illustrated by the Swedish case of implementing Precision Agriculture, we show what is needed to make new technologies contribute to resilient farms and farming systems. We argue that there is a dual link between environmental sustainability and information systems (IS) addressing both sustainability through design – how IS can be used to promote more sustainable behaviours, and sustainability in design – how sustainability can be the governing principle of the design of the information systems themselves.Consequently, the next generation’s AgriDSS must simultaneously enable stakeholders to get access to the best knowledge available, and at the same time involve them in the process of developing the user interface design. To use existing and future information efficiently, participatory approaches are therefore crucial and need to be a part of transition towards sustainable agriculture.
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| 31. |
- Lindblom, Jessica, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Promoting sustainable intensification in precision agriculture : review of decision support systems development and strategies
- 2017
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Ingår i: Precision Agriculture. - : Springer. - 1385-2256 .- 1573-1618. ; 18:3, s. 309-331
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Precision agriculture provides important issues toward a more sustainable agriculture. Many farmers have the necessary technology to operate site-specifically, but they do not use it in practice, and thus available information and communications technology(ICT) systems are not used to their full potential. This paper addresses how to reduce the so-called ‘‘problem of implementation’’, based on the knowledge that participatory approaches during the design and development process is one of the most important factors to frame technology adoption. The development of sustainable ICT systems through theories and methodologies from the fields of human computer interaction and user-centered design (UCD) is presented and an ongoing Swedish project for development of an agricultural decision support system (AgriDSS) for nitrogen fertilization is used as an example to frame the issue. The overreaching aim is to develop AgriDSSs that are sustainable in design as well as through design by stressing the importance of participatory approaches for the successful development of AgriDSSs. The Swedish project has the intention to apply a UCD approach, and some pitfalls on starting to use this way of working is identified as well as some suggestions on how to reduce them through co-learning processes. Despite the challenges presented in this paper, ICT can contribute significantly to long-term sustainable development. Thus, several competences and scientific disciplines need to act in concert to help develop a sustainable development of agriculture via a transdisciplinary approach that can make an impact on society at many levels.
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| 32. |
- Lindwall, Magnus, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Self-reported physical activity and aerobic fitness are differently related to mental health
- 2012
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Ingår i: Mental Health and Physical Activity. - : Elsevier BV. - 1755-2966 .- 1878-0199. ; 5:1, s. 28-34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: A relevant, but overlooked question is if self-reported physical activity and aerobic fitness are differently related to mental health. Purpose: To examine the relation between mental health and level of self-reported physical activity (SRPA) and aerobic fitness (AF), and whether AF mediates the relation between SRPA and mental health. Methods: Participating in the study were 177 voluntary subjects (49% men, 51% women) with a mean age of 39 years. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were measured through the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale, and the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire (SMBQ) was used to evaluate self-reported symptoms of burnout. Leisure time SRPA during the last three months were measured using a single item. AF was measured by using the Åstrand bicycle test. Results: Self-reported physical activity, but not AF, was significantly related to self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and burnout. Light to moderate physical activity that is performed regularly seems to be associated with more favorable mental health pattern compared with physical inactivity. No support was found for the mediating effect of AF of the physical activityemental health relationship. Conclusions: Self-reported behavior of regular physical activity seems to be more important to monitor than measures of AF when considering the potential preventive effects of physical activity on mental health.
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| 33. |
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| 34. |
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| 35. |
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| 36. |
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| 37. |
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| 38. |
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| 39. |
- Ljung, Magnus
(författare)
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Assessing interventions supporting sustainable development in rural areas - a dialogical approach
- 2015
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Based on the Community Capitals framework, developed by Professors Jan and Cornelia Flora of the Iowa State University, the paper puts forward a dialogical method for assessing, mainly public, interventions supporting sustainable development in rural areas. The framework proposed by Flora & Flora identifies seven types of capital, collective resources that serve as basis for sustainable development. These capitals include for instance natural, social, human, cultural and economical capital. The paper expands the understanding of natural capital by introducing ecosystem services to the framework, hereby bridging the concepts of a bio based economy and sustainable development. By basing sustainable development of rural areas on ecosystem services the notion of the city as resourceful and rural areas as scarce is challenged. The paper presents the adapted framework.Via contextualization and operationalization of the different kinds of capitals in a Scandinavian setting indicators are established. These enable initial assessment of a community aimed at tailoring (public) interventions supporting sustainable development based on ecosystem services. The method has been successfully tested in a few cases in Denmark and Sweden within the Interreg IV A KASK project "Rural Regions". Further adaptation and development is to take place in upcoming research and projects. In the paper it is demonstrated how the community capitals framework is used as a structure in participatory dialogical processes, raising awareness within the community itself as well as guiding public bodies supporting sustainable development in rural areas.The method is based on initial surveying of available data followed by a semi structured dialogue with representatives from the community resulting in a graphical representation of the assessment. Based on the assessment it is possible to discern whether an intervention ("investment') in the community is meaningful, and how it should be designed to strengthen the community's capacity for sustainable development.
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| 40. |
- Ljung, Magnus, 1935-
(författare)
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Conversion
- 1994
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Ingår i: The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. - Oxford : Pergamon Press. - 0080359434 ; , s. 758-759
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 41. |
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| 42. |
- Ljung, Magnus, 1935-
(författare)
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-ed adjectives revisited
- 1976
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Ingår i: Journal of Linguistics. - 0022-2267 .- 1469-7742. ; 12:1, s. 159-168
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 43. |
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| 44. |
- Ljung, Magnus, 1935-
(författare)
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English emotives
- 1989. - 1
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Ingår i: Essays on English Language in Honour of Bertil Sundby. - Oslo : Novus Forlag. - 8270991449 ; , s. 185-194
-
Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 45. |
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| 46. |
- Ljung, Magnus, 1935-
(författare)
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English in Sweden
- 1984
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Ingår i: Proceedings from the Second Nordic Conference for English Studies. - Åbo : Åbo Akademi. - 951648980X
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 47. |
- Ljung, Magnus, 1935-
(författare)
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Evidence
- 1975. - 1
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Ingår i: Proceedings from the Second Conference of Scandinavian Linguists. - : Novus.
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 48. |
- Ljung, Magnus
(författare)
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Innovation brokers in High Nature Value farming areas: a strategic approach to engage effective socioeconomic and agroecological dynamics
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ecology and Society. - 1708-3087. ; 28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High Nature Value (HNV) farmlands currently retain most of the biodiversity associated with agricultural landscapes in Europe. In a time of globalized food systems, the social-ecological conditions to maintain these low-intensity and thus less productive HNV farming systems are difficult to meet. Halting the loss of HNV farmland requires fostering the socioeconomic viability of HNV farming systems that is compatible with social, cultural, and ecological values. Pursuing such viability calls for tailored actions to steer the development of HNV farming systems based on the strength of their local assets. Such a transformational learning process involves changing the territorial dynamic towards better integration of biodiversity at several levels of management (from farm to territorial level). Based on the description and analysis of ten HNV territories distributed across Europe, we explore how HNV innovation brokers can strategically engage with local actors to preserve the environmental characteristics of HNV farmland areas while improving their socioeconomic viability. The aim of this research is to improve the understanding of the range of approaches and strategies of innovation brokers to meet the challenges of HNV farmland conservation. The study analyzes the different innovation processes that took place in each area, concentrating on the engagement phase. Our results demonstrate that HNV farming situations across Europe are quite diverse from an agroecological and socioeconomic point of view. There are distinct conservation challenges and associated risks for each HNV farming context. The need for a strategic approach to HNV conservation at landscape–territory level is discussed. The key role of innovation brokers is highlighted, together with the need for a strategic approach to innovation brokerage, which is explicit in relation to territorial needs and the changes required. We demonstrate the importance of the landscape–territorial vision as an entry point for shaping HNV farming systems towards socially desirable scenarios.
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| 49. |
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| 50. |
- Ljung, Magnus, 1935-
(författare)
-
It is believed that he is dead
- 1998
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Ingår i: Explorations in corpus linguistics. - Amsterdam : Rodopi. - 9042007516 ; , s. 113-122
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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