| 1. |
- Björklund, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Energiplanering med strategisk miljöbedömning i Finspång
- 2007
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Denna rapport är en del av slutrapporteringen från två av projekten i programmet ”Miljöstrategiska verktyg”. Projekten är Utveckling av verktyg för strategisk miljöbedömning och medborgarmedverkan (MiSt-projekt 1) samt Scenariometoder i strategisk miljöbedömning (MiSt-projekt 7). I samarbete med Finspångs kommun har ett gemensamt projekt utvecklats för att ta fram en ny energiplan i kommunen. Programmet "Miljöstrategiska verktyg", MiSt, är ett tvärvetenskapligt forskningsprogram finansierat av Naturvårdsverket. Programmet leds från Blekinge Tekniska Högskola. I programmet studeras verktyg som kan underlätta miljöbedömning i strategiskt beslutsfattande på olika nivåer, från nationell till lokal. Förståelsen och basen för utveckling av verktyg och rekommendationer om verktyg i olika planerings- och beslutsprocesser baseras på empirisk forskning på fall inom flera sektorer. Målen för MiSt-programmet: • Kritisk undersökning av verktygens funktion • Teoribaserad förståelse av deras verkan • Utveckling av råd om effektiv användning av verktyg och kombinationer avverktyg
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Ericson, Petrea, 1966, et al.
(författare)
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Low Levels of Exhaled Surfactant Protein A Associated With BOS After Lung Transplantation
- 2016
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Ingår i: Transplantation Direct. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 2373-8731. ; 2:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background. There is no clinically available marker for early detection or monitoring of chronic rejection in the form of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), the main long-term complication after lung transplantation. Sampling and analysis of particles in exhaled air is a valid, noninvasive method for monitoring surfactant protein A (SP-A) and albumin in the distal airways. Methods. We asked whether differences in composition of exhaled particles can be detected when comparing stable lung transplant recipients (LTRs) (n = 26) with LTRs who develop BOS (n = 7). A comparison between LTRs and a matching group of healthy controls (n = 33) was also conducted. Using a system developed in-house, particles were collected from exhaled air by the principal of inertial impaction before chemical analysis by immunoassays. Results. Surfactant protein A in exhaled particles and the SP-A/albumin ratio were lower (P = 0.002 and P = 0.0001 respectively) in the BOS group compared to the BOS-free group. LTRs exhaled higher amount of particles (P < 0.0001) and had lower albumin content (P < 0.0001) than healthy controls. Conclusions. We conclude that low levels of SP-A in exhaled particles are associated with increased risk of BOS in LTRs. The possibility that this noninvasive method can be used to predict BOS onset deserves further study with prospective and longitudinal approaches.
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| 4. |
- Haussermann, U., et al.
(författare)
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FeGa3 and RuGa3 : Semiconducting intermetallic compounds
- 2002
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Ingår i: Journal of Solid State Chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-4596 .- 1095-726X. ; 165:1, s. 94-99
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The intermetallic compounds FeGa3 and RuGa3 were prepared from the elements using a Ga flux and their structures were refined from single-crystal X-ray data. Both compounds crystallize with the FeGa3 structure type (tetragonal, space group P4(2)/mnm, Z=4). Electrical resistivity measurements revealed a semiconducting behavior for FeGa3 and RuGa3, which is in contrast to the good metallic conductivity observed for the isotypic compound CoGa3. The origin of the different electronic properties of these materials was investigated by first-principle calculations. It was found that in compounds adopting the FeGa3 structure type the transition metal atoms and Ga atoms interact strongly. This opens a d-p hybridization bandgap with a size of about 0.31 eV in the density of states at the Fermi level for 17-electron compounds (i.e., FeGa3 and RuGa3). The electronic structure of CoGa3 (an 18-electron compound) displays rigid band behavior with respect to FeGa3. As a consequence, the Fermi level in CoGa3 becomes located above the d-p hybridization gap which explains its metaltic conductivity.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Kjellberg, Sanna, et al.
(författare)
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Utility of single versus multiple breath washout in adult asthma
- 2018
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Ingår i: Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging. - : Wiley. - 1475-0961. ; 38:6, s. 936-943
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nitrogen multiple breath washout (N-2 MBW) is a sensitive method to identify peripheral airway involvement in asthma, but is a time-consuming test. The N-2 vital capacity single breath (VC SBW) test offers greater time efficiency, but concordance with N-2 MBW is poorly understood. The prevalence of peripheral airway abnormality was determined by N-2 MBW and N-2 SBW tests in 194 asthmatic subjects aged 18-1years. N-2 MBW data were related to findings in 400 healthy controls, aged 17-71years, while N-2 SBW data were compared to findings in 224 healthy controls, aged 15-65years, to derive equipment-specific reference values. Amongst asthmatic subjects, relationships between N-2 SBW and N-2 MBW outcomes were studied. N-2 SBW relationship with clinical history, spirometry, blood eosinophils and fraction exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) data was also explored. The prevalence of peripheral airway involvement (i.e. abnormal ventilation distribution) determined by N-2 SBW-derived phase III slope (N-2 S-III) was 247%, compared to 44% determined by N-2 MBW-derived lung clearance index (LCI) (P<0001). Predictors of abnormal N-2 S-III were older age, smoking history and lower FEV1. N-2 SBW offers lower sensitivity than N-2 MBW to detect small airway dysfunction in adult asthma, but may be a marker of more severe disease.
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| 9. |
- Ljungkvist, Göran, 1949, et al.
(författare)
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Two techniques to sample non-volatiles in breath-exemplified by methadone.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of breath research. - : IOP Publishing. - 1752-7163. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The particles in exhaled breath provide a promising matrix for the monitoring of pathological processes in the airways, and also allow exposure to exogenous compounds to be to assessed. The collection is easy to perform and is non-invasive. The aim of the present study is to assess if an exogenous compound-methadone-is distributed in the lining fluid of small airways, and to compare two methods for collecting methadone in particles in exhaled breath. Exhaled particles were collected from 13 subjects receiving methadone maintenance treatment. Two different sampling methods were applied: one based on electret filtration, potentially collecting exhaled particles of all sizes, and one based on impaction, collecting particles in the size range of 0.5-7 μm, known to reflect the respiratory tract lining fluid from the small airways. The collected samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, and the impact of different breathing patterns was also investigated. The potential contribution from the oral cavity was investigated by rinsing the mouth with a codeine solution, followed by codeine analysis of the collected exhaled particles by both sampling methods. The results showed that methadone was present in all samples using both methods, but when using the method based on impaction, the concentration of methadone in exhaled breath was less than 1% of the concentration collected by the method based on filtration. Optimizing the breathing pattern to retrieve particles from small airways did not increase the amount of exhaled methadone collected by the filtration method. The contamination from codeine present in the oral cavity was only detected in samples collected by the impaction method. We conclude that methadone is distributed in the respiratory tract lining fluid of small airways. The samples collected by the filtration method most likely contained a contribution from the upper airways/oral fluid in contrast to the impaction method.
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| 10. |
- Rogersdotter, Elke
(författare)
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The Forgotten : an Approach on Harappan Toy Artefacts
- 2006
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis proposes an alternative perspective to the general neglect of toy materials from deeper analysis in archaeology. Based on a study of selected toy artefacts from the Classical Harappan settlement at Bagasra, Gujarat, it suggests a viable way of approaching the objects when considering them within a theoretical framework highlighting their social aspects. The study agrees with objections in e.g. parts of gender archaeology and research on children in archaeology to the extrapolating from the marginalized child of the West onto past social structures. Departing from revised toy definitions formulated in disciplines outside archaeology, it proceeds with the objects’ toy identifications while rejecting a ‘transforming’ of these into other interpretations. Thus entering a quite unexplored research field, grounded theory is used as working method. As the items indicate a regulated pattern, the opinion on toy artefacts as randomly scattered around becomes questioned. Using among others the capital concept by Bourdieu, the notion of micropower by Foucault and parts of the newly developed ideas of microarchaeology, the toy-role of the artefacts is emphasized as crucial, enabling the items to express diverse social uses in addition to their possible function as children’s (play)things. With this, the notion of the limiting connection of toys to playing children becomes unravelled, opening for a discussion on enlarged dimensions of the toys and a possible re-naming of them as the materialities of next generation. While suggesting the items to indicate various social strategies and structurating practices, the need for traditional boundaries and separated entities successively becomes eliminated. The traditionally stated toy obstacles with cultural loading and elusive distinctions can with this be proposed as constructions, possible to avoid. The toy concept simultaneously emerges as particularly useful in highlighting the notion of change and continuity within the social structure and children’s roles in this.
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| 11. |
- Stenlund Nilsson Ivner, Jenny, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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New Tools in Local Energy Planning: Experimenting with Scenarios, Public Participation and Environmental Assessment
- 2010
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Ingår i: Local Environment. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1354-9839 .- 1469-6711. ; 15:2, s. 105-120
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article presents a model for local energy planning and its application in a full-scale experiment in a Swedish municipality. The model is based on legal requirement,research findings and standards of good practice and includes a combination ofanalytical and procedural tools intended to support rational decision-making: external scenarios, a citizens’ panel, life cycle analysis and qualitative environmental assessment (EA). The application of the model indicates that the decision-support tools selected can give several new and valuable inputs to local energy planning, suchas local knowledge and values through citizen dialogue and comprehensive EAs.However, the experiment also shows that there are several challenges involved in applying the tools, for example, it is difficult to get citizens and the industry to participate and that it is complicated to combine several different tools for decision making into a single planning process. Moreover, the experiences from the application suggest that the model for local energy planning show great potential but needs to be improved before it can be used as a standard of good practice.
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| 12. |
- Viklund, Emilia, et al.
(författare)
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Current smoking alters phospholipid- and surfactant protein A levels in small airway lining fluid: An explorative study on exhaled breath
- 2021
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Ingår i: Plos One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 16:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Small airways are difficult to access. Exhaled droplets, also referred to as particles, provide a sample of small airway lining fluid and may reflect inflammatory responses. We aimed to explore the effect of smoking on the composition and number of exhaled particles in a smoker-enriched study population. We collected and chemically analyzed exhaled particles from 102 subjects (29 never smokers, 36 former smokers and 37 current smokers) aged 39 to 83 years (median 63). A breathing maneuver maximized the number exhaled particles, which were quantified with a particle counter. The contents of surfactant protein A and albumin in exhaled particles was quantified with immunoassays and the contents of the phospholipids dipalmitoyl- and palmitoyl-oleoyl- phosphatidylcholine with mass spectrometry. Subjects also performed spirometry and nitrogen single breath washout. Associations between smoking status and the distribution of contents in exhaled particles and particle number concentration were tested with quantile regression, after adjusting for potential confounders. Current smokers, compared to never smokers, had higher number exhaled particles and more surfactant protein A in the particles. The magnitude of the effects of current smoking varied along the distribution of each PEx-variable. Among subjects with normal lung function, phospholipid levels were elevated in current smokers, in comparison to no effect of smoking on these lipids at abnormal lung function. Smoking increased exhaled number of particles and the contents of lipids and surfactant protein A in the particles. These findings might reflect early inflammatory responses to smoking in small airway lining fluid, also when lung function is within normal limits.
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| 13. |
- Viklund, Emilia, et al.
(författare)
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 can be detected in exhaled aerosol sampled during a few minutes of breathing or coughing
- 2022
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Ingår i: Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses. - : Wiley. - 1750-2640 .- 1750-2659. ; 16:3, s. 402-10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The knowledge on the concentration of viral particles in exhaled breath is limited. The aim of this study was to explore if severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can be detected in aerosol from subjects with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during various types of breathing and coughing and how infection with SARS-CoV-2 may influence the number and size of exhaled aerosol particles. Methods: We counted and collected endogenous particles in exhaled breath in subjects with COVID-19 disease by two different impaction-based methods, during 20 normal breaths, 10 airway opening breaths, and three coughs, respectively. Breath samples were analyzed with reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: Detection of RNA in aerosol was possible in 10 out of 25 subjects. Presence of virus RNA in aerosol was mainly found in cough samples (n = 8), but also in airway opening breaths (n = 3) and in normal breaths (n = 4), with no overlap between the methods. No association between viral load in aerosol and number exhaled particles <5μm was found. Subjects with COVID-19 exhaled less particles than healthy controls during normal breathing and airway opening breaths (all P < 0.05), but not during cough. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be detected in exhaled aerosol, sampled during a limited number of breathing and coughing procedures. Detection in aerosol seemed independent of viral load in the upper airway swab as well as of the exhaled number of particles. The infectious potential of the amount of virus detected in aerosol needs to be further explored.
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| 14. |
- Viklund, Per
(författare)
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Synthesis, Properties and Bonding in Hume-Rothery Transition-metal Gallides and Indides
- 2001
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this work the intermetallic systems formed by transition-metals from group 5 to 9 with Ga, In and Zn have been experimentally and theoretically studied in detail. Syntheses, compositional analyses, X-ray and neutron diffraction (single crystal as well as powder) and measurements of physical properties, e.g. magnetic susceptibility and resistivity has been made for all compounds. Electronic-structure calculations has been made for all examined compounds and was used jointly with the experimental methods to get a deeper understanding of the main issues dealt with, i.e. the atomic structure, structural stability and bonding of the investigated compounds. The examined compounds crystallize in one of the three structure types PtHg4 (cubic, MnGa4 and CrGa4), V8Ga41 (trigonal, Cr8Ga29.8Zn11.2, Mn8Ga27.4Zn13.6, V8Ga36.9Zn4.1 and V8Ga41) and the FeGa3 type (tetragonal, FeGa3, CoGa3, CoGa2.76(2)Zn0.24(2), CoGa2.27(2)Zn0.73(2), CoIn3, CoIn2.50(1)Zn0.50(1), CoIn2.27(2)Zn0.73(2) and RuGa3). The important features such as atomic structure, electronic structure, structural stability and bonding in these groups of Hume-Rothery compounds are now well comprehended.
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| 15. |
- Viklund, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Variations of the FeGa3 structure type in the systems CoIn3-xZnx and CoGa3-xZnx
- 2002
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Ingår i: Journal of Solid State Chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-4596. ; 165:1, s. 100-110
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present an investigation of the quasibinary systems CoIn3-xZnx and CoGa3-xZnx which were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction experiments and, in the case of CoGa3-xZnx, additionally by neutron powder diffraction experiments. The limiting compositions were found to be x=0.81(2) and x=0.73(2) for COIn3-xZnx and CoGa3-xZnx, respectively. The isotypic binary compounds CoIn3 and CoGa3 crystallize with the FeGa3 structure type (tetragonal, space group P42/mnm, Z=4) in which the p-block atoms form an array of columns of centered cubes defined by two different crystallographic sites. The substitution of In or Ga by Zn takes place in an ordered fashion and produces "colored" variants of the FeGa3 parent structure: In both systems Zn enters exclusively the position corresponding to the cube centers. Additionally, in CoIn3-xZnx this position is substituted in such a way that for a composition CoIn2.5Zn0.5, columns of Zn- and In- filled ln(8) cubes along the c axis alternate. The latter substitution pattern is accompanied by a symmetry lowering of the parent FeGa3 structure: The structure of CoIn3-xZnx is described by the space group P4(2)/m in which the cube center position is split into two separate sites. By performing first-principles electronic structure calculations we investigated the general bonding situation of the compounds CoIn3 and CoGa3 and the particular electronic effect when incorporating Zn. With respect to the density of states of the binary compounds the exchange of Ga or In by Zn virtually affects only the electronic states just below the Fermi level. On increasing Zn concentration a dip is created in the density of states which approximately coincides with the location of the Fermi level for an electron count corresponding to limiting composition of the two systems. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).
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| 16. |
- Volpati, Diogo, et al.
(författare)
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Spectroscopic investigations of arrays containing vertically and horizontally aligned silicon nanowires
- 2016
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Ingår i: Materials Research Express. - : IOP Publishing. - 2053-1591. ; 3:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The properties of nanowire arrays have been investigated mainly in comparison with isolated nanowires or thin films, owing to the difficulty in controlling the nanowire alignment. In this study, we report on arrays containing vertically or horizontally aligned silicon nanowires, whose alignment and structure were determined using x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The Raman spectra of the nanowire arrays differ from those of isolated nanowires because of distinct heat dissipation rates of the absorbed energy from the laser, in agreement with recent theoretical calculations. The tailored alignment of the nanowires on solid substrates up to 1 inch of diameter also enabled the observation of resonance modes associated with light trapped into the nanowires. This was proven by comparing the light absorbed and scattered by the arrays, and may be exploited to enhance light harvesting in tandem solar cells. Significantly, the control of the assembly of nanowire arrays may have a direct impact on bottom-up technologies of high anisotropy nanomaterials.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Wiklund, Hans, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Legitimizing Public Policy : Citizen’s Juries in Municipal Energy Planning
- 2010
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the search of for effective tools for public participation in general and public deliberation in specific in strategic environmental assessment (SEA) through an experiment with citizens’ juries in municipal energy planning. The experiment with a deliberative democratic tool is thought to lead to more legitimate public policy decisions. The experiment combines design principles of citizens’ juries with scenario methodologies (Shell/GBN). The evaluation of the experiment is structured around a framework of analysis derived from Jürgen Habermas’s notion of discourse as an ideal democratic procedure. The results show that the citizens’ jury enabled a constructive exchange of information and arguments and co-operation between ordinary citizens and experts. This indicates that citizens’ juries is a participatory tool that can be used to represent a means for reforming SEA in a more deliberative democratic direction. But the analysis also revealed a number of distortions in the communicative process. These distortions indicate how the deliberative democratic potential can be further increased through revisions of the institutional arrangements of the decision-making process. Furthermore, regarding effects of deliberation, it is clear that the participatory process generated new and fruitful ideas and that the citizens increased their knowledge through participating in the process.
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Östling, Jörgen, et al.
(författare)
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A novel non-invasive method allowing for discovery of pathologically relevant proteins from small airways
- 2022
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Ingår i: Clinical Proteomics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1542-6416 .- 1559-0275. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: There is a lack of early and precise biomarkers for personalized respiratory medicine. Breath contains an aerosol of droplet particles, which are formed from the epithelial lining fluid when the small airways close and re-open during inhalation succeeding a full expiration. These particles can be collected by impaction using the PExA (R) method (Particles in Exhaled Air), and are derived from an area of high clinical interest previously difficult to access, making them a potential source of biomarkers reflecting pathological processes in the small airways. Research question: Our aim was to investigate if PExA method is useful for discovery of biomarkers that reflect pathology of small airways. Methods and analysis: Ten healthy controls and 20 subjects with asthma, of whom 10 with small airway involvement as indicated by a high lung clearance index (LCI >= 2.9 z-score), were examined in a cross-sectional design, using the PExA instrument. The samples were analysed with the SOMAscan proteomics platform (SomaLogic Inc.). Results: Two hundred-seven proteins were detected in up to 80% of the samples. Nine proteins showed differential abundance in subjects with asthma and high LCI as compared to healthy controls. Two of these were less abundant (ALDOA4, C4), and seven more abundant (FIGF, SERPINA1, CD93, CCL18, F10, IgM, IL1RAP). sRAGE levels were lower in ex-smokers (n = 14) than in never smokers (n = 16). Gene Ontology (GO) annotation database analyses revealed that the PEx proteome is enriched in extracellular proteins associated with extracellular exosome-vesicles and innate immunity. Conclusion: The applied analytical method was reproducible and allowed identification of pathologically interesting proteins in PEx samples from asthmatic subjects with high LCI. The results suggest that PEx based proteomics is a novel and promising approach to study respiratory diseases with small airway involvement.
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