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- Beral, V, et al.
(författare)
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Alcohol, tobacco and breast cancer - collaborative reanalysis of individual data from 53 epidemiological studies, including 58515 women with breast cancer and 95067 women without the disease
- 2002
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Ingår i: British Journal of Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1532-1827 .- 0007-0920. ; 87, s. 1234-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alcohol and tobacco consumption are closely correlated and published results on their association with breast cancer have not always allowed adequately for confounding between these exposures. Over 80% of the relevant information worldwide on alcohol and tobacco consumption and breast cancer were collated, checked and analysed centrally. Analyses included 58515 women with invasive breast cancer and 95067 controls from 53 studies. Relative risks of breast cancer were estimated, after stratifying by study, age, parity and, where appropriate, women's age when their first child was born and consumption of alcohol and tobacco. The average consumption of alcohol reported by controls from developed countries was 6.0 g per day, i.e. about half a unit/drink of alcohol per day, and was greater in ever-smokers than never-smokers, (8.4 g per day and 5.0 g per day, respectively). Compared with women who reported drinking no alcohol, the relative risk of breast cancer was 1.32 (1.19 - 1.45, P < 0.00001) for an intake of 35 - 44 g per day alcohol, and 1.46 (1.33 - 1.61, P < 0.00001) for greater than or equal to 45 g per day alcohol. The relative risk of breast cancer increased by 7.1% (95% CI 5.5-8.7%; P<0.00001) for each additional 10 g per day intake of alcohol, i.e. for each extra unit or drink of alcohol consumed on a daily basis. This increase was the same in ever-smokers and never-smokers (7.1 % per 10 g per day, P < 0.00001, in each group). By contrast, the relationship between smoking and breast cancer was substantially confounded by the effect of alcohol. When analyses were restricted to 22 255 women with breast cancer and 40 832 controls who reported drinking no alcohol, smoking was not associated with breast cancer (compared to never-smokers, relative risk for ever-smokers= 1.03, 95% CI 0.98 - 1.07, and for current smokers=0.99, 0.92 - 1.05). The results for alcohol and for tobacco did not vary substantially across studies, study designs, or according to 15 personal characteristics of the women; nor were the findings materially confounded by any of these factors. If the observed relationship for alcohol is causal, these results suggest that about 4% of the breast cancers in developed countries are attributable to alcohol. In developing countries, where alcohol consumption among controls averaged only 0.4 g per day, alcohol would have a negligible effect on the incidence of breast cancer. In conclusion, smoking has little or no independent effect on the risk of developing breast cancer; the effect of alcohol on breast cancer needs to be interpreted in the context of its beneficial effects, in moderation, on cardiovascular disease and its harmful effects on cirrhosis and cancers of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus and liver. (C) 2002 Cancer Research UK.
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| 4. |
- Meili, M, et al.
(författare)
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Critical levels of atmospheric pollution: criteria and concepts for operational modelling of mercury in forests and lake ecosystems.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - 1879-1026. ; 304:1-4, s. 83-106
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mercury (Hg) is regarded as a major environmental concern in many regions, traditionally because of high concentrations in freshwater fish, and now also because of potential toxic effects on soil microflora. The predominant source of Hg in most watersheds is atmospheric deposition, which has increased 2- to >20-fold over the past centuries. A promising approach for supporting current European efforts to limit transboundary air pollution is the development of emission-exposure-effect relationships, with the aim of determining the critical level of atmospheric pollution (CLAP, cf. critical load) causing harm or concern in sensitive elements of the environment. This requires a quantification of slow ecosystem dynamics from short-term collections of data. Aiming at an operational tool for assessing the past and future metal contamination of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, we present a simple and flexible modelling concept, including ways of minimizing requirements for computation and data collection, focusing on the exposure of biota in forest soils and lakes to Hg. Issues related to the complexity of Hg biogeochemistry are addressed by (1) a model design that allows independent validation of each model unit with readily available data, (2) a process- and scale-independent model formulation based on concentration ratios and transfer factors without requiring loads and mass balance, and (3) an equilibration concept that accounts for relevant dynamics in ecosystems without long-term data collection or advanced calculations. Based on data accumulated in Sweden over the past decades, we present a model to determine the CLAP-Hg from standardized values of region- or site-specific synoptic concentrations in four key matrices of boreal watersheds: precipitation (atmospheric source), large lacustrine fish (aquatic receptor and vector), organic soil layers (terrestrial receptor proxy and temporary reservoir), as well as new and old lake sediments (archives of response dynamics). Key dynamics in watersheds are accounted for by quantifying current states of equilibration in both soils and lakes based on comparison of contamination factors in sediment cores. Future steady-state concentrations in soils and fish in single watersheds or entire regions are then determined by corresponding projection of survey data. A regional-scale application to southern Sweden suggests that the response of environmental Hg levels to changes in atmospheric Hg pollution is delayed by centuries and initially not proportional among receptors (atmosphere>>soils≠sediments>fish; clearwater lakes>>humic lakes). This has implications for the interpretation of common survey data as well as for the implementation of pollution control strategies. Near Hg emission sources, the pollution of organic soils and clearwater lakes deserves attention. Critical receptors, however, even in remote areas, are humic waters, in which biotic Hg levels are naturally high, most likely to increase further, and at high long-term risk of exceeding the current levels of concern: 0.5 mg (kg fw)−1 in freshwater fish, and 0.5 mg (kg dw)−1 in soil organic matter. If environmental Hg concentrations are to be reduced and kept below these critical limits, virtually no man-made atmospheric Hg emissions can be permitted.
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| 7. |
- Giesler, R., et al.
(författare)
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Distribution and mobilization of Al, Fe and Si in three podzolic soil profiles in relation to the humus layer.
- 2000
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Ingår i: Geoderma. - 0016-7061 .- 1872-6259. ; 94:2-4, s. 249-263
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mobilization of Al, Fe and Si in podzols is often associated with the weathering of silicate minerals in the E horizon, downward migration, and their accumulation lower in the soil profile. This study investigated Al, Fe, and Si concentrations in soil water (centrifugation samples) and estimated leaching losses from the humus layer in comparison with those in the mineral E and B horizon. Concentrations of total soluble Al and Fe in soil water were higher in the O and E horizons than in B horizon samples, but not significantly different between the two uppermost horizons. Si concentrations were higher in the E than in the O horizon. The amount of Al and Fe leaching from the E horizon (i.e. input to the B horizon) compared to amount leaching from the O horizon (i.e. the input to the E horizon) ranged from 92% to 163%. Calculated leaching losses from the lower B horizon were less than 3% of the input to the B horizon. The results suggest that a large part of the illuviated Al and Fe in the Bs horizon is derived from the O horizon. Similar values for the Si ranged from 56% to 61% (comparing E horizon output with E horizon input). Budget estimates available for one of the investigated podzols indicated that biocycling via above-ground litter explained < 12% of the estimated annual input of Al and Fe to the forest floor. Inputs of Al and Fe due to upward flow of capillary water accounted for about 26% of the Al and Fe in the O layer. The results show that there is a considerable pool of Si Al, Fe in the humus layer. This pool plays an important part in the present day biogeochemical cycling of these elements in podzolic soils. Several mechanisms possibly involved in the transfer of Al, Fe and Si from the mineral soil to the humus layer are discussed.
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| 8. |
- Kohler, S, et al.
(författare)
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Photochemical and microbial processing of stream and soilwater dissolved organic matter in a boreal forested catchment in northern Sweden
- 2002
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Ingår i: Aquatic Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1015-1621 .- 1420-9055. ; 64:3, s. 269-281
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Natural organic matter (NOM) from stream and soil water in a humic-rich headwater catchment in northern Sweden (initial total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations 10-40 mg C L-1) was rapidly degraded by light and microbial activity in an incubation experiment. Concentration losses were 33-50% after 12 days of exposure to 69 W m(-2) artificial PAR and 16 W m(-2) UV radiation. Natural, unshaded mid-day solar radiation in the region (68degreesN 18degreesE) during the month of june is 159 W m(-2) for PAR. In contrast to microbial organic carbon removal, TOC exponentially decreased upon radiation, which suggests that TOC is more rapidly oxidized by light than by ambient microbes. Further, rapid decline in TOC concentration implies the presence of a dominant pool of photo-labile compounds (p > 95%). A measured mass balance for carbon identified 50-75% of the degraded TOC as carbon dioxide after 12 days of exposure to light. The observed conversion of organic to inorganic carbon was accompanied by increases in pH and alkalinity, suggesting that photo-degradation of NOM potentially contributes to in-stream buffering capacity. The remaining refractory TOC changed in chemical character, including an altered molecular weight distribution with decreased average weight and a change in the proportions of humics as evidenced by absorbance ratios (A(254)/A(420)). Extrapolation of the experiment to natural headwater conditions show that photo-degradation is an important in-stream process that should be considered in calculations of carbon turnover in surface waters because of its influence on both TOC amount and character.
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| 9. |
- Laudon, Hjalmar, et al.
(författare)
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Episodic acidification in northern Sweden: a regional assessment of the anthropogenic component
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Hydrology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-1694 .- 1879-2707. ; 297:1-4, s. 162-173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Spring flood is the period in boreal ecosystems that is most sensitive to acid deposition since as much as half of the year's precipitation melts and enters streams or the soil in the space of a few weeks. The ‘Episode Project‘ in northern Sweden found a consistent relationship between the SO42− concentration of snow and the anthropogenic component of acid neutralization capacity (ANC) decline during spring flood. This correlation creates the possibility for a regional prediction of the severity of anthropogenic episodic acidification during spring flood episodes using SO42− deposition data together with chemical data from 1240 lakes selected to be representative of northern Sweden. The regional assessment found that in 1998, ca 6% of the region was seriously affected by anthropogenic acidification during spring flood. The results from this study have important implications for both the national liming strategy and international negotiations to further reduce emissions of air pollutants in Europe.
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| 10. |
- Lundström, Ulla, et al.
(författare)
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Advances in understanding the podzolization process resulting from a multidisciplinary study of three coniferous forest soils in the Nordic Countries
- 2000
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Ingår i: Geoderma. - 0016-7061 .- 1872-6259. ; 94:04-feb, s. 335-353
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Geochemical, mineralogical, micromorphological, microbiological, hydrochemical and hpdrological joint investigations were performed at two coniferous podzolic sites in the north of Sweden and at one in the south of Finland. Mycorrhizal fungi were found to create numerous pens (3-10-mu m diameter) in many weatherable mineral grains in the eluvial (E) horizon. During the growing season, identified low molecular weight (LMW) organic acids such as citric, shikimic, oxalic and fumaric acids comprised 0.5-5% of the DOC and 0.5-15% of the total acidity in soil solutions. Between 20% and 40% of the dissolved Al was bound to the identified LMW organic acids. Mineral dissolution via complexing LMW acids, probably exuded in part by the mycorrhiza hyphae, is likely to be a major weathering process in podzols. We found no evidence for a decreasing C/metal ratio of the migrating organo-metal complexes that could explain the precipitation of secondary Fe and AL in the illuvial (B) horizon. Instead, microbial degradation of organic ligands resulting in the release of ionic,Al and Fe to the soil solution may he an important process facilitating the formation of solid Al-SI-OH and Fe-OH phases in the podzol B horizon. However, within the B horizon transport as proto-imogilite (PI) sols might be possible. In the B horizon, the extractable,Al and Fe was predominantly inorganic. The large specific surface area (SSA) removable by oxalate extraction, the high point of zero charge salt effect (PZSE), the low cation exchange capacity (CEC) and the high sulphate exchange capacity (SEC), painted to the presence of short-range ordered variable charge phases. Imogolite type material (ITM) was indeed identified in all B horizons by IR spectroscopy and crystalline imogolite was found in the deep B horizon of one profile. Mossbauer spectroscopy indicated that Fe in the form of ferrihydrite was formed by intergrowth with an Al-Si-OH phase. The high amounts of Fe and Al transported from the O to the E horizon indicate that there could be an upward transport of these elements before they are leached to the B horizon. We hypothesize that the LMW Al complexes an transported by hyphae to the mor (O) layer, partly released and subsequently complexed by high molecular weight (HMW) acids.
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