| 1. |
- Falk, John, et al.
(författare)
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Immersion freezing ability of freshly emitted soot with various physico-chemical characteristics
- 2021
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Ingår i: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 12:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The immersion freezing ability of soot particles has in previous studies been reported in the range of low/insignificant to very high. The aims of this study were to: (i) perform detailed physico-chemical characterisation of freshly produced soot particles with very different properties, (ii) investigate the immersion freezing ability of the same particles, and (iii) investigate the potential links between physico-chemical particle properties and ice-activity. A miniCAST soot generator was used to produce eight different soot samples representing a wide range of physico-chemical properties. A continuous flow diffusion chamber was used to study each sample online in immersion mode over the temperature (T) range from −41 to −32◦C, at a supersaturation of about 10% with respect to liquid water. All samples exhibited low to no heterogeneous immersion freezing. The most active sample reached ice-activated fractions (AF) of 10−3 and 10−4 at temperatures of 1.7 and 1.9 K, respectively, above the homogeneous freezing temperature. The samples were characterized online with respect to a wide range of physico-chemical properties including effective particle density, optical properties, particle surface oxidation and soot maturity. We did observe indications of increasing immersion freezing ice-activity with increasing effective particle density and increasing particulate PAH fraction . Hence, those properties, or other properties co-varying with those, could potentially enhance the immersion freezing ice-activity of the studied soot particle types. However, we found no significant correlation between the physico-chemical properties and the observed ice-nucleating ability when the particle ensemble was extended to include previously published results including more ice-active biomass combustion soot particles. We conclude that it does not appear possible in general and in any straightforward way to link observed soot particle physico-chemical properties to the ice-nucleating ability using the online instrumentation included in this study. Furthermore, our observations support that freshly produced soot particles with a wide range of physico-chemical properties have low to insignificant immersion freezing ice-nucleating ability.
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| 2. |
- Karlsson, Per Erik, et al.
(författare)
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The vulnerability of northern European vegetation to ozone damage in a changing climate An assessment based on current knowledge
- 2021
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The potential vulnerability of vegetation at northern latitudes to ozone damage was assessed based on current knowledge with regard to air ozone concentrations and leaf ozone uptake as well as to plant traits affecting ozone tolerance. The focus was on the northern European arctic, alpine and northern boreal vegetation zones, with a special focus on high-altitude vegetation. In particular, we analysed if there are increasing risks for ozone impacts on northern vegetation due to high spring ozone concentrations in relation to climate change induced shifts such as e.g. an earlier start of the growing season. The ozone concentrations in these regions are characterized by the influence of a combination of conditions caused by high latitudes and high altitudes. Ozone concentrations increase with altitude and the difference in ozone concentrations between day and night are smaller at high-altitude and high-latitude sites. Summer periods with long daylight conditions potentially promote the leaf ozone uptake through the open stomata. The aims of this report were: • To assess the current state of knowledge regarding the potential vulnerability of far northern vegetation to ozone damage, today and in the future • To provide advice for policy implications regarding necessary ozone precursor emission abatement • To provide advice for future research and monitoring of ozone impacts on the vegetation at northern latitudes Ongoing environmental changes affecting far northern latitude ecosystems were reviewed. Current and novel methods were described for how to estimate the time of year during which the ozone exposure for vegetation should be accumulated. Time trends for ozone concentrations at northern latitudes were analysed. Ozone episodes with high concentrations at far northern latitudes were described. Source attributions of northern ozone concentrations were analysed. Environmental conditions at far northern latitudes that might be important for ozone damage were evaluated. Plant traits that can influence the ozone vulnerability were discussed. Current experimental results for ozone injury on northern plant species were evaluated. Future scenarios for ozone impact on northern vegetation were discussed. Some important results from the analyses are described below. At high altitudes and high latitudes, the ozone concentrations are relatively similar during day- and night-time. Furthermore, at high latitudes, the long daylight duration during the summer has the potential to increase the duration of the daily period with plant gas exchange and leaf ozone uptake. Therefore, the absorption of ozone through the stomata may potentially be higher at northern latitudes. However, measurements of light intensity and quality at northern sites in combination with a simple calculation example illustrated that this probably was not the case, since the potential added ozone uptake in the early morning and late evening at northern sites may be cancelled out by a lower ozone uptake in the middle of the day, as compared to southern sites. Both data on budburst and data on ecosystem CO2 exchange as well as meteorological observations show that there has been a development towards an earlier start of the growing season during the year, with approximately 0.5 – 1 day per year. Thus, there is clear evidence for an earlier start of the growing season, which is likely to continue. However, the timing of the spring ozone maximum is also shifted towards earlier in the year. There is presently no evidence for an increasing overlap between the growing season and the ozone peak. Despite this, there is a potential for increased ozone uptake to vegetation in spring due to the earlier growing start of vegetation and increased uptake of ozone to vegetation in May. The impact of this on the accumulated phytotoxic ozone dose for northern vegetation needs to be investigated further. The overall conclusions about the present and near future ozone vulnerability of northern vegetation were: • There remain uncertainties regarding to what extent northern vegetation is affected by ozone exposure. • According to current knowledge, we could not find evidence that expected changes in ozone concentrations and climate would make the northern arctic, alpine and subalpine vegetation substantially more vulnerable to ozone than other types of European vegetation. • The risk of significant and lasting negative impact of the current exposure to ozone on northern boreal forests is most likely not greater than for boreonemoral and nemoral forests in southern Fennoscandia. • However, peak ozone concentrations occurring in spring and early summer may affect vegetation at northern latitudes in Fennoscandia since the start of the growing season in the future may occur earlier during the year. The policy implications that can be derived from these conclusions were: • The current state of knowledge implies that ecosystems in the far north are not more susceptible to ozone than vegetation in other parts of Europe. Hence, we cannot advocate for a stronger reduction of ozone precursors emissions based exclusively on the ozone sensitivity of vegetation in the far north. • Policies designed to reduce emissions of ozone precursors to protect vegetation in other parts of Europe as well as in the entire northern hemisphere are likely to suffice to protect vegetation in northern Fennoscandia. There are important remaining knowledge gaps. Our conclusions are based on important, but limited observations. Experimental evidence from investigations specifically designed to study ozone sensitivity of high-altitude vegetation in northern Europe are to a large extent lacking. It is recommended that further experimental research is undertaken to directly compare the ozone sensitivity of plants of high-latitude/high-altitude origin with that of plants (species, genotypes) representative of regions of the southern part of the Nordic region. This research should include the characteristics of the high-latitude climate and other conditions. A specific research question is if the new ozone critical levels for European vegetation based on PODYSPEC (Mapping Manual, 2017) are correct, both regarding calculation methodology as well as impact assessments? In particular, there is a lack of information about the degree of stomata closure during nights in high-latitude area plants. This is important for the modelling of ozone uptake (dry deposition) in these areas and requires coordinated measurement campaigns in close cooperation with modelers. Further research questions may be related to the future development of the northern regions – e.g. oil and gas extraction including flaring, shipping, more tourism and climate change – how will that affect the ozone exposure of in the northern vegetation? Do future ozone precursor emission scenarios describe this correctly? Will warm and dry summers like 2018 become more frequent in connection with climate change, and how will this affect ozone impacts on vegetation? There are currently very few, long term ozone monitoring stations in the arctic and alpine vegetation zones, in particular at high altitudes. Given the expected increase in anthropogenic activities in these areas in combination with climate change, it is strongly recommended to increase the number of high-altitude ozone monitoring sites in these regions.
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| 3. |
- Landwehr Sydow, Sophie, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Becoming a Maker Pedagogue : Exploring Practices of Making and Developing a Maker Mindset for Preschools
- 2021
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Ingår i: Proceedings of 5th FabLearn Europe / MakeEdconference 2021. - New York : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). - 9781450389891
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Making has with its mindset and hands-on agenda found ways into all levels of education. From primary school to higher education, in after-school curricula and public places of learning, making has made a considerable impact. In early childhood education, teachers and their professional development are however less in focus. We present a municipality-driven project of training nine preschool teachers with a maker mindset. Our data builds on teachers' experience and practice, shared in two workshops and 16 blog posts. The pedagogues' reflections of their own and learners' actions make way for how making' impacts them as educators. We use Resnick's four P's: Projects, Peers, Passion, Play and contribute Places and Presentation as additional elements of creative learning. We show that developing a maker mindset entails openness, curiosity, co-creation, responsiveness and the willingness to include technology and materials into professional practice, which is key towards becoming a maker pedagogue.
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| 4. |
- Milosevic, Jelena, et al.
(författare)
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PPM1D is a neuroblastoma oncogene and therapeutic target in childhood neural tumors
- 2020
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Majority of cancers harbor alterations of the tumor suppressor TP53. However, childhood cancers, including unfavorable neuroblastoma, often lack TP53 mutations despite frequent loss of p53 function, suggesting alternative p53 inactivating mechanisms.Here we show that p53-regulating PPM1D at chromosome 17q22.3 is linked to aggressive tumors and poor prognosis in neuroblastoma. We identified that WIP1-phosphatase encoded by PPM1D, is activated by frequent segmental 17q-gain further accumulated during clonal evolution, gene-amplifications, gene-fusions or gain-of-function somatic and germline mutations. Pharmacological and genetic manipulation established WIP1 as a druggable target in neuroblastoma. Genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 screening demonstrated PPM1D genetic dependency in TP53 wild-type neuroblastoma cell lines, and shRNA PPM1D knockdown significantly delayed in vivo tumor formation. Establishing a transgenic mouse model overexpressing PPM1D showed that these mice develop cancers phenotypically and genetically similar to tumors arising in mice with dysfunctional p53 when subjected to low-dose irradiation. Tumors include T-cell lymphomas harboring Notch1-mutations, Pten-deletions and p53-accumulation, adenocarcinomas and PHOX2B-expressing neuroblastomas establishing PPM1D as a bona fide oncogene in wtTP53 cancer and childhood neuroblastoma. Pharmacological inhibition of WIP1 suppressed the growth of neural tumors in nude mice proposing WIP1 as a therapeutic target in neural childhood tumors.
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| 5. |
- Scholten, Willemijn, et al.
(författare)
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Baseline Severity as a Moderator of the Waiting List–Controlled Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy With Symptom Change in Social Anxiety Disorder : A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis
- 2023
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Ingår i: JAMA psychiatry. - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 2168-6238 .- 2168-622X. ; 80:8, s. 822-831
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Importance: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) can be adequately treated with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). However, there is a large gap in knowledge on factors associated with prognosis, and it is unclear whether symptom severity predicts response to CBT for SAD.Objective: To examine baseline SAD symptom severity as a moderator of the association between CBT and symptom change in patients with SAD.Data Sources: For this systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis (IPDMA), PubMed, PsycInfo, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from January 1, 1990, to January 13, 2023. Primary search topics were social anxiety disorder, cognitive behavior therapy, and randomized controlled trial.Study Selection: Inclusion criteria were randomized clinical trials comparing CBT with being on a waiting list and using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) in adults with a primary clinical diagnosis of SAD.Data Extraction and Synthesis: Authors of included studies were approached to provide individual-level data. Data were extracted by pairs of authors following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses reporting guideline, and risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool. An IPDMA was conducted using a 2-stage approach for the association of CBT with change in LSAS scores from baseline to posttreatment and for the interaction effect of baseline LSAS score by condition using random-effects models.Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was the baseline to posttreatment change in symptom severity measured by the LSAS.Results: A total of 12 studies including 1246 patients with SAD (mean [SD] age, 35.3 [10.9] years; 738 [59.2%] female) were included in the meta-analysis. A waiting list–controlled association between CBT and pretreatment to posttreatment LSAS change was found (b = –20.3; 95% CI, −24.9 to −15.6; P < .001; Cohen d = –0.95; 95% CI, −1.16 to −0.73). Baseline LSAS scores moderated the differences between CBT and waiting list with respect to pretreatment to posttreatment symptom reductions (b = –0.22; 95% CI, −0.39 to −0.06; P = .009), indicating that individuals with severe symptoms had larger waiting list–controlled symptom reductions after CBT (Cohen d = –1.13 [95% CI, −1.39 to −0.88] for patients with very severe SAD; Cohen d = –0.54 [95% CI, −0.80 to −0.29] for patients with mild SAD).Conclusions and Relevance: In this systematic review and IPDMA, higher baseline SAD symptom severity was associated with greater (absolute but not relative) symptom reductions after CBT in patients with SAD. The findings contribute to personalized care by suggesting that clinicians can confidently offer CBT to individuals with severe SAD symptoms.
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| 6. |
- Valdés, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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Proteomic comparison between different tissue preservation methods for identification of promising biomarkers of urothelial bladder cancer
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Samples in biobanks are generally preserved by formalin-fixation and paraffin-embedding (FFPE) and/or optimal cutting temperature compound (OCT)-embedding and subsequently frozen. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based analysis of these samples is now available via developed protocols, however, the differences in results with respect to preservation methods needs further investigation. Here we use bladder urothelial carcinoma tissue of two different tumor stages (Ta/T1-non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), and T2/T3-muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC)) which, upon sampling, were divided and preserved by FFPE and OCT. Samples were parallel processed from the two methods and proteins were analyzed with label-free quantitative MS. Over 700 and 1200 proteins were quantified in FFPE and OCT samples, respectively. Multivariate analysis indicates that the preservation method is the main source of variation, but also tumors of different stages could be differentiated. Proteins involved in mitochondrial function were overrepresented in OCT data but missing in the FFPE data, indicating that these proteins are not well preserved by FFPE. Concordant results for proteins such as HMGCS2 (uniquely quantified in Ta/T1 tumors), and LGALS1, ANXA5 and plastin (upregulated in T2/T3 tumors) were observed in both FFPE and OCT data, which supports the use of MS technology for biobank samples and encourages the further evaluation of these proteins as biomarkers.
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| 7. |
- Wedin, Madelene, et al.
(författare)
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Validation of the Lymphoedema Quality of Life Questionnaire (LYMQOL) in Swedish cancer patients
- 2020
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 59:3, s. 365-371
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The aim of this study was to validate a translated Swedish version of the lymphoedema-specific quality of life questionnaire (LYMQOL) in a cohort of Swedish cancer patients with secondary lymphoedema of the limbs after cancer treatment.Material and methods: We recruited 102 patients with lymphoedema of the arms or legs after cancer treatment who were visiting lymphoedema therapists at the departments of oncology at the university hospitals in Linköping and Umeå. The LYMQOL questionnaires were translated forward and backward from English to Swedish. Content and face validity were evaluated. The construct validity was assessed by comparing the LYMQOL with the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the perceived degree of lymphoedema of the limbs, respectively. Reliability was determined through test-retest. The internal consistency was assessed by determining Cronbach’s alpha and by factor analysis.Results: The content and face validity assessments showed that LYMQOL was an easy, clear and not too long questionnaire to use for patients with lymphoedema. Construct validity was high in both versions when compared with the SF-36. The association between the degrees of perceived lymphoedema and the LYMQOL was only significant in the domains Function and Body Image in the arm version, whereas all domains in the leg version were significant. The reliability was good for the arm version (intra-class-correlation coefficients 0.53–0.87) and very good for the leg version (intra-class-correlation coefficients 0.78–0.90). The internal consistency was acceptable to excellent, with Cronbach’s alpha values between 0.79–0.93 (arm-version) and 0.87–0.94 (leg-version). The factor analysis confirmed the usefulness of the four domains in the LYMQOL versions.Conclusions: This study confirmed the validity of the Swedish version of LYMQOL and demonstrated that LYMQOL may be a simple and useful tool for use in clinical practice and scientific contexts for evaluating QoL in patients with lymphoedema of the limbs.
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