| 1. |
- Blennow, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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DeveLoP—A Rationale and Toolbox for Democratic Landscape Planning
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainability (Switzerland). - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 13:21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A rationale for an individuals-oriented landscape approach to sustainable land-use planning based on an analysis of bio-geo-physical components as well as the human components of the landscape is presented. A toolbox for analysing individuals’ decision-making and valuations in the landscape is described. The toolbox can provide evidence on the drivers of individuals’ decision-making in the landscape and the decision strategies they apply. This evidence can be used to identify communication needs and to design guidelines for effective communication. The tool for value elicitation separates the instrumental values (means) and end values (goals) of individuals with respect to locations in the landscape. This distinction, and knowledge of the end values in the landscape, are critical for the achievement of policy goals and for spatial planning from a democratic point of view. The individuals-oriented landscape approach has roots in geography and draws on behavioural decision research together with a model for integrating “science and proven experience” that is widely used in public decision-making in the Nordic countries. The approach differs from other scholarly disciplines addressing sustainable land-use planning. It is suitable for application on decision-making problems that include trade-offs between values. An overview of empirical studies is provided in which the individuals-oriented landscape rationale is applied to climate change.
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| 2. |
- Lygnerud, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Handbook for increased recovery of urban excess heat
- 2022
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this book is to consolidate information from low temperature waste heat recovery demonstration sites. Apart from technical validation, the ReUseHeat project has generated knowledge about the urban waste heat potential in Europe, main stakeholders and different business aspects. Five stakeholder groups are targeted. These are urban waste heat owners, District Heating (DH) companies, policy makers, investors and customers. In the first chapter of the book, the concept of urban waste heat is introduced and the urban waste heat potential in Europe is presented. Thereafter (chapter two), information on business aspects is provided (stakeholders, value chain, risks, contracts and business model characteristics). Chapter three showcases the demonstrator concepts (waste heat recovery from data centre, hospital, metro and awareness creation about urban waste heat recovery) and performance data. Throughout the writing of the handbook, it was identified that it is important to compare the cost of different heating alternatives, to facilitate customer decision making. Therefore, a model was derived to compare costs of heating alternatives. It is presented in chapter four. Urban waste heat recovery is news. It is therefore important that stakeholders are made aware of the possibility to use the locally available heat and to start collaborating in new ways. To ensure as much stakeholder engagement as possible, the writing process of this book encompassed a six-month stakeholder involvement process. The stakeholder input is presented in chapter five. In chapter six, thoughts on the future development of district energy, policy implications and major learnings from the project are presented. This book was written within the ReUseHeat project. The work on the book was initiated after the first out of five years of activity to ensure that the consortium would be engaged in its development and to capture the knowledge generated on an ongoing basis. The final version of the book was ready and placed on the ReUseHeat webpage in September 2022. The project webpage remains in operation until 2024. The book not only exists in digital format. 600 copies were also printed and distributed to relevant stakeholders. All partners of the consortium have contributed to the writing of the book.
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| 3. |
- Blennow, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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The role of beliefs, expectations and values in decision-making favoring climate change adaptation : implications for communications with European forest professionals
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Beliefs, expectations and values are often assumed to drive decisions about climate change adaptation. We tested hypotheses based on this assumption using survey responses from 508 European forest professionals in 10 countries. We used the survey results to identify communication needs and the decision strategies at play, and to develop guidelines on adequate communications about climate change adaptation. We observed polarization in the positive and negative values associated with climate change impacts accepted by survey respondents. We identified a mechanism creating the polarization that we call the 'blocked belief' effect. We found that polarized values did not correlate with decisions about climate change adaptation. Strong belief in the local impacts of climate change on the forest was, however, a prerequisite of decision-making favoring adaptation. Decision-making in favor of adaptation to climate change also correlated with net values of expected specific impacts on the forest and generally increased with the absolute value of these in the absence of "tipping point" behavior. Tipping point behavior occurs when adaptation is not pursued in spite of the strongly negative or positive net value of expected climate change impacts. We observed negative and positive tipping point behavior, mainly in SW Europe and N-NE Europe, respectively. In addition we found that advice on effective adaptation may inhibit adaptation when the receiver is aware of effective adaptation measures unless it is balanced with information explaining how climate change leads to negative impacts. Forest professionals with weak expectations of impacts require communications on climate change and its impacts on forests before any advice on adaptation measures can be effective. We develop evidence-based guidelines on communications using a new methodology which includes Bayesian machine learning modeling of the equivalent of an expected utility function for the adaptation decision problem.
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| 4. |
- Blennow, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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To Mitigate or Adapt? : Explaining Why Citizens Responding to Climate Change Favour the Former
- 2021
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Ingår i: Land. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-445X. ; 10:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Why do citizens’ decisions made because they favour the mitigation of climate change outnumber those made because they favour adaptation to its impacts? Using data collected in a survey of 338 citizens of Malmö, Sweden, we tested two hypotheses. H1: the motivation for personal decisions because they favour adaptation to the impacts of climate change correlates with the decision-making agent´s knowledge of specific local impacts of climate change, and H2: the motivation for personal decisions because they favour mitigation of climate change correlates with the risk perception of the decision-making agent. While decisions made because they favour mitigation correlated with negative net values of expected impacts of climate change (risk perception), decisions made because they favour adaptation correlated with its absolute value unless tipping point behaviour occurred. Tipping point behaviour occurs here when the decision-making agent abstains from decisions in response to climate change in spite of a strongly negative or positive net value of expected impacts. Hence, the decision-making agents´ lack of knowledge of specific climate change impacts inhibited decisions promoting adaptation. Moreover, positive experiences of climate change inhibited mitigation decisions. Discussing the results, we emphasised the importance of understanding the drivers of adaptation and mitigation decisions. In particular, we stress that attention needs to be paid to the balance between decisions solving problems ‘here and now’ and those focusing on the ‘there and then’.
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| 5. |
- Boyi, Joy Ometere, et al.
(författare)
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Relationships between gene transcription and contaminant concentrations in Baltic ringed seals : A comparison between tissue matrices
- 2022
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Ingår i: Aquatic Toxicology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0166-445X .- 1879-1514. ; 242
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ringed seals (Pusa hispida) are slowly recovering in the eastern and northern parts of the Baltic Sea after years of hunting pressure and contaminant exposure. Still, consequences of anthropogenic activities such as contaminant exposure and increasing temperatures are stressors that continue to have deleterious effects on their habitat and health. Transcription profiles of seven health-related genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism, endocrine disruption and stress were evaluated in blood, blubber, and liver of Baltic ringed seals in a multi-tissue approach. Selected persistent organic pollutants and total mercury concentrations were measured in blubber and liver, and muscle and liver of these animals, respectively. Concentrations of contaminants varied across tissues on a lipid weight basis but not with sex. mRNA transcript levels for all seven target genes did not vary between sexes or age classes. Transcript levels of thyroid hormone receptor alpha (TR alpha), retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR alpha) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) correlated with levels of persistent organic pollutants. TR alpha transcript levels also correlated positively with mercury concentrations in the liver. Of the three tissues assessed in this multi-tissue approach, blubber showed highest transcription levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), thyroid stimulating hormone receptor beta (TSH beta), oestrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPAR alpha). The wide range of genes expressed highlights the value of minimally invasive sampling (e.g. biopsies) for assessing health endpoints in free-ranging marine wildlife and the importance of identifying optimal matrices for targeted gene expression studies. This gene transcript profile study has provided baseline information on transcript levels of biomarkers for early on-set health effects in ringed seals and will be a useful guide to assess the impacts of environmental change in Baltic pinnipeds for conservation and management.
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| 6. |
- Causevic, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence and risk factors for transactional sex among Swedish-born and foreign-born MSM in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1471-2458. ; 22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Little is known about transactional sex (TS) (selling and buying sex) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Sweden, especially among foreign-born MSM. This study aims to assess the prevalence and risk factors of TS (ever and in the previous five years) among MSM living in Sweden and to determine if there is a difference between Swedish-born MSM and foreign-born MSM.Methods: Swedish data from a multicountry online banner survey (EMIS-2017) was used (n = 4443). Multivariable regression analysis was applied to analyse the data.Results: The prevalence of ever-selling sex among all MSM participants was 13.2% and 5.9% in the previous five years. Selling sex ever and in the previous five years was higher among foreign-born MSM (16% and 8.4%, respectively) than Swedish-born MSM (12.7% and 5.4%, respectively). Among all participants, younger age (aOR:3.19, 95% CI:1.57-6.45) and really struggling to live on current income (aOR:3.37, 95% CI:2.29-4.96) increased the odds of selling sex. Being foreign-born MSM (aOR:1.33, 95% CI:1.02-1.73) and having had sex with a woman in the previous 12 months increased the odds of selling sex (aOR:1.44, 95% CI:1.00-2.07). The prevalence of ever buying sex among MSM participants in Sweden was 10.8% and 6.7% in the previous five years, with the same trend among foreign-born MSM (11.6% and 6.9%, respectively) and Swedish-born MSM (10.7% and 6.6%, respectively). Higher education and not having a current partner increased the odds of buying sex. Younger age was protective for buying sex (aOR:0.05, 95% CI:0.02-0.14). Among the foreign-born MSM, the length of stay in Sweden decreased the odds of buying sex (aOR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96-0.99).Conclusions: The comparatively high prevalence of TS among MSM participants in Sweden, where buying sex is illegal, with a higher prevalence among foreign-born MSM participants, calls for sexual and reproductive health and rights interventions in this population. Increased attention, including HIV prevention programming and education, should be aimed at younger MSM, MSM struggling with their current income, and foreign-born MSM, as they are more likely to report selling sex.
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| 7. |
- Dennermalm, Nicklas, et al.
(författare)
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Sex, drugs and techno - a qualitative study on finding the balance between risk, safety and pleasure among men who have sex with men engaging in recreational and sexualised drug use
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2458. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Recreational and sexual drug use among men who have sex with men may result in increased risk of poor health. The aim of this study was to better understand drug use and harm reduction techniques among Swedish men who have sex with men traveling to Berlin in order to improve the health of this population and inform public health strategies.Methods: A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with 15 Swedish men aged 23-44 with experience of drug use were recruited through network sampling. Interviews were conducted in Stockholm and Berlin and analysed using content analysis. The interview guide included questions on drug use, context, health and safety.Results: The participants engaged in drug use in both settings and in various contexts. Participants saw themselves as capable of finding a balance between pleasure, safety and risk with the aim to maximize positive effects while minimizing negative ones. The different risks of drug use were known, and participants relied on knowledge, harm reduction strategies and self-defined rules of intake to stay safe and healthy in a broad sense, both short term (i.e. during each session) and long term. Choice of drug and, frequency of intake, multi-use, risk of overdose, risk of HIV, purpose and context of use, how often, etc. were all part of the overall strategy. Knowledge of these methods was spread within the community and on-line rather than from counsellors or other health care providers. However, it did not always translate perfectly into practice and some had experienced overdoses and problematic use.Conclusions: The findings of this study point to the need for increased adoption of harm reduction techniques in this population focusing on mitigating harm and prevention of risk of problematic use or starting injection drugs. Existing traditional services require adaptations to become more accessible and acceptable to sub-groups of drug users, including low-threshold services providing non-judgemental, evidence-based information. This will require funding of alternative providers such as STI/HIV clinics, among others, and health care providers to increase adoption of prevention strategies, specifically pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.
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| 8. |
- Ek, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Priorities and Preferences in Water Quality Management : a Case Study of the Alsterån River Basin
- 2020
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Ingår i: Water resources management. - : Springer. - 0920-4741 .- 1573-1650. ; 34:1, s. 155-173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sweden is a decentralised country where local managers, who are key actors in water management, often deal with relatively difficult prioritisations, tradeoffs and conflicting goals. Many of these challenges relate to the effective implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive. As an input to these challenges, the present paper elicits and analyses local and semi-local citizens’ preferences for water quality attributes related to the European Water Framework directive in a river basin located in southeast of Sweden. Based on a choice experiment tailored to the case study area, the paper analyses preferences for selected attributes based on real criteria for ecological water status in the implementation of the directive. The target population lives in the municipalities through which the river passes, or in municipalities neighbouring those. Despite this spatial proximity to the river, the analysis reveals limited knowledge and interest in matters related to the environmental quality of the river. There is no evidence that preferences differ between respondents with regard to experience or knowledge about the water basin, nor with regard to recreational habits in the area. These results offer input to local water management by providing information about preferences for explicit water quality attributes.
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| 9. |
- Eriksson, Oskar, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Mannose-Binding Lectin is Associated with Thrombosis and Coagulopathy in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients
- 2020
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Ingår i: Thrombosis and Haemostasis. - : Georg Thieme Verlag KG. - 0340-6245 .- 2567-689X. ; 120:12, s. 1720-1724
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, as well as profound effects on society. COVID-19 patients have an increased risk of thromboembolic (TE) complications, which develop despite pharmacological thromboprophylaxis. The mechanism behind COVID-19-associated coagulopathy remains unclear. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL), a pattern recognition molecule that initiates the lectin pathway of complement activation, has been suggested as a potential amplifier of blood coagulation during thromboinflammation. Here we describe data from a cohort of critically ill COVID-19 patients ( n =65) treated at a tertiary hospital center intensive care unit (ICU). A subset of patients had strongly elevated MBL plasma levels, and activity upon ICU admission, and patients who developed symptomatic TE (14%) had significantly higher MBL levels than patients without TE. MBL was strongly correlated to plasma D-dimer levels, a marker of COVID-19 coagulopathy, but showed no relationship to degree of inflammation or other organ dysfunction. In conclusion, we have identified complement activation through the MBL pathway as a novel amplification mechanism that contributes to pathological thrombosis in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Pharmacological targeting of the MBL pathway could be a novel treatment option for thrombosis in COVID-19. Laboratory testing of MBL levels could be of value for identifying COVID-19 patients at risk for TE events.
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| 10. |
- Fasanya, Adebimpe, et al.
(författare)
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Anti-phosphatidylserine antibody levels are low in multigravid pregnant women in a malaria-endemic area in Nigeria, and do not correlate with anti-VAR2CSA antibodies
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2235-2988. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Anemia is a common malaria-associated complication in pregnant women in endemic regions. Phosphatidylserine (PS) is exposed to the immune system during the massive destruction of red blood cells (RBCs) that accompany malaria, and antibodies against PS have been linked to anemia through destruction of uninfected RBCs. We determined levels of anti-PS IgG antibodies in pregnant women in Ibadan, Nigeria and correlated them to parameters of importance in development of anemia and immunity. Anti-PS correlated inversely with Packed Cell Volume (PCV), indicating that the antibodies could contribute to anemia. There was no correlation with anti-VAR2CSA IgG, haptoglobin or parasitemia, indicating that the modulation of anti-PS response is multifactorial in nature. Anti-PS levels were lowest in multigravidae compared to both primigravidae and secundigravidae and correlated inversely with age. In conclusion, lower levels of anti-PS in multigravidae could be beneficial in avoiding anemia.
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