| 1. |
- Bakker, F. T., et al.
(author)
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The Global Museum: natural history collections and the future of evolutionary science and public education
- 2020
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In: PeerJ. - : PeerJ. - 2167-8359. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Natural history museums are unique spaces for interdisciplinary research and educational innovation. Through extensive exhibits and public programming and by hosting rich communities of amateurs, students, and researchers at all stages of their careers, they can provide a place-based window to focus on integration of science and discovery, as well as a locus for community engagement. At the same time, like a synthesis radio telescope, when joined together through emerging digital resources, the global community of museums (the 'Global Museum') is more than the sum of its parts, allowing insights and answers to diverse biological, environmental, and societal questions at the global scale, across eons of time, and spanning vast diversity across the Tree of Life. We argue that, whereas natural history collections and museums began with a focus on describing the diversity and peculiarities of species on Earth, they are now increasingly leveraged in new ways that significantly expand their impact and relevance. These new directions include the possibility to ask new, often interdisciplinary questions in basic and applied science, such as in biomimetic design, and by contributing to solutions to climate change, global health and food security challenges. As institutions, they have long been incubators for cutting-edge research in biology while simultaneously providing core infrastructure for research on present and future societal needs. Here we explore how the intersection between pressing issues in environmental and human health and rapid technological innovation have reinforced the relevance of museum collections. We do this by providing examples as food for thought for both the broader academic community and museum scientists on the evolving role of museums. We also identify challenges to the realization of the full potential of natural history collections and the Global Museum to science and society and discuss the critical need to grow these collections. We then focus on mapping and modelling of museum data (including place-based approaches and discovery), and explore the main projects, platforms and databases enabling this growth. Finally, we aim to improve relevant protocols for the long-term storage of specimens and tissues, ensuring proper connection with tomorrow's technologies and hence further increasing the relevance of natural history museums.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Claes, 1973, et al.
(author)
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Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human culture
- 2023
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In: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. - 2662-9992. ; 10, s. 1-20
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is widely believed that human culture originated in the appearance of Oldowan stone-tool production (circa 2.9 Mya) and a primitive but effective ability to copy detailed know-how. Cumulative cultural evolution is then believed to have led to modern humans and human culture via self-reinforcing gene-culture co-evolution. This outline evolutionary trajectory has come to be seen as all but self-evident, but dilemmas have appeared as it has been explored in increasing detail. Can we attribute even a minimally effective know-how copying capability to Oldowan hominins? Do Oldowan tools really demand know-how copying? Is there any other evidence that know-how copying was present? We here argue that this account, which we refer to as “Trajectory A”, may be a red herring, and formulate an alternative “Trajectory B” that resolves these dilemmas. Trajectory B invokes an overlooked group-level channel of cultural inheritance (the Social Protocell) whereby networks of cultural traits can be faithfully inherited and potentially undergo cumulative evolution, also when the underpinning cultural traits are apelike in not being transmitted via know-how copying (Latent Solutions). Since most preconditions of Trajectory B are present in modern-day Pan, Trajectory B may even have its roots considerably before Oldowan toolmaking. The cumulative build-up of networks of non-cumulative cultural traits is then argued to have produced conditions that both called for and afforded a gradual appearance of the ability to copy know-how, but considerably later than the Oldowan.
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| 3. |
- André, Hampus, 1989
(author)
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Assessing Mineral Resource Scarcity in a Circular Economy Context
- 2020
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Due to humanity’s dependence on metal resources there are growing concerns regarding impacts related to their potential scarcity, both for current and future generations. The vision of a more circular economy suggests that extending the functional use of metals through measures aiming for resource-efficiency (RE) such as increasing technical lifetime, repairing and recycling could reduce mineral resource scarcity. However, evidence of this is limited. In addition, there is limited understanding regarding on what principles metals can be prioritized when assessing mineral resource scarcity. The aim of this thesis is to provide knowledge on mineral resource scarcity impacts of RE measures applied to metal-diverse products and on which conditions they depend. This is achieved by: 1) studying RE measures from a life cycle perspective; 2) comparing principles of prioritization between metals on which mineral resource scarcity impacts are assessed and 3) analysing how such principles (of prioritization) can affect conclusions regarding RE measures applied to metal-diverse products. The research is conducted through case studies, syntheses of literature and method development within the methodologies of life cycle assessment, material flow analysis and criticality assessment. Results indicate that effects of RE measures depend on a number of product characteristics and real-world conditions. RE measures can both increase and decrease mineral resource scarcity impacts compared to business as usual and effects vary greatly between metals. RE measures based on use extension e.g. reuse of laptops, repair of smartphones, and increasing technical lifetimes of LED lighting, have been indicated to reduce impacts through two principal features: use extension, and, increased functional recycling. However, there are risks of increasing mineral resource scarcity impacts if RE measures require additional metal use, product use extensions are short and if functional recycling is lacking. For example, repair of smartphones risks to increase the use of metals in commonly replaced components such as screens. Because of the varying effects on different metals, implementation of RE measures requires prioritizing some metals over others. The principles of prioritization give diverging results, and, are sometimes unclear and methodologically inconsistent. The thesis clarifies how they relate to concepts such as depletion, criticality, rarity and scarcity. Further it suggests that, although mineral resources are fundamentally stock resources, they can pose stock, fund and flow problems. Distinguishing between these different problems in distinct methodologies is conducive to purposive and complementary assessment by resolving methodological inconsistencies and providing accurate terminology. In the long term, scarcity is most purposively addressed by focusing on depletion of ecospheric stocks. Accordingly, the Crustal Scarcity Indicator is proposed to assess potential long term scarcity in life cycle assessment, alongside other environmental impacts. In the near term, potential scarcity for nations, industries and companies, as commonly assessed in criticality assessment, is most purposively addressed by focusing on technospheric circumstances, such as geopolitics, which can disrupt technospheric resource flows. In medium term, secondary resources in technospheric funds could be relevant, especially, with the advent of a more circular economy. Altogether, it is recommended that implementation of RE measures to metal-diverse products are based on analysis of product characteristics and real-world conditions and that effects of RE measures are assessed by methodologies which distinguish between mineral resource flows, funds and stocks so that well-informed prioritizations between metals can be made.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Berkström, Charlotte, et al.
(author)
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Konnektivitet och fysisk påverkan i kustvatten : en sammanställning över kunskapsläget och förslag till revidering av bedömningsgrund
- 2024
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Konnektivitet i kustvatten beskrivs som möjligheten för djur, växter, sediment och organiskt material att sprida sig och passera fritt mellan det öppna havet och kusten, längsgående i kustområden och mellan kustområden och inlandsvatten. Då konnektiviteten har en betydande och bred påverkan på det biologiska, fysikalisk-kemiska, och det hydromorfologiska tillståndet i kustoch havsmiljön, ingår den som en kvalitetsfaktor för bedömning av ekologisk status av ytvatten i kustzonen. Beskrivningen av konnektivitet och hur den ska bedömas i kustzonen är knapphändig i Havs- och vattenmyndighetens föreskrifter (HVMFS 2019:25). Institutionen för akvatiska resurser vid SLU har därför fått i uppdrag att ge förslag på information om biologisk konnektivitet som rör växter och djur som kan ingå i en revidering av dessa föreskrifter, samt ta fram ett kunskapsunderlag om konnektivitet och fysisk störning i kustzonen. I uppdraget har även ingått att analysera hur fysisk störning påverkar konnektivitet för fisk i både Skagerraks, Kattegatts och Östersjöns kustområden.Vid genomgång av föreskrifterna noterade vi att de saknar information om biologiska aspekter av konnektivitet och vilka rumsliga skalor man ska beakta. De nuvarande bedömningsgrunderna tar inte tillräcklig hänsyn till att konnektivitet antingen kan ske genom aktiv migration av organismer, såväl vuxna som juvenila, eller genom passiv spridning via larver, ägg, sporer, frön och fragment (kapitel 2.1.2). Detta är viktigt att ha i åtanke då fysisk störning i form av bryggor, pirar, buller, båttrafik och annat har olika påverkan på organismer som rör sig genom olika habitattyper aktivt genom migration eller passivt med strömmar. De olika spridningstyperna sker även över olika tidsskalor där aktiva migrationer ofta sker på säsongsbasis och mellan olika livsstadier, medan passiv spridning ofta sker över ett antal veckor när larver och sporer utvecklas i den fria vattenmassan innan de slår sig ner vid lämpligt habitat. Det finns även arter som genomför hela sina livscykler i den fria vattenmassan, till exempel växtplankton som också ingår som en biologisk kvalitetsfaktor att bedöma. Dessutom är det viktigt att särskilja typiska hemområden från maximala migrations- och spridningsavstånd, eftersom hemområden är relevanta för populationsdynamiken, medan de maximala migrations- och spridningsavstånden har större betydelse för den genetiska variationen mellan olika populationer. Likaså är det viktigt att ta hänsyn till hur konnektivitet kan påverkas av ett förändrat klimat. Fiskar har en central roll i de marina ekosystemen. Därför blir konnektivitet av fisk – både mellan kust och hav, inom kustområden samt mellan kust och sötvatten – avgörande faktorer för ekologisk status, både i sötvatten och i kustvatten. Eftersom det främst är fiskar som genomför vandringar mellan kust och sötvatten och kust och hav är det svårt att klassificera parametern 8.3 Konnektivitet mellan kustvatten och vatten i övergångszon och kustnära landområden i föreskrifterna (HVMFS 2019:25) utan att inkludera fisk. Fisk borde därför ingå som en biologisk kvalitetsfaktor även i föreskrifterna för kustvatten (kapitel 2.1.3). Fisk ingår vid bedömning av ekologisk status i havsmiljödirektivet, som geografiskt överlappar med vattendirektivet i kustzonen. I havsmiljödirektivet finns i stället inte konnektivitet med som ett kriterium i ekologiska statusbedömningar. Detta gör att konnektivitet, framförallt gällande fisk, inte beaktas tillräckligt i bedömningarna varför en samordning mellan direktiven måste till. Då konnektivitet främst är en biologisk funktion kopplad till fiskar och andra organismer bör det övervägas om konnektivitet ska ingå bland de biologiska kvalitetsfaktorerna istället för de hydromorfologiska.Sverige är ett av de länder inom EU som har kommit längst gällande bedömning av konnektivitet inom vattendirektivet. Övriga EU-länder tycks mer fokusera på de två andra hydromorfologiska kvalitetsfaktorerna hydrografiskt villkor och morfologiskt tillstånd i sina bedömningar. Detta kan bero på att konnektivitet inte ingår i vattendirektivet men att man i Sverige har valt att lägga in det Sammanfattning som en egen kvalitetsfaktor i föreskrifterna om statusbedömning i svenska kustvatten. Konnektivitet nämns i några sammanhang i andra EU-länder, men är då oftast kopplat till sötvatten med fokus på vandrande fiskar och hinder i form av vattenkraft och andra fysiska strukturer som stoppar vattenflödet. Intresset för att utveckla den hydromorfologiska kvalitetsfaktorn där konnektivitet ingår har vuxit inom EU och ett antal rapporter och vetenskapliga artiklar finns tillgängliga i ämnet (kapitel 2.1.4).Konnektivitet kan mätas på olika sätt och på olika rumsliga skalor. I kapitel 3 sammanfattar vi denna information i ett kunskapsunderlag för bedömning av konnektivitet i kustzonen. Mätning och analys av arters spridning i kust- och havsområden är en utmanande uppgift, och kunskapen inom detta område är fortfarande begränsad. För att analysera och bedöma aktiv migration i framförallt Östersjön och Skagerrak har rumsliga analyser baserade på habitatkartor och information om arters spridningsavstånd använts, likaså märkningsstudier och kombinationer av metoder. För att undersöka passiv spridning har man främst använt en kombination av empiriska data och hydrodynamiska modeller för att undersöka spridningsvägar och uppväxtmiljöer för olika marina organismer och för att identifiera viktiga områden för konnektivitet som till exempel källor och sänkor. I kapitel 3 sammanfattas även konnektivitetsmönster hos några biologiskt viktiga organismgrupper och information om naturliga barriärer som salthalt, djup och temperatur som påverkar spridning av organismer och organiskt material.Få studier har undersökt effekter av fysisk störning på konnektivitet. I kapitel 4.2 beskriver vi studier som gjorts i svenska vatten gällande effekter av fysisk störning på passiv spridning och aktiv migration och i kapitel 4.3 sammanfattar vi information om fysisk påverkan och konnektivitet på några nyckelhabitat. I kapitel 5 beskrivs resultaten av nya analyser med fokus på fisk längs svenska västkusten som gjorts inom ramen av detta uppdrag. Resultaten från dessa studier visar att fysisk påverkan kan ha en betydande inverkan på konnektivitet, särskilt för de arter som är beroende av grunda och vågskyddade områden för sin reproduktion. Denna typ av habitat är särskilt känslig och uppvisar en påtaglig minskning av konnektiviteten till följd av fysisk påverkan. Just dessa områden drabbas mest av förluster i konnektivitet då de har en hög grad av fysisk exploatering, inkluderande bryggor, bojar och småbåtshamnar. Dessutom visade resultaten från vår modellering att makroalger och fröväxter påverkas starkt av fysiska förändringar. Detta understryker vikten av att noggrant utvärdera och hantera fysisk påverkan på arter och livsmiljöer i kustzonen för att bevara och skydda känsliga marina ekosystem och de tjänster de tillhandahåller. Resultaten är viktiga för beslutsfattare och planerare som arbetar med bevarandeåtgärder och förvaltning av dessa miljöer.Det finns betydande kunskapsluckor inom området konnektivitet i kustvattenmiljöer och även inom området fysisk påverkan på konnektiviteten. I kapitel 6 listas dessa kunskapsluckor där bland annat behovet av högupplösta kartunderlag över förekomsten av både organismer och påverkansfaktorer pekas ut, liksom sambanden mellan dessa. Detta gäller för de biologiska kvalitetsfaktorerna bottenfauna, makroalger, fröväxter och växtplankton och för fisk, där fisken inte ingår som biologisk kvalitetsfaktor i kustzonen. Även effekter av ett förändrat klimat och av olika typer av restaureringsåtgärder på konnektiviteten är områden där det finns behov av att förbättra kunskapsläget.
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| 7. |
- Cascone, Claudia
(author)
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Optical sensors in drinking water production : Towards automated process control in relation to natural organic matter
- 2021
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Access to safe and clean drinking water is a basic human right (A/RES/64/292). In Sweden, large drinking water treatment plants use mainly surface water as water source. The long-term trend of increasing natural organic matter (NOM) in boreal and north European surface waters negatively affects the overall performance of the treatment processes. To address this issue, sensors are increasingly used as a tool for real-time analysis of water quality providing early warning of potential contamination and decision support for process control.In this thesis, absorbance- and fluorescence-based sensors were used to estimate dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentrations in two Swedish rivers prior to managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and their accuracy was compared (Paper I and IV). The possibility of coupling a coagulation treatment with MAR was explored at laboratory-scale. Two pilot-scale experiments using granular activated carbon filtration were carried out to optimise DOM removal (Paper II). A recent method for molecular DOM analysis was tested to investigate the effect of ozone on low molecular weight compounds. An open-source Python toolbox called “AbspectroscoPY” was developed to pre-process the large amount of absorbance-based sensor data and compute a range of spectral metrics from the time-series data. This allowed a preliminary identification of variability in the spectrophotometric profiles of treated water as a step forward toward automated early warning systems (Paper III). An algorithm for turbidity compensation of the raw absorbance spectra was added (Paper IV). This thesis contributes to an increased knowledge on NOM removal in water treatment using high frequency sensor data from optical sensors.
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| 8. |
- Chakwizira, Arthur, et al.
(author)
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Diffusion MRI with pulsed and free gradient waveforms : effects of restricted diffusion and exchange
- 2023
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In: NMR in Biomedicine. - : Wiley. - 0952-3480 .- 1099-1492. ; 36:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Monitoring time-dependence with diffusion MRI yields observables sensitive to compartment sizes (restricted diffusion) and membrane permeability (water exchange). However, restricted diffusion and exchange have opposite effects on the diffusion-weighted signal, which can lead to errors in parameter estimates. In this work, we propose a signal representation that incorporates the effects of both restricted diffusion and exchange up to second order in b-value and is compatible with gradient waveforms of arbitrary shape. The representation features mappings from a gradient waveform to two scalars that separately control the sensitivity to restriction and exchange. We demonstrate that these scalars span a two-dimensional space that can be used to choose waveforms that selectively probe restricted diffusion or exchange, eliminating the correlation between the two phenomena. We found that waveforms with specific but unconventional shapes provide an advantage over conventional pulsed and oscillating gradient acquisitions. We also show that parametrisation of waveforms into a two-dimensional space can be used to understand protocols from other approaches that probe restricted diffusion and exchange. For example, we found that the variation of mixing time in filter-exchange imaging corresponds to variation of our exchange-weighting scalar at a fixed value of the restriction-weighting scalar. The proposed signal representation was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations in identical parallel cylinders with hexagonal and random packing as well as parallel cylinders with gamma-distributed radii. Results showed that the approach is sensitive to sizes in the interval 4 - 12 μm and exchange rates in the simulated range of 0 to 20 s -1 , but also that there is a sensitivity to the extracellular geometry. The presented theory constitutes a simple and intuitive description of how restricted diffusion and exchange influence the signal as well as a guide to protocol design capable of separating the two effects.
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| 9. |
- Dodig Crnkovic, Gordana, 1955
(author)
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Natural Computational Architectures for Cognitive Info-Communication
- 2021
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Recent comprehensive overview of 40 years of research in cognitive architectures, (Kotseruba and Tsotsos 2020), evaluates modelling of the core cognitive abilities in humans, but only marginally addresses biologically plausible approaches based on natural computation. This mini review presents a set of perspectives and approaches which have shaped the development of biologically inspired computational models in the recent past that can lead to the development of biologically more realistic cognitive architectures. For describing continuum of natural cognitive architectures, from basal cellular to human-level cognition, we use evolutionary info-computational framework, where natural/ physical/ morphological computation leads to evolution of increasingly complex cognitive systems. Forty years ago, when the first cognitive architectures have been proposed, understanding of cognition, embodiment and evolution was different. So was the state of the art of information physics, bioinformatics, information chemistry, computational neuroscience, complexity theory, selforganization, theory of evolution, information and computation. Novel developments support a constructive interdisciplinary framework for cognitive architectures in the context of computing nature, where interactions between constituents at different levels of organization lead to complexification of agency and increased cognitive capacities. We identify several important research questions for further investigation that can increase understanding of cognition in nature and inspire new developments of cognitive technologies. Recently, basal cell cognition attracted a lot of interest for its possible applications in medicine, new computing technologies, as well as micro- and nanorobotics. Bio-cognition of cells connected into tissues/organs, and organisms with the group (social) levels of information processing provides insights into cognition mechanisms that can support the development of new AI platforms and cognitive robotics.
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| 10. |
- Dunér, David, et al.
(author)
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Perseverance
- 2022. - 1
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In: Pandemic Ponderings. - Uppsala : Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study. - 9789198194838 ; , s. 73-85
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Book chapter (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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| 11. |
- Dunér, David, et al.
(author)
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Un café con… David Dunér
- 2020
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In: ¿Estamos solos?. - Barcelona : Critica. - 9788491992394
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Book chapter (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
- Eskafi, Majid, et al.
(author)
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Framework for Dealing with Uncertainty in the Port Planning Process
- 2022
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In: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. - 0733-950X. ; 147:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Globalization has increased international trade where the contribution of maritime transportation is significant. The projection of future port traffic in terms of vessel call and vessel size provides valuable and fundamental input to capacity planning and management, adjusting the direction of port development. In this research, analysis of port traffic is carried out for the Ports of Isafjordur network. The analysis is conducted based on the prediction of port throughput (ie, containerized and noncontainerized cargo, cruise ship call/passenger) in conjunction with port infrastructure
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Fetterplace, Lachlan
(author)
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Temporal stability in a protected and isolated fish community within marine parks surrounding Lord Howe Island
- 2021
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In: Regional Studies in Marine Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-4855. ; 48
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Remote oceanic islands often display high levels of biodiversity and endemism, making them important locations for marine parks aimed at conserving biodiversity. To determine whether marine parks are reaching conservation objectives requires consistent assessments of their effectiveness through time. Lord Howe Island and Balls Pyramid are World Heritage listed remote oceanic islands in the Tasman Sea that support a diverse assemblage of fishes including many endemic and protected species. To conserve the region’s unique marine biodiversity, state and Commonwealth marine parks including no-take zones and partially protected zones open to line fishing were established. After approximately 5, 9 and 13 years of protection of shelf habitat we tested for changes in the marine park’s fish assemblage across management zones through time using baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs). We detected no difference in total fish abundance, diversity, or assemblage composition between management zone types. The relative abundance of targeted carangids, yellowtail kingfish and silver trevally were 2 and 1.6 times greater in no-take zones than partially protected zones respectively, however, the substantial variation in their abundances among locations and sites meant that these differences were not statistically significant. No clear difference in the relative abundance of endemic, near-endemic and protected species were observed between management zone types. Generally, the abundance and diversity of fishes varied most among locations, sites and sampling years. The overall lack of difference in the fish assemblage between management zone types and its stability through time suggests current anthropogenic threats are relatively minor, and the marine park’s condition is reasonably healthy. Future surveys of the marine park’s fish assemblage will be valuable to test for body-size differences between zone types and to monitor trends in condition, particularly in response to possible changes in the number, frequency and intensity of anthropogenic threats.
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| 17. |
- Fredriksson, Alexandra, et al.
(author)
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Conceptual Blending Monitoring Students’ Use of Metaphorical Concepts to Further the Learning of Science
- 2020
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In: Research in Science Education. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0157-244X .- 1573-1898. ; 50:3, s. 917-940
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study is to explore how tertiary science students’ use of metaphors in their popular science article writing may influence their understanding of subject matter. For this purpose, six popular articles written by students in physics or geology were analysed by means of a close textual analysis and a metaphor analysis. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students. The articles showed variation regarding the occurrence of active (non-conventional) metaphors, and metaphorical concepts, i.e. metaphors relating to a common theme. In addition, the interviews indicated that students using active metaphors and metaphorical concepts reflected more actively upon their use of metaphors. These students also discussed the possible relationship between subject understanding and creation of metaphors in terms of conceptual blending. The study suggests that students’ process of creating metaphorical concepts could be described and visualised through integrated networks of conceptual blending. Altogether, the study argues for using conceptual blending as a tool for monitoring and encouraging the use of adequate metaphorical concepts, thereby facilitating students’ opportunities of understanding and influencing the learning of science.
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| 18. |
- Frisk, Fredrik, et al.
(author)
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Exploring Advanced Projects as Meeting Points between Students and Industry
- 2022
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study includes survey of the Swedish companies and other potential employers perspective/view on the computer science students´ projects as well as the opportunities and limitations for the students. This is the first major study we have undertaken within this bachelor programme to, in depth, investigate both the company and the student views of how we should incorporate industry-oriented working methods in the context of CDIO. From the companies´ perspective, for example we are evaluating questions related to the projects´ size and projects´ output; the confidentiality of the projects; the communication aspects, like how early and how often a company need to meet the students; the job opportunities after graduation; or if the company is interested in other ways of being involved in the bachelor program. Two courses in the last semester, in the Bachelor Programme in Computer Science and Engineering, are implemented as work-based projects. Here, the students have an opportunity to work with an advanced project incorporating both prototype building, software development and academic research. The full time twenty-week project is incorporating the Conceive, Design and Implement parts of the CDIO concept. For the last three years, the proportion of work-based projects have varied between 40 % and 80 % and has mainly been done in co-operation with private companies. A few projects have been done in co-operation with none-profit organizations. The students’ perspective is very important and is therefore included in this study. The students from the bachelor programme as well as alumni have participated in the survey. The student survey focuses on expectations, experiences, and reflections from the interaction with the companies. The survey also includes questions related to acquired skills and abilities, limitations and difficulties, as well as job opportunities after the graduation.
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| 19. |
- Handirk, Rebekka, 1994
(author)
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Legacy fostering the twins. Connecting the S/X and VGOS telescope network generations
- 2024
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- With the VLBI Global Observing System (VGOS) being the next step in the development of geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), it is necessary to connect the new VGOS network to existing legacy S/X telescopes. Specially designed short-baseline interferometry sessions aim to obtain local-tie vectors between these telescope generations at observatories that have both legacy S/X and new generation VGOS telescopes. At the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO), this is being done by short-baseline interferometry between the VGOS Onsala Twin Telescopes ONSA13SW and ONSA13NE, and the legacy antenna ONSALA60. Similarly, short-baseline interferometry sessions referred to as NYTIE have been performed at Ny-Ålesund, involving the VGOS telescope NYALE13S and the legacy S/X antenna NYALES20. In both cases, these dedicated experiments yielded station coordinates and baselines with mm or even sub-mm accuracy. This thesis focuses on exploring the possibilities of connecting co-located radio telescopes with short-baseline interferometric measurements, specially in the cases of the observatories in Onsala and Ny-Ålesund.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Hedmark, Eva, et al.
(author)
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Test av stängseltråden RubberGuard Wire
- 2022
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- RubberGuard Wire är en elstängseltråd som består av tunna metalltrådar överdragna med ledande gummi. Enligt distributörer kortsluts inte tråden till följd av kontakt med exempelvis vegetation och vatten. I den här studien undersökte vi hur den elektriska spänningen i stängseltråden RubberGuard Wire påverkas av kontakt med jord, vatten, mark och våt vegetation. Trådens prestanda bedömdes genom mätning av spänningen under olika förhållanden. Som jämförelse genomfördes parallella experiment med den typ av metalltråd (slät galvad High Tensile tråd (HT-tråd)) som rekommenderas till rovdjursavvisande stängsel.Experimenten visade att RubberGuard Wire påverkades på samma sätt som metalltråden vid kontakt med jord, vatten, mark och växtlighet. Vår slutsats är att RubberGuard Wire inte presterar bättre än en stängseltråd av metall när den kommer i kontakt med växande vegetation eller andra element som vanligtvis kortsluter elstängsel.
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| 22. |
- Hellervik, Alexander, 1978
(author)
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Networks of urban interaction - Growth and centrality in the complex geography of urban activity
- 2021
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- How cities and regions grow and decline depend on technological, social and economic factors. Understanding the interplay of these forces is central in research efforts aiming to improve urban and transport planning. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how mathematical modelling and computer simulation can contribute to these efforts and a central aim is to achieve practically useful models with retained conceptual simplicity as well as correspondence to important empirical patterns. The approach combines a spatially fine-grained representation of land, with processes of urban interaction based on the theory of complex networks. Urban activity at a location is modelled as the sum of all economic interactions stemming from that location. The potentials for interactions and activity are deduced mainly from spatial constraints, such as transport networks and land use regulations. Concepts that are studied include urban growth, accessibility and urban agglomeration. For model validation, an extensive data set on Swedish land taxation values is used. These values are based on actual sales prices and rent levels and can thus be considered as reasonable proxies for urban economic activity. Comparisons are made between empirical data and model outcomes, both with regard to probability distributions and geographical distributions. The empirical probability distribution of land values is found to be well approximated by a power law, strengthening the case for modelling the system as a complex network based on a process of multiplicative growth. By combining these principles with spatial interaction mediated by a transport network, the preferential centrality model is formulated. The activity predictions generated by this model reproduces empirical geographical patterns of land values. The presented models provide explanatory links between the structure of transportation networks and the geographical distributions of urban economic activity. This makes them attractive as starting points for the further step of creating practically useful planning applications. For example, the models could be used to assess how specific transport infrastructure improvements influence urban expansion.
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| 23. |
- Hemström, Kerstin, 1979, et al.
(author)
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Symmetrical leadership and participation for cross-learning
- 2021
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In: Transdisciplinary Knowledge Co-production: a guid for susianable cities. - : Practical Action Publishing. - 9781788531450 ; , s. 101-103
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Co-producing knowledge for wellbeing in sustainable cities
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| 24. |
- Hertog, Iris, et al.
(author)
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Barriers to expanding continuous cover forestry in Sweden for delivering multiple ecosystem services
- 2022
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In: Ecosystem Services. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-0416. ; 53
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sweden has the largest forest cover in the European Union, and for decades, Sweden's forest industry has pursued intensive forest management through tree plantations and clear-cutting in order to maximize wood production. The Swedish forestry sector is increasingly under pressure to transition away from intensive clear-cut forest management, but other forest management models are still a niche in Sweden’s forest management and face barriers in their wider uptake. We use transition theory and the multi-level perspective framework to analyse the dynamics within the Swedish forestry sector, and investigate the barriers that actors practicing and promoting Continuous Cover Forestry in Sweden face. We identify culture, forestry education, industrial networks and timber markets as domains where there is a mismatch between Continuous Cover Forestry and the current clear-cut forest management. Our analysis shows that the limited uptake of Continuous Cover Forestry in Sweden has explanations that go far beyond the lack of knowledge and ecological limitations that it is often associated with. Thus, we conclude that research and policy-making need to account for these diverse explanations and address the power and social dimensions associated with competing forest management models for building multi-functional forest ecosystems in the future.
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
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| 27. |
- Jones, Michael
(author)
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Resilience Assessment : International Best Practice Principles
- 2021
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In: Special Publication Series.
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Other publication (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSEThis document sets out international best-practice principles for resilience assessment being undertaken within an impact assessment (IA) of some project, plan, programme, or policy (in this context, its function may be different to that of a self-standing resilience assessment). Resilience assessment can contribute to impact assessment by defining specific disturbances that can lead to failure of natural, social, and engineered systems. The disturbance can be caused either by the proposed action, factors beyond the influence of proposed action, or combination of both. The impact assessment can consider all these factors within one coherent framework. It can identify synergies and knock-on effects that can cause potential system failures, and advise on interventions that avoid failures in the critical functions of the systemBACKGROUNDResilience assessment evaluates the structure and function of a system of focus (hereafter ‘focal system’) and, in the context of an impact assessment, focuses on the effects of the proposed action on the resilience of that focal system. The focal system can include: socio-ecological, biophysical, engineering,technological, or other components. Resilience assessment should ideally examine the consequences of the proposed action in combination with internal or external factors that may collectively influence the resilience of the focal system (e.g., biophysical system change caused by global warming on engineeredstructures).
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| 28. |
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| 29. |
- Luo, Xiyang, et al.
(author)
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A Comprehensive Evaluation of Consensus Spectrum Generation Methods in Proteomics
- 2022
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In: Journal of Proteome Research. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1535-3893 .- 1535-3907. ; 21:6, s. 1566-1574
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Spectrum clustering is a powerful strategy to minimize redundant mass spectra by grouping them based on similarity, with the aim of forming groups of mass spectra from the same repeatedly measured analytes. Each such group of near-identical spectra can be represented by its so-called consensus spectrum for downstream processing. Although several algorithms for spectrum clustering have been adequately benchmarked and tested, the influence of the consensus spectrum generation step is rarely evaluated. Here, we present an implementation and benchmark of common consensus spectrum algorithms, including spectrum averaging, spectrum binning, the most similar spectrum, and the best-identified spectrum. We have analyzed diverse public data sets using two different clustering algorithms (spectra-duster and MaRaCluster) to evaluate how the consensus spectrum generation procedure influences downstream peptide identification. The BEST and BIN methods were found the most reliable methods for consensus spectrum generation, including for data sets with post-translational modifications (PTM) such as phosphorylation. All source code and data of the present study are freely available on GitHub at https://github.com/statisticalbiotechnology/representative-spectra-benchmark.
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| 30. |
- Malefors, Christopher, et al.
(author)
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Food waste reduction and economic savings in times of crisis: The potential of machine learning methods to plan guest attendance in Swedish public catering during the Covid-19 pandemic
- 2022
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In: Socio-Economic Planning Sciences. - : Elsevier BV. - 0038-0121. ; 82
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Food waste is a significant problem within public catering establishments in any normal situation. During spring 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic placed the public catering system under greater pressure, revealing weaknesses within the system and generation of food waste due to rapidly changing consumption patterns. In times of crisis, it is especially important to conserve resources and allocate existing resources to areas where they can be of most use, but this poses significant challenges. This study evaluated the potential of a forecasting model to predict guest attendance during the start and throughout the pandemic. This was done by collecting data on guest attendance in Swedish school and preschool catering establishments before and during the pandemic, and using a machine learning approach to predict future guest attendance based on historical data. Comparison of various learning methods revealed that random forest produced more accurate forecasts than a simple artificial neural network, with conditional mean absolute prediction error of <0.15 for the trained dataset. Economic savings were obtained by forecasting compared with a no-plan scenario, supporting selection of the random forest approach for effective forecasting of meal planning. Overall, the results obtained using forecasting models for meal planning in times of crisis confirmed their usefulness. Continuous use can improve estimates for the test period, due to the agile and flexible nature of these models. This is particularly important when guest attendance is unpredictable, so that production planning can be optimized to reduce food waste and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient food system.
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| 31. |
- Noreika, Norbertas
(author)
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Quantifying and addressing the prevalence and bias of study designs in the environmental and social sciences
- 2020
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Building trust in science and evidence-based decision-making depends heavily on the credibility of studies and their findings. Researchers employ many different study designs that vary in their risk of bias to evaluate the true effect of interventions or impacts. Here, we empirically quantify, on a large scale, the prevalence of different study designs and the magnitude of bias in their estimates. Randomised designs and controlled observational designs with pre-intervention sampling were used by just 23% of intervention studies in biodiversity conservation, and 36% of intervention studies in social science. We demonstrate, through pairwise within-study comparisons across 49 environmental datasets, that these types of designs usually give less biased estimates than simpler observational designs. We propose a model-based approach to combine study estimates that may suffer from different levels of study design bias, discuss the implications for evidence synthesis, and how to facilitate the use of more credible study designs. Randomised controlled experiments are the gold standard for scientific inference, but environmental and social scientists often rely on different study designs. Here the authors analyse the use of six common study designs in the fields of biodiversity conservation and social intervention, and quantify the biases in their estimates.
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| 32. |
- Persson, Christel, et al.
(author)
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Hållbar utveckling : människa, miljö och samhälle
- 2020
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Book (peer-reviewed)abstract
- I boken konkretiseras begreppet hållbar utveckling. Områden som belyses är ekosystem, kretslopp, energi, olika typer av resurser, miljöpåverkan, klimat, biologisk mångfald samt internationellt arbete. Varje kapitel avslutas med diskussionsfrågor. I boken sammanvävs naturvetenskap, samhällsplanering och samhällskunskap på ett övergripande och tvärvetenskapligt sätt. Boken vänder sig till elever i gymnasieskolan, studenter i högskoleutbildningen, samt en miljöintresserad allmänhet.
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| 33. |
- Persson, Erik, et al.
(author)
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Astrobiology as Science
- 2021. - 3
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In: Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. - Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg. - 9783642278334 - 9783642278334
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- “Astrobiology as science” refers to how astrobiology is characterized and discussed in the philosophy of science.
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| 34. |
- Stenvall, Anna
(author)
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The Importance of Dosimetry and Radiobiology in Nuclear Medicine : Quantitative methods and modelling
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Nuclear medicine uses radioactive pharmaceuticals for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. The ionizing radiation emitted from the radiopharmaceutical is partially absorbed within the patient's body and internal dosimetry is the method to estimate the absorbed dose to a tumour or risk organ. This is of special importance in radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT), where particle-emitting radionuclides are utilized for their therapeutic effect. A better understanding of where and to what extent the radiation energy is deposited, i.e. dosimetry, in combination with a better understanding of the irradiation-induced biological processes in tissues and tumours, i.e., radiobiology, is the foundation to establish an absorbed dose-effect relationship. This thesis comprises quantitative methods and modelling within dosimetry and radiobiology, with a special focus on quantitative methods for activity concentration, absorbed dose calculation and quantification of biological effects after nuclear medicine exposures. Nonuniformity of activity distribution and the biological effect of internal irradiation is considered in Paper I and Paper II. When a radiopharmaceutical primarily localizes within specific tissue substructures of an organ, the average absorbed dose to the whole organ may become insufficient for dosimetric analysis. Hence, the nonuniformities of the distribution of activity need to be considered and absorbed dose calculations to part of an organ, cellular, or a sub-cellular structure may be a better predictor of the therapy outcome or normal tissue toxicity. In Paper I, a small-scale anatomical dosimetry model of the liver tissue structure addressed the issue of activity nonuniformity. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to simulate the particle transport from various substructure sources within the organ model for some clinically available radionuclides. The model enabled comparison between the average absorbed dose to the entire organ and the local absorbed dose close to the source region, which for particle emitting radionuclides differed significantly. To address the resulting biological effect after internal irradiation, an ex vivo method using the γH2AX surrogate marker to visualize and quantify DNA double-strand breaks in in vivo-irradiated tissues was developed. The method was demonstrated to be useful for γH2AX-foci quantification in both the fast proliferating, radiosensitive testis tissue and the slow proliferating and more radioresistant liver tissue. Image-based activity quantification and absorbed dose estimation are considered in Paper III and Paper IV, using somatostatin receptor targeting agents for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications for neuroendocrine tumours. In Paper III, the quantitative accuracy of pre-therapeutic 111In-Octreoscan® SPECT/CT and [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/CT images was investigated due to the change in clinical method to use PET- instead of SPECT-imaging. Further, the quantitative relationship between the theragnostic pair of DOTA-TATE was investigated in Paper IV. The relationship between activity uptakes observed at [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TATE PET imaging and absorbed doses at subsequent [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE therapy was studied. The study demonstrated that on a group level, a higher tumour uptake measured from pretherapeutic PET images is associated with higher absorbed doses in subsequent therapy with [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE. However, on the individual level, there are limitations of using the 68Ga PET as a predictor for therapy absorbed dose.
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| 35. |
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| 36. |
- Willskytt, Siri, 1989
(author)
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Resource efficient products in a circular economy – The case of consumables. From environmental and resource assessment to design guidelines
- 2020
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The circular economy (CE) is a concept to challenge the unsustainable production, consumption, and waste management of products, through the recirculation of resources and products through various means while reducing environmental impact. Within this concept, many measures are recommended for reducing environmental impact and resource use. However, to ensure and verify whether a measure is leading to its intended outcome, environmental and resource assessment is necessary. This thesis aims to investigate which measures are resource efficient and identify for which products different measures are suitable and under what circumstances they lead to their intended outcomes. Based on this, design methods are developed to enable the design of more resource-efficient products. Finally, this thesis aims to investigate more specifically the measures that are suitable for consumable products, as these products have not been examined thoroughly in the circular economy literature as durable products. The aims of this research were met by investigating which resource-efficiency measures exist and are applicable to products with different characteristics. This was done through life cycle assessment studies of specific consumable products. Further, a synthesis study was carried out in which lifecycle-based assessment studies of different products and measures were analysed. This research concludes that depending on a product’s characteristics, some measures are more relevant than others. In addition, the analysis shows that many measures lead to trade-offs between different types of environmental impacts and resources uses, as well as between different life cycle phases. For these findings to be practically useful, they were subsequently translated into design guidelines expressed as a design tool. Finally, a literature review was conducted of general product design guidelines in the CE and ecodesign literature to compile and analyse to what extent the design guidelines are applicable to different types of consumables. Among other factors, this review shows that, on average, less than half of the recommendations found in the general product design guidelines are possible to apply to consumables. Further, the CE literature was found to provide fewer relevant design considerations than the ecodesign literature. This work also identifies what aspects make product-types specific design guidelines transferable to other consumables.
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| 37. |
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| 38. |
- Östman, Örjan, et al.
(author)
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A Bayesian approach for assessing the boundary between desirable and undesirable environmental status - An example from a coastal fish indicator in the Baltic Sea
- 2021
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In: Ecological Indicators. - : Elsevier BV. - 1470-160X .- 1872-7034. ; 120
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ecological indicator approaches typically compare the prevailing state of an ecosystem component to a reference state reflecting good environmental conditions, i.e. the desirable state. However, defining the reference state is challenging due to a wide range of uncertainties related to natural variability and measurement error in data, as well as ecological understanding. This study propose a novel probabilistic approach combining historical monitoring data and ecological understanding to estimate the uncertainty associated with the boundary value of an ecological indicator between good and poor environmental states. Bayesian inference is used to estimate the epistemic uncertainty about the true state of an indicator variable during an historical reference period. This approach replaces the traditional boundary value with probability distribution, indicating the uncertainty about the boundary between environmental states providing a transparent safety margin associated with the risk of misclassification of the indicator's state. The approach is demonstrated by applying it to a time-series of an ecological status indicator, 'Abundance of coastal key fish species', included in HELCOM's Baltic Sea regional status assessment. We suggest that acknowledgement of the uncertainty behind the final classification leads to more transparent and better-informed decision-making processes.
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