| 1. |
- Nijsingh, Niels, 1977, et al.
(author)
-
Managing pollution from antibiotics manufacturing: charting actors, incentives and disincentives
- 2019
-
In: Environmental health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-069X. ; 18
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Emissions of high concentrations of antibiotics from manufacturing sites select for resistant bacteria and may contribute to the emergence of new forms of resistance in pathogens. Many scientists, industry, policy makers and other stakeholders recognize such pollution as an unnecessary and unacceptable risk to global public health. An attempt to assess and reduce such discharges, however, quickly meets with complex realities that need to be understood to identify effective ways to move forward. This paper charts relevant key actor-types, their main stakes and interests, incentives that can motivate them to act to improve the situation, as well as disincentives that may undermine such motivation. Methods The actor types and their respective interests have been identified using research literature, publicly available documents, websites, and the knowledge of the authors. Results Thirty-three different actor-types were identified, representing e.g. commercial actors, public agencies, states and international institutions. These are in complex ways connected by interests that sometimes may conflict and sometimes pull in the same direction. Some actor types can act to create incentives and disincentives for others in this area. Conclusions The analysis demonstrates and clarifies the challenges in addressing industrial emissions of antibiotics, notably the complexity of the relations between different types of actors, their international dependency and the need for transparency. The analysis however also suggests possible ways of initiating incentive-chains to eventually improve the prospects of motivating industry to reduce emissions. High-resource consumer states, especially in multinational cooperation, hold a key position to initiate such chains.
|
|
| 2. |
- Munthe, Christian, 1962
(author)
-
Etiska aspekter på regenerativ medicin : Ethical aspects on regenerative medicine
- 2003
-
In: SNIB-konferensen 2003, Chalmers tekniska högskola, Göteborg, 16-18 maj 2003.
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Inom den regenerativa medicinen strävar man efter att ersätta skadat eller sjukligt biologiskt mänskligt material (celler, organ, kroppsdelar) med nya biologiska komponenter. Området aktualiserar en rad etiska frågeställningar vad gäller (1) produktionen av ersättningsmaterialet (t.ex. embryonala stamceller eller införskaffande av transplantationsvävnad från donatorer), (2) risker i samband med försök på människa (genmodifierat material, material från djur), samt (3) gränserna för hur långt man bör gå i denna slags försök att förlänga människans livsspann. Föredraget ger en kort översikt över dessa frågeställningar, ståndpunkter och argument i debatten kring dem.
|
|
| 3. |
- Nijsingh, Niels, 1977, et al.
(author)
-
Justifying Antibiotic Resistance Interventions: Uncertainty, Precaution and Ethics
- 2020
-
In: Jamrozik E., Selgelid M.J. (eds) Ethics and Drug-Resistance: Collective Responsibility for Global Public Health. - Cham, Switzerland : Springer. - 2211-6680. - 9783030278731
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This chapter charts and critically analyses the ethical challenge of assessing how much (and what kind of) evidence is required for the justification of interventions in response antibiotic resistance (ABR), as well as other major public health threats. Our ambition here is to identify and briefly discuss main issues, and point to ways in which these need to be further advanced in future research. This will result in a tentative map of complications, underlying problems and possible challenges. This map illustrates that the ethical challenges in this area are much more complex and profound than is usually acknowledged, leaving no tentatively plausible intervention package free of downsides. This creates potentially overwhelming theoretical conundrums when trying to justify what to do. We therefore end by pointing out two general features of the complexity we find to be of particular importance, and a tentative suggestion for how to create a theoretical basis for further analysis.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Durkin, Louisa, et al.
(author)
-
When mycologists describe new species, not all relevant information is provided (clearly enough).
- 2020
-
In: MycoKeys. - 1314-4049. ; 72, s. 109-128
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Taxonomic mycology struggles with what seems to be a perpetual shortage of resources. Logically, fungal taxonomists should therefore leverage every opportunity to highlight and visualize the importance of taxonomic work, the usefulness of taxonomic data far beyond taxonomy, and the integrative and collaborative nature of modern taxonomy at large. Is mycology really doing that, though? In this study, we went through ten years' worth (2009-2018) of species descriptions of extant fungal taxa - 1,097 studies describing at most ten new species - in five major mycological journals plus one plant journal. We estimated the frequency at which a range of key words, illustrations, and concepts related to ecology, geography, taxonomy, molecular data, and data availability were provided with the descriptions. We also considered a range of science-demographical aspects such as gender bias and the rejuvenation of taxonomy and taxonomists as well as public availability of the results. Our results show that the target audience of fungal species descriptions appears to be other fungal taxonomists, because many aspects of the new species were presented only implicitly, if at all. Although many of the parameters we estimated show a gradual, and in some cases marked, change for the better over time, they still paint a somewhat bleak picture of mycological taxonomy as a male-dominated field where the wants and needs of an extended target audience are often not understood or even considered. This study hopes to leave a mark on the way fungal species are described by putting the focus on ways in which fungal taxonomy can better anticipate the end users of species descriptions - be they mycologists, other researchers, the public at large, or even algorithms. In the end, fungal taxonomy, too, is likely to benefit from such measures.
|
|
| 7. |
- Vaga, S., et al.
(author)
-
Compositional and functional differences of the mucosal microbiota along the intestine of healthy individuals
- 2020
-
In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Gut mucosal microbes evolved closest to the host, developing specialized local communities. There is, however, insufficient knowledge of these communities as most studies have employed sequencing technologies to investigate faecal microbiota only. This work used shotgun metagenomics of mucosal biopsies to explore the microbial communities' compositions of terminal ileum and large intestine in 5 healthy individuals. Functional annotations and genome-scale metabolic modelling of selected species were then employed to identify local functional enrichments. While faecal metagenomics provided a good approximation of the average gut mucosal microbiome composition, mucosal biopsies allowed detecting the subtle variations of local microbial communities. Given their significant enrichment in the mucosal microbiota, we highlight the roles of Bacteroides species and describe the antimicrobial resistance biogeography along the intestine. We also detail which species, at which locations, are involved with the tryptophan/indole pathway, whose malfunctioning has been linked to pathologies including inflammatory bowel disease. Our study thus provides invaluable resources for investigating mechanisms connecting gut microbiota and host pathophysiology.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
- da Silva, Zacarias J., et al.
(author)
-
Changes in prevalence and incidence of HIV-1, HIV-2 and dual infections in urban areas of Bissau, Guinea-Bissau : is HIV-2 disappearing?
- 2008
-
In: AIDS. - London : Gower Academic Journals. - 0269-9370 .- 1473-5571. ; 22:10, s. 1195-1202
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Objectives: To assess the changes in HIV prevalence and incidence between 1996 and 2006 in urban areas of Bissau.Design: A cross-sectional survey of 384 randomly selected houses within a community-based follow-up study of HIV-1 and HIV-2.Methods: A total of 3242 individuals aged at least 15 years were eligible for inclusion. Participants were interviewed about behavioral and socio-economic factors and had a blood sample drawn. A total of 2548 individuals were tested for antibodies to HIV-1 and HIV-2, of whom 649 had taken part in a similar survey in 1996.Results: With 0.5% HIV dual reactions included, the overall HIV-1 prevalence was 4.6% (118 out of 2548) and the HIV-2 prevalence was 4.4% (112 out of 2548). The prevalence of HIV-1 increased more for women than men especially in the 25-34-year age group. HIV-2 prevalence decreased below 45 years of age but not for individuals more than 45 years old. The incidence rate between 1996 and 2006 was 0.5 per 100 person-years for HIV-1 and 0.24 per 100 person-years for HIV-2. Compared with a previous period from 1987 to 1996, the incidence of HIV-2 is declining whereas no significant increase in the incidence of HIV-1 was observed.Conclusions: The present study shows an increasing prevalence of HIV-1 and a decreasing prevalence of HIV-2 in Guinea-Bissau. HIV is generally a bigger problem for women. Despite the general decline in prevalence, HIV-2 may continue as an infection in older people, especially women.
|
|
| 10. |
- Albert, J., et al.
(author)
-
Risk of HIV transmission from patients on antiretroviral therapy: A position statement from the Public Health Agency of Sweden and the Swedish Reference Group for Antiviral Therapy
- 2014
-
In: Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0036-5548 .- 1651-1980. ; 46:10, s. 673-677
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The modern medical treatment of HIV with antiretroviral therapy (ART) has drastically reduced the morbidity and mortality in patients infected with this virus. ART has also been shown to reduce the transmission risk from individual patients as well as the spread of the infection at the population level. This position statement from the Public Health Agency of Sweden and the Swedish Reference Group for Antiviral Therapy is based on a workshop organized in the fall of 2012. It summarizes the latest research and knowledge on the risk of HIV transmission from patients on ART, with a focus on the risk of sexual transmission. The risk of transmission via shared injection equipment among intravenous drug users is also examined, as is the risk of mother-to-child transmission. Based on current knowledge, the risk of transmission through vaginal or anal intercourse involving the use of a condom has been judged to be minimal, provided that the person infected with HIV fulfils the criteria for effective ART. This probably also applies to unprotected intercourse, provided that no other sexually transmitted infections are present, although it is not currently possible to fully support this conclusion with direct scientific evidence. ART is judged to markedly reduce the risk of blood-borne transmission between people who share injection equipment. Finally, the risk of transmission from mother to child is very low, provided that ART is started well in advance of delivery.
|
|
