| 1. |
- Abe, K., et al.
(författare)
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Neutron tagging following atmospheric neutrino events in a water Cherenkov detector
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Instrumentation. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 1748-0221. ; 17:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the development of neutron-tagging techniques in Super-Kamiokande IV using a neural network analysis. The detection efficiency of neutron capture on hydrogen is estimated to be 26%, with a mis-tag rate of 0.016 per neutrino event. The uncertainty of the tagging efficiency is estimated to be 9.0%. Measurement of the tagging efficiency with data from an Americium-Beryllium calibration agrees with this value within 10%. The tagging procedure was performed on 3,244.4 days of SK-IV atmospheric neutrino data, identifying 18,091 neutrons in 26,473 neutrino events. The fitted neutron capture lifetime was measured as 218 +/- 9 mu s.
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| 2. |
- Ahluwalia, T. S., et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association study of circulating interleukin 6 levels identifies novel loci
- 2021
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Ingår i: Human molecular genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 30:5, s. 393-409
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine with both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties with a heritability estimate of up to 61%. The circulating levels of IL-6 in blood have been associated with an increased risk of complex disease pathogenesis. We conducted a two-staged, discovery and replication meta genome-wide association study (GWAS) of circulating serum IL-6 levels comprising up to 67428 (n(discovery)=52654 and n(replication)=14774) individuals of European ancestry. The inverse variance fixed effects based discovery meta-analysis, followed by replication led to the identification of two independent loci, IL1F10/IL1RN rs6734238 on chromosome (Chr) 2q14, (P-combined=1.8x10(-11)), HLA-DRB1/DRB5 rs660895 on Chr6p21 (P-combined=1.5x10(-10)) in the combined meta-analyses of all samples. We also replicated the IL6R rs4537545 locus on Chr1q21 (P-combined=1.2x10(-122)). Our study identifies novel loci for circulating IL-6 levels uncovering new immunological and inflammatory pathways that may influence IL-6 pathobiology.
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| 3. |
- Fazey, Ioan, et al.
(författare)
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Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth : Visions of future systems and how to get there
- 2020
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Ingår i: Energy Research & Social Science. - : Elsevier. - 2214-6296 .- 2214-6326. ; 70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge systems might need to look like and how we might get there. Findings suggest that envisioned future systems will need to be much more collaborative, open, diverse, egalitarian, and able to work with values and systemic issues. They will also need to go beyond producing knowledge about our world to generating wisdom about how to act within it. To get to envisioned systems we will need to rapidly scale methodological innovations, connect innovators, and creatively accelerate learning about working with intractable challenges. We will also need to create new funding schemes, a global knowledge commons, and challenge deeply held assumptions. To genuinely be a creative force in supporting longevity of human and non-human life on our planet, the shift in knowledge systems will probably need to be at the scale of the enlightenment and speed of the scientific and technological revolution accompanying the second World War. This will require bold and strategic action from governments, scientists, civic society and sustained transformational intent.
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| 4. |
- Cato, Ingemar, et al.
(författare)
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DIOXINS AND OTHER POPS IN THE BALTIC SEA – TRENDS AND CURRENT
- 2009
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Ingår i: 29th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (Dioxin 2009) in Bejing, China, August 25-30, 2009.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper summarizes a project that was initiated by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2006. It involved several field studies and fate model calculations with the aim to better understand the present contamination situation of dioxins and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Baltic Sea region. Atmospheric inputs were found to be the dominant external source for all of the selected POPs (dioxins, PCBs and HCB). The model also predicted a significant decline of POP-levels in Baltic surface water if atmospheric concentrations are reduced. This issue is highly prioritized by the Swedish EPA since TEQ-levels of fatty fish exceed maximum residue limits set by the EU. Dioxin source regions were identified by air measurements and analysis of air mass origin. It was found that air that had passed over the European continent contained the highest concentrations, and the congener composition indicated that several major sources types may exist. This research has high relevance for the Swedish EPA, and continued efforts for resolving the dioxin issue of the Baltic Sea will follow.
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| 5. |
- Rousis, Nikolaos I., et al.
(författare)
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Socioeconomic status and public health in Australia : A wastewater-based study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 167
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Analysis of untreated municipal wastewater is recognized as an innovative approach to assess population exposure to or consumption of various substances. Currently, there are no published wastewater-based studies investigating the relationships between catchment social, demographic, and economic characteristics with chemicals using advanced non-targeted techniques. In this study, fifteen wastewater samples covering 27% of the Australian population were collected during a population Census. The samples were analysed with a workflow employing liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry and chemometric tools for non-target analysis. Socioeconomic characteristics of catchment areas were generated using Geospatial Information Systems software. Potential correlations were explored between pseudo-mass loads of the identified compounds and socioeconomic and demographic descriptors of the wastewater catchments derived from Census data. Markers of public health (e.g., cardiac arrhythmia, cardiovascular disease, anxiety disorder and type 2 diabetes) were identified in the wastewater samples by the proposed workflow. They were positively correlated with descriptors of disadvantage in education, occupation, marital status and income, and negatively correlated with descriptors of advantage in education and occupation. In addition, markers of polypropylene glycol (PPG) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) related compounds were positively correlated with housing and occupation disadvantage. High positive correlations were found between separated and divorced people and specific drugs used to treat cardiac arrhythmia, cardiovascular disease, and depression. Our robust non-targeted methodology in combination with Census data can identify relationships between biomarkers of public health, human behaviour and lifestyle and socio-demographics of whole populations. Furthermore, it can identify specific areas and socioeconomic groups that may need more assistance than others for public health issues. This approach complements important public health information and enables large-scale national coverage with a relatively small number of samples.
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| 6. |
- Krogseth, Ingjerd S., et al.
(författare)
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Occurrence and seasonality of cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes in arctic air
- 2013
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 47:1, s. 502-509
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cyclic volatile methyl siloxanes (cVMS) are present in technical applications and personal care products. They are predicted to undergo long-range atmospheric transport, but measurements of cVMS in remote areas remain scarce. An active air sampling method for decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) was further evaluated to include hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane (D3), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), and dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6). Air samples were collected at the Zeppelin observatory in the remote Arctic (79 degrees N, 12 degrees E) with an average sampling time of 81 +/- 23 h in late summer (August-October) and 25 +/- 10 h in early winter (November-December) 2011. The average concentrations of D5 and D6 in late summer were 0.73 +/- 0.31 and 0.23 +/- 0.17 ng/m(3), respectively, and 2.94 +/- 0.46 and 0.45 +/- 0.18 ng/m(3) in early winter, respectively. Detection of D5 and D6 in the Arctic atmosphere confirms their long-range atmospheric transport. The D5 measurements agreed well with predictions from a Eulerian atmospheric chemistry-transport model, and seasonal variability was explained by the seasonality in the OH radical concentrations. These results extend our understanding of the atmospheric fate of D5 to high latitudes, but question the levels of D3 and D4 that have previously been measured at Zeppelin with passive air samplers.
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| 7. |
- Benn, J., et al.
(författare)
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Currents and Finite Elements as Tools for Shape Space
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0924-9907 .- 1573-7683. ; 61:8, s. 1197-1220
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The nonlinear spaces of shapes (unparameterized immersed curves or submanifolds) are of interest for many applications in image analysis, such as the identification of shapes that are similar modulo the action of some group. In this paper, we study a general representation of shapes as currents, which are based on linear spaces and are suitable for numerical discretization, being robust to noise. We develop the theory of currents for shape spaces by considering both the analytic and numerical aspects of the problem. In particular, we study the analytical properties of the current map and the norm that it induces on shapes. We determine the conditions under which the current determines the shape. We then provide a finite element-based discretization of the currents that is a practical computational tool for shapes. Finally, we demonstrate this approach on a variety of examples.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Yuan, Bo, et al.
(författare)
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Long-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins Have Reached the Arctic
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology Letters. - : American Chemical Society. - 2328-8930. ; 8:9, s. 753-759
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) were analyzed in marine wildlife from Greenland, Iceland, and the Swedish west coast. CPs up to C29 were detected in the samples from the Arctic, indicating long-range transport of an industrial chemical group with a 2-million-ton annual production volume. CP concentrations were generally higher in biota from the Swedish west coast. The Sweden/Arctic concentration ratios for very-short-chain (vSCCPs, C<10), short-chain (SCCPs, C10-13), medium-chain (MCCPs, C14-17), and long-chain CPs (LCCPs, C>17) in cetacean and bivalve species were in the range of 3.6-150, 5-29, 3-11, and 11-450, respectively. For the first time, fetal accumulation of four CP classes was found, whereby concentrations were 3.4 to 4.5 times lower in the fetus relative to the pregnant female minke whale. Cetacean blubber contained a higher proportion of higher chlorinated CPs compared to muscle tissue, while muscle contained higher lipid-normalized concentrations of longer chain CPs than blubber tissue. LCCPs predominated (52% of total CPs) in the muscle of a killer whale from Swedish waters, which is the first report where concentrations of LCCPs surpassed those of other CPs in marine mammals. This study shows that, like other CP classes, LCCPs are Arctic contaminants that may adversely affect biota in this remote region. © 2021 The Authors.
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| 10. |
- Droge, Steven T. J., et al.
(författare)
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Screening the baseline fish bioconcentration factor of various types of surfactants using phospholipid binding data
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental Science. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2050-7887 .- 2050-7895. ; 23:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fish bioconcentration factors (BCFs) are commonly used in chemical hazard and risk assessment. For neutral organic chemicals BCFs are positively correlated with the octanol-water partition ratio (K-OW), but K-OW is not a reliable parameter for surfactants. Membrane lipid-water distribution ratios (D-MLW) can be accurately measured for all kinds of surfactants, using phospholipid-based sorbents. This study first demonstrates that D-MLW values for ionic surfactants are more than 100 000 times higher than the partition ratio to fish-oil, representing neutral storage lipid. A non-ionic alcohol ethoxylate surfactant showed almost equal affinity for both lipid types. Accordingly, a baseline screening BCF value for surfactants (BCFbaseline) can be approximated for ionic surfactants by multiplying D-MLW by the phospholipid fraction in tissue, and for non-ionic surfactants by multiplying D-MLW by the total lipid fraction. We measured D-MLW values for surfactant structures, including linear and branched alkylbenzenesulfonates, an alkylsulfoacetate and an alkylethersulfate, bis(2-ethylhexyl)-surfactants (e.g., docusate), zwitterionic alkylbetaines and alkylamine-oxides, and a polyprotic diamine. Together with sixty previously published D-MLW values for surfactants, structure-activity relationships were derived to elucidate the influence of surfactant specific molecular features on D-MLW. For 23 surfactant types, we established the alkyl chain length at which BCFbaseline would exceed the EU REACH bioaccumulation (B) threshold of 2000 L kg(-1), and would therefore require higher tier assessments to further refine the BCF estimate. Finally, the derived BCFbaseline are compared with measured literature in vivo BCF data where available, suggesting that refinements, most notably reliable estimates of biotransformation rates, are needed for most surfactant types.
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