1. |
- Belgrano, Andrea, et al.
(author)
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Mapping and Evaluating Marine Protected Areas and Ecosystem Services: A Transdisciplinary Delphi Forecasting Process Framework
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-701X. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an important tool for management and conservation and play an increasingly recognised role in societal and human well-being. However, the assessment of MPAs often lacks a simultaneous consideration of ecological and socio-economic outcomes, and this can lead to misconceptions on the effectiveness of MPAs. In this perspective, we present a transdisciplinary approach based on the Delphi method for mapping and evaluating Marine Protected Areas for their ability to protect biodiversity while providing Ecosystem Services (ES) and related human well-being benefits – i.e., the ecosystem outputs from which people benefit. We highlight the need to include the human dimensions of marine protection in such assessments, given that the effectiveness of MPAs over time is conditional on the social, cultural and institutional contexts in which MPAs evolve. Our approach supports Ecosystem-Based Management and highlights the importance of MPAs in achieving restoration, conservation, and sustainable development objectives in relation to EU Directives such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD), and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
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2. |
- Baldanzi, Gabriel, et al.
(author)
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Accelerometer-based physical activity is associated with the gut microbiota in 8416 individuals in SCAPIS.
- 2024
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In: EBioMedicine. - : Elsevier. - 2352-3964. ; 100
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Previous population-based studies investigating the relationship between physical activity and the gut microbiota have relied on self-reported activity, prone to reporting bias. Here, we investigated the associations of accelerometer-based sedentary (SED), moderate-intensity (MPA), and vigorous-intensity (VPA) physical activity with the gut microbiota using cross-sectional data from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study.METHODS: In 8416 participants aged 50-65, time in SED, MPA, and VPA were estimated with hip-worn accelerometer. Gut microbiota was profiled using shotgun metagenomics of faecal samples. We applied multivariable regression models, adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and technical covariates, and accounted for multiple testing.FINDINGS: Overall, associations between time in SED and microbiota species abundance were in opposite direction to those for MPA or VPA. For example, MPA was associated with lower, while SED with higher abundance of Escherichia coli. MPA and VPA were associated with higher abundance of the butyrate-producers Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia spp. We observed discrepancies between specific VPA and MPA associations, such as a positive association between MPA and Prevotella copri, while no association was detected for VPA. Additionally, SED, MPA and VPA were associated with the functional potential of the microbiome. For instance, MPA was associated with higher capacity for acetate synthesis and SED with lower carbohydrate degradation capacity.INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest that sedentary and physical activity are associated with a similar set of gut microbiota species but in opposite directions. Furthermore, the intensity of physical activity may have specific effects on certain gut microbiota species.FUNDING: European Research Council, Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, Swedish Research Council, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
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3. |
- Bergström, Ulf, 1974-
(author)
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Temporality and the Semantics of the Biblical Hebrew Verbal System
- 2014
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This dissertation investigates the semantic factors behind the temporal meanings of the Biblical Hebrew (BH) verbal forms. Four different forms are studied, viz. qotel, yiqtol-L, qatal, and yiqtol-S. On the basis of comparative and historical linguistic studies, qotel and yiqtol-L are classified as originally progressive forms, whereas qatal and yiqtol-S are classified as originally resultative ones. Since there is a tendency in BH to use the progressive subgroup for future meaning and the resultative subgroup for past meaning, a key to understanding how temporality is expressed in this language is to understand the meaning of the progressive and the resultative verbal types.In critical dialogue with modern typological linguistic research, a unified theory of aspect and tense is developed. The theory defines the meanings of the progressive and resultative verbal types in terms of a distinct kind of aspect, called “stage-based aspect”, and describes how tense meanings arise through reanalysis of these aspectual meanings, a process called temporalization. It is argued that progressive aspect is a basic meaning in qotel and yiqtol-L, and that resultative aspect is basic in qatal and yiqtol-S in its so-called “consecutive” form, wayyiqtol. The study investigates various verbal usages, showing where the stage-aspectual meanings are invariant and where they have been overturned as a consequence of temporalization.Another major question concerns the semantic difference between the forms with shared aspectual meanings. On the basis of the semiotic theories of Bühler and others, it is suggested that yiqtol-L and yiqtol-S (here: yiqtol) are distinguished from qotel and qatal with regard to their appeal function. Full appeal function characterizes utterances that prompt the listener to immediate action. Verbal forms available for this function in BH are qatal and qotel, as well as the imperative. By contrast, the appeal to action in utterances employing yiqtol is invariably non-existent, or mitigated. Hence, reduced appeal function is a semantic feature of yiqtol. This feature may explain why temporalized meanings are especially favoured by yiqtol, since non-present meaning is one among several factors that reduce the appeal function of an utterance.
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4. |
- Bergström, Ulf, 1974-
(author)
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The discourse functions of overspecified anaphoric expressions in Biblical Hebrew narrative : Genesis 12-24 as a test case
- 2020
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In: Journal of Semitic Studies. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0022-4480 .- 1477-8556. ; 65:2, s. 275-296
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In Biblical Hebrew, as in other languages, anaphoric reference is often overspecified; that is, an anaphoric noun (lexical anaphora) is used in a place where the inflection of the verb (inflectional anaphora) would be a sufficient indicator as to who is being referred to. The present study investigates the function of overspecified subject referents in Biblical Hebrew narrative discourse. It is found that overspecification can be associated with three main textual phenomena, namely, events of general relevance, subject referent initiative, and various textual discontinuities. The function of indicating subject referent initiative lies behind many of the occurrences of lexical anaphora at the beginning of episodic units, but it may also occur within episodes. The different functions of overspecification and inflectional anaphora arise as a result of the different mental processes triggered by lexical and deictic anaphora, whereby the former evokes general, context-independent knowledge about the referent and impedes the access to the information contained in the previous clause, whereas the latter makes it immediately available.
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5. |
- Engström, Gunnar, et al.
(author)
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Pulmonary function and atherosclerosis in the general population : causal associations and clinical implications
- 2024
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In: European Journal of Epidemiology. - : Springer Nature. - 0393-2990 .- 1573-7284. ; 39:1, s. 35-49
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reduced lung function is associated with cardiovascular mortality, but the relationships with atherosclerosis are unclear. The population-based Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage study measured lung function, emphysema, coronary CT angiography, coronary calcium, carotid plaques and ankle-brachial index in 29,593 men and women aged 50–64 years. The results were confirmed using 2-sample Mendelian randomization. Lower lung function and emphysema were associated with more atherosclerosis, but these relationships were attenuated after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. Lung function was not associated with coronary atherosclerosis in 14,524 never-smokers. No potentially causal effect of lung function on atherosclerosis, or vice versa, was found in the 2-sample Mendelian randomization analysis. Here we show that reduced lung function and atherosclerosis are correlated in the population, but probably not causally related. Assessing lung function in addition to conventional cardiovascular risk factors to gauge risk of subclinical atherosclerosis is probably not meaningful, but low lung function found by chance should alert for atherosclerosis.
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6. |
- Lindblom, Per, 1974, et al.
(author)
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Endothelial PDGF-B retention is required for proper investment of pericytes in the microvessel wall.
- 2003
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In: Genes & development. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 0890-9369 .- 1549-5477. ; 17:15, s. 1835-40
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Several platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family members display C-terminal protein motifs that confer retention of the secreted factors within the pericellular space. To address the role of PDGF-B retention in vivo, we deleted the retention motif by gene targeting in mice. This resulted in defective investment of pericytes in the microvessel wall and delayed formation of the renal glomerulus mesangium. Long-term effects of lack of PDGF-B retention included severe retinal deterioration, glomerulosclerosis, and proteinuria. We conclude that retention of PDGF-B in microvessels is essential for proper recruitment and organization of pericytes and for renal and retinal function in adult mice.
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7. |
- Moksnes, Per-Olav, et al.
(author)
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Fritidsbåtars påverkan på grunda kustekosystem i sverige
- 2019
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Sveriges natursköna kust med vidsträckta skärgårdar erbjuder fantastiska förhållanden för fritidsbåtliv. Idag finns uppskattningsvis mer än 700 000 fritidsbåtar i Sverige, vilket är en av de högsta siffrorna i världen sett till befolkningsmängden. Kustens vågskyddade skärgård ger också goda förutsättningar att förvara fritidsbåtar vid bryggor, och idag täcks stora områden av bryggor och småbåtshamnar. Det stora antalet båtar och bryggor kan ge betydande effekter på miljön, men kunskapen om fritidsbåtlivets sammanlagda påverkan på Sveriges kustmiljöer har hittills varit bristfällig. Havsmiljöinstitutets mål med denna rapport har varit att sammanställa kunskapsläget kring hur fritidsbåtar påverkar grunda kustekosystem i Sverige, samt bedöma omfattningen av denna påverkan och om utveckling är hållbar. Syftet med rapporten är att bidra till utvecklingen av en mer hållbar förvaltning av fritidsbåtlivet genom att sammanställa vetenskaplig kunskap inom detta område på ett lättillgängligt sätt. Sammanställningen visar att det finns ett starkt stöd i den vetenskapliga litteraturen för att fritidsbåtar ger upphov till många negativa effekter på kustmiljön. Med fritidsbåtslivet följer en rad olika fysiska strukturer och aktiviteter som var och en ger upphov till flera olika typer av miljöpåverkan. En ökad utbredning av småbåtshamnar, bryggor och muddrade områden medför förluster av viktiga bottenmiljöer och leder ofta till en långvarig försämring av miljöförhållanden lokalt. Muddrings- och dumpningsaktiviteter leder till ökad uppgrumling och spridning av sediment, näringsämnen och miljögifter över stora områden, vilket bland annat påverkar bottenvegetation, fiskar och musslor negativt. Båttrafik och ankring leder till uppgrumling och erosion av sediment samt till skador på bottenmiljön. Undervattensbuller från båtarnas motorer stör också fiskar och däggdjur. Vidare medför användning av fritidsbåtar betydande utsläpp av giftiga ämnen och föroreningar från båtbottenfärger och förbränningsmotorer. Drygt 60 % av alla bryggor och småbåtshamnar återfinns i grunda (<3 m), vågskyddade områden med mjukbottnar, trots att de endast utgör en fjärdedel av kustens totala grundområden. Dessa områden lämpar sig väl för båtförvaring, men är också en av kustens mest produktiva och värdefulla miljöer. Grunda mjukbottnar är en viktig miljö för olika kärlväxter och kransalger, som i sin tur utgör viktiga uppväxthabitat för många olika fiskarter och kräftdjur. Rapporten visar att dessa miljöer är extra känsliga för en majoritet av de störningar som fritidsbåtlivet ger upphov till. Sammantaget medför detta att fritidsbåtslivet i förhållande till sin omfattning genererar stora skador på miljöer med höga naturvärden.
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