| 1. |
- Causevic, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Prevalence and risk factors for transactional sex among Swedish-born and foreign-born MSM in Sweden
- 2022
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In: BMC Public Health. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1471-2458. ; 22
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Little is known about transactional sex (TS) (selling and buying sex) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Sweden, especially among foreign-born MSM. This study aims to assess the prevalence and risk factors of TS (ever and in the previous five years) among MSM living in Sweden and to determine if there is a difference between Swedish-born MSM and foreign-born MSM.Methods: Swedish data from a multicountry online banner survey (EMIS-2017) was used (n = 4443). Multivariable regression analysis was applied to analyse the data.Results: The prevalence of ever-selling sex among all MSM participants was 13.2% and 5.9% in the previous five years. Selling sex ever and in the previous five years was higher among foreign-born MSM (16% and 8.4%, respectively) than Swedish-born MSM (12.7% and 5.4%, respectively). Among all participants, younger age (aOR:3.19, 95% CI:1.57-6.45) and really struggling to live on current income (aOR:3.37, 95% CI:2.29-4.96) increased the odds of selling sex. Being foreign-born MSM (aOR:1.33, 95% CI:1.02-1.73) and having had sex with a woman in the previous 12 months increased the odds of selling sex (aOR:1.44, 95% CI:1.00-2.07). The prevalence of ever buying sex among MSM participants in Sweden was 10.8% and 6.7% in the previous five years, with the same trend among foreign-born MSM (11.6% and 6.9%, respectively) and Swedish-born MSM (10.7% and 6.6%, respectively). Higher education and not having a current partner increased the odds of buying sex. Younger age was protective for buying sex (aOR:0.05, 95% CI:0.02-0.14). Among the foreign-born MSM, the length of stay in Sweden decreased the odds of buying sex (aOR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96-0.99).Conclusions: The comparatively high prevalence of TS among MSM participants in Sweden, where buying sex is illegal, with a higher prevalence among foreign-born MSM participants, calls for sexual and reproductive health and rights interventions in this population. Increased attention, including HIV prevention programming and education, should be aimed at younger MSM, MSM struggling with their current income, and foreign-born MSM, as they are more likely to report selling sex.
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| 2. |
- Edelbro, Catrin, et al.
(author)
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Engaging with Program Stakeholders to Support Program Development
- 2017
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In: The 13th International CDIO Conference Proceedings - Full Papers. - Calgary.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Luleå University of Technology (LTU) has adopted CDIO as the framework for developing its engineering programs. At the Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, there are two programs focusing on tunnelling, mining and rock excavation. Despite very positive prospects for professionals in the field, the number of students has decreased for the last two years. Further, program content might not reflect recent developments or new requirements in the industry. Therefore, the programs and their courses are taken under renewed consideration. Given the nature of the challenges facing the programs, it is in this case particularly important to inform of the planned development through a dialogue with stakeholders. Stakeholder dialogue is also a key feature of a CDIO curriculum development (CDIO Standard 2). This paper reports on a process of engagement with industry representatives, initiated through a meeting to discuss the competence of newly graduated from LTU as well as the future needs in the industry. The input will make it more visible what programme and course development work needs to be done in the nearest future. A continued support and feedback from the industry is warranted during the programme development.
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| 3. |
- Lind, Ulrika, et al.
(author)
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Analysis of aquaporins from the euryhaline barnacle Balanus improvisus reveals differential expression in response to changes in salinity
- 2017
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 12:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Barnacles are sessile macro-invertebrates, found along rocky shores in coastal areas worldwide. The euryhaline bay barnacle Balanus improvisus (Darwin, 1854) (= Amphibalanus improvisus) can tolerate a wide range of salinities, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the osmoregulatory capacity of this truly brackish species are not well understood. Aquaporins are pore-forming integral membrane proteins that facilitate transport of water, small solutes and ions through cellular membranes, and that have been shown to be important for osmoregulation in many organisms. The knowledge of the function of aquaporins in crustaceans is, however, limited and nothing is known about them in barnacles. We here present the repertoire of aquaporins from a thecostracan crustacean, the barnacle B. improvisus, based on genome and transcriptome sequencing. Our analyses reveal that B. improvisus contains eight genes for aquaporins. Phylogenetic analysis showed that they represented members of the classical water aquaporins (Aqp1, Aqp2), the aquaglyceroporins (Glp1, Glp2), the unorthodox aquaporin (Aqp12) and the arthropod-specific big brain aquaporin (Bib). Interestingly, we also found two big brain-like proteins (BibL1 and BibL2) constituting a new group of aquaporins not yet described in arthropods. In addition, we found that the two water-specific aquaporins were expressed as C-terminal splice variants. Heterologous expression of some of the aquaporins followed by functional characterization showed that Aqp1 transported water and Glp2 water and glycerol, agreeing with the predictions of substrate specificity based on 3D modeling and phylogeny. To investigate a possible role for the B. improvisus aquaporins in osmoregulation, mRNA expression changes in adult barnacles were analysed after long-term acclimation to different salinities. The most pronounced expression difference was seen for AQP1 with a substantial (>100-fold) decrease in the mantle tissue in low salinity (3 PSU) compared to high salinity (33 PSU). Our study provides a base for future mechanistic studies on the role of aquaporins in osmoregulation. © 2017 Lind et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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| 4. |
- Thelander, Gunilla, et al.
(author)
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Caffeine fatalities - Do sales restrictions prevent intentional intoxications?
- 2010
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In: Clinical Toxicology. - : Informa Healthcare. - 1556-3650 .- 1556-9519. ; 48:4, s. 354-358
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. Caffeine is widely available in beverages and in different over-the-counter products, including tablets containing 100 mg caffeine. Because intentional fatal intoxications with caffeine occur, the maximum quantity of caffeine tablets that can be bought over the counter in a single purchase was restricted from 250 to 30 in Sweden in the year 2004. The objective of this article was to study the effect of this decision on the number of fatal caffeine intoxications. Method. In Sweden 95% of all cases undergoing forensic autopsy are screened for a number of drugs including caffeine. All cases during January 1993-September 2009 with a caffeine concentration above 80 mu g/g blood were recorded. Results. During the study period toxicological investigations were performed in 83,580 forensic autopsies. Caffeine contributed to the fatal outcome in 20 cases (0.02%). Thirteen (65%) of these fatalities occurred before the introduction of the sales restriction. However, no fatal intoxications where caffeine contributed to the cause of death was recorded between May 2007 and September 2009. Conclusion. Overdoses of tablets containing caffeine can be fatal, suicides as well as accidents occur. Restricting the maximum quantity of caffeine tablets available over the counter seemed to be effective in preventing suicides because of caffeine although some time elapsed until the effect was noted. Further monitoring is required to ensure that the observed lower caffeine mortality is a sustained effect.
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| 5. |
- Ulf, Forsberg, et al.
(author)
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A high blood level in the venous chamber and a wet-stored dialyzer help to reduce exposure for microemboli during hemodialysis
- 2013
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In: Hemodialysis International. - : Wiley. - 1492-7535 .- 1542-4758. ; 17:4, s. 612-617
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During hemodialysis (HD), microemboli develop in the blood circuit of the apparatus. These microemboli can pass through the venous chamber and enter into the patient's circulation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether it is possible to reduce the risk for exposure of microemboli by altering of the treatment mode. Twenty patients on chronic HD were randomized to a prospective cross-over study of three modes of HD: (a) a dry-stored dialyzer (F8HPS, Fresenius, steam sterilized) with a low blood level in the venous chamber (DL), (b) the same dialyzer as above, but with a high level in the venous chamber (DH), and (c) a wet-stored dialyzer (Rexeed, Asahi Kasei Medical, gamma sterilized) with a high blood level (WH). Microemboli measurements were obtained in a continuous fashion during 180 minutes of HD for all settings. A greater number of microemboli were detected during dialysis with the setting DL vs. WH (odds ratio [OR] 4.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.03-4.11, P<0.0001) and DH vs. WH (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.17-1.19, P<0.0001) and less for DH vs. DL (OR 0.290, 95% CI 0.288-0.2930.288-0.293, P<0.0001). These data indicate that emboli exposure was least when using WH, greater with DH, and most with DL. This study shows that using a high blood level in the venous chamber and wet-stored dialyzers may reduce the number of microemboli.CallSend SMSAdd to SkypeYou'll need Skype CreditFree via Skype
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| 6. |
- Annerbrink, Kristina, 1974, et al.
(author)
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Associations between the angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism and monoamine metabolite concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid
- 2010
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In: Psychiatry Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-7123 .- 0165-1781. ; 179:2, s. 231-234
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Angiotensin II has been suggested to influence central dopamine and serotonin turnover. Since the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) plays a key role in angiotensin regulation by converting inactive angiotensin 1 to active angiotensin II, we hypothesised that the functional insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the ACE gene, which has previously been suggested to be associated with, depression and panic disorder, may influence monoamine activity. A well-established technique for assessing brain monoamine turnover in humans is to measure concentrations of monoamine metabolites in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We thus investigated possible associations between the ACE I/D polymorphism and CSF monoamine metabolite concentrations in a population of healthy male subjects. After having found such an association between the ACE I/D polymorphism and CSF levels of the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid and the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in this sample, I carriers displaying lower levels, we tried to replicate this observation in a population of violent male offenders from which also both CSF and DNA were available. Also in this sample, the same associations were found. Our results suggest that the ACE I/D polymorphism may play a role in the modulation of serotonergic and dopaminergic turnover in men. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Arora-Jonsson, Stefan, Professor, 1969-, et al.
(author)
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Beyond the silver bullet : unveiling multiple pathways to school turnaround
- 2024
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In: School Effectiveness and School Improvement. - : Routledge. - 0924-3453 .- 1744-5124.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Research on school improvement has accumulated an extensive list of factors that facilitate turnarounds at underperforming schools. Given that context or resource constraints may limit the possibilities of putting all of these factors in place, an important question is what is necessary and sufficient to turn a school around. We use qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of 77 Swedish schools studied over 12 years to answer this question. Our core finding is that there is no "silver bullet" solution. Instead, there are several distinct combinations of factors that can enable school turnaround. The local school context is essential for which combinations of factors are necessary and sufficient for school turnaround. We discuss implications for research on school improvement and education policy.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Assefa, Anteneh Taye, et al.
(author)
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Temporal Trends of PCDD/Fs in Baltic Sea Sediment Cores Covering the 20th Century
- 2014
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In: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 48:2, s. 947-953
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The pollution trend of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in the Baltic Sea region was studied based on depth profiles of PCDD/Fs in sediment cores collected from six-offshore areas, eight coastal sites impacted by industrial/urban emissions, and one coastal reference site. A general trend was observed for the offshore and coastal reference sites with substantial increase in PCDD/F concentrations in the mid-late 1970s and peak levels during 1985-2002. The overall peak year for PCDD/Fs in Baltic Sea offshore areas was estimated (using spline-fit modeling) to 1994 +/- 5 years, and a half-life in sediments was estimated at 29 +/- 11 years. For the industrial/urban impacted coastal sites, the temporal trend was more variable with peak years occurring 1-2 decades earlier compared to offshore areas. The substantial reductions from peak levels (38 +/- 11% and 81 +/- 12% in offshore and coastal areas, respectively) reflect domestic and international actions taken for reduction of the release of PCDD/Fs to the environment. The modeled overall half-life and reductions of PCDD/Fs in offshore Baltic Sea sediment correspond well to both PCDD/F trends in European lakes without any known direct. PCDD/F sources (half-lives 30 and 32 years), and previously modeled reduction in atmospheric deposition of,PCDD/Fs to the Baltic Sea since 1990. These observations support previous findings of a common diffuse source, such as long-range air transport of atmospheric emissions, as the prime source of PCDD/Fs to the Baltic Sea region. The half-life of PCDD/Fs in Baltic Sea offshore sediments was estimated to be approximately 2 and 4-6 times longer than in semirural and urban European air, respectively. This study highlights the need for further international actions to reduce the levels of PCDD/Fs in Baltic Sea air specifically and in European air in general.
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| 10. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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