Assessing the profitability of remanufacturing initiation: a literature review

Remanufacturing has been modelled extensively from an economic perspective. However, there are relatively few studies focusing on models that consider the implementation difficulties in industry, such as data availability and model transparency. This paper aims to identify how remanufacturing initiations can be economically assessed with models particularly suitable for industry. These models should contribute to disseminating the know-how about initiating remanufacturing to transit industries towards more circular product flows. To fulfil this aim, a systematic literature review was conducted. The search resulted in a total of 964 papers published till August 2021. The results show that assessment models could be categorised into a two-dimensional framework indicating the level of computer support needed to handle the models and the level of data requirements to use the models, both of which are considered essential in the industrial implementation of the models. The review revealed and structured a further need for research on assessing remanufacturing initiation profitability, especially on economic assessment models designed to assist industries without previous remanufacturing knowledge in such an initiation.RemometerMistra REES (Resource-Efficient and Effective Solutions

Places, spaces and encounters with nature – socio-material discourses in Swedish preschools

This article investigates views and discourses on outdoor play in preschool teachers talks about their playgrounds and outdoor practices in Swedish preschools. Included were a strategic sample of teachers from newer, larger preschool facilities with more programmed outdoor space, and teachers from older, more traditional facilities containing more nature. Through interviews with 38 teachers at 21 preschools and a thematic analysis inspired by socio-material theory, we identified three main themes: The meanings and limits of free outdoor play, the view on nature and children’s encounters with nature,and dangers and risks in the playground. Within these themes, we show how the teachers’ views construct discourses related to the outdoor educational places and spaces that are available. Furthermore, changes in preschool curricula as well as in the playground material and design are active agents in constructing discourses on outdoor play, including risks and limitations, beyond teachers’ own beliefs on children’s needs.Funding: Svenska Forskningsrdet Formas10.13039/501100001862</p

Understanding Skin Cancer Risk and Prevention : with Emphasis on Actinic Keratosis Patients

The rising incidence of skin cancer globally makes it important to emphasize preventive measures that promote sun protection, particularly among individuals with phenotypic predisposition and/or risky sun habits. Actinic keratosis (AK) is the predominant actinic lesion observed in fair-skinned populations, recognized as a sign of actinic skin damage and as an occasional precursor to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).    The aim of this thesis was to explore, from a primary care perspective, how an enhanced understanding of risk factors for skin cancer development can aid in identifying individuals for patient education on prevention and early detection of skin cancer.   Paper I suggests that personalized sun protection advice delivered in person by the GP can result in both short-term and long-lasting improvements in sun protective behaviour. Paper II demonstrated that individuals diagnosed with AK face a significantly elevated risk of developing SCC, basal cell carcinoma (BCC), or malignant melanoma (MM) in the following decade compared to sex- and age-matched controls. Paper III highlighted the fact that the presence of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, and to a lesser degree hypertension and Parkinson's disease, independently raises the risk of skin cancer. This underscores the importance of providing tailored preventive guidance to individuals with these conditions. Paper IV showed that both age and male gender were factors found to be associated with an increased risk of developing skin cancer in AK patients while no risk increase was identified for any of the other variables studied.   In conclusion, personalized sun protection advice from general physicians (GPs) can bring about lasting improvements in sun protective behaviour. Reinforcing this advice during medical consultations, such as nevi checks, is important to sustain this effect over a long period. This is encouraging for the accepted practice of giving sun protection advice to patients with MM, SCC and BCC. A diagnosis of AK not only indicates an increased risk of skin cancer but also serves as a readily identifiable criterion for implementing personalized preventive measures. The presence of AK substantially increases the likelihood of developing future skin cancer, even more pronouncedly when combined with specific comorbidities such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, hypertension, and Parkinson's disease.    Future research should investigate how sun protection advice interacts with other behavioural counselling and evaluate its effectiveness over time. Additionally, exploring other factors influencing skin cancer risk in individuals with AK would facilitate the provision of comprehensive preventive interventions. Den ökande förekomsten av hudcancer globalt gör det viktigt att betona förebyggande åtgärder som främjar solskydd, särskilt bland individer med solkänslig hudtyp och/eller riskfyllda solvanor. Aktinisk keratos är en mycket vanlig typ av hudförändring hos ljushyade personer, välkänd för att vara ett tecken på hudskada orsakad av långvarig solexponering, och som också kan utgöra ett förstadium till skivepitelcancer.   Syftet med denna avhandling var att utforska, ur ett primärvårdsperspektiv, hur ökad förståelse för riskfaktorer för utveckling av hudcancer kan hjälpa till att identifiera individer för patientutbildning om förebyggande och tidig upptäckt av hudcancer, med särskilt fokus på just individer med aktinisk keratos.   Artikel I föreslår att individuellt utformade solskyddsråd som ges personligen av allmänläkare kan resultera i både kortsiktiga och långvariga förbättringar av solskyddsbeteendet. Artikel II visade att individer som diagnostiserats med aktinisk keratos löper en signifikant ökad risk att utveckla någon av de tre viktigaste hudcancertyperna skivepitelcancer, basal-cellscancer eller malignt melanom, under det följande decenniet jämfört med individer i en köns- och åldersmatchad kontrollergrupp. Artikel III påvisade att förekomsten av kronisk lymfatisk leukemi, och i mindre grad högt blodtryck och Parkinsons sjukdom, självständigt ökar risken för hud-cancer. Detta understryker vikten av att ge skräddarsydd förebyggande vägledning till individer med dessa tillstånd. Artikel IV visade att både ålder och manligt kön var faktorer som visade sig vara associerade med en ökad risk att utveckla hudcancer hos patienter med aktinisk keratos, medan ingen riskökning identifierades för någon av de andra variablerna som studerades, såsom antal och storlek på förändringarna.   Sammanfattningsvis kan personliga solskyddsråd från allmänläkare leda till bestående förbättringar av solskyddsbeteendet. Att återupprepa sådana råd i samband med läkarbesök, såsom vid kontroller av hudförändringar, är sannolikt viktigt för att bibehålla denna effekt över tid. Detta ger stöd till den vedertagna strategin att ge solskyddsråd till patienter med hudcancer. Förekomst av aktinisk keratos indikerar inte bara en ökad risk för hudcancer utan kan också ses som ett enkelt identifierbart kriterium för att utforma individanpassade solråd med avseende på framtida hudcancerrisk, då detta avsevärt ökar sannolikheten för att utveckla framtida hudcancer. Risken tycks ännu mer uttalad i kombination med andra samtidiga sjukdomar såsom kronisk lymfatisk leukemi, högt blodtryck och Parkinsons sjukdom.   Framtida forskning bör undersöka hur solskyddsråd samverkar med annan beteenderådgivning och utvärdera dess effektivitet över tid. Att utforska andra faktorer som påverkar risken för hudcancer hos individer med AK skulle dessutom underlätta tillhandahållandet av omfattande förebyggande insatser.

Governing through the nationally determined contribution (NDC) : Five functions to steer states’ climate conduct

The Paris Agreement places states' nationally determined contributions (NDCs) at the center of global climate politics. While previous research on the NDC has provided important suggestions for enhanced legitimacy and effectiveness of global climate governance, I examine the NDC not in terms of its content, but as an instrument for governing climate conduct in the post-Paris regime. By analyzing state submissions to post-Paris NDC negotiations, I identify five functions of the NDC: Progress Tracker, Trust-Builder, Influencer, Differentiator, and Gatekeeper. While the first three functions are informed by a techno-managerial rationality that posits effective climate action as a project of increased information-sharing, the last two highlight underlying political struggles of responsibility and fairness which are not necessearily solvable through intensified collaboration. I argue that these diverging views on the function of the NDC will become increasingly prominent as we move toward the first round of the global stocktake in 2023.

What’s the matter in education for sustainable development? How sustainability stories make matter as issues or problems

This study engages with how sustainability stories can assign meaning to sustainability matter in different ways. The study contributes to discussions on how to combine facts, norms, and the democratic action competence in pluralistic approaches in Environmental and Sustainability Education. A special focus is put on how co-created sustainability stories can be used to provide, explore, and expand shared experiences of sustainability. The analysis engages with how content is defined and made relevant through stories, how they represent matter as pre-defined problems and solutions or as an invitation to exploration and reinterpretation, and how competences for sustainable development are made visible through the characters. The method used is a holistic narrative content analysis of 21 sustainability stories, co-created by pre-school teachers and their children. Three selected stories exemplify the results and show how some stories manage to move back and forth between on the one hand assembling sustainability matter as concrete problems to be solved, and on the other hand as open-ended issues promoting critical reflection. The main conclusion is that these, promising but yet uncommon, stories best represent pluralistic perspectives, creativity, and democratic action competence.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council FORMAS [2018-00222]</p

Affect in Infant-Directed Speech of Swedish-Speaking Mothers and Fathers to 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-Month-Old Infants

Infant-directed speech (IDS) is characterized by a range of register-typical characteristics. Many of those can be objectively measured, such as acoustic-prosodic and structural-linguistic modifications. Perceived vocal affect, however, is a socio-emotional IDS characteristic and is subjectively assessed. Vocal affect goes beyond acoustic-prosodic and structural-linguistic IDS features and includes a perceptive-subjective component in the listener. This study describes vocal affect valence in Swedish IDS during the first year of life, and compares vocal affect between mothers and fathers IDS and their adult-directed speech. Adult native speakers of Swedish (N = 16) rated affect valence in low-pass filtered IDS samples from free play interactions of mothers with infants at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months (N = 10) and fathers with their 12-month-olds (N = 6). Across the first year, the trajectory of mothers positive affect in Swedish IDS shows the highest affect scores toward the youngest infants and the lowest at 9 months of age. This follows a pattern comparable to that in Australian English IDS, showing that mothers express vocal affect similarly across different languages and cultures. Both mothers and fathers IDS to 12-month-olds have higher positive vocal affect valence than their adult-directed speech. There was no difference in positive affect valence between mothers and fathers IDS, that is, mothers and fathers express vocal affect to the same extent when talking to their infants. In conclusion, the findings of this study indicate that high positive vocal affect characterizes IDS across different languages and speakers.Funding Agencies|Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation [MAW 2013.0056, MAW 2019.0030]; Riksbankens Jubileumsfond [RJ P17-0175]</p

Effect of Vermicompost on Soil Fertility and Crop Productivity in the Drylands of Ethiopia

The nutrient type and amount contributed from vermicompost varies depending on thesource material, earthworm type used, agro-ecology and farmers’ management. These call forcrop, soil and site specific study. This study, therefore, aimed at determining: (i) the optimalvermicompost application rate/s for wheat and maize production; and (ii) the role ofvermicompost on soil fertility improvements. Field experiments in three agro-climatic zones(highland, midland and lowlands) were established on wheat and maize crops following arandomized complete block design. The treatments were vermicompost (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and10 t ha−1), conventional compost (10 t ha−1), and recommended rates of Nitrogen and Phosphorus(NP = 100 kg DAP and 50 kg Urea) fertilizers. Our results revealed that the studied soil chemicalproperties, primarily, organic carbon (OC %), N (%) and available P (mg kg−1) increased withincreasing vermicompost rate. The 10 t ha−1 vermicompost treated plots had 157-210%,64-81% and 100-242% higher soil total nitrogen content as compared to the control, 10 t ha−1conventional compost and NP fertilizer treatments, respectively. Application of 10 t ha−1vermicompost also resulted in a 1.5-fold and 43-63% grain yield increment of both testedcrops compared to the control and NP treated plots, respectively. However, the highest netbenefit was obtained from 5 t ha−1 vermicompost for maize (86% increase) and 10 t ha−1 ofvermicompost for wheat (152% increase compared to the control). In conclusion, vermicompostat 5 t ha−1 for maize and 10 t ha−1 for wheat can be recommended to sustainably managefarm productivity

N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations, testing and associations with worsening heart failure events

Aims: In patients with heart failure (HF), we aimed to assess (i) the time trends in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) testing; (ii) patient characteristics associated with NT-proBNP testing; (iii) distribution of NT-proBNP levels, focusing on the subgroups with (WHFE) vs. without (NWHFE) a worsening HF event, defined as an HF hospitalization; and (iv) changes of NT-proBNP levels over time.Methods and results: NT-proBNP testing and levels were investigated in HF patients enrolled in the Swedish Heart Failure Registry (SwedeHF) linked with the Stockholm CREAtinine Measurements project from January 2011 to December 2018. Index date was the first registration in SwedeHF. Patterns of change in NT-proBNP levels before (in the previous 6 +/- 3 months) and after (in the following 6 +/- 3 months) the index date were categorized as follows: (i) &amp;lt;3000 ng/L at both measurements = stable low; (ii) &amp;lt;3000 ng/L at the first measurement and &amp;gt;= 3000 ng/L at the second measurement = increased; (iii) &amp;gt;= 3000 ng/L at the first measurement and &amp;lt;3000 ng/L at the second measurement = decreased; and (iv) &amp;gt;= 3000 ng/L at both measurements = stable high. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models, expressed as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), were performed to assess the associations between (i) clinical characteristics and NT-proBNP testing and (ii) changes in NT-proBNP from 6 months prior to the index date and the index date and a WHFE. Consistency analyses were performed in HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) alone. A total of 4424 HF patients were included (median age 74 years, women 34%, HFrEF 53%), 33% with a WHFE. NT-proBNP testing increased over time, up to 55% in 2018, and was almost two-fold as frequent, and time to testing was less than half, in patients with WHFE vs. NWHFE. Independent predictors of testing were WHFE, higher heart rate, diuretic use, and preserved ejection fraction. Median NT-proBNP was 3070 ng/L (Q1-Q3: 1220-7395), approximately three-fold higher in WHFE vs. NWHFE. Compared with stable low NT-proBNP levels, increased (OR 4.27, 95% CI 2.47-7.37) and stable high levels (OR 2.48, 95% CI 1.58-3.88) were independently associated with a higher risk of WHFE. Results were consistent in the HFrEF population.Conclusions: NT-proBNP testing increased over time but still was only performed in half of the patients. Testing was associated with a WHFE, with features of more severe HF and for differential diagnosis purposes. Increased and stable high levels were associated with a WHFE. Overall, our data highlight the potential benefits of carrying further implementation of NT-proBNP testing in clinical practice.Funding Agencies|Merck Co., Inc.</p

Världens bästa biogassystem : Ett BRC innovationsprojekt

I denna studie undersöktes potentialen för etableringen av nya biogassystem inom ett geografiskt område som utgjordes av Region Sörmlands kommuner samt kommunerna Södertälje, Nykvarn, Norrköping och Söderköping. Anledningen till studien är det studerade områdets förhållandevis låga nuvarande biogasproduktion samt den stora potentiella efterfrågan på biogas i området, då SSAB i framtiden kommer behöva biogas till sin fossil-fria stålbearbetning. I studien studerades den tekniska och administrativa potentialen, det vill säga vad som är möjligt att producera under dagens administrativa villkor samt med dagens (och en nära framtids) teknik. Potentialen undersöktes utifrån fyra olika potentialer: rötbar biomassapotential, biogaspotential, koldioxidproduktionspotential och näringscirkulationspotential. Resultatet visar på en biogaspotential mellan 380 och 540 GWh per år vilket skulle motsvara en stor ökning från dagens produktion på mellan 50 och 60 GWh per år. Ytterligare 100 GWh per år skulle kunna produceras av koldioxiden genom biometanisering men då krävs stora mängder vätgas. Angående näringscirkulationspotentialen så kan biogödseln (som samproduceras med biogas i biogasanläggningar) uppfylla cirka tre fjärdedelar av kvävebehovet, nära hela fosforbehovet och fyra gånger kaliumbehovet i det studerade områdets jordbruk. Det studerade området delades upp i fem produktionsområden för att öka upplösningen i studien. Dessa områden valdes för att de skulle kunna utgöra delområden som är stora nog för att etablera biogasanläggning av den storlek som krävs för att förvätska biogasen och samtidigt undvika alltför långa transportsträckor för substrattransporter. Detta svarar upp mot trenden att etablera större och större biogasanläggningar samt ett ökat fokus på förvätskad biogas. Dock kan mindre anläggningar vara nödvändiga för att uppnå vissa delar av potentialen i områden med små, men betydelsefulla, substratmängder. Det produktionsområde med störst potential var Söderköping/Norrköping men det betyder nödvändigtvis inte att det är det mest lovande produktionsområdet att börja mer fokuserade implementeringsstudier i då andra faktorer så som lönsamhet inte undersökts i denna studie. Fortsatta studier bör fokusera på hur lantbruksrelaterade substrat kan användas inom biogasproduktion. Här kan studier fokusera på olika områden, exempelvis hur biogasanläggningar kan drivas stabilt på enbart grönmassa (till exempel vall och mellangrödor) och hur ökad odling för biogasproduktion påverkar mat- och foderproduktion, individuella lantbrukare samt åkermarkens långsiktiga hälsa. Dessutom behövs implementeringsstudier för att realisera potentialen, dessa bör fokusera på att undersöka specifika etableringsmöjligheter utifrån ekonomiska, tekniska, logistiska och administrativa perspektiv.Arbetet som presenteras i denna rapport är finansierat av Energimyndigheten, Linköpings universitet samt BRCs medlemmar och partner.</p

Hypotension in heart failure is less harmful if associated with high or increasing doses of heart failure medication: Insights from the Swedish Heart Failure Registry

Aims Heart failure (HF) medication may reduce blood pressure (BP). Low BP is associated with worse outcomes but how this association is modified by HF medication has not been studied. We evaluated the association between BP and outcomes according to HF medication dose in HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Methods and results We studied HFrEF patients from the Swedish HF registry (2000-2018). Associations between systolic BP (SBP) and cardiovascular death (CVD) and/or HF hospitalization (HFH) were analysed according to doses of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA). Among 42 040 patients (median age 74.0), lower baseline SBP was associated with higher risk of CVD/HFH (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] per 10 mmHg higher SBP: 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.92-0.93), which was less high risk under optimized RAS inhibitor and beta-blocker doses (10% decrease in event rates per 10 mmHg SBP increase in untreated patients vs. 7% decrease in patients at maximum dose, both adjusted p &amp;lt; 0.02). Among the 13 761 patients with repeated measurements, 9.9% reported a SBP decrease &amp;gt;10 mmHg when HF medication doses were increased, whereas 24.6% reported a SBP decrease &amp;gt;10 mmHg with stable/decreasing doses. Decreasing SBP was associated with higher risk of CVD/HFH in patients with stable (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.04-1.17) or decreasing (HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.18-1.42) HF medication dose but not in patients with an increase in doses (HR 0.94, 95% CI 0.86-1.02). Conclusions The association of lower SBP with higher risk of CVD/HFH is attenuated in patients with optimized HF medication. These results suggest that low or declining SBP should not limit HF medication optimization.Funding Agencies|French National Research Agency Fighting Heart Failure [ANR-15-RHU-0004]; French PIA project Lorraine Universite dExcellence GEENAGE [ANR-15-IDEX-04-LUE]; Contrat de Plan Etat Region Lorraine; FEDER</p