The Aging Heart: Mitophagy at the Center of Rejuvenation.

Aging is associated with structural and functional changes in the heart and is a major risk factor in developing cardiovascular disease. Many recent studies have focused on increasing our understanding of the basis of aging at the cellular and molecular levels in various tissues, including the heart. It is known that there is an age-related decline in cellular quality control pathways such as autophagy and mitophagy, which leads to accumulation of potentially harmful cellular components in cardiac myocytes. There is evidence that diminished autophagy and mitophagy accelerate the aging process, while enhancement preserves cardiac homeostasis and extends life span. Here, we review the current knowledge of autophagy and mitophagy in aging and discuss how age-associated alterations in these processes contribute to cardiac aging and age-related cardiovascular diseases

Security in the Baltic Sea Region from a Legal Perspective with a Focus on Border Security

First, inter-state threats and deterrence in a Baltic Sea region context are explored from a legal perspective, for the purpose of examining whether the concept of border security is used in connection with the use of force and threats between states. The conclusion is drawn that as a rule the term border security is not used in these contexts. Inter-state threats can be seen as inherent in deterrence. It is more probable that military exercises, which are commonly used as deterrence, could be seen as an illegal threat in a conflict situation, than as standalone exercises. Second, the main objective of the thesis is an exploration of the concept of border security from a legal perspective, with a focus on national border actors in the Baltic Sea region. ‘Border security’ is now found in legal documents in the EU, and in UN Security Council resolutions. The objectives of EU border control or border security rules and the UN Security Council application of border control or border security are examined. Inter alia the security contexts are different, but border control and the goal of border security at both EU and global levels in the end entail processes of similar character, concerning individuals crossing borders. It is argued that the use of ‘border security’ in the practice of the UN Security Council has changed over the years. It now concerns individuals (and goods) crossing international borders. It is assessed that factors of both an objective and subjective character are part of developments towards the use of the term border security at both EU and global levels. The EU is an example of an advanced border control or border security system, based on supranational rules. The overall functioning of member states’ continued influence on the EU border system is assessed from a security perspective. A number of circumstances can be seen as alleviating EU member states’ concerns over having relinquished sovereignty in this regard to the EU. Member states have certain – but as a main rule narrow – possibilities to derogate from legal obligations for security reasons in the context of border rules. The characteristics and nature of the national authority applying the EU border rules are in the hands of EU member states. The security of the external border is inextricably linked to upholding the internal security, and in the end economic factors. On a general note, the ‘taking-back’ of powers over the borders by EU member states during the 2015 migration crisis and the 2020 pandemic crisis shows the sensitivity concerning borders. It is highlighted that a lasting definition of security, or of security dimensions, is not achievable, since the political and scientific concepts of security changes when the political contexts change.För det första utforskas mellanstatliga hot och avskräckning i Östersjöregionen från ett rättsligt perspektiv, med syfte att undersöka om konceptet gränssäkerhet (border security) används i samband med våldsanvändning och hot mellan stater. Slutsatsen är att termen gränssäkerhet som regel inte används i dessa sammanhang. Mellanstatliga hot kan betraktas som en del av avskräckning. Det är mer troligt att militärövningar, som ofta används som avskräckning, skulle kunna ses som ett olagligt hot i en konfliktsituation än som en ensamstående övning. För det andra är det huvudsakliga målet en undersökning av konceptet gränssäkerhet från ett rättsligt perspektiv med fokus på nationella gränsaktörer i Östersjöregionen. Termen gränssäkerhet finns nu i rättsliga dokument i EU och Förenta Nationernas (FN) säkerhetsrådsresolutioner. Målen med EU:s regler om gränskontroll eller gränssäkerhet och FN:s säkerhetsråds tillämpning av gränskontroll och gränssäkerhet undersöks. Bland annat säkerhetssammanhangen är inte desamma, men gränskontroll och målet med gränssäkerhet både på EU-nivå och globalt innebär i slutändan processer av liknande karaktär, rörande individer som korsar gränser. Det görs gällande att FN:s säkerhetsråds tillämpning av begreppet gränssäkerhet har ändrats med åren. Begreppet avser nu som regel individer (och varor) som korsar internationella gränser. Bedömningen görs att faktorer av både objektiv och subjektiv karaktär har påverkat utvecklingen av begreppet gränssäkerhet både på EU-nivå och globalt. EU är ett exempel på ett avancerat gränskontrollsystem eller gränssäkerhetssystem, baserat på överstatliga regler. Medlemsstaternas fortsatta inflytande på EU:s system undersöks från ett säkerhetsperspektiv. Ett antal faktorer kan ses som lättnader vad gäller EU:s medlemsstaters oro över att ha överlåtit suveränitet på området till EU. EU:s medlemsstater har vissa – men som regel inte omfattande – möjligheter att av säkerhetsskäl avvika från rättsliga skyldigheter i ett gränskontrollsammanhang. Egenskaper hos och karaktären på den nationella institutionen som tillämpar EU:s gränsregler avgörs av EU-medlemsstaten ifråga. Den yttre gränsens säkerhet är oupplösligt förbunden med upprätthållande av den inre säkerheten och i slutändan ekonomiska faktorer. Från ett allmänt perspektiv visar återtagandet av makten över gränser av EU:s medlemsstater under migrationskrisen 2015 och pandemikrisen 2020 känsligheten rörande gränser. Det framhålls att en hållbar definition av säkerhet, eller säkerhetsdimensioner, inte kan uppnås, eftersom politiska och vetenskapliga säkerhetskoncept ändras när den politiska kontexten ändras

Lärande i ljuset av kunskapens användning

Bidraget vill påvisa vikten av arbetsintegrerat lärande. Detta görs genom att redovisa resultat från en kurs på masternivå som använder pedagogiken genom att blanda det industribaserade projektarbetets pedagogik med universitetets teoretiska bas så att studenterna förstår sambandet mellan teori och praktik och får öva sin analytiska och logiska problemlösningsförmåga

Learning field Archaeology - Student Integrating Methods in Tertiary Education

The aim of this paper is to present a pedagogical development project which focuses upon student integrating methods for learning archaeology in tertiary education. The project was initiated by the teachers of the department because of the gap experienced between academic reflexivity and archaeological practice during our field courses. The students seemed to suffer from cognitive overload when they suddenly found themselves in the field so in order to bridge the gap we wanted to develop methods which would facilitate the students verbalisation of their field experience and observations, and which would improve communicating about it during field work. The results are that students become more active when the opportunity to develop a voice starts early in their education and they become more visible as actors in their education. A general improvement in the learning environment is noticed, too. We position this project, its results and potentials in a progressively emergent international discourse on pedagogy in tertiary education in archaeology

Evaluation of the Mineral Concentration in Beef from Polish Native Cattle

Inflammation has been proposed to play a role in the generation of depressive symptoms. Previously, we demonstrated that patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have increased plasma levels of the soluble form of the urokinase receptor (suPAR), a marker for low-grade inflammation. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that acute exercise would induce inflammatory response characterized by increased suPAR and elucidate whether patients with MDD display altered levels of suPAR in response to acute exercise. A total of 17 patients with MDD and 17 controls were subjected to an exercise challenge. Plasma suPAR (P-suPAR) was analyzed before, during, and after exercise. There was a significantly higher baseline P-suPAR in the patients with MDD, and the dynamic changes of P-suPAR during the exercise were significantly lower in the patients with MDD, compared with the controls. This study supports the hypothesis that an activation of systemic inflammatory processes, measured as elevated P-suPAR, is involved in the pathophysiology of depression. The study concludes that P-suPAR is influenced by acute exercise, most likely due to release from activated neutrophils

Evidence of the mineral ZnHAsO4 center dot H2O, koritnigite, controlling As(V) and Zn(II) solubility in a multi-contaminated soil

Assessing element speciation and solubility control mechanisms in multi-contaminated soils poses great challenges. In this study, we examined the speciation and mechanisms controlling the solubility of As and Zn in a soil historically contaminated with As, Cu, Cr, and Zn salts used for wood preservation. The leaching behavior of dissolved species, particles, and colloids was studied in an irrigation experiment with intact soil columns. Batch experiments were used to study the solubility of dissolved species as a function of pH (2-8). The speciation of As and Zn in bulk soil and leached particles was studied with microscale X-ray fluorescence (mu-XRF) and extended Xray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Chemical speciation and solubility were evaluated by geochemical modelling. mu-XRF of bulk soil and particles showed that As and Zn were correlated in space. Bulkand mu-EXAFS of As and Zn, in combination with calculated ion activity products of possible As-Zn minerals, suggested a koritnigite (ZnHAsO4 center dot H2O) phase controlling the dissolved fraction of As(V) and Zn with an apparent log K-sp of 21.9 +/- 0.46. This phase lowered the solubility of As by almost two orders of magnitude in soil at pH > 5, and could therefore be of great importance at other multi-contaminated sites

Sub-Millisecond Measurements of Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Diffusivity Using Micrometer-Sized Hot Strips

A new measurement technique based on the transient hot strip technique has recently been developed for studying anisotropic thermal transport properties of thin crystalline films. A micrometer-sized hot strip sensor is evaporated on the surface of the crystalline film sample, which has been deposited on a substrate wafer of limited thickness. From a pulsed transient recording, using sub-millisecond square-shaped pulses, a thermal probing depth that is less than the film thickness is assured. In the ongoing work of verifying the technique, we show results from measurements on z-cut crystal quartz and fused silica, using thermal probing depths of only 30 μm, which closely conform to bulk values found in the literature