Grassland vegetation and management - on the interface between science and education

The concept and implementation of a tri-national EU intensive Programme (IP) is presented and discussed. The objective is to improve the methods employed by the teachers and scientist of the staff concerning the classification and management of grasslands to students and to prepare them to be able to design, analyse, and evaluate grassland management strategies and to understand grasslands in land-use-system terms. The focus lies on the development of strategies for sustainable grassland use in the context of regional development. The innovative character if this romanian-swedish-german module is exemplified

Skog & historia : skoglig idé som blev framgångsprojekt

Hur har vi slagit vakt om skogens kulturarv? Hur är läget idag? För jordbrukslandskapet finns nästintill rikstäckande inventering av fasta fornlämningar, påbörjad i slutet av 1930-talet, och ängs-och hagmarksinventering, som tog sin början i slutet av 1980-talet (nu under revidering som "ängs-och betesmarksinventeringen"). Till detta kommer en rad mer eller mindre lokala inventeringar av bebyggelse och andra företeelser. I skogen har de objektinriktade "Nyckelbiotopsinventeringen" och "Sumpskogsinventeringen" genomförts. För skogslandskapet är inventeringsläget beträffande kulturlämningarna mer prekärt än för jordbrukslandskapet. Hembygdsrörelsens lokala torpinventeringar måste dock nämnas. Om vi granskar floran av dessa och andra lokala inventeringar samt vetenskapliga och populärvetenskapliga publikationer m.m. växer sig bilden av ett rikt kulturarv i skogen stark

Functionalization of bacterial cellulose wound dressings with the antimicrobial peptide epsilon-poly-L-Lysine

Wound dressings based on bacterial cellulose (BC) can form a soft and conformable protective layer that can stimulate wound healing while preventing bacteria from entering the wound. Bacteria already present in the wound can, however, thrive in the moist environment created by the BC dressing which can aggravate the healing process. Possibilities to render the BC antimicrobial without affecting the beneficial structural and mechanical properties of the material would hence be highly attractive. Here we present methods for functionalization of BC with epsilon-poly-L-Lysine (epsilon-PLL), a non-toxic biopolymer with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Low molecular weight epsilon-PLL was crosslinked in pristine BC membranes and to carboxymethyl cellulose functionalized BC using carbodiimide chemistry. The functionalization of BC with epsilon-PLL inhibited growth of S. epidermidis on the membranes but did not affect the cytocompatibility to cultured human fibroblasts as compared to native BC. The functionalization had no significant effects on the nanofibrous structure and mechanical properties of the BC. The possibility to functionalize BC with epsilon-PLL is a promising, green and versatile approach to improve the performance of BC in wound care and other biomedical applications.Funding Agencies|Linkoping University [2009 00971]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009 00971]; Carl Trygger Foundation; Knowledge Foundation</p

Cost-effectiveness of population screening for atrial fibrillation : the STROKESTOP study

Aims Previous studies on the cost-effectiveness of screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) are based on assumptions of long-term clinical effects. The STROKESTOP study, which randomised 27 975 persons aged 75/76 years into a screening invitation group and a control group, has a median follow-up time of 6.9 years. The aim of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of population-based screening for AF using clinical outcomes. Methods and results The analysis is based on a Markov cohort model. The prevalence of AF, the use of oral anticoagulation, clinical event data, and all-cause mortality were taken from the STROKESTOP study. The cost for clinical events, age-specific utilities, utility decrement due to stroke, and stroke death was taken from the literature. Uncertainty in the model was considered in a probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Per 1000 individuals invited to the screening, there were 77 gained life years and 65 gained quality-adjusted life years. The incremental cost was euro1.77 million lower in the screening invitation group. Gained quality-adjusted life years to a lower cost means that the screening strategy was dominant. The result from 10 000 Monte Carlo simulations showed that the AF screening strategy was cost-effective in 99.2% and cost-saving in 92.7% of the simulations. In the base-case scenario, screening of 1000 individuals resulted in 10.6 [95% confidence interval (CI): -22.5 to 1.4] fewer strokes (8.4 ischaemic and 2.2 haemorrhagic strokes), 1.0 (95% CI: -1.9 to 4.1) more cases of systemic embolism, and 2.9 (95% CI: -18.2 to 13.1) fewer bleedings associated with hospitalization. Conclusion Based on the STROKESTOP study, this analysis shows that a broad AF screening strategy in an elderly population is cost-effective. Efforts should be made to increase screening participation.Funding Agencies|Swedish Heart and Lung foundation; Stockholm County Council; Tornspiran Foundation; King Gustav V and Queen Victorias Freemasons Foundation; Klebergska Foundation; Scientific Council of Halland Region; Southern Regional Healthcare Committee; Swedish stroke Foundation; Carl Bennet AB; Boehringer Ingelheim; Bayer; Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer</p

Self-Assembly of Mechanoplasmonic Bacterial Cellulose-Metal Nanoparticle Composites

Nanocomposites of metal nanoparticles (NPs) and bacterial nanocellulose (BC) enable fabrication of soft and biocompatible materials for optical, catalytic, electronic, and biomedical applications. Current BC-NP nanocomposites are typically prepared by in situ synthesis of the NPs or electrostatic adsorption of surface functionalized NPs, which limits possibilities to control and tune NP size, shape, concentration, and surface chemistry and influences the properties and performance of the materials. Here a self-assembly strategy is described for fabrication of complex and well-defined BC-NP composites using colloidal gold and silver NPs of different sizes, shapes, and concentrations. The self-assembly process results in nanocomposites with distinct biophysical and optical properties. In addition to antibacterial materials and materials with excellent senor performance, materials with unique mechanoplasmonic properties are developed. The homogenous incorporation of plasmonic gold NPs in the BC enables extensive modulation of the optical properties by mechanical stimuli. Compression gives rise to near-field coupling between adsorbed NPs, resulting in tunable spectral variations and enhanced broadband absorption that amplify both nonlinear optical and thermoplasmonic effects and enables novel biosensing strategies.Funding Agencies|Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SFF)Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research [FFL15-0026, RMX18-0039]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009-00971]; VinnovaVinnova [2016-05156]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationKnut &amp; Alice Wallenberg Foundation [KAW 2016.0231]; Swedish Research CouncilSwedish Research Council [2017-05178, 2015-05002]; Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MICINN) [MAT2016-77391-R]; Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence programme - Spanish Research Agency (AEI) [SEV-2017-0706]</p

Self-Assembly of Mechanoplasmonic Bacterial Cellulose-Metal Nanoparticle Composites

Nanocomposites of metal nanoparticles (NPs) and bacterial nanocellulose (BC) enable fabrication of soft and biocompatible materials for optical, catalytic, electronic, and biomedical applications. Current BC-NP nanocomposites are typically prepared by in situ synthesis of the NPs or electrostatic adsorption of surface functionalized NPs, which limits possibilities to control and tune NP size, shape, concentration, and surface chemistry and influences the properties and performance of the materials. Here a self-assembly strategy is described for fabrication of complex and well-defined BC-NP composites using colloidal gold and silver NPs of different sizes, shapes, and concentrations. The self-assembly process results in nanocomposites with distinct biophysical and optical properties. In addition to antibacterial materials and materials with excellent senor performance, materials with unique mechanoplasmonic properties are developed. The homogenous incorporation of plasmonic gold NPs in the BC enables extensive modulation of the optical properties by mechanical stimuli. Compression gives rise to near-field coupling between adsorbed NPs, resulting in tunable spectral variations and enhanced broadband absorption that amplify both nonlinear optical and thermoplasmonic effects and enables novel biosensing strategies.Funding Agencies|Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SFF)Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research [FFL15-0026, RMX18-0039]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009-00971]; VinnovaVinnova [2016-05156]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationKnut &amp; Alice Wallenberg Foundation [KAW 2016.0231]; Swedish Research CouncilSwedish Research Council [2017-05178, 2015-05002]; Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MICINN) [MAT2016-77391-R]; Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence programme - Spanish Research Agency (AEI) [SEV-2017-0706]</p