The Cutter incident and the development of a Swedish polio vaccine, 1952-1957

The creation of two different vaccines to eradicate polio stands out as one of modern science most important accomplishments. The current article examines Swedish polio vaccine research, the vaccination campaign and especially how the Cutter incident came to affect Swedish Science, scientists and society in the 1950s. Sweden is one of the few countries that came to produce its own inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in the 1950s, a type of vaccine they never abandoned. This article highlights the sometimes conflicting approaches between medical science on one hand and media and public on the other. The Swedish researchers did not agree with Jonas Salk's methods for producing a safe vaccine and had reserved attitudes when the Salk vaccine was announced, something that Swedish media disapproved of. After the Cutter incident media's representation of Swedish polio scientists became far more positive. The article also shows the development and distribution of a Swedish IPV and that contrary to some other countries Sweden did not doubt all American manufacturers and imported Salk IPV for the first polio vaccination campaign

Further development of a pulse magentizer

A machine for magnetizing permanent magnets is under development at LTH. The idea of the machine is to affect only small pieces of a magnet at the time to obtain magnets with an arbitrary flux density, of course with respect to the magnetic material. The final machine is supposed to work in a closed loop fashion. Every part of the magnet is magnetized, measured and magnetized again with a flux density based on the desired flux density and the measured magnetizing result until the final result is satisfactory. This thesis covers the development of a new control system for the machine including a new current controller for the coils providing the flux. It also includes performance tests of the magnetizing head and a parameter study of the magnetization result as a function of current magnitude, shape and pulse time

Performance measurement system for warehouse activities based on the SCOR® model : A research study in collaboration with Consafe Logistics AB, Sweden

Background: SCOR is a worldwide accepted and renowned process reference model that is developed and endorsed by the non-profit organization Supply Chain Council. It’s a cross-industry diagnostic tool for supply chain management. Consafe Logistics wanted to know if a performance measurement system for warehouse activities could be developed based on the SCOR model, and how it could be applied in their organization to offer enhanced customer satisfaction. Research issue: Previously, there’s been no standardized model used to define warehouse metrics at Consafe Logistics. If more relevant and standardized metrics would be used, Consafe Logistics could arguably be more efficient, give better support to customers and consequently generate greater customer satisfaction. The research should investigate if the SCOR framework can be applied to the company’s services within warehouse management. Furthermore, Consafe Logistics would like to gain a comprehensive picture of what metrics their customers currently measure in order to identify if metrics from the SCOR portfolio are applicable. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a performance measurement system for warehouse activities; the system should be based on the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model. Method: The method used in this study was a combination of many elements. First a situation analysis were performed to clarify the initially vague information and to be able to construct the research issue, the purpose and the delimitations for this study. Then a literature study was conducted to make sure enough knowledge was gained about warehouse management, performance measurements and the SCOR model. The empirical data was gathered in a combinatory approach between a qualitative pre-study and a quantitative and qualitative web-based survey. The main purpose of the prestudy was to gain relevant and in depth information from practitioners. The survey was a broader investigation and thereby gave more opportunity for generalization. The information was then analyzed and a performance measurement system for warehouse activities was developed. Conclusions: This study has reached its purpose to develop a performance measurement system based on SCOR. A process model that focuses on the operational tasks within warehousing was designed. If Consafe Logistics implements this warehouse process model, a relevant set of metrics can be achieved for each customer. In this way Consafe Logistics could save a lot of resources in trying to figure out what clients want to measure

Developing sustainable forest management in North-West Russia

• The Russian Federation is part of the Montreal process supporting the development of sustainable forest management (SFM). • The SFM concept encompasses ecological, economic and socio-cultural dimensions, all of which should be balanced and meet agreed standards. • We compare implementation concepts aiming at sustainable landscapes, such as Model Forest and Biosphere Reserve, with regular approaches for forest landscape management. • Since the mid 1990’s several international and national SFM implementation projects have been initiated in the Russian Federation. • Our case studies in the North-West Russian Federation are Komi Model Forest in the Komi Republic, Pskov Model Forest in the Pskov region and Kovdozersky Model Forest in the Murmansk region. • Learning from practical experiences supports the production of applied knowledge needed to implement sustainable forest landscape policies

Indigenous Wellbeing and Colonisation [Editorial]

Among countries in the circumpolar north1 there are persistent and substantial differences in health and wellbeing. Norway, for example, was at the top of the global 2015 Human Development Index compiled by the United Nations, while Russia ranked just 50th (United Nations Development Programme 2015). In addition to differences in human development and wellbeing between countries, there are also significant regional and sub-population disparities within countries. One of the most enduring areas of inequality relates to the circumstances of Indigenous peoples. The recent Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR-II) underscored the disproportionate burden of preventable death and disease borne by Indigenous peoples in the region. However, other than urging policymakers and health service providers to monitor and pay attention to the issues, it did not make any clear recommendations on actions to address the situation, either regionally or within specific countries (Nymand Larsen & Fondahl [eds.] 2014)

«No os comáis esas manzanas; ¡han estado en el suelo!»: la epidemia de polio y las medidas preventivas en Suecia, desde la década de 1880 hasta la década de 1940

This article will address how Swedish scientists, physicians and public health officers tried to combat the polio epidemics in the pre-vaccine era. It shows that once polio was considered as an epidemic disease the preventive measures used were based on the hindrance of other infectious diseases. It also illustrates how epidemiological and laboratory studies to some degree affected the thoughts of how polio should be prevented, and that Swedish ideas and experiences differed from those put forward in the USA.Este artículo trata sobre cómo los científicos, médicos y funcionarios de la sanidad pública de Suecia intentaron combatir la epidemia de la polio en la era anterior a la vacuna y expone que en cuanto la polio fue considerada como una epidemia, las medidas preventivas que se aplicaron se basaban en las de otras enfermedades contagiosas. También ilustra en qué medida los estudios epidemiológicos y los análisis de laboratorio influyeron en la manera de prevenir la polio y también demuestra que las opiniones y experiencias en Suecia eran diferentes a las de los Estados Unidos

Sustainable Development and Sustainability: Landscape Approach as a Practical Interpretation of Principles and Implementation Concepts

The situation for governors and managers of natural resources has increased in complexity. Previously it was enough to sustain the yields of wood, food and energy. Today, maintenance of ecosystem services, conservation of biodiversity, rural development and human wellbeing are new additional objectives. At the same time there are new risks and uncertainties linked to climate change, economic globalisation, energy security and water supply. Consequently, adaptive and holistic research, governance and management are needed. Landscape is a concept and framework that can be used as an approach to enhance implementation of policies about sustainable development as a societal process and sustainability as outcomes on the ground. For our analysis to define the landscape approach we used a hierarchical framework consisting of principles, concepts and initiatives; and included three principles defining SD and sustainability and five international concepts to analyze its implementation for our analysis to define landscape approach. We propose a practical operationalization that consists of five core attributes, (1) a sufficiently large area that matches management requirements and challenges to deliver desired goods, services and values, (2) multi-level and multi-sector stakeholder collaboration that promotes sustainable development as a social process, (3) commitment to and understanding of sustainability as an aim among stakeholders, (4) integrative knowledge production, and (5) sharing of experience, results and information, to develop local or tacit to general or explicit knowledge. Finally, we discuss the need for integrative research to study landscape approach concepts and what local initiatives using different concepts deliver on the ground

Effects of fertilization on soil CH4 and N2O fluxes in young Norway spruce stands

Climate change mitigation strategies have increased the demand for wood products, resulting in an urgent need to increase wood production. One approach is to fertilize forest land, but this can influence greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes within the ecosystem. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of forest N fertilization on soil CH4 and N2O fluxes in young Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands in southern Sweden. The gas fluxes were measured using flow-through non-steady-state dark chambers. In the first, long-term, experiment, half of the stand was fertilized twice (once in 2014 and once in 2016) with 150 kg ha(-1) of N, and gas flux measurements were taken throughout 2014-2017. In the second, dose, experiment, 0, 150, 300, or 450 kg ha(-1) of N was added to the stand in April 2016, and gas flux measurements were taken during April-December 2016. The dose experiment showed that the sink strength of CH4 decreased with increasing amounts of N; the long-term experiment indicated that repeated fertilization decreased the CH4 sink strength over time. Additionally, the long-term experiment indicated that, while significantly higher N2O emissions were recorded in the fertilization years, this was not detected in subsequent years, suggesting the effect to be short-lived. In the dose experiment, fertilization tended to increase the N2O emissions relative to the amount of fertilizer. However, despite the significant effects of fertilization on these GHGs, the summed fluxes were a fraction of the net uptake of C at the sites, as recorded in another study. These findings suggest that fertilizing forest land with commercial NP or NPK fertilizers corresponding to 150 kg ha(-1) of N, the level used in operational forestry in Sweden today, can be conducted without changing CH4 and N2O fluxes to any great extent

Interactions between local and global drivers determine long-term trends in boreal forest understorey vegetation

Aim Global change effects on forest ecosystems are increasingly claimed to be context dependent, indicated by interactions between global and local environmental drivers. Most examples of such context dependencies originate from temperate systems, while limited research comes from the boreal biome. Here we set out to test if interactions between climate warming, nitrogen deposition, land-use change resulting in increasing forest density, and soil pH drive long-term changes in understorey vegetation in boreal forests. Location Sweden. Time period 1953-2012. Major taxa studied Vascular plants. Methods We used long-term (50 years) National Forest Inventory data on forest understorey vegetation in Sweden to model the combined effects of climate warming, nitrogen deposition, increase in forest density (tree basal area), and soil pH. Results Our results identify increasing temperature, nitrogen deposition and denser, shadier forest conditions as the main drivers of understorey vegetation changes during this time period. More importantly, we found that these effects varied with local conditions, that is, that the change towards a more nitrophilic understorey vegetation was more pronounced at low than high soil pH. Forest density was an important modulator of nitrogen deposition and temperature increase, with effects generally decreasing with density. Decreased cover of ericaceous dwarf shrubs was driven by both forest density and nitrogen deposition, with a stronger effect at low than at high pH. Main conclusions Our results highlight that to understand forest ecosystems' response to global change, and to make adequate management decisions to mitigate the effects of global change, we need to understand how changes in local environmental factors (forest density and soil pH) interact with global-scale drivers (nitrogen deposition and climate warming). Neglecting such interactions will lead to incorrect estimations of effects. In our case, we would for example, have underestimated the eutrophication effects on acid soils, which constitute a considerable part of the boreal biome