Emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds in a Salix biofuel plantation : field study in Grästorp (Sweden)

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) play an important role in the climate system by altering the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere, affecting the lifetime of methane and production of tropospheric ozone, and by contributing to formation of aerosols and clouds. Salix plants (willows) are well-documented emitters of BVOCs and this study aims to examine emissions in a Salix biofuel plantation for a better understanding of its total climate impact. Measurements of BVOC soil emissions from sewage sludge treated Salix were compared with control plots and additional branch level measurement were carried out. The average emission rate for soil emissions was estimated to 168 μg C m-2 h-1 for treatment plots and 111 μg C m-2 h-1 for control plots, with emissions dominated by the compound classes alkanes, alcohols, carbonyls and aromatics. Branch emissions contained compounds similar to soil emissions. Measurements of BVOC soil emissions were additionally performed in a harvested area of the Salix plantation, with a comparison of emissions from stumps and from the bare soil (control). Average emission rates were slightly higher for control plots than the stumps, with emissions of 175 μg C m-2 h-1 for the control plots and 163 μg C m-2 h-1 for the stumps. This study gives a first insight to what types BVOC soil emission that occurs in Salix plantations. However, it remains unclear how the emissions change over the season and how those compounds might affect the atmospheric composition

Proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids in umbilical cord blood at birth are related to atopic eczema development in the first year of life

Atopic eczema, the most common atopic disease in infants, may pave the way for sensitization and allergy later in childhood. Fatty acids have immune-regulating properties and may regulate skin permeability. Here we examine whether the proportions of fatty acids among the infant and maternal plasma phospholipids at birth were associated with maternal dietary intake during pregnancy and development of atopic eczema during the first year of age in the Nutritional impact on Immunological maturation during Childhood in relation to the Environment (NICE) birth cohort. Dietary data were collected with a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, fatty acids were measured with GC-MS and atopic eczema was diagnosed by a pediatric allergologist at 12 months of age. We found that higher proportions of n-6 PUFAs (including arachidonic acid) but lower proportions of n-3 PUFAs (including DPA) in the infant’s phospholipids at birth were associated with an increased risk of atopic eczema at 12 months of age. The n-6 and n-3 PUFAs were related to maternal intake of meat and fish, respectively. Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to unsaturated fatty acids is associated with eczema development in the infant. Maternal diet during pregnancy may partly explain the fatty acid profiles in utero

Ozone pollution will compromise efforts to increase global wheat production

Introduction of high-performing crop cultivars and crop/soil water management practices that increase the stomatal uptake of carbon dioxide and photosynthesis will be instrumental in realizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of achieving food security. To date, however, global assessments of how to increase crop yield have failed to consider the negative effects of tropospheric ozone, a gaseous pollutant that enters the leaf stomatal pores of plants along with carbon dioxide, and is increasing in concentration globally, particularly in rapidly developing countries. Earlier studies have simply estimated that the largest effects are in the areas with the highest ozone concentrations. Using a modelling method that accounts for the effects of soil moisture deficit and meteorological factors on the stomatal uptake of ozone, we show for the first time that ozone impacts on wheat yield are particularly large in humid rain-fed and irrigated areas of major wheat-producing countries (e.g. United States, France, India, China and Russia). Averaged over 2010–2012, we estimate that ozone reduces wheat yields by a mean 9.9% in the northern hemisphere and 6.2% in the southern hemisphere, corresponding to some 85 Tg (million tonnes) of lost grain. Total production losses in developing countries receiving Official Development Assistance are 50% higher than those in developed countries, potentially reducing the possibility of achieving UN SDG2. Crucially, our analysis shows that ozone could reduce the potential yield benefits of increasing irrigation usage in response to climate change because added irrigation increases the uptake and subsequent negative effects of the pollutant. We show that mitigation of air pollution in a changing climate could play a vital role in achieving the above-mentioned UN SDG, while also contributing to other SDGs related to human health and well-being, ecosystems and climate change

ECLAIRE: Effects of Climate Change on Air Pollution Impacts and Response Strategies for European Ecosystems. Project final report

The central goal of ECLAIRE is to assess how climate change will alter the extent to which air pollutants threaten terrestrial ecosystems. Particular attention has been given to nitrogen compounds, especially nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3), as well as Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) in relation to tropospheric ozone (O3) formation, including their interactions with aerosol components. ECLAIRE has combined a broad program of field and laboratory experimentation and modelling of pollution fluxes and ecosystem impacts, advancing both mechanistic understanding and providing support to European policy makers. The central finding of ECLAIRE is that future climate change is expected to worsen the threat of air pollutants on Europe’s ecosystems. Firstly, climate warming is expected to increase the emissions of many trace gases, such as agricultural NH3, the soil component of NOx emissions and key BVOCs. Experimental data and numerical models show how these effects will tend to increase atmospheric N deposition in future. By contrast, the net effect on tropospheric O3 is less clear. This is because parallel increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations will offset the temperature-driven increase for some BVOCs, such as isoprene. By contrast, there is currently insufficient evidence to be confident that CO2 will offset anticipated climate increases in monoterpene emissions. Secondly, climate warming is found to be likely to increase the vulnerability of ecosystems towards air pollutant exposure or atmospheric deposition. Such effects may occur as a consequence of combined perturbation, as well as through specific interactions, such as between drought, O3, N and aerosol exposure. These combined effects of climate change are expected to offset part of the benefit of current emissions control policies. Unless decisive mitigation actions are taken, it is anticipated that ongoing climate warming will increase agricultural and other biogenic emissions, posing a challenge for national emissions ceilings and air quality objectives related to nitrogen and ozone pollution. The O3 effects will be further worsened if progress is not made to curb increases in methane (CH4) emissions in the northern hemisphere. Other key findings of ECLAIRE are that: 1) N deposition and O3 have adverse synergistic effects. Exposure to ambient O3 concentrations was shown to reduce the Nitrogen Use Efficiency of plants, both decreasing agricultural production and posing an increased risk of other forms of nitrogen pollution, such as nitrate leaching (NO3-) and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O); 2) within-canopy dynamics for volatile aerosol can increase dry deposition and shorten atmospheric lifetimes; 3) ambient aerosol levels reduce the ability of plants to conserve water under drought conditions; 4) low-resolution mapping studies tend to underestimate the extent of local critical loads exceedance; 5) new dose-response functions can be used to improve the assessment of costs, including estimation of the value of damage due to air pollution effects on ecosystems, 6) scenarios can be constructed that combine technical mitigation measures with dietary change options (reducing livestock products in food down to recommended levels for health criteria), with the balance between the two strategies being a matter for future societal discussion. ECLAIRE has supported the revision process for the National Emissions Ceilings Directive and will continue to deliver scientific underpinning into the future for the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution

ECLAIRE third periodic report

The ÉCLAIRE project (Effects of Climate Change on Air Pollution Impacts and Response Strategies for European Ecosystems) is a four year (2011-2015) project funded by the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7)

How Do Software Companies Act Strategically?

Background: In recent research literature, some researchers mean that companies in fast changing markets have to act proactively while others find that companies have to adapt to conditions and to react. This makes it interesting to study how software companies act strategically and also to study to what extent a flexible organisation is required by companies who proact and by those who react. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is the study how different types of software companies act strategically and what this requires of the company in terms of flexibility. Delimitation: The study treats only Swedish software companies with more than ten employees. Proceed of the Study: Representatives from four case companies as well as a consultant have been interviewed. As a complement to the case study, a survey has also been conducted where 36 companies have participated. Results: Only one of the four case companies can be said to act proactively. Among the survey companies, there are principally young companies, companies with a leading position on the market and companies that experience high growth that act proactively. Companies that work proactively value to a greater extent than reactive companies a flexibility that is created by visions

Nurses' experience of working with patient participation in forensic psychiatric care : A qualitative interview study

Bakgrund: Patientens delaktighet är reglerat i flertalet lagar och är en rättighet för alla patienter inom svensk hälso- och sjukvård. Inom tvångsvården har tidigare forskning visat att delaktigheten begränsas då det finns vårigheter i att få en patient som vårdas under tvång att känna sig delaktig. För att öka förståelsen för hur arbetet kring patientdelaktighet inom den rättspsykiatriska kontexten går till valde författarna att undersöka detta. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenhet av att arbeta med patientdelaktighet inom rättspsykiatrisk vård. Metod: En kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyserades enligt kvalitativ innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats. Sex sjuksköterskor med minst två års erfarenhet av att arbeta inom rättspsykiatrisk vård intervjuades. Resultat: Resultatet presenterades i tre olika teman. Vikten av kommunikation beskriver betydelsen av tydlig kommunikation och att patienten får den information som krävs för att kunna vara delaktig. Patientens engagemang i sin vård tar upp sjuksköterskornas syn på delaktighet, deras erfarenhet av att motivera till delaktighet samt att alla patienter har olika nivåer av förmåga och insikt. Förutsättningar för patientdelaktighet beskriver de utmaningar sjuksköterskan möter i arbetet kring delaktighet och vad det finns för resurser som främjar delaktighet. Slutsats: Denna studie undersökte sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att arbeta med patientdelaktighet inom rättspsykiatrisk vård. Resultaten visade att patientens vårdplan och kommunikation var centrala för att främja delaktighet. Anpassning, motivation och kompetens var viktiga faktorer. Trots utmaningar har patientdelaktighet utvecklats positivt över tid