Assessing the efficiencies and challenges for nutrient uptake by aquatic plants

Aquatic plant meadows are valuable components to the 'coastal filter' and it is important to understand the processes that drive their ability to cycle nutrients. However, at present, the field-based evidence for understanding the drivers of nutrient uptake by plants is lacking. This study aimed to investigate how well individual shoots of aquatic plants could meet their nitrogen demands using the sediment nutrient pool (porewater ammonium) and to explore which traits helped to facilitate such uptake. Several species were investigated in shallow, submerged (2-4 m) mixed-species communities in the northern Baltic Sea using incubation experiments with enriched ammonium. After a 3.5 h incubation time, individuals were collected and analysed for nitrogen (% DW) and N-15 (at-%) concentrations. Uptake by plants was calculated per unit nitrogen in response to the N-15 labelled source and to overall nitrogen availability. Background porewater ammonium availability was highly variable between individual plants. Species identity did not significantly affect uptake metrics and the effect of ambient porewater availability was weak. As biomass increased there were significant logarithmic declines in the 95th quantiles of nutrient uptake rates, ambient porewater nutrient availability and aboveground nitrogen tissue concentrations (% DW). Such findings suggested that uptake rates of plants were significantly demand driven and the nutrient conditions of the porewater were significantly driven by the demands of the plant. Findings parameterised the unfulfilled potential for some aquatic plants to cycle nutrients more efficiently and highlighted the potential importance of access to new nutrient sources as a way of enhancing nutrient cycling by aquatic plants. Plant traits and community properties such as the activity of infauna could facilitate such an access and are likely important for nutrient uptake.Peer reviewe

Övertidsinlösen/Löneväxling

Syftet med min uppsats var att belysa det förhållande som utgör arbetstiden med beaktande av övertidsinlösen eller med ett annat ord löneväxling. Såsom många andra rättsområden spelar EU-rätten även här en avgörande roll. Jag har valt att redogöra för den svenska lagstiftningen genom att redovisa arbetstidslagen och hur den förhåller sig till arbetstidsdirektivet (2003/88/EG). Till följd av att arbetstidslagen är semidispositiv och att det finns stora möjligheter att träffa undantag och avvikelser från lagens regler genom kollektivavtal, har jag även valt att analysera sex kollektivavtal. Ibland händer det att den anställde själv tvingas anteckna sin arbetstid och reagera om arbetsgivaren utnyttjar honom eller henne. Lagstiftningen utpekar ingen extern ansvarig så som arbetsgivare, fackliga organisationer eller AMV som den yttersta ansvarige. Det är inte alltid kollektivavtalen gör det heller. Ett annat problem är också att direktivet ger rätt till kompensationsledighet om övertidsuttaget blir för stort. Art. 17 stadgar: ”Avvikelser som föreskrivs i punkterna 3, 4 och 5 får fastställas genom lagstiftning eller andra författningsbestämmelser eller genom kollektivavtal eller avtal mellan arbetsmarknadens parter under förutsättning att de berörda arbetstagarna ges motsvarande kompensationsledighet eller – i undantagsfall när det av objektiva skäl inte är möjligt att bevilja sådan kompensationsledighet – att arbetstagarna erbjuds lämpligt skydd.” Någon sådan regel finns inte i ATL och i en del av de kollektivavtal jag analyserat. Möjligheten att ta ut kompensationsledighet beror på om arbetsgivaren finner det möjligt, annars ersätts övertidsersättningen i form av pengar eller premiepension. Det resulterar i att arbetstidsdirektivet inte fullt ut är implementerat i vår lagstiftning, om inte arbetstagaren genom sin befattning eller anställning är undantagen i arbetstidsdirektivet eller att Sverige tillämpar Art. 22 i arbetstidsdirektivet. Arbetstidsdirektivet medger genom Art. 22 att en medlemsstat kan frångå begränsningen på fyrtioåtta timmar i Art. 6 genom att begära att Art. 6 inte ska gälla, en så kallad opt-out. Sverige har valt att inte nyttja Art. 22. För att använda sig av Art. 22 krävs att medlemsstaten reglerar att arbetsgivaren antecknar övertiden för arbetstagaren och sänder in till en av medlemsstatens vald myndighet. Denna myndighet ska ha befogenhet att kunna begränsa eller förbjuda ytterligare övertid. Kontrollen av arbetstid och övertid ligger i Sverige på arbetstagaren enligt flera av de kollektivavtal som jag redovisat. Jag anser att det finns enkla lösningar. Ett exempel är att införa en maximigräns och registrera övertiden. Det enklaste vore att arbetsgivaren registrerade övertiden även för dem som inte har någon ersättning. Och att någon av AMV, arbetsgivarorganisationen eller arbetstagarorganisationerna ska vara ansvarig för registreringen. Då skulle arbetstidsdirektivet vara implementerat fullt ut. The purpose of my study was to elucidate the relationship between EU and Swedish legislation on working time in relation to overtime redemption (i.e. when the employer and the employee agree to convert overtime into monetary payment). I have described the Swedish Working Hours Act and the Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC). The Working Hours Act is semi-compelling and there are great opportunities to make deviations by collective agreements. Therefore I have analyzed rules in six collective agreements. Sometimes forced the employee personally to registrera his overtime and react if the time is exceeded. The Swedish legislation does not point out any responsible such as manager, Trade Unions or Swedish Work Environment Authority, not in the collective agreements either. Another problem is that The Working Time Directive gives the right to compensation in the form of free time with pay if the overtime is too high (compensatory leave). Art. 17 says “ Derogations provided for in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 may be adopted by means of laws, regulations or administrative provisions or by means of collective agreements or agreements between the two sides of industry provided that the workers concerned are afforded equivalent periods of compensatory rest or that, in exceptional cases in which it is not possible, for objective reasons, to grant such equivalent periods of compensatory rest, the workers concerned are afforded appropriate protection”. This rule is absent in the Working Hours Act and also absent in some of the collective agreements I have analyzed. The ability to receive compensatory leave depends on if the employer believes it is possible otherwise be paid over time in cash or other benefits. The result is that The Working Time Directive is not fully implemented in our legislation unless the employee through the office or employment is exempt in The Working Time Direktive or through Art 22. of The Working Time Directive. Through Art. 22 can a member state waive the limitation of the working time on the forty-eight hours in Art. 6 and ask that the Art. 6 shall not apply a so-called opt-out. Sweden has chosen not to use Art. 22. In order to use the Art. 22 requires that the government appoint an authority to control the overtime. This authority shall have the authority to restrict or prohibit further overtime. The control of the working hours and overtime in Sweden rests with the employee under several of the collective agreement, which I reported. I believe there are simple solutions. One example is to introduce a maximum limit for over time and to register it. The easiest would be to employers registered the time even for those who have negotiated away overtime compensation and that someone, employers, Trade Union or authority responsible for registration of overtime. Then The Working Time Directive to be implemented in full

Rendering the ungraspable graspable : the use of metaphors in Swedish palliative cancer care

Good communication is of utmost importance in all forms of cancer care and especially so in the palliative context. To render the ungraspable graspable, metaphors are frequently used drawing on their capacity to capture the intangible in terms of more familiar experiences. For instance, to die from cancer can be described as ’coming to the end of a life journey’ or ’losing a battle’. Metaphors are largely language and culture specific. Today’s increasingly multicultural societies require particular awareness in order to achieve dignified, individualized palliative cancer care. This project aims to strengthen the scientific foundation for the use of metaphors in Swedish palliative cancer care. A secondary aim is to compare the use of metaphors in Sweden and the UK in order to reveal differences and similarities. Textual data are collected froma) internet-based blogs, where patients write about their illness-related emotions and experiences while being in palliative care, and fromb) interviews with patients, family and health care professionals, where the focus is to investigate what it means to live a dignified life in palliative care.The two sets of data are analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative linguistic methods. First, the Pragglejaz procedure, a well-established linguistic method for metaphor identification, is used in order to manually identify metaphorical expressions in the material, develop analytic categories adapted to the Swedish language data and ensure inter-rater reliability. Second, the material is approached by means of corpus linguistic methods. The combination of research methods is inspired by the UK-based MELC project. The data are currently being processed and the first results will be presented at the conference. The project is funded by The Kamprad Family Foundation, Sweden

Existing evidence related to soil retention of phosphorus from on-site wastewater treatment systems in boreal and temperate climate zones: a systematic map

BackgroundIn Sweden there are nearly one million soil-based on-site wastewater treatment systems (OWTSs). OWTSs may contribute to eutrophication of surface waters, due to the discharge of phosphorus (P). Hence, in certain cases, a high P removal rate (up to 90%) of OWTSs is required by Swedish authorities. Since these requirements may have costly consequences to property owners, it is debated whether they are too strict. In this debate, it is often claimed that the soil retention of P occurring in the natural environments may be underestimated by authorities. Soil retention is the inhibition of the transport of P through the ground, due to different chemical, physical and biological processes occurring there. These processes make the P transport slower, which may reduce the unwanted impact on receiving water bodies. However, the efficiency of soil retention of P remains unclear. The objective of this systematic map was to collect, code, organise and elucidate the relevant evidence related to the topic, to be able to guide stakeholders through the evidence base, and to support future research synthesising, commissioning, and funding. The systematic map was carried out in response to needs declared by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management but the conclusions should be valid for a wider range of countries across boreo-temperate regions.MethodsSearches were made for peer-reviewed and grey literature using bibliographic databases, search engines, specialist websites, and stakeholder contacts. The references were screened for relevance according to a predefined set of eligibility criteria. A detailed database of the relevant studies was compiled. Data and metadata that enable evaluation and discussion of the character and quality of the evidence base were extracted and coded. Special focus was placed on assessing if existing evidence could contribute to policy and practice decision making. Descriptive information about the evidence base was presented in tables and figures. An interactive evidence atlas and a choropleth were created, displaying the locations of all studies.Review findings234 articles out of 10,797 screened records fulfilled the eligibility criteria. These articles contain 256 studies, performed in the field or in the laboratory. Six different study types were identified, based on where the measurements were conducted. Most studies, including laboratory studies, lack replicates. Most field studies are observational case studies.ConclusionsIt is not possible to derive valid generic measures of the efficiency of soil retention of P occurring in the natural soil environment from available research. Neither does the evidence base allow for answering the question of the magnitude of the potential impact of OWTSs on the P concentration in recipients on a general basis, or under what conditions OWTSs generally have such an impact. A compilation of groundwater studies may provide examples of how far the P may reach in x years, but the number of groundwater studies is insufficient to draw any general conclusions, given the complexity and variability of the systems. Future research should strive for replicated study designs, more elaborate reporting, and the establishment of a reporting standard

Macroalgal meadow habitats support fish and fisheries in diverse tropical seascapes

Ecosystems are linked by the movement of organisms across habitat boundaries and the arrangement of habitat patches can affect species abundance and composition. In tropical seascapes many coral reef fishes settle in adjacent habitats and undergo onto-genetic habitat shifts to coral reefs as they grow. Few studies have attempted to measure at what distances from nursery habitats these fish migrations (connectivity) cease to exist and how the abundance, biomass and proportion of nursery species change on coral reefs along distance gradients away from nursery areas. The present study examines seascape spatial arrangement, including distances between habitats, and its con-sequences on connectivity within a tropical seascape in Mozambique using a seascape ecology approach. Fish and habitat surveys were undertaken in 2016/2017 and a thematic habitat map was created in ArcGIS, where cover and distances between habitat patches were calculated. Distance to mangroves and seagrasses were significant predictors for abundance and biomass of most nursery species. The proportions of nursery species were highest in the south of the archipelago, where mangroves were present and decreased with distance to nurseries (mangroves and seagrasses). Some nursery species were absent on reef sites farthest from nursery habitats, at 80 km from mangroves and at 12 km from seagrass habitats. The proportion of nursery/non-nursery snapper and parrotfish species, as well as abundance and biomass of seagrass nursery species abruptly declined at 8 km from seagrass habitats, indicating a threshold distance at which migrations may cease. Additionally, reefs isolated by large stretches of sand and deep water had very low abundances of several nursery species despite being within moderate distances from nursery habitats. This highlights the importance of considering the matrix (sand and deep water) as barriers for fish migration

Thresholds in seascape connectivity: the spatial arrangement of nursery habitats structure fish communities on nearby reefs

Ecosystems are linked by the movement of organisms across habitat boundaries and the arrangement of habitat patches can affect species abundance and composition. In tropical seascapes many coral reef fishes settle in adjacent habitats and undergo ontogenetic habitat shifts to coral reefs as they grow. Few studies have attempted to measure at what distances from nursery habitats these fish migrations (connectivity) cease to exist and how the abundance, biomass and proportion of nursery species change on coral reefs along distance gradients away from nursery areas. The present study examines seascape spatial arrangement, including distances between habitats, and its consequences on connectivity within a tropical seascape in Mozambique using a seascape ecology approach. Fish and habitat surveys were undertaken in 2016/2017 and a thematic habitat map was created in ArcGIS, where cover and distances between habitat patches were calculated. Distance to mangroves and seagrasses were significant predictors for abundance and biomass of most nursery species. The proportions of nursery species were highest in the south of the archipelago, where mangroves were present and decreased with distance to nurseries (mangroves and seagrasses). Some nursery species were absent on reef sites farthest from nursery habitats, at 80 km from mangroves and at 12 km from seagrass habitats. The proportion of nursery/non-nursery snapper and parrotfish species, as well as abundance and biomass of seagrass nursery species abruptly declined at 8 km from seagrass habitats, indicating a threshold distance at which migrations may cease. Additionally, reefs isolated by large stretches of sand and deep water had very low abundances of several nursery species despite being within moderate distances from nursery habitats. This highlights the importance of considering the matrix (sand and deep water) as barriers for fish migration

Toll-Like Receptor 4 Promoter Polymorphisms: Common TLR4 Variants May Protect against Severe Urinary Tract Infection

10.1371/journal.pone.0010734PLoS ONE55