Szwedzkie uniwersytety ludowe – idea, współczesność i przyszłość z perspektywy ich nauczyciela

The paper shows selected issues on the assumptions of the current and future operation of the folk high schools in Sweden, also recalling selected post-war publications on this subject, which appeared in the Polish language or have been prepared by the Poles for the Swedish reader. The issue was presented from the point of view of a teacher of one of the institutions of this sort – Albins folkhögskola in Landskrona (Skåne). The author shows extensively educational activities of her own institution for adult population of the region. She does this on the background of the main directions of the changes taking place in the Swedish folk high schools.Artykuł prezentuje wybrane zagadnienia dotyczące założeń, obecnego funkcjonowania i przyszłości uniwersytetów ludowych (folkhögskolor) w Szwecji, przypominając jednocześnie wybrane powojenne publikacje na ten temat, które ukazały się w języku polskim lub zostały przygotowane przez polskich autorów dla czytelnika po stronie szwedzkiej. Całość została zaprezentowana z punktu widzenia nauczyciela jednej z placówek tego typu – Albins folkhögskola w Landskronie (Skania). Autorka obszerniej ukazuje działaniami własnej placówki na rzecz edukacji mieszkańców regionu na tle głównych kierunków przemian, zachodzących w szwedzkich uniwersytetach ludowych

Hållbar design för gravplatser

A well-planned grave with a sustainable selection of plants facilitates easy maintenance for both staff and the holder of the right of burial. It also helps reduce the negative impact on the environment. As in many other areas, the environment is high on the agenda within the cemetery administration. One of the major concerns is the impact of the choice of plants for the grave. Within the industry there is a great motivation and willingness to adapt to a sustainable work mode and this has spawned a number of project works. In autumn 2009 the partnership project, “Environmental aspects of planning and maintaining graves”, was started in Movium (at The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences). This interesting subject and approach gave us the idea to this thesis. In this thesis we focus on the selection of plants and on the design of graves from a sustainable development point of view. The criteria for plant selection are durability, maintenance and aesthetics. The work leads to three specific design proposals for two different types of graves: Coffin graves and urn graves. The proposed plant selection is based on technical literature and interviews with people who have extensive experience in cemetery management and with professionals with extensive botanical knowledge. The design proposals have been created with three different themes in mind: Forrest, beach and meadow. These nature inspired themes have been chosen to seize the green character of the cemetery. Nature theme is chosen to fit into the green environment that we believe the cemetery is. Historically, the cemetery has been seen as anything between a place for grazing cattle and the park-like areas we see today. Cemeteries are increasingly used as recreational areas and seen as the lungs of the cities. The design proposals and themes in this thesis are meant as a source of inspiration. The possibilities are endless and as such it can form the basis of further work within this field.************** En välplanerad gravplats med hållbara växter underlättar både för personal och för gravrättsinnehavare samtidigt som den värnar om miljön. Inom kyrkogårdsförvaltningarna, precis som på många andra arbetsplatser, är miljöarbetet högt upp på agendan. Det finns många frågor att besvara och en av dem är vilken betydelse valet av växter till gravplatsen har. Viljan att miljöanpassa verksamheten är stor och har gett upphov till ett antal projektarbeten. Under hösten 2009 startade Partnerskapsprojektet Miljöaspekter på planering och skötsel av gravar” inom Movium (SLU). Projektets intressanta vinkling gav oss uppslaget till examensarbetet ”Hållbar design för gravplatser”. Vi fokuserar i detta arbete på växturvalet och på utformningen av gravplatser utifrån ett hållbarhetsperspektiv. Kriterierna för växturvalet är höga krav på livslängd, skötsel och estetik. Arbetet mynnar ut i tre konkreta gestaltningsförslag för två olika gravplatstyper: kistgravplats och urngravplats. Växturvalet är baserat på litteraturstudier och samtal med personer som har stor erfarenhet av kyrkogårdsskötsel och med personer med god växtkännedom. Gestaltningsförslagen som är målet med detta arbete har gjorts utifrån tre teman: Skog, Strand och Äng. Tema Natur är valt för att passa in i den gröna miljö som vi anser kyrkogården är. Historiskt har kyrkogården varit alltifrån en plats för betande kor för att senare bli mer parklik. Idag används kyrkogårdarna i allt större utsträckning som rekreationsområde och som gröna oaser i tätorterna. Både gestaltningsförslagen och våra valda teman kan givetvis ha stor variation och ska närmast ses som en inspirationskälla, något som man kan göra till sitt eget

Gd2O3 nanoparticles in hematopoietic cells for MRI contrast enhancement

As the utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) broadens, the importance of having specific and efficient contrast agents increases and in recent time there has been a huge development in the fields of molecular imaging and intracellular markers. Previous studies have shown that gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) nanoparticles generate higher relaxivity than currently available Gd chelates: In addition, the Gd2O3 nanoparticles have promising properties for MRI cell tracking. The aim of the present work was to study cell labeling with Gd2O3 nanoparticles in hematopoietic cells and to improve techniques for monitoring hematopoietic stem cell migration by MRI. Particle uptake was studied in two cell lines: the hematopoietic progenitor cell line Ba/F3 and the monocytic cell line THP-1. Cells were incubated with Gd2O3 nanoparticles and it was investigated whether the transfection agent protamine sulfate increased the particle uptake. Treated cells were examined by electron microscopy and MRI, and analyzed for particle content by inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry. Results showed that particles were intracellular, however, sparsely in Ba/F3. The relaxation times were shortened with increasing particle concentration. Relaxivities, r1 and r2 at 1.5 T and 21°C, for Gd2O3 nanoparticles in different cell samples were 3.6–5.3 s−1 mM−1 and 9.6–17.2 s−1 mM−1, respectively. Protamine sulfate treatment increased the uptake in both Ba/F3 cells and THP-1 cells. However, the increased uptake did not increase the relaxation rate for THP-1 as for Ba/F3, probably due to aggregation and/or saturation effects. Viability of treated cells was not significantly decreased and thus, it was concluded that the use of Gd2O3 nanoparticles is suitable for this type of cell labeling by means of detecting and monitoring hematopoietic cells. In conclusion, Gd2O3 nanoparticles are a promising material to achieve positive intracellular MRI contrast; however, further particle development needs to be performed

Organic pollutants, nano- and microparticles in street sweeping road dust and washwater

Road areas are pollution hotspots where many metals, organic pollutants (OPs) and nano/microparticles accumulate before being transported to receiving waters. Particles on roads originate from e.g. road, tyre and vehicle wear, winter road maintenance, soil erosion, and deposition. Street sweeping has the potential to be an effective and affordable practice to reduce the occurrence of road dust, and thereby the subsequent spreading of pollutants, but there is currently little knowledge regarding its effectiveness. In this paper we investigate the potential of street sweeping to reduce the amounts of OPs and nano/microparticles reaching stormwater, in a case study sampling road dust and washwater from a street sweeping machine, road dust before and after sweeping, and stormwater. The compound groups generally found in the highest concentrations in all matrices were aliphatics C5–C35\ua0>\ua0phthalates\ua0>\ua0aromatics C8–C35\ua0>\ua0PAH-16. The concentrations of aliphatics C16–C35\ua0and PAHs in washwater were extremely high at\ua0≤\ua053,000\ua0\ub5g/L and\ua0≤\ua0120\ua0\ub5g/L, respectively, and the highest concentrations were found after a 3-month winter break in sweeping. In general, fewer aliphatic and aromatic petroleum hydrocarbons and PAHs were detected in road dust samples than in washwater. The relative composition of the specific PAH-16 suggests tyre wear, vehicle exhausts, brake linings, motor oils and road surface wear as possible sources. The study indicates that many of the hydrophobic compounds quantified in washwater are attached to small particles or truly dissolved. The washwater contains a wide range of small particles, including nanoparticles in sizes from just below 1\ua0nm up to 300\ua0nm, with nanoparticles in the size range 25–300\ua0nm present in the highest concentrations. The results also indicated agglomeration of nanoparticles in the washwater. The street sweeping collected a large amount of fine particles and associated pollutants, leading to the conclusion that washwater from street sweeping needs to be treated before disposal

Comprehensive sex steroid profiling in multiple tissues reveals novel insights in sex steroid distribution in male mice

A comprehensive atlas of sex steroid distribution in multiple tissues is currently lacking, and how circulating and tissue sex steroid levels correlate remains unknown. Here, we adapted and validated a gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous measurement of testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), androstenedione, progesterone (Prog), estradiol, and estrone in mouse tissues. We then mapped the sex steroid pattern in 10 different endocrine, reproductive, and major body compartment tissues and serum of gonadal intact and orchiectomized (ORX) male mice. In gonadal intact males, high levels of DHT were observed in reproductive tissues, but also in white adipose tissue (WAT). A major part of the total body reservoir of androgens (T and DHT) and Prog was found in WAT. Serum levels of androgens and Prog were strongly correlated with corresponding levels in the brain while only modestly correlated with corresponding levels in WAT. After orchiectomy, the levels of the active androgens T and DHT decreased markedly while Prog levels in male reproductive tissues increased slightly. In ORX mice, Prog was by far the most abundant sex steroid, and, again, WAT constituted the major reservoir of Prog in the body. In conclusion, we present a comprehensive atlas of tissue and serum concentrations of sex hormones in male mice, revealing novel insights in sex steroid distribution. Brain sex steroid levels are well reflected by serum levels and WAT constitutes a large reservoir of sex steroids in male mice. In addition, Prog is the most abundant sex hormone in ORX mice

Traffic-related microplastic particles, metals, and organic pollutants in an urban area under reconstruction

In urban environments, particularly areas under reconstruction, metals, organic pollutants (OP), and microplastics (MP), are released in large amounts due to heavy traffic. Road runoff, a major transport route for urban pollutants, contributes significantly to a deteriorated water quality in receiving waters. This study was conducted in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is unique because it simultaneously investigates the occurrence of OP, metals, and MP on roads and in stormwater from an urban area under reconstruction. Correlations between the various pollutants were also explored. The study was carried out by collecting washwater and sweepsand generated from street sweeping, road surface sampling, and flow-proportional stormwater sampling on several occasions. The liquid and solid samples were analyzed for metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), oxy-PAH, aliphatics, aromatics, phthalates, and MP. The occurrence of OP was also analyzed with a non-target screening method of selected samples. Microplastics, i.e. plastic fragments/fibers, paint fragments, tire wear particles (TWP) and bitumen, were analyzed with a method based on density separation with sodium iodide and identification with a stereo microscope, melt-tests, and tactile identification. MP concentrations amounted to 1500 particles/L in stormwater, 51,000 particles/L in washwater, and 2.6 7 106 particles/kg dw in sweepsand. In stormwater, washwater and sweepsand, MP ≥20 μm were found to be dominated by TWP (38%, 83% and 78%, respectively). The results confirm traffic as an important source to MP, OP, and metal emissions. Concentrations exceeding water and sediment quality guidelines for metals (e.g. Cu and Zn), PAH, phthalates, and aliphatic hydrocarbons in the C16–C35 fraction were found in most samples. The results show that the street sweeper collects large amounts of polluted materials and thereby prevents further spread of the pollutants to the receiving stormwater

Regulating minimum wages and other forms of pay for the self-employed

Aquesta publicació s'elabora a partir de les contribucions de cadascú dels membres nacionals que integren la Network of Eurofound Correspondents. Pel cas d'Espanya la contribució ha estat realitzada per l' Oscar Molina (veure annex 2 Network of Eurofound Correspondents)This report is carried out in the context of the three-year pilot project (2021-2023), 'Role of the minimum wage in establishing the Universal Labour Guarantee', mandated to Eurofound by the European Commission. Its focus is module 3 of the project, investigating minimum wages and other forms of pay for the self-employed. Out of concern for the challenging conditions faced by certain groups of self-employed workers, some Member States have established or are in discussions about proposing some statutory forms of minimum pay for selected categories of the self-employed. The main objective of the report is to understand how minimum wages, wage rates, tariffs, fees and other forms of pay could be fixed for specific jobs or professions in sectors having a high level of 'vulnerable' workers, as well as 'concealed' self-employed. While the majority of Member States allow trade union representation, the right to collective bargaining for the self-employed is much more limited. Only a small number of Member States provide examples of collectively agreed minimum wages or other forms of pay for the self-employed

Proteomic analysis of 92 circulating proteins and their effects in cardiometabolic diseases

Background: Human plasma contains a wide variety of circulating proteins. These proteins can be important clinical biomarkers in disease and also possible drug targets. Large scale genomics studies of circulating proteins can identify genetic variants that lead to relative protein abundance. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis on genome-wide association studies of autosomal chromosomes in 22,997 individuals of primarily European ancestry across 12 cohorts to identify protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) for 92 cardiometabolic associated plasma proteins. Results: We identified 503 (337 cis and 166 trans) conditionally independent pQTLs, including several novel variants not reported in the literature. We conducted a sex-stratified analysis and found that 118 (23.5%) of pQTLs demonstrated heterogeneity between sexes. The direction of effect was preserved but there were differences in effect size and significance. Additionally, we annotate trans-pQTLs with nearest genes and report plausible biological relationships. Using Mendelian randomization, we identified causal associations for 18 proteins across 19 phenotypes, of which 10 have additional genetic colocalization evidence. We highlight proteins associated with a constellation of cardiometabolic traits including angiopoietin-related protein 7 (ANGPTL7) and Semaphorin 3F (SEMA3F). Conclusion: Through large-scale analysis of protein quantitative trait loci, we provide a comprehensive overview of common variants associated with plasma proteins. We highlight possible biological relationships which may serve as a basis for further investigation into possible causal roles in cardiometabolic diseases

"Outroduction":A research agenda on collegiality in university settings

Collegiality is the modus operandi of universities. Collegiality is central to academic freedom and scientific quality. In this way, collegiality also contributes to the good functioning of universities’ contribution to society and democracy. In this concluding paper of the special issue on collegiality, we summarize the main findings and takeaways from our collective studies. We summarize the main challenges and contestations to collegiality and to universities, but also document lines of resistance, activation, and maintenance. We depict varieties of collegiality and conclude by emphasizing that future research needs to be based on an appreciation of this variation. We argue that it is essential to incorporate such a variation-sensitive perspective into discussions on academic freedom and scientific quality and highlight themes surfaced by the different studies that remain under-explored in extant literature: institutional trust, field-level studies of collegiality, and collegiality and communication. Finally, we offer some remarks on methodological and theoretical implications of this research and conclude by summarizing our research agenda in a list of themes