15 research outputs found
Short sea shipping: a statistical analysis of influencing factors on SSS in European countries
Competing Mechanistic Hypotheses of Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity Challenged by Virtual Experiments
Economic importance of the motorways of the sea for tourism: The experience of the route NantesâGijĂłn
Potential for, and drivers of, private voluntary initiatives for the decarbonisation of short sea shipping: evidence from a Swedish ferry line
The aim of this paper is to analyse shipping firmsâ reactions to environmental challenges and identify how significant reductions in energy consumption and air emissions can come about by implementing a variety of voluntary initiatives. The paper focuses on the various sustainability initiatives implemented by the Swedish short sea shipping operator, Stena Line, either on a purely voluntary basis as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy or as their chosen route for compliance with regulations. A conceptual model is developed based on stakeholder theory, the theory of planned behaviour and resource dependence theory to understand the main drivers of the firmâs adoption of sustainability initiatives and the factors affecting the integration of CSR in maritime companies. According to our findings, the company operates within a strongly enforced regulatory environmental framework and needs to exceed this framework to differentiate its service and strengthen its relationships with its customers by addressing their social and environmental concerns. As the firmâs competitive strategy focuses on service differentiation, a large pool of complementary resources is available for CSR and the implementation of sustainability practices. The results of this paper bring new insights to the potential of local private voluntary initiatives for the reduction of maritime air emissions. These include the provision of onshore power supply, the conversion of vessels to use methanol, ferry electrification, the construction of larger RoPax vessels and the implementation of an energy-saving program that focuses on crew involvement and continuous training. The environmental outcomes derived from a combination of local operational and technical energy efficiency measures are found to be significant and can contribute to the efforts for the achievement of sustainable maritime transport undertaken by international and regional organisations. The main barriers for the adoption of voluntary sustainability initiatives in the maritime sector are economic and technological. To encourage the wider adoption of these initiatives, the provision of economic incentives at national or regional level is crucial, as such initiatives usually imply high initial installation costs that should be somehow compensated for both vessels and terminals.
Document type: Articl
Discovery and development of the Polo-like kinase inhibitor volasertib in cancer therapy
Owing to their integral involvement in cell cycle regulation, the Polo-like kinase (Plk) family, particularly Plk1, has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target in oncology. In recent years, several Plk1 inhibitors have been developed, with some agents showing encouraging results in early-phase clinical trials. This review focuses on volasertib (BI 6727; an investigational agent), a potent and selective Plk inhibitor. Volasertib has shown promising activity in various cancer cell lines and xenograft models of human cancer. Trials performed to date suggest that volasertib has clinical efficacy in a range of malignancies, with the most promising results seen in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Encouragingly, recent phase II data have demonstrated that volasertib combined with low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) was associated with higher response rates and improved event-free survival than LDAC alone in patients with previously untreated AML. Based on these observations, and its presumably manageable safety profile, volasertib is currently in phase III development as a potential treatment for patients with AML who are ineligible for intensive remission induction therapy. Given that many patients with AML are of an older age and frail, this constitutes an area of major unmet need. In this review, we discuss the biologic rationale for Plk1 inhibitors in cancer, the clinical development of volasertib to date in solid tumors and AML, and the future identification of biomarkers that might predict response to volasertib and help determine the role of this agent in the clinic.Leukemia advance online publication, 15 August 2014; doi:10.1038/leu.2014.222.status: publishe
Two hundred years of land-use change in the South Swedish Uplands: comparison of historical map-based estimates with a pollen-based reconstruction using the landscape reconstruction algorithm
Long-term development of a cultural landscape: the origins and dynamics of lowland heathland in southern England
The lowland heathlands of southern England
comprise ca. 14 % of the total area of this habitat in Europe
yet their history is poorly understood. This paper presents
the first detailed palaeoecological evidence (combining
palynological, microscopic charcoal and radiocarbon data)
relating to the origin and long-term dynamics of heathland
vegetation in southern England. Valley peat sites, situated
on the Lower Greensand Group (coarse-grained sandstones)
at Conford (Hampshire) and Hurston Warren
(West Sussex) have been investigated. The sequence from
Conford indicates the unusually late survival of Pinus
sylvestris (to as late as ca. 6050 cal. B.P.) in southern
England. This is attributed to edaphic factors and, after ca.
7050 cal. B.P., to frequent fires. After intervening phases of
dominance by deciduous woodland, heathland vegetation
became established in the proximity of both sites in the
Late Bronze Age (ca. 3000 cal. B.P.) with increases in
indicators of grazing and burning demonstrating an association between the development of heathland and human
activity. Thereafter, the pollen and charcoal records show
that the vegetation remained in a dynamic state as the scale
and nature of human activity varied through time. Major
expansions in the extent of heathland occurred relatively
recently; after ca. 1450 cal. B.P. at Hurston Warren and after
ca. 850 cal. B.P. at Conford. A review of the palaeoecological
evidence suggests that the most intense use and
greatest coverage of heathland in southern England probably
occurred during the medieval to post-medieval periods