Gender and transnational plant scientists: negotiating academic mobility, career commitments and private life

"Das Ziel dieses Aufsatzes ist es, zu untersuchen, wie Gender, Mobilität, Karrieren und private Lebensführungen unter einer transnational hoch mobilen Gruppe von BiologInnen aus der Pflanzenforschung miteinander verknüpft sind. Die Autorin geht von der Hypothese aus, dass akademische Mobilität in der Wissenschaft einen wichtigen Anreiz darstellt, der für die Geschlechter unterschiedlich bedeutsam ist. Die ethnographische Studie basiert auf teilnehmenden Beobachtungen und Tiefeninterviews mit BiologInnen aus der Pflanzenforschung in einem internationalen Forschungslabor in Schweden, an dem WissenschaftlerInnen aus 35 verschiedenen Ländern arbeiten. Mit Bezug auf das Konzept des 'Kapitals' wird die Beziehung zwischen Mobilität, Karriere und Gender problematisiert. Darüber hinaus betrachtet der Beitrag die Work-Life-Balance-Strategien dieser WissenschaftlerInnen und fragt danach, wie sie ihre berufliche Mobilität und ihr Privatleben organisieren." (Autorenreferat)"The aim of the article is to analyze how gender intersects with mobility, career and private life among a highly transnational group of researchers, namely plant scientists. The author's hypothesis is that academic mobility and science are constituted with gender as an important incentive. The study is based on ethnographic field work such following observations and in depth interviews with researchers in plant science. The plant scientists work at an international science center in Sweden with co-workers from 35 different countries. Using the concept of "capital", the relationship between mobility, career and gender is problematized. Furthermore, the article will look at the informants' work-life balance, i.e. how scientists manage academic mobility in relation to their private lives." (author's abstract

‘Managing pieces of a personal puzzle’ — older people’s experiences of self-management falls prevention exercise guided by a digital program or a booklet

Background: Exercise is effective in order to prevent falls in community-dwelling older people. Self-management programs have the potential to increase access and reduce costs related to exercise-based fall prevention. However, information regarding older people's views of participating in such programs is needed to support implementation. The aim of this study was to explore older people's experiences of a self-management fall prevention exercise routine guided either by a digital program (web-based or mobile) or a paper booklet. Methods: This qualitative study was part of a feasibility study exploring two completely self-managed exercise interventions in which the participants tailored their own program, guided either by a digital program or a paper booklet. Individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 28 participants (18 women), mean age 76yrs. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Self-managing and self-tailoring these exercise programs was experienced as Managing pieces of a personal puzzle'. To independently being able to create a program and manage exercise was described in the categories Finding my own level' and Programming it into my life'. The participants experienced the flexibility and independence provided by completely self-managed exercise as positive and constructive although it required discipline. Furthermore, different needs and preferences when managing their exercise were described, as well as varying sources of motivation for doing the exercise, as highlighted in the category Defining my source of motivation'. The category Evolving my acquired knowledge' captures the participants' views of building their competence and strategies for maintenance of the exercise. It describes a combined process of learning the program and developing reflection, which was more clearly articulated by participants using the digital program. Conclusions: This study provides new knowledge regarding experiences, preferences and motivations of older people to engage in home-based self-managed fall prevention exercise. They expressed both a capability and willingness to independently manage their exercise. A digital program seems to have strengthened the feeling of support while creating their own exercise program and tailoring it to their preferences and circumstances, which might therefore create better opportunities for adoption and adherence in the long term

Making sustainability reporting trustworthy

Corporations have a major role in society for example when it comes to economic development. Over the past decades, stakeholders have begun to demand corporations to take increased responsibility for their business and practice regarding sustainability issues. This development can be described as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). By the end of 2016, the Swedish government introduced a new ordinance, obliging larger corporations regardless of branch, to create a sustainability report. The sustainability report is expected to increase transparency and give stakeholders an opportunity to evaluate the sustainability efforts of each corporation. Previously, service corporations have not been taking sustainability reporting into account extensively. However, due to the new ordinance, service corporations can no longer overlook sustainability reporting. The ordinance is designed to suit all types of businesses. Because of this, there is scope for interpretation and uncertainty regarding the report’s design and content. Additionally, sustainability reporting is criticised by stakeholders. They are sceptical since they do not trust corporations to actually perform the CSR-activities they claim to conduct. Few studies have addressed the development of sustainability reporting in service corporations. This study aims to investigate the development of trustworthy sustainability reporting in a Swedish service corporation. To be able to fulfil the aim of this study, a case study of the service corporation LRF Konsult has been conducted. Sustainability reporting is a new challenge for LRF Konsult, and this study is focusing on the initial phase in developing trustworthy sustainability reporting. The empirical results have been collected through five semi-structured interviews, conducted with individuals of distinct positions within LRF Konsult. The questions of the interviews were based on a theoretical framework addressing sustainability reporting, stakeholder theory and CSR-communication strategies. This study identifies four primary objectives for sustainability reporting made by a service corporation; meet and satisfy stakeholders' demands, be perceived as an attractive employer, educate and motivate employees and maintain legitimacy. Thus, stakeholders are an indispensable part to consider regarding the development of sustainability reporting. This case study also shows that the most relevant stakeholders to involve, when it comes to sustainability reporting, are the employees, the customers and the owner. They are relevant since they both influence and are directly affected by corporations’ sustainability reporting. When involving relevant stakeholders through communication, trustworthiness can be achieved. This study implies that both one-way and two-way communication strategies are useful when involving stakeholders in sustainability reporting.Företag har en betydande roll i samhället då de bidrar till den ekonomiska utvecklingen. Under de senaste decennierna har intressenter börjat ställa krav på företagen att ta mer ansvar för deras affärsverksamhet och arbeta mer med hållbarhetsfrågor. Detta kan beskrivas som Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). I slutet av år 2016, införde Sveriges regering ett nytt lagkrav som innebär att större företag, oavsett bransch, måste presentera en hållbarhetsrapport. Hållbarhetsrapporten ska öka insynen och ge intressenter en möjlighet att utvärdera företagens hållbarhetsarbete. Tjänsteföretag har tidigare inte beaktat hållbarhetsrapportering i någon större utsträckning, men på grund av det nya lagkravet tvingas även tjänsteföretag att upprätta hållbarhetsrapporter. Lagen är utformad för att passa alla företagsformer, vilket innebär att det uppstår tolkningsutrymme och osäkerhet gällande en hållbarhetsrapports innehåll och utformning. Hållbarhetsrapportering har dessutom ifrågasatts av intressenter som är skeptiska mot att företag faktiskt gör de CSR-aktiviteter de påstår sig göra. Få studier har studerat utvecklingen av tjänsteföretags hållbarhetsrapportering. Därför syftar denna studie till att undersöka utvecklingen av trovärdig hållbarhetsrapportering i ett svenskt tjänsteföretag. För att besvara studiens syfte, genomfördes en kvalitativ fallstudie av tjänsteföretaget LRF Konsult. Hållbarhetsrapportering är en ny utmaning för LRF Konsult och denna studie fokuserar på den initiala utvecklingsfasen av trovärdig hållbarhetsrapportering. Resultatet baseras på fem semi-strukturerade intervjuer, genomförda med personer på olika befattningar inom LRF Konsult. Intervjufrågorna utformades efter uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk som består av delarna hållbarhetsrapportering, intressentteori och CSR-kommunikationsstrategier. Studien identifierar fyra primära mål för ett tjänsteföretag som arbetar med hållbarhetsrapportering. De fyra målen är: att möta och tillfredsställa intressenters krav, att bli uppfattad som en attraktiv arbetsgivare, utbilda och motivera anställda samt att uppnå legitimitet. Relevanta intressenter till ett tjänsteföretags hållbarhetsrapportering är enligt denna studie; ägaren, anställda och kunder. Dessa intressenter är relevanta för att de både påverkar och är direkt påverkade av företagets hållbarhetrapportering. Om relevanta intressenter involveras genom kommunikation kan trovärdighet uppnås. Denna studie visar att både en- och tvåvägskommunikationsstrategier är användbara för att involvera intressenter i hållbarhetsrapportering

Prednisolone in Dogs—Plasma Exposure and White Blood Cell Response

Glucocorticoids such as prednisolone are commonly used in dogs but there is sparse quantitative pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic information of this drug in this species. The objective of this study was to quantitatively characterize the concentration-effect relationship for prednisolone in dogs on neutrophil and lymphocyte trafficking and cortisol suppression. Nine beagles, 2–12 years old and part of a group for teaching/research were used in a 4-way crossover experiment including two treatments, active or placebo, administered either per os (PO) or intravenously (IV). Plasma was analyzed for prednisolone and cortisol using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry. Leucocyte counts were performed in whole blood. Data was then analyzed by non-linear mixed effect modeling to estimate pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters. After administration of prednisolone sodium succinate IV, the typical value (between subject variation) for total body prednisolone clearance was 1,370 ml/h·kg (13.4%). The volumes of the central and peripheral compartment were 2,300 ml/kg (10.7%) and 600 ml/kg (16.0%), respectively. The terminal plasma half-life was 1.7 h. The prednisolone plasma concentration producing 50% of the maximum response was 10 ng/mL (90.3%), 22.5 ng/ml (52.3%) and 0.04 ng/mL (197.3%) for neutrophil, lymphocyte and cortisol response, respectively. The administered dose (1 mg/kg) increased neutrophil and decreased lymphocyte numbers but not over the entire dosage interval of 24 h, due to the short half-life. However, glucocorticoids have a wide range of responses. An anti-inflammatory response due to altered gene transcription might have a longer duration. Future studies on the anti-inflammatory potency together with data presented are needed to optimize future dosage recommendations in dogs

Mutation update and genotype-phenotype correlations of novel and previously described mutations in TPM2 and TPM3 causing congenital myopathies

Mutations affecting skeletal muscle isoforms of the tropomyosin genes may cause nemaline myopathy, cap myopathy, core-rod myopathy, congenital fiber-type disproportion, distal arthrogryposes, and Escobar syndrome. We correlate the clinical picture of these diseases with novel (19) and previously reported (31) mutations of the TPM2 and TPM3 genes. Included are altogether 93 families: 53 with TPM2 mutations and 40 with TPM3 mutations. Thirty distinct pathogenic variants of TPM2 and 20 of TPM3 have been published or listed in the Leiden Open Variant Database (http://www.dmd.nl/). Most are heterozygous changes associated with autosomal-dominant disease. Patients with TPM2 mutations tended to present with milder symptoms than those with TPM3 mutations, DA being present only in the TPM2 group. Previous studies have shown that five of the mutations in TPM2 and one in TPM3 cause increased Ca2+ sensitivity resulting in a hypercontractile molecular phenotype. Patients with hypercontractile phenotype more often had contractures of the limb joints (18/19) and jaw (6/19) than those with nonhypercontractile ones (2/22 and 1/22), whereas patients with the non-hypercontractile molecular phenotype more often (19/22) had axial contractures than the hypercontractile group (7/19). Our in silico predictions show that most mutations affect tropomyosin–actin association or tropomyosin head-to-tail binding

Low Copy Number of the AMY1 Locus Is Associated with Early-Onset Female Obesity in Finland

Background The salivary alpha-amylase locus (AMY1) is located in a highly polymorphic multi allelic copy number variable chromosomal region. A recent report identified an association between AMY1 copy numbers and BMI in common obesity. The present study investigated the relationship between AMY1 copy number, BMI and serum amylase in childhood-onset obesity. Patients Sixty-one subjects with a history of childhood-onset obesity (mean age 19.1 years, 54% males) and 71 matched controls (19.8 yrs, 45% males) were included. All anthropometric measures were greater in the obese; their mean BMI was 40 kg/m(2) (range 25-62 kg/m(2)) compared with 23 kg/m(2) in the controls (15-32 kg/m(2)). Results Mean AMY1 copy numbers did not differ between the obese and control subjects, but gender differences were observed; obese men showed the highest and obese women the lowest number of AMY1 copies (p=0.045). Further, only in affected females, AMY1 copy number correlated significantly with whole body fat percent (r=-0.512, p=0.013) and BMI (r=-0.416, p=0.025). Finally, a clear linear association between AMY1 copy number and serum salivary amylase was observed in all subgroups but again differences existed between obese males and females. Conclusions In conclusion, our findings suggest that AMY1 copy number differences play a role in childhood-onset obesity but the effect differs between males and females. Further studies in larger cohorts are needed to confirm these observations.Peer reviewe

H. pylori Seropositivity before Age 40 and Subsequent Risk of Stomach Cancer: A Glimpse of the True Relationship?

Stomach carcinogenesis involves mucosal and luminal changes that favor spontaneous disappearance of Helicobacter pylori. Therefore, the association between the infection and cancer risk might typically be underestimated. As acquisition of the infection almost invariably occurs before adulthood, the serostatus at age 16–40 should best reflect the lifetime occurrence of the infection. We therefore conducted a case-control study nested within a historic cohort of about 400,000 individuals who donated sera before age 40 to either of two large Swedish Biobanks between 1968 and 2006, and whose records were linked to complete nationwide registers. For each stomach adenocarcinoma case occurring at least 5 years after serum donation 2 controls were selected matched on age, sex and year of donation and biobank. Serum immunoglobulin G antibodies against H. pylori cell-surface antigens (Hp-CSAs) were measured with an enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay and antibodies against CagA with an immunoblot assay. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for stomach adenocarcinoma among H. pylori infected relative to uninfected. We confirmed 59 incident cases of stomach adenocarcinoma (41 non-cardia tumors) during follow-up. ORs for non-cardia stomach adenocarcinoma among subjects with Hp-CSA antibodies (regardless of CagA serostatus), antibodies against CagA (regardless of Hp-CSA serostatus), and antibodies to both, relative to those who were seronegative to both, were 17.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.0–72.9), 10.9 (95% CI 3.2–36.9), and 48.5 (95% CI 5.8–407.4), respectively. H. pylori infection is a much stronger risk factor for non-cardia stomach adenocarcinoma than initially realized. However, further studies are needed to answer whether it is a necessary cause, as the possibility of misclassification of H. pylori status could not be ruled out in our study

Governance strategies for improving flood resilience in the face of climate change

Flooding is the most common of all natural disasters and accounts for large numbers of casualties and a high amount of economic damage worldwide. To be ‘flood resilient’, countries should have sufficient capacity to resist, the capacity to absorb and recover, and the capacity to transform and adapt. Based on international comparative research, we conclude that six key governance strategies will enhance ‘flood resilience’ and will secure the necessary capacities. These strategies pertain to: (i) the diversification of flood risk management approaches; (ii) the alignment of flood risk management approaches to overcome fragmentation; (iii) the involvement, cooperation, and alignment of both public and private actors in flood risk management; (iv) the presence of adequate formal rules that balance legal certainty and flexibility; (v) the assurance of sufficient financial and other types of resources; (vi) the adoption of normative principles that adequately deal with distributional effects. These governance strategies appear to be relevant across different physical and institutional contexts. The findings may also hold valuable lessons for the governance of climate adaptation more generally