Greenhouse Impact Due to the Use of Combustible Fuels: Life Cycle Viewpoint and Relative Radiative Forcing Commitment

Extensive information on the greenhouse impacts of various human actions is important in developing effective climate change mitigation strategies. The greenhouse impacts of combustible fuels consist not only of combustion emissions but also of emissions from the fuel production chain and possible effects on the ecosystem carbon storages. It is important to be able to assess the combined, total effect of these different emissions and to express the results in a comprehensive way. In this study, a new concept called relative radiative forcing commitment (RRFC) is presented and applied to depict the greenhouse impact of some combustible fuels currently used in Finland. RRFC is a ratio that accounts for the energy absorbed in the Earth system due to changes in greenhouse gas concentrations (production and combustion of fuel) compared to the energy released in the combustion of fuel. RRFC can also be expressed as a function of time in order to give a dynamic cumulative picture on the caused effect. Varying time horizons can be studied separately, as is the case when studying the effects of different climate policies on varying time scales. The RRFC for coal for 100 years is about 170, which means that in 100 years 170 times more energy is absorbed in the atmosphere due to the emissions of coal combustion activity than is released in combustion itself. RRFC values of the other studied fuel production chains varied from about 30 (forest residues fuel) to 190 (peat fuel) for the 100-year study period. The length of the studied time horizon had an impact on the RRFC values and, to some extent, on the relative positions of various fuels

Evidence-based design strategies to produce health promoting landscapes

Outdoor Environments for Health and Well-being is an international master’s program offered at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) at Alnarp¸ leading to a Master of Science degree with a specialization in Environmental Psychology. The course Nature-Based Interventions LK0306 focuses on how different types of natural outdoor settings can be used for interventions as part of treatment, rehabilitation and programs for the prevention and promotion of healthy everyday habits in different user groups. This factsheet is the final product of the students’ work within the course during the autumn term of 2019. This year, Associate Professor John Rayner, contributed to this factsheet with his thoughts on the findings from the different groups’ work

Dietary index based on the Food Standards Agency nutrient profiling system and risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

Background: Nutri-score is now widely available in food packages in Europe. Aim: To study the overall nutritional quality of the diet in relation to risks of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Methods: We collected dietary data at baseline from validated food frequency questionnaires. We used a dietary index based on the UK Food Standards Agency modified nutrient profiling system (FSAm-NPS-DI) underlying the Nutri-Score label, to measure the nutritional quality of the diet. We estimated the association between FSAm-NPS-DI score, and CD and UC risks using Cox models stratified by centre, sex and age; and adjusted for smoking status, BMI, physical activity, energy intake, educational level and alcohol intake. Results: We included 394,255 participants (68.1% women; mean age at recruitment 52.1 years). After a mean follow-up of 13.6 years, there were 184 incident cases of CD and 459 incident cases of UC. Risk of CD was higher in those with a lower nutritional quality, that is higher FSAm-NPS-DI Score (fourth vs. first quartile: aHR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.24–3.36; p-trend: <0.01). Among items of the FSAm-NPS-DI Score, low intakes of dietary fibre and fruits/vegetables/legumes/nuts were associated with higher risk of CD. Nutritional quality was not associated with risk of UC (fourth vs. first quartile of the FSAm-NPS-DI Score: aHR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.69–1.21; p-trend: 0.76). Conclusions: A diet with low nutritional quality as measured by the FSAm-NPS-DI Score is associated with a higher risk of CD but not UC

Microenvironmental regulation of metastasis

Metastasis is a multistage process that requires cancer cells to escape from the primary tumour, survive in the circulation, seed at distant sites and grow. Each of these processes involves rate-limiting steps that are influenced by non-malignant cells of the tumour microenvironment. Many of these cells are derived from the bone marrow, particularly the myeloid lineage, and are recruited by cancer cells to enhance their survival, growth, invasion and dissemination. This Review describes experimental data demonstrating the role of the microenvironment in metastasis, identifies areas for future research and suggests possible new therapeutic avenues

Elevers attityder till hälsa och kost relaterat till skolprestation

Detta examensarbete behandlar huruvida elevers attityder till hälsa och kost är relaterat till deras attityd om skolprestation. Eleverna som deltog i undersökningen gick på en skola i en förort till Malmö och arbetade under tre veckor med ett hälso-tema som behandlade kost, motion och välbefinnande. Mina frågeställningar lyder: • Hur ser elevernas fysiska aktivitet ut? • Hur ser elevernas matvanor ut? • Hur ser eleverna själva på sina skolprestationer och prestationer i övrigt? • Har temaveckorna ändrat elevernas syn på någon av punkterna ovan? Jag har med hjälp av ovanstående frågor försökt se om fysisk aktivitet har någon koppling till hur eleverna ser på sina skolprestationer och sitt kostval. Min undersökningsmetod var enkäter som kompletterades med enskilda samtal angående enkätfrågorna. Enkätsvaren visade att 78 % av eleverna hade fysiska aktiviteter efter skoltid och att dessa elever fann det viktigt att prestera så bra som möjligt i skolan med undantag av en elev. Eleverna var ganska noga med vad de åt men mest var det föräldrarna som bestämde dieten. Samtliga elever uppgav att de var mer medvetna efter temaveckorna om sin diet och sin fysiska aktivitet

När mitt barns cancer inte kan botas : Föräldrars uppfattningar av den pediatriska palliativa vården

Idag överlever cirka 80 % av de barn som drabbas av cancer men fortfarande finns de barn som inte kan botas och där behandlingen övergår i en palliativ fas. Inom den pediatriska vården är det viktigt med ett familjeperspektiv vilket innebär att hela familjen ska involveras i barnets vård. Det är av stor vikt att dessa familjer får bra stöd i situationen vilket är viktigt att sjuksköterskan bidrar med. Problem kan uppstå när sjuksköterskan har svårt att förstå föräldrarnas situation och därmed blir det svårt att individanpassa det stöd som föräldern verkligen behöver. Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva föräldrars uppfattningar av att vårda sitt cancersjuka barn i den palliativa vården. Examensarbetet är en litteraturstudie där 10 artiklar analyserats och sammanställts. Resultatet utgörs av tre teman ”Kommunikation”, ”Behovet av stöd” och ”Upprätthålla vardagen”. God och tydlig kommunikation är av största vikt för att föräldrar ska kunna känna sig delaktiga och involverade i sitt barns vård. Kommunikationen är en viktig grund i att föräldrar ska känna stöd och därigenom kunna bevara hoppet. Det är viktigt att föräldrarna får stöd från sjuksköterskan och övrig omgivning då de har fullt upp med sitt sjuka barn och att pussla ihop livets alla områden. I diskussionen fördjupas de mest framstående fynden ur resultatet med ny litteratur som förstärker och bekräftar de faktorer som verkar mest viktiga för de föräldrar som vårdar sitt cancersjuka barn i den palliativa vården

Ett klusterliknande fenomen : En fallstudie av området Fuengirola

Fuengirola är en stad som är belägen på den spanska solkusten. Sedan 60-talet har staden lockat till sig utlandssvenskar och med åren har allt fler utlandssvenskar valt att bosätta sig i området. Bland de bosatta utlandssvenskarna benämns Fuengirola som svenskkolonin och senare år har även allt fler svenskdrivna organisationer anslutit sig till området för att driva sina verksamheter. Det är ett uppmärksammat fenomen att staden blivit ett centrum för svenskar och svenskdrivna organisationer. Denna uppsats ämnar till att undersöka fenomenet i Fuengirola utifrån ett klusterperspektiv. En fallstudie har genomförts där intervjuer med sex stycken svenskdrivna organisationer samt tolv stycken bosatta utlandssvenskar gjorts. Studien visar att särskiljande karaktärsdrag från de fyra olika klustertyperna näringslivskluster, teknikkluster, etniskt kluster och turismkluster återfinns i Fuengirola. Det kan således även konstateras att det är ett klusterliknande fenomen i Fuengirola

Securing the Fort : a case study of motivating factors for cybersecurity

As organizations increasingly embrace digitalization, they encounter both benefits and threats that necessitate a keen focus on cybersecurity and organizational management. The rapidly evolving technological landscape demands continuous research to address the challenges and uncertainties faced by organizations. This thesis aims to investigate the motivation behind employee adherence to cybersecurity directives and the factors influencing management's implementation of such directives. The theoretical framework used as influence in this thesis is the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, with a specific focus on a case study of an IT-infrastructure and consultant firm. Through a qualitative approach utilizing semi-structured interviews, this thesis provides insights into the motivating factors that drive employee compliance and the key considerations guiding management's cybersecurity practices. By illuminating these factors, this thesis offers valuable guidance for organizations seeking to enhance their cybersecurity and overall performance. This thesis also applied the TOE framework on a new context, further expanding its applicability

Effektivisering av en administrativ process

For a long time Lean has been a well-known concept among manufacturers. The interest of understanding Lean and the ability to implement it is common among companies. The concept of Lean, used in the right way, can help companies to reduce their lead times, their complexity and increase the efficiency of the working processes (Hyer och Wemmerlöv, 2002). Unfortunately the work towards increased efficiency has primarily been focused on manufacturing and plant work, resulting in that Lean has been adjusted to these areas. The conclusion of this is that companies don´t prioritize to improve processes such as administrative ones. (Strategic Direction, 2005) According to Hyer and Wemmerlöv (2002), the companies can improve administrative processes with up to 50%, if only they were prioritized. To investigate this problem further, a thesis has been completed, where possible improvements for administrative processes has been confirmed. Among these suggestions, the solution that proved to provide the largest potentiating was identified through calculations. The issues addressed in this thesis have a clear connection to the stated purpose. Additionally too accomplish the purpose of the thesis, the project was divided into two major parts. The case study at the company was the first part, and the result given from that study was later validated in a literature study. The combination of these two parts led to the final result. By applying the methods, presented in the literature study, of removing the non-value added time and decrease the remaining value-added time a calculated result were accomplished. The final measurable potentiate reached circa 35%, as found in the calculations under the result section. In conclusion the project group found a great amount of improvement potential within processes, the administrative ones included. The result of this case study shows that Hyer and Wemmerlöv (2002) were right about the high improvement potential. By more implementation of Lean and Sex Sigma the group believe that the improvements at the company can be continuous