Att passera gränsen för det normala,

Discussions about the sustainable city are now all over the world and many believe that the solutions are merely technical. But what gives the city its character is what is happening in the public places. It is these spaces that bring the people together. Design is the key to sustainable urban spaces. We must produce public places that reflect our society. If not, we have not created sustainability. This essay will highlight a shortcoming of the Swedish landscape architecture, which is not addressed in the public debate on Swedish landscape architecture. Swedish landscape architects rarely passes the limit of what can be considered common or normal. This mainly shows in the non-use of powerful colours and noticeable patterns. Each human being is different from one and other, our public spaces should reflect such differences and be more diverse. This paper primarily consists of literary studies and case studies as well as a conversation and a lecture. The literature studies have included studies of websites, magazines, literature on the modern landscape and architectural theory. Swedish landscape is described as uncomplicated, functional and uses a large extent of domestic materials. Extremes can be considered taboo in Sweden and Swedish landscape architectures rarely dare to stretch boundaries. There are many reasons for this. In Sweden there are almost no debate on Swedish landscape architecture, the field lacks a forum for such debate. The Swedish people have long been influenced by the image of themselves as a people with a uniform taste, “the Swedish taste”, which is simplicity and functionality. Sweden is young as an urban country and urbanity is a prerequisite for innovation and creativity. There are many different landscape architectural expressions you can work with and develop to get a more innovative approach. Colour and pattern are the landscape architectural expression that this thesis mainly deals with and to illustrate this, four different projects have been studied and described. These projects are pushing back the limits of what can be considered as normal in the use of bright colours or noticeable pattern as the basis of the design. One conclusion to be drawn from the paper is that the Swedish landscape architectural field rather relates to the Swedish landscape architectural tradition than to the complex context in which we live and operate in. However, there are opportunities for development

Young Tornedalians in education : the challenges of being national minority pupils in the Swedish school system

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Virksomheders sundhedsfremme: Frigørende eller umyndiggørende?

Medarbejderes sundhed anskues i stigende grad som en ledelsesopgave, som er betydningsfuld for virksomheders produktivitet. Sundhed kobles nemlig til produktivitet, som efterspørges i det moderne arbejdsliv. Sundhedsfremmende initiativer vinder derfor frem på mange arbejdspladser, og denne udvikling italesættes som ensidig positiv. Men hvad betyder det egentlig for medarbejderne, når arbejdspladsen blander sig i, om medarbejderne bør tage et stykke kage mere eller springe rødvinen over fredag aften? Denne kronik belyser det paradoks, der opstår, når medarbejderes sundhed bliver et fælles anliggende mellem medarbejder og virksomhed. Når sundhed på den ene side fremstår som en personalegode og på den anden side som en disciplinering af medarbejderes sundhedsadfærd, kan det både anskues som frigørende og umyndiggørende processer

Seasonal influenza split vaccines confer partial cross-protection against heterologous influenza virus in ferrets when combined with the CAF01 adjuvant

Influenza epidemics occur annually, and estimated 5–10% of the adult population and 20–30% of children will become ill from influenza infection. Seasonal vaccines primarily work through the induction of neutralizing antibodies against the principal surface antigen hemagglutinin (HA). This important role of HA-specific antibodies explains why previous pandemics have emerged when new HAs have appeared in circulating human viruses. It has long been recognized that influenza virus-specific CD4(+) T cells are important in protection from infection through direct effector mechanisms or by providing help to B cells and CD8(+) T cells. However, the seasonal influenza vaccine is poor at inducing CD4(+) T-cell responses and needs to be combined with an adjuvant facilitating this response. In this study, we applied the ferret model to investigate the cross-protective efficacy of a heterologous trivalent influenza split-virion (TIV) vaccine adjuvanted with the CAF01 adjuvant, with proven ability to induce CD4(+) T-cell and antibody responses in mice, ferrets, pigs, primates, and humans. Our results indicate that CAF01-adjuvanted vaccine induces HA inhibition (HAI)-independent protection after heterologous challenge, manifested as reduced viral load and fever. On the other hand, we observe increased inflammation in the airways and more neutrophil and mononuclear cell infiltration in these ferrets when compared with optimally protected animals, i.e., ferrets receiving the same vaccine but a homologous challenge. This suggest that HAI-independent immunity induced by TIV + CAF01 can reduce viral shedding and systemic disease symptoms, but does not reduce local inflammation in the nasal cavity

FFAR4 (GPR120) signaling is not required for anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing effects of omega-3 fatty acids

Free fatty acid receptor-4 (FFAR4), also known as GPR120, has been reported to mediate the beneficial effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3-PUFAs) by inducing an anti-inflammatory immune response. Thus, activation of FFAR4 has been reported to ameliorate chronic low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance accompanying obesity. However, conflicting reports on the role of FFAR4 in mediating the effects of ω3-PUFAs are emerging, suggesting that FFAR4 may not be the sole effector. Hence analyses of the importance of this receptor in relation to other signaling pathways and prominent effects of ω3-PUFAs remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we used Ffar4 knockouts (KO) and heterozygous (HET) mice fed either low fat, low sucrose reference diet; high fat, high sucrose ω3-PUFA; or high fat, high sucrose ω6-PUFA diet for 36 weeks. We demonstrate that both KO and HET mice fed ω3-PUFAs were protected against obesity, hepatic triacylglycerol accumulation, and whole-body insulin resistance. Moreover, ω3-PUFA fed mice had increased circulating protein levels of the anti-inflammatory adipokine, adiponectin, decreased fasting insulin levels, and decreased mRNA expression of several proinflammatory molecules within visceral adipose tissue. In conclusion, we find that FFAR4 signaling is not required for the reported anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing effects mediated by ω3-PUFAs