97 research outputs found

    Val av energieffektiviserande åtgärder: en studie av fastighetsägarnas investeringsbedömning vid renovering

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    In order to achieve the national climate goals in Sweden, energy-efficiency has been noticed as a strategic area. Despite of the possibility, investments in sustainable retrofit of building blocks are not prioritized among property owners. Instead, projects with a higher profit are chosen. Therefore, it is essential to scrutinize the decision-makers motivation during this investments and how the profitability are measured among property owners. The purpose of this master thesis is to highlight the property owners’ priorities and considerations when investing in energy-efficiency packages during sustainable retrofits. The study is designed with an explorative approach, where the phenomenon can be studied with a qualitative method. It is a combination of multiple case-studies and an interview study, which have been analyzed with the foundation of a theoretical framework consisting of investment planning and retrofits. The property owners prioritize the following aspects when investing in energy-efficiency packages during sustainable retrofits; the building's requirements, packages with a small investment cost, decrease operation costs and the property management. The building’s technical requirements determine the possibilities of investment and the available capital crucial. Three dimensions can be identified for the profitability assessment, to the extent of a formalized process; standardized (formal), routine and experience based (in formal).För att uppnå de nationella klimatmålen har energieffektivisering vid renovering av flerbostadshus uppmärksammats som ett strategiskt område. Dock väljer många fastighetsägare bort investeringar i energieffektiviserande åtgärder till förmån för projekt som anses vara mer lönsamma. Därmed är det av intresse att undersöka hur fastighetsägarna motiverar sina val vid investeringar i energieffektiviserande åtgärder och hur de bedömer lönsamheten i åtgärderna. Syftet med det här examensarbetet är att belysa vad fastig-hetsägarna beaktar vid en investering i energieffektiviserande åtgärder vid renovering av flerbostadshus. Studien utgår från en explorativ ansats, där ett empiriskt fenomen studeras utifrån en kvalitativ metod. Den är utformad som en kombination av multipla fallstudier och intervjustudier, som har analyserats utifrån ett teoretiskt ramverk inom investeringsbedömning och val av energieffektiviserande åtgärder. Fastighetsägarna prioriterar följande faktorer vid en investering i energieffektiviserande åtgärder vid en renovering; fastighetens behov, åtgärder med en liten investeringskostnad, minska fastighetens driftskostnad samt förvaltning av fastig-heten. Fastighetens tekniska behov avgör möjligheten till in-vestering, därefter är det ekonomiska investeringsutrymmet avgörande. Tre mönster synliggörs vid fastighetsägarnas vid lönsamhetsbedömning, utifrån graden av formalisering; stan-dardiserad (formell), slentrianmässig samt erfarenhetsbaserad (informell)

    Six Tissue Transcriptomics Reveals Specific Immune Suppression in Spleen by Dietary Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

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    Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are suggested to modulate immune function, but the effects of dietary fatty acids composition on gene expression patterns in immune organs have not been fully characterized. In the current study we investigated how dietary fatty acids composition affects the total transcriptome profile, and especially, immune related genes in two immune organs, spleen (SPL) and bone marrow cells (BMC). Four tissues with metabolic function, skeletal muscle (SKM), white adipose tissue (WAT), brown adipose tissue (BAT), and liver (LIV), were investigated as a comparison. Following 8 weeks on low fat diet (LFD), high fat diet (HFD) rich in saturated fatty acids (HFD-S), or HFD rich in PUFA (HFD-P), tissue transcriptomics were analyzed by microarray and metabolic health assessed by fasting blood glucose level, HOMA-IR index, oral glucose tolerance test as well as quantification of crown-like structures in WAT. HFD-P corrected the metabolic phenotype induced by HFD-S. Interestingly, SKM and BMC were relatively inert to the diets, whereas the two adipose tissues (WAT and BAT) were mainly affected by HFD per se (both HFD-S and HFD-P). In particular, WAT gene expression was driven closer to that of the immune organs SPL and BMC by HFDs. The LIV exhibited different responses to both of the HFDs. Surprisingly, the spleen showed a major response to HFD-P (82 genes differed from LFD, mostly immune genes), while it was not affected at all by HFD-S (0 genes differed from LFD). In conclusion, the quantity and composition of dietary fatty acids affected the transcriptome in distinct manners in different organs. Remarkably, dietary PUFA, but not saturated fat, prompted a specific regulation of immune related genes in the spleen, opening the possibility that PUFA can regulate immune function by influencing gene expression in this organ

    Alcohol intake in relation to non-fatal and fatal coronary heart disease and stroke : EPIC-CVD case-cohort study

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    OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between alcohol consumption (at baseline and over lifetime) and non-fatal and fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. DESIGN Multicentre case-cohort study. SETTING A study of cardiovascular disease (CVD) determinants within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition cohort (EPIC-CVD) from eight European countries. PARTICIPANTS 32 549 participants without baseline CVD, comprised of incident CVD cases and a subcohort for comparison. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Non-fatal and fatal CHD and stroke (including ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke). RESULTS There were 9307 non-fatal CHD events, 1699 fatal CHD, 5855 non-fatal stroke, and 733 fatal stroke. Baseline alcohol intake was inversely associated with non-fatal CHD, with a hazard ratio of 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.92 to 0.96) per 12 g/day higher intake. There was a J shaped association between baseline alcohol intake and risk of fatal CHD. The hazard ratios were 0.83 (0.70 to 0.98), 0.65 (0.53 to 0.81), and 0.82 (0.65 to 1.03) for categories 5.0-14.9 g/day, 15.0-29.9 g/day, and 30.0-59.9 g/day of total alcohol intake, respectively, compared with 0.1-4.9 g/ day. In contrast, hazard ratios for non-fatal and fatal stroke risk were 1.04 (1.02 to 1.07), and 1.05 (0.98 to 1.13) per 12 g/day increase in baseline alcohol intake, respectively, including broadly similar findings for ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke. Associations with cardiovascular outcomes were broadly similar with average lifetime alcohol consumption as for baseline alcohol intake, and across the eight countries studied. There was no strong evidence for interactions of alcohol consumption with smoking status on the risk of CVD events. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol intake was inversely associated with non-fatal CHD risk but positively associated with the risk of different stroke subtypes. This highlights the opposing associations of alcohol intake with different CVD types and strengthens the evidence for policies to reduce alcohol consumption.Peer reviewe

    Aid on Demand: African Leaders and the Geography of China's Foreign Assistance

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