An assessment of lessons learned in the communication and dissemination of emerging scientific issues to environmental policymakers. Part 1: Comprehensive Report

The relationship between science and policy is often seen as difficult. Yet from climate change to food security, many of the biggest challenges facing the world today rely upon effective policy making, based upon the best science and evidence. We need to make sure that we have established the right level of communication and relationship between these two groups. This research project sets out to look at that communication process: to examine closely the communications involved in real-life science-to-policy case studies and to identify the lessons from the past that can help us deal with scientific issues that are emerging now and those that will emerge in the future

Freight car dispatching with generalized flows

In the freight car dispatching problem empty freight cars have to be assigned to known demands respecting a given time horizon and certain constraints. The goal is to minimize the resulting transportation costs. One of the constraints is that customers can specify the type of cars they want. It is possible, however, that cars of certain types can be substituted by other cars, either in a 1-to-1 fashion or at different exchange rates. We show that these substitutions make the dispatching problem hard to solve and hard to approximate. We model the dispatching problem as an integral generalized transportation problem on a bipartite graph. Using rounding techniques, the LP-relaxation can be transformed to a transportation schedule violating some of the constraints slightly. Under an additional assumption on the cost function we fix this violation and derive a $4$-approximation of the problem

Independent and Combined Effects of Exercise and Vitamin D on Muscle Morphology, Function and Falls in the Elderly

Regular exercise, particularly progressive resistance training (PRT), is recognized as one of the most effective strategies to prevent age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia), but its effects on muscle function are mixed. However, emerging data indicates that high velocity PRT (fast concentric muscle contractions) is more effective for improving functional outcomes than traditional PRT. In terms of falls prevention, high-challenging balance training programs appear to be most effective. There is also compelling evidence that supplemental vitamin D is an effective therapeutic option for falls prevention. The findings from a recent meta-analysis revealed that supplemental vitamin D at a dose of at least 700–1,000 IU/d or an achieved serum 25(OH)D level of at least 60 nmol/L was associated with reduced falls risk among older individuals. Based on these findings, it is possible that the combination of exercise and vitamin D could have a synergistic effect on muscle morphology and function, particularly since both interventions have been shown to have beneficial effects on type II “fast twitch” muscle fibers and systemic inflammation, which have both been linked to losses in muscle mass and function. Unfortunately however, the findings from the limited number of factorial 2 × 2 design RCTs indicate that additional vitamin D does not enhance the effects of exercise on measures of muscle morphology, function or falls risk. However, none of these trials were adequately powered to detect a “synergistic” effect between the two treatment strategies, but it is likely that if an exercise-by-vitamin D interaction does exist, it may be limited to situations when vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency is corrected. Further targeted research in “high risk” groups is still needed to address this question, and evaluate whether there is a threshold level of serum 25(OH)D to maximize the effects of exercise on muscle and falls risk

The vitamin D, ionised calcium and parathyroid hormone axis of cerebral capillary function: Therapeutic considerations for vascular-based neurodegenerative disorders

Blood-brain barrier dysfunction characterised by brain parenchymal extravasation of plasma proteins may contribute to risk of neurodegenerative disorders, however the mechanisms for increased capillary permeability are not understood. Increasing evidence suggests vitamin D confers central nervous system benefits and there is increasing demand for vitamin D supplementation. Vitamin D may influence the CNS via modulation of capillary function, however such effects may be indirect as it has a central role in maintaining calcium homeostasis, in concert with calcium regulatory hormones. This study utilised an integrated approach and investigated the effects of vitamin D supplementation, parathyroid tissue ablation (PTX), or exogenous infusion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on cerebral capillary integrity. Parenchymal extravasation of immunoglobulin G (IgG) was used as a marker of cerebral capillary permeability. In C57BL/6J mice and Sprague Dawley rats, dietary vitamin D was associated with exaggerated abundance of IgG within cerebral cortex (CTX) and hippocampal formation (HPF). Vitamin D was also associated with increased plasma ionised calcium (iCa) and decreased PTH. A response to dose was suggested and parenchymal effects persisted for up to 24 weeks. Ablation of parathyroid glands increased CTX- and HPF-IgG abundance concomitant with a reduction in plasma iCa. With the provision of PTH, iCa levels increased, however the PTH treated animals did not show increased cerebral permeability. Vitamin D supplemented groups and rats with PTH-tissue ablation showed modestly increased parenchymal abundance of glial-fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a marker of astroglial activation. PTH infusion attenuated GFAP abundance. The findings suggest that vitamin D can compromise capillary integrity via a mechanism that is independent of calcium homeostasis. The effects of exogenous vitamin D supplementation on capillary function and in the context of prevention of vascular neurodegenerative conditions should be considered in the context of synergistic effects with calcium modulating hormones

KAJT Projektkatalog 2022-03-31

Sammanställning av aktuella projekt inom Branschprogram Kapacitet i järnvägstrafiken (KAJT)

KAJT Projektkatalog 2024-03-31 : BRANSCHPROGRAMKAPACITET I JÄRNVÄGSTRAFIKEN

Sammanställning av aktuella projekt inom Branschprogram Kapacitet i järnvägstrafiken (KAJT)

FoI-områden relaterade till C-DAS och TMS

I denna rapport beskrivs ett antal olika områden som är relevanta för forskning och innovation i området C-DAS koppling till Trafikledning och Digital graf. Utgångspunkt är erfarenheter från tidigare svenska installationer och ”piloter” med C-DAS i Sverige, och vilka förbättringar som behövs ur Trafikverkets perspektiv för att nyttiggöra den potential som C-DAS ger. De forskningsområden som tas fram prioriteras efter två parametrar: hur viktiga områdena är för Trafikverket och hur mycket forskningen kan bidra till utveckling av området. Prioriteringar ligger dels till grund för Trafikverkets utpekade områden relaterat till detta inom EU-RAIL, och kan även användas för prioritering av FoI i andra sammanhang. Rapporten innehåller även enkla översikter av i sammanhanget relevanta områden, som upplägg och innehåll i EU-RAIL, standarder inom området (SFERA) och hur järnvägsbranschen ser på framtida användning av C-DAS.Detta projekt har finansierats av Trafikverket inom ramen för Forskningsprogram Kapacitet i järnvägstrafiken (KAJT) (TRV 2021/106714).</p