Technical change, carbon dioxide reduction and energy consumption in the Swedish pulp and paper industry 1973-2006

This study examines the historical relation between carbon dioxide emission and output growth in the Swedish pulp and paperindustry 1973-2006. We find that the industry achieved an 80 per cent reduction in CO2 emission. Foremost energy substitution but also efficiently improvement contributed to the reduction. Growing prices of fossil fuel due to market price change and taxes and subvention, explains most of the efficiency improvements and substitution. Taxes on energy explain 40 per cent of the total reduction in CO2 intensity. Most of the reduction took place before the implementation of active climate policy in 1991.Sweden; Climate policy; economic growth; carbon dioxide reduction; carbon tax; paper and plant industry

The interaction between metabolic rate, habitat choice, and resource use in a polymorphic freshwater species

Resource polymorphism is common across taxa and can result in alternate ecotypes with specific morphologies, feeding modes, and behaviors that increase performance in a specific habitat. This can result in high intraspecific variation in the expression of specific traits and the extent to which these traits are correlated within a single population. Although metabolic rate influences resource acquisition and the overall pace of life of individuals it is not clear how metabolic rate interacts with the larger suite of traits to ultimately determine individual fitness. We examined the relationship between metabolic rates and the major differences (habitat use, morphology, and resource use) between littoral and pelagic ecotypes of European perch (Perca fluviatilis) from a single lake in Central Sweden. Standard metabolic rate (SMR) was significantly higher in pelagic perch but did not correlate with resource use or morphology. Maximum metabolic rate (MMR) was not correlated with any of our explanatory variables or with SMR. Aerobic scope (AS) showed the same pattern as SMR, differing across habitats, but contrary to expectations, was lower in pelagic perch. This study helps to establish a framework for future experiments further exploring the drivers of intraspecific differences in metabolism. In addition, since metabolic rates scale with temperature and determine predator energy requirements, our observed differences in SMR across habitats will help determine ecotype-specific vulnerabilities to climate change and differences in top-down predation pressure across habitats

Human papillomavirus subtypes are not uncommon

AbstractWhile both variants and types of human papillomavirus (HPV) are common, subtypes (2–10% sequence divergence in the L1 gene) have been considered to be rare. We searched GenBank and in-house databases using a 440 nt L1 fragment and identified 7, 30 and 10 subtypes/putative subtypes in the HPV genera Alpha, Beta and Gamma, respectively. The number of types/putative types in each genus was 54, 58 and 103. Thus, there appears to exist at least 47 different subtypes/putative subtypes of HPV and they seem to be particularly common in the genus Beta-papillomavirus

Pseudovirion-binding and neutralizing antibodies to cutaneous Human Papillomaviruses correlated to presence of HPV DNA in skin.

We compared seroreactivity to Human papillomavirus (HPV) antigens measured with two different high-throughput assays. One method used GST-L1 fusion proteins and the other heparin-bound HPV pseudovirions as antigens and both methods used multiplexed fluorescent beads for detection. For six HPV types (5, 6, 15, 16, 32 and 38), seroreactivity could be measured in parallel for 434 serum samples from non-immunosuppressed patients with skin lesions (squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, basal cell carcinoma of the skin, actinic keratosis and benign skin lesions). Biopsies from the skin lesions were tested for presence of HPV DNA using three different PCR methods, with typing by sequencing. Among the types included in the serological tests, HPV DNA of types HPV5, 15, 38 and 76 were most frequently detected in the tumours. Serum samples from subjects with HPV DNA positive biopsies and randomly selected serum samples from subjects with HPV DNA negative biopsies were also tested with neutralization assays with HPV5, 38 and 76 pseudovirions. Agreement of the three serological methods varied from poor to moderate and showed limited consistency. Type-specific seroprevalences among patients positive for the same type of HPV DNA (sensitivity of serology) was improved with the pseudovirion-based method (average of 40%, maximum 63%) compared to the GST-L1 method (average of 20%, maximum of 25%). Neutralization was the most sensitive assay for HPV38 (50%). In summary, the pseudovirion-based methods appeared to have an improved sensitivity

Adsorption of Fibrinogen on Silica Surfaces-The Effect of Attached Nanoparticles

When a biomaterial is inserted into the body, proteins rapidly adsorb onto its surface, creating a conditioning protein film that functions as a link between the implant and adhering cells. Depending on the nano-roughness of the surface, proteins will adsorb in different amounts, with different conformations and orientations, possibly affecting the subsequent attachment of cells to the surface. Thus, modifications of the surface nanotopography of an implant may prevent biomaterial-associated infections. Fibrinogen is of particular importance since it contains adhesion epitopes that are recognized by both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, and can therefore influence the adhesion of bacteria. The aim of this study was to model adsorption of fibrinogen to smooth or nanostructured silica surfaces in an attempt to further understand how surface nanotopography may affect the orientation of the adsorbed fibrinogen molecule. We used a coarse-grained model, where the main body of fibrinogen (visible in the crystal structure) was modeled as rigid and the flexible α C-chains (not visible in the crystal structure) were modeled as completely disordered. We found that the elongated fibrinogen molecule preferably adsorbs in such a way that it protrudes further into solution on a nanostructured surface compared to a flat one. This implicates that the orientation on the flat surface increases its bio-availability

Miljökompensation vid exploatering av Natura 2000

The purpose of the thesis is to describe how environmental compensation is carried through when it comes to exploitation of Natura 2000. The thesis also relates to the three theories of planning synoptic, advocacy and transactive. Three cases of environmental compensation have been studied from three different countries where an exploitation of the Natura 2000 is done. Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands have all been working with environmental impact assessments as a demand to be able to carry through their projects. The projects concern the development of a railway track, an industry and a port which all have been approved by the EU-commission to carry on because of socioeconomic reasons. When society will meet nature the complexity of the environmental compensation is extensive. There are many aspects to consider such as ethical, economical and ecological aspects. In a small extent it is about priority but the values of Natura 2000 cannot be disregarded. One of the most important aspects to consider in exploitation is time. The environmental impact assessment must be completed before the irreversible effect occurs. The case study of Germany has shown that their impact assessment is not completed in spite of the fact that the exploitation of Natura 2000 is already in place. Such a situation can lead to devastating consequences to the habitats and species in the area. In worst scenario it can lead to their extinction. Another aspect concerning the planning is in what extent the society can influence and bring up their opinions. The projects are comprehensive which also makes the procedure of planning extensive and the decisions are made by authorities and governments. Despite this there have been possibilities in all cases to the society to effect. When working with the case studies I have understood that the voice of the small person hardly can reach out but there is shown that Non Governmental Organizations can effect and change a decision. When it comes to the theories of planning all cases can be placed under the synoptic theory. As the theory says there is in all the cases a planning done with a long future involved. In a short period of time the exploitation will make some damage which will cost a huge sum of money but in the long run mainly positive effects will remain including the work of the environmental impact assessment. One conclusion of the thesis is that we all are dependent on the nature which we therefore have to care about. It is also important that we not just care about the Natura 2000 areas but also our every day landscape. If we just would exploit low valued land without any compensational measures, does not this land then disappear gradually and the value will finally increase? In that case we have come into a similar situation as the Natura 2000 area that an environmental impact assessment has to be done to prevent the extinction of specious and habitats. Why not compensate all kind of land from the beginning? One aspect which hardly is mentioned is the potential qualities of an area. The demand of today´s environmental compensation is to compensate for ecological values. With that nothing is said about environmental compensation of the potential values and functions of the area. Remember that all our nature has got values to pay attention to, existing values as well as potential values

Decomposing the Sources of Earnings Inequality: Assessing the Role of Reallocation

This paper exploits longitudinal employer-employee matched data from the U.S. Census Bureau to investigate the contribution of worker and firm reallocation to changes in earnings inequality within and across industries between 1992 and 2003. We find that factors that cannot be measured using standard cross-sectional data, including the entry and exit of firms and the sorting of workers across firms, are important sources of changes in earnings distributions over time. Our results also suggest that the dynamics driving changes in earnings inequality are heterogeneous across industries.inequality, linked employer-employee data, sorting

Decomposing the Sources of Earnings Inequality Assessing the Role of Reallocation

This paper uses matched employer-employee data from the Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics database to investigate the contribution of worker and firm reallocation to within industry changes in wage inequality between 1992 and 2003. We find that the entry and exit of firms and the sorting of workers and firms based on underlying worker "skills" are important determinants of changes in industry earnings distributions over time. Our results suggest that the underlying dynamics of earnings inequality are complex and are due to factors that cannot be measured in standard crosssectional data.

Green perception for well-being in dense urban areas

A previous study (n = 24,819) of semi-urban and rural areas in the Skåne region, southern Sweden, showed that people living in flats are dependent on having green space with several characteristics for different affordances close to their homes to be satisfied with their neighbourhood. The two studies presented in this paper focuses on the urban area of Malmö, the largest city in Skåne. Equivalent criteria for the presence of certain characteristics within 300 m from home were used, however analysed from other kinds of data than the regional study. In both the previous rural/semi-urban study as well as the urban studies presented here, respondents report being more satisfied with their neighbourhood the more qualities that are present within 300 m of their home. Less than half of the apartment-dwelling respondents in the Malmö urban area are satisfied with their neighbourhood if less than half of the characteristics are available within 300 m. Even when there are few characteristics close by, people living in their own house are generally more satisfied with their neighbourhood (70 % or more irrespective of area type) than tenants are. A relatively high concordance between the two studies, despite the fact that they represent different kinds of landscape (semi-urban and rural vs. urban) and different scales (region vs. municipality), adds validity to the recreational characteristics as a tool for assessing well-being qualities of neighbourhood landscapes. The results from the studies of Malmö were also related to average household income and a clear association between our studies’ data on accessibility to serene areas and household income was found. This finding suggests that creating additional serene green space in low-income areas could be a tool to help the municipality reduce segregation