Assessing energy security: An overview of commonly used methodologies

This paper provides an overview of methodologies used for quantitative evaluations of security of supply. The studied material is mainly based on peer-reviewed articles and the methodologies are classified according to which stage in the supply chain their main focus is directed to, as well as their scientific background. Our overview shows that a broad variety of approaches is used, but that there are still some important gaps, especially if the aim is to study energy security in a future-oriented way. First, there is a need to better understand how sources of insecurity can develop over time and how they are affected by the development of the energy system. Second, the current tendency to study the security of supply for each energy carrier separately needs to be complemented by comparisons of different energy carrier's supply chains. Finally, the mainly static perspective on system structure should be complemented with perspectives that to a greater extent take the systems' adaptive capacity and transformability into account, as factors with a potential to reduce the systems vulnerabilities. Furthermore, it may be beneficial to use methodological combinations, conduct more thorough sensitivity analysis and alter the mind-set from securing energy flows to securing energy services

Serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) decreases in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with infliximab or etanercept.

Changes in serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) were studied during a 6-month period from initiation of treatment of rheumatoid arthritis patients with either infliximab or etanercept, to elucidate whether the favourable results of tissue protection reported in clinical trials are corroborated by changing levels of circulating COMP. Rheumatoid arthritis patients commencing treatment with infliximab (N = 32) or etanercept (N = 17) were monitored in accordance with a structured protocol. Only patients who were not receiving glucocorticoids or who were on a stable dose of oral prednisolone (<10 mg daily) were included. Serum COMP was measured by a sandwich immunoassay based on two monoclonal antibodies against human COMP in samples obtained at treatment initiation and at 3 and 6 months. Serum COMP decreased at 3 months in both infliximab- and etanercept-treated patients (P < 0.001 and <0.005, respectively) and remained low at 6 months. There was no significant correlation between changes in or concentrations of serum COMP and serum C-reactive protein at any time point. A decrease in serum COMP was seen both in ACR20 responders (patients meeting the American College of Rheumatology criteria for 20% improvement) and in nonresponders. The pattern of changes of serum COMP, a marker for cartilage turnover, in these patient groups supports the interpretation that infliximab and etanercept have a joint protective effect. Serum COMP has potential as a useful marker for evaluating tissue effects of novel treatment modalities in rheumatoid arthritis

Synovial monocytes contribute to chronic inflammation in childhood-onset arthritis via IL-6/STAT signalling and cell-cell interactions

IntroductionMonocytes are key effector cells in inflammatory processes. We and others have previously shown that synovial monocytes in childhood-onset arthritis are activated. However, very little is known about how they contribute to disease and attain their pathological features. Therefore, we set out to investigate the functional alterations of synovial monocytes in childhood-onset arthritis, how they acquire this phenotype, and whether these mechanisms could be used to tailorize treatment.MethodsThe function of synovial monocytes was analysed by assays believed to reflect key pathological events, such as T-cell activation-, efferocytosis- and cytokine production assays using flow cytometry in untreated oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (oJIA) patients (n=33). The effect of synovial fluid on healthy monocytes was investigated through mass spectrometry and functional assays. To characterize pathways induced by synovial fluid, we utilized broad-spectrum phosphorylation assays and flow cytometry, as well as inhibitors to block specific pathways. Additional effects on monocytes were studied through co-cultures with fibroblast-like synoviocytes or migration in transwell systems.ResultsSynovial monocytes display functional alterations with inflammatory and regulatory features, e.g., increased ability to induce T-cell activation, resistance to cytokine production following activation with LPS and increased efferocytosis. In vitro, synovial fluid from patients induced the regulatory features in healthy monocytes, such as resistance to cytokine production and increased efferocytosis. IL-6/JAK/STAT signalling was identified as the main pathway induced by synovial fluid, which also was responsible for a majority of the induced features. The magnitude of synovial IL-6 driven activation in monocytes was reflected in circulating cytokine levels, reflecting two groups of low vs. high local and systemic inflammation. Remaining features, such as an increased ability to induce T-cell activation and markers of antigen presentation, could be induced by cell-cell interactions, specifically via co-culture with fibroblast-like synoviocytes.ConclusionsSynovial monocytes in childhood-onset arthritis are functionally affected and contribute to chronic inflammation, e.g., via promoting adaptive immune responses. These data support a role of monocytes in the pathogenesis of oJIA and highlight a group of patients more likely to benefit from targeting the IL-6/JAK/STAT axis to restore synovial homeostasis

Molecular and clinical studies of cartilage and bone macromolecules in arthritis

The pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritides include synovial inflammation and joint tissue destruction. Tissue destruction has traditionally been regarded a consequence of inflammation, but recent observations indicate that the processes are not always closely linked and may proceed uncoupled. The ultimate target organs for the destructive process are articular cartilage and bone. This thesis focuses on the pathophysiological changes in these tissues in arthritis patients differently prone to joint damage. Proteins or fragments of proteins released into synovial fluid and blood, so called molecular markers, were studied, as indicators of ongoing processes. Groups representing destructive rheumatoid arthritis (RA), non-destructive RA and psoriatic arthritis, were studied. In RA, high serum levels of the cartilage component COMP and low levels of the 846 epitope of aggrecan, correlate to joint damage. High synovial fluid aggrecan levels correlate to cartilage destruction. The pattern in psoriatic arthritis resembles in this respect that in non-destructive RA. Most changes occur early in the disease course, indicating a critical period for long-term joint damage. The findings will be useful to prognosticate future joint damage and facilitate the selection of patients likely to benefit from tissue-protective therapy. The observations indicate involvement of different pathogenic mechanisms in destructive and non-destructive arthritis. In a project aimed at exploring the turnover of a putatively regulatory cartilage protein with molecular marker potential, chondroadherin, I have studied its release from cartilage and interactions with other cartilage matrix components. Cartilage destruction in arthritis is accomplished by matrix metalloproteases. Chondroadherin was released from cartilage when treated with APMA, known to be an activator of latent metalloproteases. The released protein appeared to be intact and associated to monomeric collagen type II, a major structural element in cartilage. The interaction between chondroadherin and collagen II was characterised by electron microscopy and surface plasmon resonance assays. Future work aims at defining the interacting sites on collagen and chondroadherin, respectively, and to study the functional consequences of chondroadherin for collagen assembly into fibrils

Vetenskap, evighet och religion; en studie i Anders Nygrens religionsfilosofi

Anders Nygrens ambition was to develop a criterion by which he could distinguish between science and non-science. This is th K(v) of Nygren. According to Nygreb tgere are three ways of arguing in science which all fullfill the demand of K(v): a) deductive argumentation b) empirical argumentation and c) philosophical argumentation. a) and b) operate at the material level and c) at the formal one. c) means analysis of presuppositions. Here the concept of validity is central. Formal validity refers in the deepest formal presuppositions of experience. Nygrens basic philosophical position, his theory of knowledge, was in important respects inspired by Kant. Nygren was firmly convinced that our total experience was divided into four different areas of experience: the theoretical, the esthetical and the religious contexts of meaning. Every context of meaning has a fundamental formal category as its basis. However Nygren held that in normal sense, the religious a priori is the basis for all the four contexts of meaning. On this issue, Nygren seems to have held two opinions, difficult to reconcile. On the one hand he maintained the complete independence of the different contexts of meaning, but on the other hand he claimed thet the concept of eternity is the basis of all contexts of meaning. According to Nygren, a judgement is valid only within its own context. But this theory of "the messages" indicates the necessity of developing a multifunctionalistic theory of language. In spite of these problems, however, Nygrens theory of contexts of meaning must be regarded as a most important step on the way of clarifying the nature and function of religious language. It has been regarded as an established fact that Nygrens contexts of meaning have important relations to Wittgensteins language games. But there are important differences, particular at the attempt to define what the rules of the context have. Finally, I would like to point out that although there are problems related to Nygrens way of talking about formal presuppositions, I think that it is possible to develop presuppositions on a material level. This can be a help to find out what the presuppositional basis is of a chain of arguments

Att undervisa kring miljö och hållbar utveckling - Hur förhåller sig läroböckerna i samhällskunskap, historia och geografi till Lpf94 och de nationella kursplanerna?

Daily citizens are informed by the media about the environment and the climate changes. The schools purpose is to educate students according to events that are of current interest and take place in present time. According to Swedish curriculum, Lpf94, all Swedish education should include and discuss the problems surrounding durable development. The purpose of the study is to se how the textbooks in History, Social studies and Geography and their contents meet the demands of the curriculum. The study shows that only the textbooks in geography meets the demands that the curriculums have on durable development. Social studies, on the contrary has some weaknesses when it describes the environment and durable development but they are more sufficient than the history text books, which are inadequate according to the demands of the curriculum. One of the conclusion that the authors draw is that an ideal solution concerning the education of environment and durable development is that an integration between the three subjects could solve the problems that exists

Outcome in Juvenile Idiopathic arthritis : a population-based study from Sweden

Background: As the treatment arsenal for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) has expanded during the last decades, follow-up studies are needed on children diagnosed in the era of biological treatment to evaluate if this has improved the outcome. Our aim was to study the epidemiology and outcome of JIA in southern Sweden using a population-based cohort of children with a validated diagnosis of JIA collected over 9 years. Methods: Potential cases of JIA between 2002 and 2010 were collected after a database search, using the ICD codes M08-M09. The study area was Skåne, the southernmost county of Sweden (population 1.24 million; 17.6% aged < 16 years). The JIA diagnosis was validated and subcategorized through medical record review based on the criteria defined by the International League of Associations for Rheumatism (ILAR). Parameters on disease activity and pharmacologic treatment were recorded annually until the end of the study period (December 31, 2015). Results: In total, 251 cases of JIA were confirmed. The mean annual incidence rate for JIA was estimated to be 12.8/100,000 children < 16 years, with the highest age-specific annual incidence at the age of 2 years (36/100,000). Oligoarthritis was the largest subgroup (44.7%), and systemic JIA was the smallest subgroup (2.8%). Methotrexate was the most common disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug prescribed (60.6%). Tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors were used as treatment for 23.9% of the children. Only 40.0% of the follow-up years, with a median follow-up time of 8 years, were free of arthritis or uveitis. Uveitis occurred in 10.8% of the children (8.0% chronic uveitis), and the need for joint corrective orthopedic surgery was 9.2%. Conclusions: The incidence of JIA in this well-defined, population-based cohort is slightly lower than in previously published studies from Scandinavia. The need for orthopedic surgery and the presence of uveitis are diminished compared to studies with patients diagnosed more than 20 years ago. Children with JIA however still experience disease activity more than 50% of the time. In conclusion, we still have long-term challenges in the care for children with JIA, in spite of state-of-the-art treatment