Anthrax outbreak in a Swedish beef cattle herd - 1st case in 27 years: Case report

After 27 years with no detected cases, an outbreak of anthrax occurred in a beef cattle herd in the south of Sweden. The outbreak was unusual as it occurred in winter, in animals not exposed to meat-and-bone meal, in a non-endemic country

Soil and stream water chemistry in a boreal catchment - interactions, influences of dissolved organic matter and effects of wood ash application

Two small bordering catchments in Bispgården, Central Sweden, wereinvestigated in regard to soil solution and stream water chemistry during the frostfree seasons of 2003-2007. Both catchments were drained by first order streams,Fanbergsbäcken and Gråbergsbäcken, and in Fanbergsbäckens catchment anextensive investigation of the soil and soil solution chemistry was conducted bylysimeter and centrifugation sampling. The area of intensive soil solutioninvestigation was situated in a slope towards a stream incorporating a rechargearea, with podzolic soil, and a discharge area close to the stream with an arenosolsoil. Samples were continuously taken in both the recharge- and the discharge areaof the slope, and stream water was sampled in the streams of both catchments. Themain variables of interest of the study were the interactions, the influence ofdissolved organic carbon and the effects of wood ash application to soil solutionand stream water.The natural variations and the interactions between soil solution and streamwater were monitored during 2003-2004. In soil solution, most of the investigatedsubstances tended to increase during the growing season, due to weathering andmicrobial degradation of biota. Ca, Mg, Al and Fe were highly associated todissolved organic carbon (DOC) throughout the catchment. The low molecularfraction of DOC seemed to have a higher impact on the soil processes in therecharge area, while high molecular DOC was more important for transport ofcations in the discharge area and the stream water.The concentration of different substances in the two streams differedsignificantly, even though the catchments were similar in size, shape andforestation. The seasonal patterns of most of the substances measured weresignificantly correlated between the streams, however. Cations and pH correlatedwell with DOC and flow. The flow pattern driven by precipitation seems to be thedriver of the stream water chemistry.Wood ash was applied at a dosage of 3 ton/ha to one of the catchments in theautumn of 2004, to investigate the initial effects on the soil solution- and streamwater chemistry. WAA is recommended by the Swedish Forest Agency tocounteract acidification in soil and runoff that may be caused by an intensivebiomass harvesting. The impact of the WAA was studied during 2005-2006.Compared to the control temporarily higher concentrations of K, Ca and SO4 wereobserved in the soil solution of the ashed area. In the stream water the effects of theWAA were easier to distinguish due to higher sampling frequency. The strongesteffect was seen for K, but increases in the stream water were also noted for DOC,Ca, Mg, Si, Cl and malonate. No increase in pH could be statistically verifiedhowever, and overall the initial effects of the WAA seem mild.Två angränsande avrinningsområden i Bispgården i centrala Sverigeundersöktes under den snöfria säsongen 2003-2006. Båda avrinningsområdenadränerades av första ordningens bäckar och i det ena, Fanbergsbäckensavrinningsområde, gjordes en omfattande undersökning av mark och markvattenkemin.Markvatten provtogs genom centrifugering och med lysimetrar.Provtagningen gjordes i inströmningsområdet där jordmånen var en typiskpodzol samt närmare bäcken, i utströmningsområdet, där jordmånen var enarenosol. Bäckvatten provtogs i båda avrinningsområdena. Interaktioner mellanmark, markvatten och bäckvatten undersöktes med särskilt fokus på inverkan avorganiskt kol samt påverkan av askåterföring.De naturliga variationerna i markkemin samt interaktionerna mellan mark- ochbäck vatten undersöktes 2003-2004. I markvatten ökade merparten av de studeradeämnena under provtagningssäsongen beroende av ökad vittring och recirkulationav biota och fallförna. Ca, Al och Fe var i stor utsträckning associerade till löstorganiskt kol (DOC). Den lågmolekylära fraktionen av DOC hade en störreinverkan på markprocesserna i inströmningsområdet, medan den högmolekyläradelen var viktigare för transport av katjoner i utströmningsområdet samt ibäckvattnet.Koncentrationsnivåerna av olika substanser i bäckarna uppvisade skillnadertrots avrinningsområdenas yttre likheter med avseende på storlek, form ochbeskogning. Trots de kvantitativa skillnaderna erhölls emellertid liknandesäsongsvariationer i koncentrationerna, vilket indikerade att kemin i huvudsakstyrdes av mängden DOC som i sin tur berodde av avrinningen som drevs avnederbörden. Höga halter av Ca, Mg, Al och Fe återfanns associerade tillhögmolekylärt DOC i bäckvattnet i en utsträckning som inte rapporterats tidigare.På hösten 2004 spreds 3 ton aska/ha till Fanbergsbäckens avrinningsområde föratt undersöka de initiala effekterna på mark- och bäckvatten kemin. Askåterföringbör ske minst en gång per omloppstid vid helträdsavverkning, i enlighet medSkogsstyrelsens rekommendationer, främst för att motverka försurning i mark ochavrinnande vatten som antas uppstå vid intensivt uttag av biomassa. De initialaeffekterna av askåterföringen på mark- och bäckvattnets kemi studerades under2005-2006 och Gråbergsbäcken kunde användas som obehandlad kontroll vidundersökning av vattenkemin i Fanbergsbäcken. I undersökningen av markvattenviåterfanns stora säsongsvariationer, vilket gjorde det svårt att urskilja eventuellaeffekter av askåterföringen. Tillfälligt högre värden av K, Ca och SO4 återfannsdock i det askade området i jämförelse med kontrollområdet. På grund av högreprovtagningsfrekvens i bäckvattnet var det lättare att påvisa förändringar ibäckvatten kemin. Framförallt märktes en signifikant ökning av K jämfört medkontrollbäcken. Sådana ökningar, om än inte lika markanta återfanns också förDOC, Ca, Mg, Si, Cl och malonat. En tendens till ökat pH kunde observeras, mendenna kunde inte verifieras statistiskt. De initiala effekterna av askåterföringen varsåledes till synes milda, och den eftertraktade pH-effekten erhölls ej i dennaundersökning

Improving participatory resilience assessment by cross-fertilizing the Resilience Alliance and Transition Movement approaches

The concept of resilience is currently being widely promoted and applied by environmental and development organizations. However, their application of resilience often lacks theoretical backing and evaluation. This paper presents a novel cross-fertilization of two commonly used approaches for applying resilience thinking: the grassroots movement of Transition Towns and the Resilience Alliance's Resilience Assessment. We compared these approaches through a text analysis of their key handbooks and combined them in a series of participatory workshops with a local partner active in the Transition Movement. Our results demonstrate that despite sharing a number of key features, these two approaches have complementary strengths and weaknesses. Strengths of the Transition Movement include its motivating overarching narrative of the need to transform in response to global sustainability challenges, as well as practical tools promoting learning and participation. The Resilience Assessment's conceptual framework and structured process generated context-specific understanding of resilience, but provided little guidance on navigating transformation processes. Combining the Resilience Assessment's theory on complex systems with the Transition Movement's methods for learning also generated synergies in fostering complexity thinking. Based on these findings, we believe that integrating strengths from both approaches could be widely useful for practitioners seeking to apply resilience for sustainable development. Our study also highlights that methods for assessing resilience can be improved by combining insights from science and practice

Improving participatory resilience assessment by cross-fertilizing the Resilience Alliance and Transition Movement approaches

The concept of resilience is currently being widely promoted and applied by environmental and development organizations. However, their application of resilience often lacks theoretical backing and evaluation. This paper presents a novel cross-fertilization of two commonly used approaches for applying resilience thinking: the grassroots movement of Transition Towns and the Resilience Alliance's Resilience Assessment. We compared these approaches through a text analysis of their key handbooks and combined them in a series of participatory workshops with a local partner active in the Transition Movement. Our results demonstrate that despite sharing a number of key features, these two approaches have complementary strengths and weaknesses. Strengths of the Transition Movement include its motivating overarching narrative of the need to transform in response to global sustainability challenges, as well as practical tools promoting learning and participation. The Resilience Assessment's conceptual framework and structured process generated context-specific understanding of resilience, but provided little guidance on navigating transformation processes. Combining the Resilience Assessment's theory on complex systems with the Transition Movement's methods for learning also generated synergies in fostering complexity thinking. Based on these findings, we believe that integrating strengths from both approaches could be widely useful for practitioners seeking to apply resilience for sustainable development. Our study also highlights that methods for assessing resilience can be improved by combining insights from science and practice

Work-integrated Learning in a Doctoral Course in Informatics

Being the first university in the world to provide doctoral program in Work-integrated Learning (WIL), we face the challenge of how to integrate doctoral courses into the WIL philosophy, which is the profile of the University West, Sweden. To exemplify what we mean by such a notion of integration, we introduce and demonstrate our proposed ontological approach to integrate a PhDcourse into the fundamental concepts underpinning WIL. The WIL within the context of informatics research (which is a subfield of the IS discipline) playsfive different roles of (1) the main course content, (2) the target occupation ofthe students and occupational field of the teachers, (3) the analytical perspective of the research activities in the course, (4) the educational method where teachers and students conduct collaborative research activities as a cognitive apprenticeship learning model, and (5) a co-authored research paper as outcome.The outcomes of such a conducted approach and lessons learned from the course will be thoroughly described. In the course, a meta-analysis of WIL informatics research will be performed to examine four dimensions which are: theories relevant for WIL; methods used in WIL research; occupational fields in WIL informatics studies; and roles of technology in WIL research. The course is arranged in the these phases: Local investigation; locally rooted research within the informatics field is examined by the course participants in dialogue with the authors of a number of published articles in order to see the extent and the how aspects of these identified WIL-oriented research work; Local synthesis; both teachers and the PhD students (i.e., course participants) explore the results and synthesize a local WIL-model; Global overview; a number of related international literature is selected and studied; Global synthesis; The local WIL model is compared to the global investigation. Co-authoring; a research paper is co-authored by the course participants and presented at a conference. By doing so, we enhance our understandings and thus contribute to one additional practical application of WIL's pedagogical philosophy, which influences the course content, the course format, the activities, the teaching-learning model,and the outcome of the course

Polluted lignocellulose-bearing sediments as a resource for marketable goods—a review of potential technologies for biochemical and thermochemical processing and remediation

Lignocellulose-bearing sediments are legacies of the previously unregulated wastewater discharge from the pulp and paper industry, causing large quantities of toxic organic waste on the Baltic Sea floor and on the bottom of rivers and lakes. Several km2 are covered with deposits of lignocellulosic residues, typically heavily contaminated with complex mixtures of organic and inorganic pollutants, posing a serious threat to human and ecological health. The high toxicity and the large volume of the polluted material are challenges for remediation endeavours. The lignocellulosic material is also a considerable bioresource with a high energy density, and due to its quantity, it could appeal to commercialization as feedstock for various marketable goods. This study sets out to explore the potential of using this polluted material as a resource for industrial production at the same time as it is detoxified. Information about modern production methods for lignocellulosic material that can be adapted to a polluted feedstock is reviewed. Biochemical methods such as composting, anaerobic digestion, as well as, thermochemical methods, for instance, HTC, HTL, pyrolysis, gasification and torrefaction have been assessed. Potential products from lignocellulose-bearing sediment material include biochar, liquid and gaseous biofuels, growing substrate. The use of a contaminated feedstock may make the process more expensive, but the suggested methods should be seen as an alternative to remediation methods that only involve costs. Several experiments were highlighted that support the conception that combined remediation and generation of marketable goods may be an appropriate way to address polluted lignocellulose-bearing sediments. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Crystal structures of H-2D^b in complex with the LCMV-derived peptides GP92 and GP392 explain pleiotropic effects of glycosylation on antigen presentation and immunogenicity

<div><p>Post-translational modifications significantly broaden the epitope repertoire for major histocompatibility class I complexes (MHC-I) and may allow viruses to escape immune recognition. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection of H-2^b mice generates CD8⁺ CTL responses directed towards several MHC-I-restricted epitopes including the peptides GP92 (CSANNSHHYI) and GP392 (WLVTNGSYL), both with a N-glycosylation site. Interestingly, glycosylation has different effects on the immunogenicity and association capacity of these two epitopes to H-2D^b. To assess the structural bases underlying these functional results, we determined the crystal structures of H-2D^b in complex with GP92 (CSANNSHHYI) and GP392 (WLVTNGSYL) to 2.4 and 2.5 Å resolution, respectively. The structures reveal that while glycosylation of GP392 most probably impairs binding, the glycosylation of the asparagine residue in GP92, which protrudes towards the solvent, possibly allows for immune escape and/or forms a neo-epitope that may select for a different set of CD8 T cells. Altogether, the presented results provide a structural platform underlying the effects of post-translational modifications on epitope binding and/or immunogenicity, resulting in viral immune escape.</p></div

Data collection and refinement statistics.

<p>Data collection and refinement statistics.</p

H-2D^b/GP92 and H-2D^b/GP392 have highly similar overall fold.

<p>Cartoon representations of the extracellular domains of the H-2D^b/GP92 complex (<b>A</b>) with the peptide in orange and the H-2D^b/GP392 complex (<b>B</b>) with peptide in blue demonstrate classical MHC-I overall structures, with the peptides bound between the helices of the α₁ and α₂ domains. (<b>C and D</b>) 2FoFc electron density map contoured at 1σ level defines unambiguously the conformation of the peptides. Peptides are shown in stick representation with N-terminus to the left. (<b>C</b>) The decameric GP92 takes a bulged conformation when binding to the H-2D^b cleft. Residues p7H and p8H project towards the solvent and, together with p4N and p9Y, protrude towards the TCR. The side chains of residues p5N and p10I anchor the peptide to H-2D^b. (<b>D</b>) The epitope GP392 takes an elongated conformation with residues p5N and p9L anchoring to the peptide binding cleft and residues p4T and p8Y directed towards the TCR.</p