Valuation of Ecosystem Services in Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning in the Baltic Sea Region - why, when and how?

The ecosystems of the Baltic Sea are under severe pressure, threating the long-term prosperity of the region and human wellbeing. New marine management approaches need to be tested and developed. Valuation of ecosystem services in the process of ecosystem-based marine spatial planning in the Baltic Sea region could be useful in improving communication between stakeholders, as well as, the evaluation of progress towards achieving good environmental status. This thesis investigates why, when and how valuation of ecosystem services could be integrated into the marine spatial planning process in the Baltic Sea Region. The rationales for this are many, including recent regional policy developments supporting ecosystem-based management that contributes to the achievement of good environmental status, and substantial work initiated making ecosystem services visible through mapping and assessment, as well as, the testing of methods of ecosystem valuation. This thesis suggests that ecosystem-based marine spatial planning and valuation of ecosystem services could be seen as mutually supportive; the marine spatial planning decision-making process would benefit from valuation and valuation of ecosystem services would benefit from having a policy framework to impact decision-making. Following a template for marine spatial planning, this thesis suggests that valuation of ecosystem services could be relevant to consider at all stages of the planning process, and that the process could benefit from a pragmatic approach, including exploring qualitative, quantitative, as well as, monetary valuation. This thesis argues that a broad and multi-disciplinary stakeholder learning process is necessary to integrate valuation of ecosystem services in marine spatial planning, strengthening the understanding of the link between resource systems and governance systems, and indeed, the link between the economy and the environment

The Sublime

In our everyday life we live distant from the origin of life itself - nature. Dramatic landscape and fascinating views touch us in a way that few other things manage to do. It is something that make us recognize our powerlessness and the feeling of awe towards the nature. Experiencing striking nature is a way to create a deeper understanding of our own world and at the same time enrich our lives with strong emotions. The sublime is a philosophical phenomena, developed by the philosophers Immanuel Kant and Edward Burke during the 18th century. The theory explains the kind of unique experience one feels when facing nature’s might, certain kind of art or overwhelming architecture. The sublime is an emotion of pleasure, that is connected to, and only possible, when you at the same time experience displeasure (which in this case is fear or terror). To be able to experience the sublime, (which is the strongest emotion that the mind is capable of feeling, according to Burke) one have to feel that one is at safe distance, with no risk of destruction. This project investigates how architecture can contribute to the sublime experience of a unique natural landscape. The proposal site is the Nyiragongo volcano, located in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the DRC. Tourists from all over the world cross the border from on a daily basis from Rwanda to visit Virunga national park and to climb Nyiragongo. From the rim of the volcano, visitors can look down into a lava lake and hear gases exploding and see a mosaic of molten lava. The tourist industry is an important economic engine that encourage the maintenance of safety in the region. This project investigates how architecture contribute to increase the status - highlighting the very uniqueness of Nyiragongo and Virunga national park in eastern DRC and how this can be done within the guide-lines of Eco-tourism

Health claims in the labelling and marketing of food products:: the Swedish food sector's Code of Practice in a European perspective

Since 1990 certain health claims in the labelling and marketing of food products have been allowed in Sweden within the food sector's Code of Practice. The rules were developed in close dialogue with the authorities. The legal basis was a decision by the authorities not to apply the medicinal products’ legislation to “foods normally found on the dinner table” provided the rules defined in the Code were followed. The Code of Practice lists nine well-established diet–health relationships eligible for generic disease risk reduction claims in two steps and general rules regarding nutrient function claims. Since 2001, there has also been the possibility for using “product-specific physiological claims (PFP)”, subject to premarketing evaluation of the scientific dossier supporting the claim. The scientific documentation has been approved for 10 products with PFP, and another 15 products have been found to fulfil the Code's criteria for “low glycaemic index”. In the third edition of the Code, active since 2004, conditions in terms of nutritional composition were set, i.e. “nutrient profiles”, with a general reference to the Swedish National Food Administration's regulation on the use of a particular symbol, i.e. the keyhole symbol. Applying the Swedish Code of practice has provided experience useful in the implementation of the European Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods, effective from 2007

TrueTime Network—A Network Simulation Library for Modelica

We present the TrueTime Network library for Modelica, developed within the ITEA2 project EUROSYSLIB. It allows for simulation of various network protocols and is intended for use within real-time networking. We describe some its features and discuss implementational issues. Since TrueTime Network is programmed in C, special attention is given to the how Modelica's external function interface is used. We also discuss briefly a future native Modelica implementation

Improved governance and sustainable urban development Strategic planning holds the key

The recent focus on improved governance in cities has raised some concerns about the role of urban planning. Questions have been raised on whether good governance is a substitute for planning, and if it is adequate in itself to achieve sustainable development. Is there no future, then, for planning in our cities

Mutational and gene fusion analyses of primary large cell and large cell neuroendocrine lung cancer.

Large cell carcinoma with or without neuroendocrine features (LCNEC and LC, respectively) constitutes 3-9% of non-small cell lung cancer but is poorly characterized at the molecular level. Herein we analyzed 41 LC and 32 LCNEC (including 15 previously reported cases) tumors using massive parallel sequencing for mutations in 26 cancer-related genes and gene fusions in ALK, RET, and ROS1. LC patients were additionally subdivided into three immunohistochemistry groups based on positive expression of TTF-1/Napsin A (adenocarcinoma-like, n = 24; 59%), CK5/P40 (squamous-like, n = 5; 12%), or no marker expression (marker-negative, n = 12; 29%). Most common alterations were TP53 (83%), KRAS (22%), MET (12%) mutations in LCs, and TP53 (88%), STK11 (16%), and PTEN (13%) mutations in LCNECs. In general, LCs showed more oncogene mutations compared to LCNECs. Immunomarker stratification of LC revealed oncogene mutations in 63% of adenocarcinoma-like cases, but only in 17% of marker-negative cases. Moreover, marker-negative LCs were associated with inferior overall survival compared with adenocarcinoma-like tumors (p = 0.007). No ALK, RET or ROS1 fusions were detected in LCs or LCNECs. Together, our molecular analyses support that LC and LCNEC tumors follow different tumorigenic paths and that LC may be stratified into molecular subgroups with potential implications for diagnosis, prognostics, and therapy decisions

The new EC Regulation on nutrition and health claims on foods

The area of health claims has been unregulated in Europe until recently. A new regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods came into force on 19 January 2007. The Regulation has been eagerly awaited by all parties involved. The Regulation includes 37 whereas clauses, 29 Articles and an annex for nutrition claims and conditions applying to them. In practice, three main types of health claim are included in the Regulation, as referred to in Articles 13 and 14. The type of the scientific evidence is described slightly differently for Article 13.1 and Article 13.5: “generally accepted scientific evidence” and “newly developed scientific evidence”, respectively, although the scientific status of evidence shall be the same for all kinds of claims. So far, there are four types of guidance for applying the Regulation. The wording of health claims is an essential issue in the Regulation, as well as the concept of nutrient profiles. In the Regulation there are three issues of special interest, when compared to the Swedish Food Sector's Code of Practice, i.e. concerns about “other substances”, “food supplements” and “the average consumer”. The Regulation will be evaluated in 2013, reporting the impact of this Regulation on dietary choices and the potential impact on obesity and non-communicable diseases

Process evaluation of the Bridging the Age Gap in Breast Cancer decision support intervention cluster randomized trial [abstract only]

Aims/Objectives: Shared decision making on the choice of treatment for older women with breast cancer involves many factors. Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is recognised to have a role in older patients with cancer, but how this should be utilised is still debatable. A pilot study involving older women newly diagnosed with early operable primary breast cancer was conducted aiming to explore the potential value of CGA. Methods: Decision of primary treatment followed consultation with the clinical team and was not guided by any aspect of this study. CGA, using a validated cancer-specific tool from our collaborator, A Hurria, was conducted within 6 weeks after diagnosis, regardless of date of surgery/first treatment. A total of 178 female patients aged ≥70 years with a new diagnosis of early (stage 1 or 2; cT0-2, N0-1, M0) operable primary breast cancer proven histologically, were thus far recruited from three UK centres. Results: Among these 178 patients, 149 underwent primary surgery and 29 received non-surgical treatment (primary endocrine therapy (N=28) or radiotherapy (N=1)). CGA determined that increasing age (p=0.006), reduced independence with activities of daily living (ADLs) (p=0.001) and independent activities of daily living (IADLS) (p=0.001), increased number and severity of comorbidity (p=0.043), reduced Karnofsky performance status when rated both by the patient (p=0.001) and physician (p=0.003), were significantly related to non-surgical treatment within 6 weeks after diagnosis. Other CGA parameters measured which were not significant include number of daily medications, level of social support, level of social activity, cognition, number of falls, 'Timed up and go' score. Conclusions: The pilot study has confirmed that CGA may have value in assessing this cohort of patients. Generally, it appears that patients receiving non-surgical treatment are more frail than their counterparts undergoing surgery. The study is ongoing and has expanded to include an international centre

Comprehensive molecular comparison of BRCA1 hypermethylated and BRCA1 mutated triple negative breast cancers

Funder: The Governmental Funding for Young Clinical Researchers within the National Health Service (ALF) 2017-2019Funder: Shamik Mitra is financially supported by the funding received from the European Community’s Horizon 2020 Framework Program for Research and Innovation (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2014) under Grant Agreement no. 247634Funder: Vetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004359Funder: The Governmental Funding within the National Health Service (ALF)Funder: - The Governmental Funding of Clinical Research within the National Health Service (ALF), grant nbr 2018/40612 - The Gustav V:s Jubilee Foundation (174271 and 187041) - The research foundation at Department of Oncology in LundAbstract: Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) is a defining characteristic in BRCA-deficient breast tumors caused by genetic or epigenetic alterations in key pathway genes. We investigated the frequency of BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation in 237 triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) from a population-based study using reported whole genome and RNA sequencing data, complemented with analyses of genetic, epigenetic, transcriptomic and immune infiltration phenotypes. We demonstrate that BRCA1 promoter hypermethylation is twice as frequent as BRCA1 pathogenic variants in early-stage TNBC and that hypermethylated and mutated cases have similarly improved prognosis after adjuvant chemotherapy. BRCA1 hypermethylation confers an HRD, immune cell type, genome-wide DNA methylation, and transcriptional phenotype similar to TNBC tumors with BRCA1-inactivating variants, and it can be observed in matched peripheral blood of patients with tumor hypermethylation. Hypermethylation may be an early event in tumor development that progress along a common pathway with BRCA1-mutated disease, representing a promising DNA-based biomarker for early-stage TNBC

Exploring the repurposing of cross laminated timber spillage

Forestry is one of Sweden’s largest natural resources and a largeand important foundation for the country’s economic stability.There is a significant opportunity to evaluate material efficiencyand values in the supply chain of industrialised wood-basedproducts. This thesis comprises on handling a spill-product of amodern wood-based building material: cross-laminated timber(CLT). With the aim to increase value of this spill product throughpractical design iteration, material exploration and theoreticalanalysis. The material exploration leads to a collection of furnitureand interior products which are evaluated based on commercialinterest and production feasibility