Direct and indirect effects of chemical contaminants on the behaviour, ecology and evolution of wildlife

Chemical contaminants (e.g. metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals) are changing ecosystems via effects on wildlife. Indeed, recent work explicitly performed under environmentally realistic conditions reveals that chemical contaminants can have both direct and indirect effects at multiple levels of organization by influencing animal behaviour. Altered behaviour reflects multiple physiological changes and links individual- to population-level processes, thereby representing a sensitive tool for holistically assessing impacts of environmentally relevant contaminant concentrations. Here, we show that even if direct effects of contaminants on behavioural responses are reasonably well documented, there are significant knowledge gaps in understanding both the plasticity (i.e. individual variation) and evolution of contaminant-induced behavioural changes. We explore implications of multi-level processes by developing a conceptual framework that integrates direct and indirect effects on behaviour under environmentally realistic contexts. Our framework illustrates how sublethal behavioural effects of contaminants can be both negative and positive, varying dynamically within the same individuals and populations. This is because linkages within communities will act indirectly to alter and even magnify contaminant-induced effects. Given the increasing pressure on wildlife and ecosystems from chemical pollution, we argue there is a need to incorporate existing knowledge in ecology and evolution to improve ecological hazard and risk assessments

REPORT OF THE JOINT EIFAAC/ICES/GFCM WORKING GROUP ON EELS (WGEEL)

The Joint EIFAAC/ICES/GFCM Working group on eels (WGEEL) met in a split meeting from 4–8 September (online) and 25 September–02 October 2023 (hybrid meeting) in Helsinki, Finland, to provide the scientific basis for the ICES advice on fishing opportunities and conservation as-pects for the European eel and address requests from EIFAAC and GFCM. WGEEL assessed the state of the European eel and its fisheries, collated and analysed biometric data, reviewed the implementation of the WKFEA (Workshop on the future of eel advice) roadmap, examined available recruitment data from coastal and marine habitats, reported on any updates to the scientific basis of the advice, new and emerging threats or opportunities, in-cluding developments in the Mediterranean region. After high levels in the late 1970s, the recruitment declined dramatically in the 1980s and remains low. Compared to 1960–1979, the recruitment in the “North Sea” was 0.4% in 2023 (provisional) and 0.7 % in 2022 (final). In the “Elsewhere Europe” index series was 8.8 % in 2023 (provisional) and 11.3% in 2022 (final). For the yellow eel data series, recruitment for 2022 was 9% (final). Time-series from 1980 to 2023 show that glass eel recruitment remains at a very low level, with an historical minimum value in the North Sea. Silver eel time series have been analysed to identify patterns in abundance trends. These analyses are exploratory and have enabled us to test certain statistical methods and their limitations for analysing temporal series on silver eels. Although they give us an initial idea of trends in silver eel abundance, their results should be treated with caution. In fact, several problems have been identified and these points need to be improved in order to be able to interpret the results. The trend of reported commercial landings shows a long-term continuing decline, from a level of around 10,000 t in the 1960s, reported commercial landings have now dropped to 2028 (glass eel + yellow eel + silver eel) in 2022. The commercial glass eel fishery in 2022 was 60.1 t and 53.6 t in 2023. Reported landings from yellow and silver eel commercial fisheries (Y, S, YS) add up to 2914 t in 2021 and 2437 t in 2022. Spain was the only country allowing a recreational catch of glass eel, with landings estimated at 0.72 t in 2022 and 1.32 t in 2023. Reported recreational land-ings for yellow and silver eel combined were 240 t for 2021 (11 countries reporting) and 249 t for 2022. Progress with regards to the ‘road map’ developed within WKFEA was evaluated. The returns from the three questionnaires distributed by WKSMEEL to WGEEL members were summarised. In relation to the progress of the WKFEA roadmap, item 1; the inclusion of biological data is advanced with biometry data included in the annual data call. Item 2 relates to the reconstruction of the landings data and a workshop will take place in December 2023. Items 3 and 4 are also in progress, the Spatial database and Model for Eel (WKSMEEL) workshop was held in June 2023 with a follow up workshop planned for October 2023. A questionnaire for 3 topics (electrofish-ing, hydrographic network, and river obstructions & hydropower) was circulated to WGEEL members in August 2023. Of the 21 countries who responded, a large majority carry out electro-fishing, have available hydrographic networks and hold some information of obstructions to migration. However, it was recognised that considerable effort and resources will be required before the available data could be collated.publishedVersio

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Korttidssjukfrånvaron Vård och Omsorg Öster : vad kan den bero på och hur skulle den kunna minskas

The health care sector Öster has the highest average absence due to short-time sickness in Örebro. It is the short-term absence that has the highest costs for the organisation, not just in money, but also in quality disturbances and administrative work. Health care sector Öster is divided into four areas with a manager for each. We have chosen to conduct our research within the special housings in area one and four, since these two had the lowest and highest short-term absences. The purpose with the research is to examine short-term absences among the health care personnel in the health care sector Öster, see what the absences depend on, and what can be done to solve the issue. We will compare the absences in the area with the highest respectively lowest short-term absences in order to see if there are any prominent differences between the two. The research question is as follows: what does the high short-term absence within health care sector Öster, Örebro, depend on, and what can be done to minimise this absence? We have started with existing theories within the subject management. These theories have then been the foundation for the information we have collected, what answer we have asked, and how the answers have been interpreted. We have then applied these theories on the empirical data we collected in order to see what the reasons could be for Öster's high short-term absences, and we used existing models while finding precautions to implement. The research consists of questionnaires with open questions that we disbursed among the personnel, as well as qualitative interviews with the affected area managers. The housings encompassed in area one: Jeremiasgården and Askenäshemmet, and in area four: Tullhuset, Sirishof, and Skebäcksgården. Through our research we have come to the conclusion that in many situations there are separate opinions within the organisation, first and most between the personnel and the managers. They have in many respects different apprehensions about the organisation. The fact that they are different can be due to lacking communication among them. Concerning the six dimensions, that we had as a foundation when we did our analysis, there is not a clear definition that the organisation is either way, but often a mix. In many occasions it can depend on from which point of view it is looked at, the managers or the personnel. In our discussion we talk about the usage of the Cape-model, a working model that has been developed by Carina Persson. It consists of four parts that are to decrease the absence and make the profession more attractive.Vård och Omsorg Öster har den högsta genomsnittliga korttidssjukfrånvaron i Örebro kommun. Just korttidssjukfrånvaro är den frånvaro som kostar organisationen mest, inte bara i pengar utan även i kvalitetsstörningar och administrativa merarbeten. Vi har valt att genomföra vår studie i de särskilda boendena i område ett och fyra då dessa två hade i genomsnitt lägst respektive högst korttidssjukfrånvaro. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka korttidsfrånvaron bland omvårdnadspersonalen inom vård och omsorg öster, se vad frånvaron beror på och vad som kan göras åt problemet. Vi kommer att jämföra frånvaron hos det område med högst respektive lägst korttidsfrånvaro för att se om det finns några markanta skillnader mellan dem båda. Uppsatsens frågeställning är vad den höga korttidssjukfrånvaron på vård och omsorgsavdelningen Öster i Örebro kan bero på samt vad som skulle kunna göras för att minska korttidssjukfrånvaron? Vi har utgått ifrån befintliga teorier inom ämnet management. Dessa teorier har sedan legat till grund för hur data har samlats in, vilka frågor vi har ställt under våra intervjuer och hur svaren har tolkats. Vi har sedan applicerat teorierna på den empiri vi samlat in för att se vad som skulle kunna vara orsakerna till Östers höga korttidssjukfrånvaro och använt oss av redan befintliga modeller när vi tagit fram åtgärder som skulle kunna göras. Undersökningen består av enkätintervjuer med öppna frågor som vi delat ut till vårdpersonalen, samt kvalitativa intervjuer med de berörda områdescheferna. Boenden som omfattades var i område ett: Jeremiasgården och Askenäshemmet, och område fyra: Tullhuset, Sirishof och Skebäcksgården. Genom vår studie har vi kommit fram till att det i många fall råder delade meningar i organisationen, främst mellan vårdpersonalen och cheferna. De har i många avseenden olika uppfattning om organisationen. Att de skiljer sig kan bero på en bristande kommunikation dem emellan. Kring teorin om de sex dimensioner som vi utgått ifrån när vi genomförde vår analys så går det inte att påstå att organisationen är det ena eller det andra utan är oftast en blandning. I många fall kan det skilja sig beroende av från vilken sida det synas från, chefernas eller personalens. Organisationen är vid första anblicken mekanisk då alla sysslor är förutbestämda, det finns en tydlig ledning och en strävan mot effektivitet. De har chefer på olika nivåer där informationsflödet redan är bestämt. Organisationen har svårt att anpassa sig till förändringar vilket kan vara ett resultat av personalen kan känna att de inte kan påverka. I vår teori tar vi upp användandet av Cape -modellen. Det är en arbetstidsmodell som utvecklats av Carina Persson. Den består av fyra delar som skall minska sjukfrånvaron och göra yrket mer attraktivt

Korttidssjukfrånvaron Vård och Omsorg Öster : vad kan den bero på och hur skulle den kunna minskas

The health care sector Öster has the highest average absence due to short-time sickness in Örebro. It is the short-term absence that has the highest costs for the organisation, not just in money, but also in quality disturbances and administrative work. Health care sector Öster is divided into four areas with a manager for each. We have chosen to conduct our research within the special housings in area one and four, since these two had the lowest and highest short-term absences. The purpose with the research is to examine short-term absences among the health care personnel in the health care sector Öster, see what the absences depend on, and what can be done to solve the issue. We will compare the absences in the area with the highest respectively lowest short-term absences in order to see if there are any prominent differences between the two. The research question is as follows: what does the high short-term absence within health care sector Öster, Örebro, depend on, and what can be done to minimise this absence? We have started with existing theories within the subject management. These theories have then been the foundation for the information we have collected, what answer we have asked, and how the answers have been interpreted. We have then applied these theories on the empirical data we collected in order to see what the reasons could be for Öster's high short-term absences, and we used existing models while finding precautions to implement. The research consists of questionnaires with open questions that we disbursed among the personnel, as well as qualitative interviews with the affected area managers. The housings encompassed in area one: Jeremiasgården and Askenäshemmet, and in area four: Tullhuset, Sirishof, and Skebäcksgården. Through our research we have come to the conclusion that in many situations there are separate opinions within the organisation, first and most between the personnel and the managers. They have in many respects different apprehensions about the organisation. The fact that they are different can be due to lacking communication among them. Concerning the six dimensions, that we had as a foundation when we did our analysis, there is not a clear definition that the organisation is either way, but often a mix. In many occasions it can depend on from which point of view it is looked at, the managers or the personnel. In our discussion we talk about the usage of the Cape-model, a working model that has been developed by Carina Persson. It consists of four parts that are to decrease the absence and make the profession more attractive.Vård och Omsorg Öster har den högsta genomsnittliga korttidssjukfrånvaron i Örebro kommun. Just korttidssjukfrånvaro är den frånvaro som kostar organisationen mest, inte bara i pengar utan även i kvalitetsstörningar och administrativa merarbeten. Vi har valt att genomföra vår studie i de särskilda boendena i område ett och fyra då dessa två hade i genomsnitt lägst respektive högst korttidssjukfrånvaro. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka korttidsfrånvaron bland omvårdnadspersonalen inom vård och omsorg öster, se vad frånvaron beror på och vad som kan göras åt problemet. Vi kommer att jämföra frånvaron hos det område med högst respektive lägst korttidsfrånvaro för att se om det finns några markanta skillnader mellan dem båda. Uppsatsens frågeställning är vad den höga korttidssjukfrånvaron på vård och omsorgsavdelningen Öster i Örebro kan bero på samt vad som skulle kunna göras för att minska korttidssjukfrånvaron? Vi har utgått ifrån befintliga teorier inom ämnet management. Dessa teorier har sedan legat till grund för hur data har samlats in, vilka frågor vi har ställt under våra intervjuer och hur svaren har tolkats. Vi har sedan applicerat teorierna på den empiri vi samlat in för att se vad som skulle kunna vara orsakerna till Östers höga korttidssjukfrånvaro och använt oss av redan befintliga modeller när vi tagit fram åtgärder som skulle kunna göras. Undersökningen består av enkätintervjuer med öppna frågor som vi delat ut till vårdpersonalen, samt kvalitativa intervjuer med de berörda områdescheferna. Boenden som omfattades var i område ett: Jeremiasgården och Askenäshemmet, och område fyra: Tullhuset, Sirishof och Skebäcksgården. Genom vår studie har vi kommit fram till att det i många fall råder delade meningar i organisationen, främst mellan vårdpersonalen och cheferna. De har i många avseenden olika uppfattning om organisationen. Att de skiljer sig kan bero på en bristande kommunikation dem emellan. Kring teorin om de sex dimensioner som vi utgått ifrån när vi genomförde vår analys så går det inte att påstå att organisationen är det ena eller det andra utan är oftast en blandning. I många fall kan det skilja sig beroende av från vilken sida det synas från, chefernas eller personalens. Organisationen är vid första anblicken mekanisk då alla sysslor är förutbestämda, det finns en tydlig ledning och en strävan mot effektivitet. De har chefer på olika nivåer där informationsflödet redan är bestämt. Organisationen har svårt att anpassa sig till förändringar vilket kan vara ett resultat av personalen kan känna att de inte kan påverka. I vår teori tar vi upp användandet av Cape -modellen. Det är en arbetstidsmodell som utvecklats av Carina Persson. Den består av fyra delar som skall minska sjukfrånvaron och göra yrket mer attraktivt

Solar Cell Powered Boat

The objective of this project is to find out experimentally and through theoretical calculations and applications whether a cargo ship can be operated by means of solar cells. The project deals with the amount of research and applications already available in this area today and which areas could be developed and improved in future research. A radio-controlled miniature ship was purchased and modified to conduct tests on with solar cells. The data collected from these tests and the researched data were then analyzed to make calculations on real sized ships. A system was designed together with the miniature ship motors, the solar cells and an Arduino to carry out these tests. The miniature ship’s solar cells contributed with about 30% of the total power. The two theoretical ships had a lower percentage of about 4% and 8% respectively at maximum throttle. An economical calculations where both a hybrid cargo ship and an fully electrical ship concluded that it’s expensive but there is a profit in build each over the course of 20 years

Open science

The term ‘open science’ refers to a range of methods, tools, platforms and practices that aim to make scientific research more accessible, transparent, reproducible and reliable. This includes, for example, sharing code, data and research materials, embracing new publishing formats such as registered reports and preprints, pursuing replication studies and reanalyses, optimising statistical approaches to improve evidence assessment and re-evaluating institutional incentives. The ongoing shift towards open science practices is partly due to mounting evidence that studies across disciplines suffer from biases, underpowered designs and irreproducible or non-replicable results. It also stems from a general desire amongst many researchers to reduce hyper-competitivity in science and instead promote collaborative research that benefits science and society

Frequency-Selective Quantification of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Data

In this paper we focus on model fitting techniques in both the time and frequency domain for analysis of biomedical magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) signals. We examine the possibility to obtain accurate estimates of the parameters of selected peaks in the presence of unknown or uninteresting spectral features. We denote this by frequency-selective parameter estimation. A number of existing approaches are revisited and a new time-domain technique based on minimum-phase finite impulse response (FIR) filters is presented. The proposed method is compared to the application of a weighting function in the time domain, to frequency domain fitting using a polynomial baseline and to the time-domain HSVD filter method. The HSVD filter method and the FIR method clearly outperform the other methods. The ease of use and low computational complexity of the FIR filter method make this an attractive approach for frequency-selective parameter estimation. The results are illustrated using relevant C and MRS examples