Towards a Circular Economy in Sweden - Barriers for new business models and the need for policy intervention

In order to halt current resource depletion and minimise environmental destruction, we need to reduce our dependency on virgin raw materials. There is a growing political consensus in the EU that we have to move away from our current linear economic system to one that is based on closing material loops, a circular economy. There is therefore a great need for new business models based on for example sharing, reusing and remanufacturing. A small portion of frontrunner companies are leading the way in Sweden and internationally, however the current political and societal trajectory impose numerous barriers for such businesses to scale up. New and revised policy intervention is therefore needed to pave the way for circular business models. In Sweden, a lack of policies which promote such development is apparent, and the interrelations between barriers for certain business models and the need for policy intervention is highly unexplored. This study identifies barriers and the need for policy intervention to overcome them, based on input from representatives from companies currently practicing business models based on circular economy thinking. It further maps relevant environmental policies in Sweden, in order to understand how the current political landscape addresses elements related to circular economy and make suggestions for how to further support circular business models in Sweden via policy intervention. Findings show that barriers are first and foremost institutional and market based related to price signals and consumer behaviour. But they are also political in terms of lack of ambition and long-term thinking, technological in terms of product design, and organisational in terms of lack of funding and lack of integration of the concept into core business. Policy intervention therefore needs to be multi-dimensional. A mix of measures based on regulations, economic instruments, information spreading and demand stimulations need to be placed within an overall governance framework based on enabling infrastructure, national targets and broad, long-term agreements

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E-commerce is a complex societal challenge with an enormous potential to contribute to sustainable development. In order to capture this potential and transform e-commerce into a sustainable system requires radical change. But which areas are in need of change in order to achieve a grand effect and what key issues must addressed

DNA Diversity Among Clinical Isolates of \u3cem\u3eHelicobacter pylori\u3c/em\u3e Detected by PCR-Based RAPD Fingerprinting

The RAPD (or AP-PCR) DNA fingerprinting method was used to distinguish among clinical isolates of Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium whose long term carriage is associated with gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric carcinomas. This method uses arbitrarily chosen oligonucleotides to prime DNA sythesis from genomic sites to which they are fortuitously matched, or almost matched. Most 10-nt primers with \u3e 60% G + C yielded strain-specific arrays of up to 15 prominent fragments, as did most longer ( \u3e 17-nt) primers, whereas most 10-nt primers with 50% G +C did not. Each of 64 independent H.pylori isolates, 60 of which were from patients in the same hospital, was distinguishable with a single RAPD primer, which suggests a high level of DNA sequence diversity within this species. In contrast, isolates from initial and followup biopsies were indistinguishable in each of three cases tested

A Case of Neck Abscess Caused by Salmonella Serotype D in a Patient with Liver Cirrhosis

Non-typhoidal salmonellosis, which is increasing nowadays in Korea as well as in the developed countries, is manifested as enteritis in most cases, but it also encompasses bacteremia, intraabdominal infections, and bone, joint and soft tissue infections. These rare diseases are known to result from primary gastrointestinal infection and subsequent bacteremia with or without symptoms. We experienced a case of neck abscess caused by Salmonella serotype D, which is a rare but important differential diagnosis of neck abscess. We herein report it

Nitrogen atom detection in low-pressure flames by two-photon laser-excited fluorescence

Bittner J, Lawitzki A, Meier U, Kohse-Höinghaus K. Nitrogen atom detection in low-pressure flames by two-photon laser-excited fluorescence. Applied Physics, B. 1991;52(2):108-116.Nitrogen atoms have been detected in stoichiometric flat premixed H2/O2/N2 flames at 33 and 96 mbar doped with small amounts of NH3, HCN, and (CN)2 using two-photon laser excitation at 211 nm and fluorescence detection around 870 nm. The shape of the fluorescence intensity profiles versus height above the burner surface is markedly different for the different additives. Using measured quenching rate coefficients and calibrating with the aid of known N-atom concentrations in a discharge flow reactor, peak N-atom concentrations in these flames are estimated to be on the order of 10 12–5×10 13 cm –3; the detection limit is about 1×10 11 cm –3

Attenuation of Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric inflammation by prior cag− strain (AM1) infection in C57BL/6 mice

Helicobacter pylori, colonize in stomach of ~50% of the world population. cag pathogenicity Island of H. pylori is one of the important virulent factors that attributed to gastric inflammation. Coinfection with H. pylori strain with different genetic makeup alters the degree of pathogenicity and susceptibility towards antibiotics. The present study investigates host immunomodulatory effects of H. pylori infection by both cag+ strain (SS1) and cag− strain (AM1). C57BL/6 mice were infected with AM1 or SS1 strain as well as AM1 followed by SS1 (AM1/SS1) and vice versa. Results: Mice infected with AM1/SS1 strain exhibited less gastric inflammation and reduced proMMP9 and proMMP3 activities in gastric tissues as compared to SS1/SS1 and SS1/AM1 infected groups. The expression of both MMP9 and MMP3 followed similar trend like activity in infected tissues. Both Th1 and Th17 responses were induced by SS1 strain more profoundly than AM1 strain infection which induced solely Th1 response in spleen and gastric tissues. Moreover, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-12 were significantly downregulated in mice spleen and gastric tissues infected by AM1/SS1 compared to SS1/SS1 but not with SS1/AM1 coinfection. Surprisingly, IL-17 level was dampened significantly in AM1/ SS1 compared to SS1/AM1 coinfected groups. Furthermore, number of Foxp3+ T-regulatory (Treg) cells and immunosuppressive cytokines like IL-10 and TGF-β were reduced in AM1/SS1 compared to SS1/SS1 and SS1/AM1 coinfected mice gastric tissues. Conclusions: These data suggested that prior H. pylori cag− strain infection attenuated the severity of gastric pathology induced by subsequent cag+ strain in C57BL/6 mice. Prior AM1 infection induced Th1 cytokine IFN-γ, which reduced the Th17 response induced by subsequent SS1 infection. The reduced gastritis in AM1/SS1-infected mice might also be due to enrichment of AM1- primed Treg cells in the gastric compartment which inhibit Th1 and Th17 responses to subsequent SS1 infection. In summary, prior infection by non-virulent H. pylori strain (AM1) causes reduction of subsequent virulent strain (SS1) infection by regulation of inflammatory cytokines and MMPs expressio