Cries and whispers: exhuming and narrating defeat in Spain today

In this paper, I will reflect on the impact in contemporary Spain of the production, circulation and consumption of narratives and images of Civil War terror and suffering, specifically those resulting from the opening of mass graves from the Francoist repression. This sharing of narratives has to be seen in the context of a broader and highly controversial process of reconsideration of the Civil War as a traumatic past. At a time when Spanish society is engaged in important debates regarding the singularity or plurality of our identity and the structure of our territorial organization, these exhumations are bringing to light rather disturbing information regarding our past, our present, and probably our future as well. The excavation of these “crime scenes” in various parts of the country is provoking heated discussions and performances in family contexts, politics, historiography, the media, the arts, and the public sphere in general. For example, the public display of skeletons, skulls and bone fragments bearing the marks of violence – from “perimortem” tortures to bullet wounds and coups de grâce – is bringing back tragic stories that, for many relatives but also for civil society at large, were for decades mostly silenced, told in whispers, imperfectly transmitted in limited family circles, or simply ignored. The screen of silence, fear and self-censorship has been particularly strong in local, rural contexts. Exhumation and narration are inextricably entwined. Exhumations elicit storytelling; conversely, their meaning and social impact depend on the available repertoire of competing “memory plots".Peer reviewe

Effects of perfluorinated compounds on hepatic fatty acid oxidation in avian embryos using a tritium release assay

The large use of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) to produce fluoropolymers in consumer and industrial applications, including insecticides, plastics, non-stick surfaces and fire fighting foams has led to a well known widespread occurrence and high concentrations are found in wild life including avian species. For instance, concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in eggs from the common guillemot in the Baltic Sea are among the highest in the Nordic environment. In our laboratory studies, PFOS has caused early mortality in chicken at doses close to concentrations found in eggs of the Baltic guillemot. The mechanisms behind the avian toxicity are unclear but many studies suggest mechanisms including lipid homeostasis. We have designed a method in which hepatic embryonic tissue from chicken (Gallus domesticus) is used to investigate the effects of PFCs on the β-oxidation of fatty acids.  The purpose of this project was to assess the effects of PFOS, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) or perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) on the hepatic fatty acid oxidation using an egg injection technique followed by the use of a tritium release assay with palmitate (16:0) as substrate. The embryos were exposed in ovo and on day 10 of incubation embryo livers are incubated in vitro with tritiated fatty acids. The β-oxidation was significantly induced after exposed to 1 mg/kg PFOS (p = 0.003) and 10 mg/kg PFOS (p = 0.04), and difference in oxidation values was 39% and 34% respectively compared to control. The oxidation effect was not significant (p > 0.05) in samples exposed to PFOA (4 mg/kg) or PFBS (20 mg/kg), however noted, the difference in oxidation values was 18% and 30.5% respectively, compared to control calculated on current average. The results show that in ovo exposure in combination with an in vitro method, using a tritium release assay to detect effects on the β-oxidation of fatty acids in avian embryo hepatic tissue could be a useful method to elucidate possible mechanisms behind avian developmental toxicity

Arbete med SVAR version 2016, Svenskt Vattenarkiv, en databas vid SMHI

SVAR-databasen innehåller bl.a. information om Sveriges sjöar, vattendrag och havsområden samt om huvud- och delavrinningsområden. SVAR återfinns i en geospatial relationsdatabas (SQL Server med tillägget ArcSDE). Där finns både kartskikt och attributdata samt relationer mellan tabeller. Databasen innehåller sjöregistret, vattendragsregistret, avrinningsområdesregistret och havsområdesregistret. Dammregistret ligger arkiverat utanför databasen men har kopplingar till SVAR. Alla koordinater i databasen är lagrade i SWEREF 99. I Bilaga 6. Tabellbeskrivning av SVAR_ finns en mer utförlig tabellbeskrivning över informationen i skikt och tabeller. Uppdateringar och förändringar sker kontinuerligt och i samarbete med interna och externa intressenter. De främsta externa intressenterna har under senare år varit de fem vattenmyndigheterna.Under de senaste åren har arbetet inom SVAR fokuserats på underhållet den nationella databasen med vattenförekomster och avrinningsområden till dessa. Vattenförekomsterna används för vattenförvaltningen enligt EG:s vattendirektiv och för miljömålsuppföljning

Arbete med SVAR version 2012_1 och 2012_2, Svenskt Vattenarkiv, en databas vid SMHI

SVAR-databasen innehåller bl.a. information om Sveriges sjöar, vattendrag och havsområdensamt om huvud- och delavrinningsområden. SVAR återfinns i en geospatial relationsdatabas (SQL Server med tillägget ArcSDE). Där finns både kartskikt och attributdata samt relationer mellan tabeller. Databasen innehåller sjöregistret, vattendragsregistret, avrinningsområdesregistret och havsområdesregistret. Dammregistret ligger arkiverat utanför databasen men har kopplingar till SVAR. Alla koordinater i databasen är fr.o.m. version 2012_1 lagrade i SWEREF 99. I Bilaga 6. Tabellbeskrivning av SVAR_2012_2 finns en mer utförlig tabellbeskrivning över informationen i skikt och tabeller. Uppdateringar och förändringar sker kontinuerligt och i samarbete med interna och externa intressenter. De främsta externa intressenterna har under senare år varit de fem vattenmyndigheterna.Under de senaste åren har arbetet inom SVAR fokuserats på uppbyggnaden av en nationell databas med vattenförekomster och avrinningsområden till dessa. Vattenförekomsterna har identifierats av vattenmyndigheterna och används för vattenförvaltningen enligt EG:s vattendirektiv och för miljömålsuppföljning. Detta har varit och är ett omfattande arbete

The Second Young Environmental Scientist (YES) meeting 2011 at RWTH Aachen University - environmental challenges in a changing world

This article reports on the second Young Environmental Scientists Meeting that was hosted from 28 February to 2 March 2011 by the Institute for Environmental Research at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. This extraordinary meeting was again initiated and organized by the Student Advisory Council under the umbrella of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe. A movie about the meeting and the abstracts of poster and platform presentations are freely available as supplemental material of this article

High dose pollen intralymphatic immunotherapy : Two RDBPC trials question the benefit of dose increase

Background: The same dosing schedule, 1000 SQ-U times three, with one-month intervals, have been evaluated in most trials of intralymphatic immunotherapy (ILIT) for the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR). The present studies evaluated if a dose escalation in ILIT can enhance the clinical and immunological effects, without compromising safety. Methods: Two randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials of ILIT for grass pollen-induced AR were performed. The first included 29 patients that had recently ended 3 years of SCIT and the second contained 39 not previously vaccinated patients. An up-dosage of 1000–3000–10,000 (5000 + 5000 with 30 minutes apart) SQ-U with 1 month in between was evaluated. Results: Doses up to 10,000 SQ-U were safe after recent SCIT. The combined symptom-medication scores (CSMS) were reduced by 31% and the grass-specific IgG4 levels in blood were doubled. In ILIT de novo, the two first patients that received active treatment developed serious adverse reactions at 5000 SQ-U. A modified up-dosing schedule; 1000–3000–3000 SQ-U appeared to be safe but failed to improve the CSMS. Flow cytometry analyses showed increased activation of lymph node-derived dendritic but not T cells. Quality of life and nasal provocation response did not improve in any study. Conclusion: Intralymphatic immunotherapy in high doses after SCIT appears to further reduce grass pollen-induced seasonal symptoms and may be considered as an add-on treatment for patients that do not reach full symptom control after SCIT. Up-dosing schedules de novo with three monthly injections that exceeds 3000 SQ-U should be avoided