Congenital CMV infection and connexin 26 mutations in childhood deafness : intervention with early cochlear implantation

Hearing impairment (HI) is a common disability, which affects a significant proportion of the population. Early in life, however, the risk of acquiring a HI is low, with 0.2 % of all newborns having a permanent HI, and of these, 0.04 % have a severe or profound HI. Even if there are only a few children born with a permanent HI, the consequences can be devastating for their speech perception and spoken language development. Normal hearing children, start to hear and differentiate sounds already in the fifth month of pregnancy, and thereafter, their speech and language acquisition is intensive during the first years of life. If, however, a child with a HI is to have a chance to catch up with normal hearing children, in terms of spoken language acquisition, it is important to provide the child with the best possible auditory input at the earliest opportunity. The two most common reasons for permanent childhood HI are congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection and Connexin 26 (Cx26) mutations. cCMV infection might give the child other disabilities, such as cognitive delay, cerebral palsy and visual impairment, in addition to the HI. For children with Cx26 mutations, additional disabilities are less common. The aim of this thesis was to study the results after CI intervention in children with permanent HI, and especially, to examine the effect of implantation in infants. Moreover, the aim was to study children with cCMV infection and Cx26 mutations and to describe the additionally disabilities arising from a cCMV infection. In the first study, 90 children with a variety of HIs, which were of unknown etiology and non-syndromic, were tested for cCMV infection. The dried blood spot (DBS) sample, taken in the newborn period, was analysed for CVM DNA. Of the 90 children, 18 (20%) tested positive for cCMV infection. In the second study, 79 children, of whom the majority had severe to profound, non-syndromic HI, were tested for Cx26 mutations. Twenty-four of the 79 children (30%) had two pathological Cx26 mutations. In the third study, 26 children with a HI caused by cCMV infection and 13 children with a HI caused by Cx26 mutations were examined by a multidisciplinary team, with the intention of investigating how frequently additional disabilities were present. Among the children with cCMV infection, there were a high number of children with disturbed balance and in addition neurodevelopmental disabilities and feeding problems were also found. Many of these additional disabilities have not previously been associated with a cCMV infection. In the Cx26 group, such additional problems were not found. In the fourth study, a cohort of 137 children with CIs, operated between 2002 and 2011 was described. When children were operated on before nine months of age, no language delay was apparent when compared with data for normal hearing children. Additionally, their speech intelligibility was rated high sooner than for children who received their implants at a later age. The children who received implants between 9 and 11 months of age, caught up with the children operated on before they were nine months old, within two to three years. When their vocabulary was tested, the children with implants introduced at 12-17 months of age, caught up at early school-age. Those implanted later, when 18 months old or more, did not, however, catch up with the children who had received implants when younger. In conclusion, early CI intervention is of great importance for children born with profound HI, if the aim is to acquire age-equivalent spoken language development. In addition, knowledge about the child’s etiology is important for an appropriate early and correct HI diagnosis, and to identify possible additional disabilities. Based on this broader knowledge about the child with a HI, it will be possible to give the child and family tailored support

Directionality challenges for transformative innovation policy: lessons from implementing climate goals in the process industry

In the new paradigm of ‘transformative’ or ‘mission-oriented’ innovation policy, which addresses broad societal challenges, policy makers are given a large responsibility for setting or shaping the direction of socio-technical transitions. However, the literature has so far not provided much concrete advice on how to achieve directionality in practice. The main argument of this conceptual article is that a more detailed approach is needed to better understand the challenges policy makers might face when they attempt to translate societal goals into more concrete and actionable policy agendas. It identifies and discusses eight analytically derived directionality challenges: handling goal conflicts, defining system boundaries, identifying realistic pathways, formulating strategies, realising destabilisation, mobilising relevant policy domains, identifying target groups, and accessing intervention points. To illustrate these challenges, the article uses examples from the implementation of the Swedish climate goal in the process industry

Överlevnad av ogräsfrön från vallskörd till gödsel

Ogräs är en oönskad växt, ört eller gräs som konkurrerar med den odlade grödan om ljus, vat-ten och näring. För lantbrukaren är det arbetskrävande och kostsamt med bekämpningsåtgär-der mot ogräsen och det finns risk att skörden blir reducerad om det finns ogräs i vallen. Vid vallskörd finns också risken att ogräsfrön följer med grönmassan. Överlever fröna sedan ensi-leringen, digestionspassagen hos idisslare och rötningen till biogödsel finns en eventuell risk för att fröna sprids och ogräsen kan därmed etableras på åkern igen. Det finns flertalet fak-torer som påverkar i vilken utsträckning ogräsfrön kan överleva. Under de processer som fröna genomgår, från ensilering till biogödsel kan pH, syrefria miljöer, tuggning, inkubations-tid i våmmen och värmebehandling vid rötning vara faktorer som är betydande för frönas vita-litet. Fröet har även mekanismer som gör att det kan överleva trots ogynnsamma miljöförhål-landen. Denna litteraturstudie inriktas främst på de ogräsarter som utgör problem på slåtter-vallar och naturbetesvallar i Mellansverige.Weed is an unwanted plant, herb or grass that competes with the cultivated crop for light, wa-ter and nutrients. It is a laborious task and expensive for the farmer to have to implement herbicide treatments, on the other hand there is a risk that the yield will be reduced if there are too much weeds in the ley. When the herbage is harvested there is a risk that weed seeds are included in the ensiling. If the weed survives the ensiling process, digestion process in rumi-nants and anaerobic digestion to digestate there is a risk for the weed seeds to spread and es-tablish on the field again. There are several factors that affect in which range weed seeds can survive. During ensiling, digestion in ruminants and during anaerobic digestion to digestate, factors significant for seeds vitality are pH, oxygen-free environments, mastication, incuba-tion time in the rumen and heat treatment of digestion. Many seeds have special mechanisms that allow them to survive in spite of unfavorable environmental conditions. The present work focuses primarily on weed species that pose problems on ley fields and natural grasslands in central Sweden

Turning the tanker? Exploring the preconditions for change in the global petrochemical industry

Meeting the goals set out in the Paris Agreement will require rapid and deep reductions of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across all sectors of the global economy. Like all major societal transformations, this climate transition will impact both social and technical aspects of society and, depending on how it evolves, will reallocate social and economic benefits and costs differently. Recognising the importance of decarbonising key industry sectors with large GHG emissions and an significant impact on society, this study explores the opportunities and tensions involved in a transition of the petrochemical industry. We do so by analysing how access to natural resources, the petrochemical industry's role in the economy and the socio-political landscape in key petrochemical producing countries impacts prerequisites for change. The assessment shows that devising adequate policy responses, building legitimacy for change and potentially building bottom-up pressure for a timely climate transition are likely to look very different in the 10 countries with the greatest active petrochemical capacity in the world: China, the United States, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Russia, Iran, Germany and Taiwan. The indicators used to explore the prerequisites for change all point to areas where actions and policies must advance for a transition to be realised. This includes efforts to cap fossil feedstock supply and production capacity, efforts to limit and ultimately reduce demand for plastics and fertilisers, and measures to formulate transition strategies and policies that capture and provide agency for communities and groups that are currently on the receiving end of negative health and environmental impacts from the petrochemical industry and that will also, in many cases, be most closely affected by a transition

EVOP - Arbetsmetod för förbättrad juverhälsa hos mjölkkor med inriktning mot infektiösa mastiter orsakade av juverbundna bakterier

Today there is a worldwide demand of support to dairy farms that can simplify the work of improving animal health. The aim of the Nordic project “Evolutionary management in large dairy herds” is to develop this type of support. Sweden is responsible for the development of a decision support concerning udder health. The project conforms to the principle of Evolutionary Operation (EVOP). Through systematic changes more effective solutions will be identified and finally, EVOP will be evaluated if and how the method can be applied on the dairy farm production. This master thesis is a part of the Swedish project and its aim is to evaluate how EVOP acts as a working method for improved udder health, with focus on infectious mastitis caused by udder bound bacteria. The project was performed on Jon-jons dairy farm in Växbo, Hälsingland. The intervention was to compare the presently used teat dip on the farm, DeLaval Prima, with the teat dip ProactiveTM Plus. The aim with the intervention was to reduce the somatic cell count and improve the teat condition. The total number of cows in the study were 52. Twenty of these cows were included in a teat condition evaluation. The intervention comprised 6 weeks and ranged from the end of September until the middle of November. In the statistical analysis the last three weeks of the intervention period were compared to a reference period registered three weeks before the intervention started. The response variables that were analysed were somatic cell count and teat condition. The results from the study showed that there was no significant difference between the two teat dips, DeLaval Prima and ProactiveTM Plus, regarding somatic cell count and teat condition. It is not possible to see any type of response or trend for this specific intervention. The farm should, in line with the working method EVOP, return to the starting positiDet finns idag ett behov av hjälpmedel hos mjölkkobesättningar, välden över, som kan förenkla besluten för djurhälsoarbetet. Genom det nordiska projektet ”Evolutionary management in large dairy herds” är tanken att ett sådant hjälpmedel ska utvecklas. Sverige ansvarar för att utveckla ett beslutsstöd gällande juverhälsa. Projektet tillämpar principerna för Evolutionary Operation (EVOP). Genom systematiska förändringar ska effektivare lösningar identifieras och slutligen ska EVOP utvärderas om och hur arbetsmetoden kan appliceras inom mjölkproduktionen. Detta examensarbete är ett delprojekt i det svenska projektet och riktar sig mot att utvärdera hur EVOP fungerar som arbetsmetod för förbättrad juverhälsa hos mjölkkor med inriktning mot infektiösa mastiter orsakade av juverbundna bakterier. Projektet genomfördes på mjölkgården Jon-jons gård i Växbo, Hälsingland. Interventionen gick ut på att jämföra gårdens ursprungliga spendoppsmedel, DeLaval Prima mot spendoppsmedlet, ProactiveTM Plus, med mål att reducera celltalet och förbättra spenkonditionen. Totalt ingick 52 kor i studien varav 20 av dessa kor även ingick i en spenkonditionsbedömning. Interventionen omfattade 6 veckor och sträckte sig från slutet av september till mitten av november. I den statistiska analysen jämfördes interventionsperiodens tre sista veckor mot en referensperiod som registrerats tre veckor innan interventionens uppstart. De responsvariabler som analyserades var celltal och spenkondition. Resultatet i studien visar att det inte finns någon signifikant skillnad mellan spendoppsmedlen, DeLaval Prima och ProactiveTM Plus, beträffande celltal och spenkondition. Det går inte att erhålla någon typ av respons eller trend ur den genomförda interventionen. Gården bör därför, i enlighet med EVOP, gå tillbaka till ursprungsläget och utarbeta en ny intervention som sedan testas och utvärderas. Det krävs i framtiden mer forskning för att dra en slutsats om hur EVOP ska implementeras som arbetsmetod inom animalieproduktionen.on and compose a new intervention that will be tested and evaluated. More research is required to reach a conclusion about how EVOP should be implemented as a working method in livestock production.Today there is a worldwide demand of support to dairy farms that can simplify the work of improving animal health. The aim of the Nordic project “Evolutionary management in large dairy herds” is to develop this type of support. Sweden is responsible for the development of a decision support concerning udder health. The project conforms to the principle of Evolutionary Operation (EVOP). Through systematic changes more effective solutions will be identified and finally, EVOP will be evaluated if and how the method can be applied on the dairy farm production. This master thesis is a part of the Swedish project and its aim is to evaluate how EVOP acts as a working method for improved udder health, with focus on infectious mastitis caused by udder bound bacteria. The project was performed on Jon-jons dairy farm in Växbo, Hälsingland. The intervention was to compare the presently used teat dip on the farm, DeLaval Prima, with the teat dip ProactiveTM Plus. The aim with the intervention was to reduce the somatic cell count and improve the teat condition. The total number of cows in the study were 52. Twenty of these cows were included in a teat condition evaluation. The intervention comprised 6 weeks and ranged from the end of September until the middle of November. In the statistical analysis the last three weeks of the intervention period were compared to a reference period registered three weeks before the intervention started. The response variables that were analysed were somatic cell count and teat condition. The results from the study showed that there was no significant difference between the two teat dips, DeLaval Prima and ProactiveTM Plus, regarding somatic cell count and teat condition. It is not possible to see any type of response or trend for this specific intervention. The farm should, in line with the working method EVOP, return to the starting position and compose a new intervention that will be tested and evaluated. More research is required to reach a conclusion about how EVOP should be implemented as a working method in livestock production

Hederns ansikte - en studie kring hur heder konstrueras och vidmakthålls

This study aims to research how honour is explained and defined by social workers and thus increase the knowledge about the concept itself, and the negative consequences it can have on an individuals’ life. By interviewing (both in a group interview, and in a one-on-one interview) professionals who daily are coming into contact with honour codes and context, and letting them give their view on the subject, a fundamentally positive definition of honour has been set. It is when a group interprets honour as the most important characteristic to maintain and sustain, no matter what costs, that oppression to the point of violence emerges. The study uses, beside the examples of the professionals, the theories on socialization, internalisation, class fractions, and respectability to concretize and explain the complex system consisting of norms and values, in which honour is embedded

Бароосмотичний аналіз як новий метод гідрогеологічних досліджень

Запропоновано методику бароосмотичного аналiзу гiдрогеологiчних даних для окремих свердловин, за якою визначаються величина бароосмотичного напору H2O у пластових (порових) водах i ступiнь вiдхилення їх вiд стану бароосмотичної рiвноваги на кiлькох водоносних горизонтах. Результати аналiзу для чотирьох свердловин з рiзних регiонiв пiдтвердили iснування вертикальних бароосмотичних потокiв у глинистих товщах усiх розрiзiв i дали змогу визначити напрями цих потокiв та виявити зони впливу особливих локальних гiдрогеологiчних процесiв.Methods of baroosmotic analysis of hydrogeological data for separate boreholes have been proposed. They can be applied to determine the baroosmotic pressure of H2O in formational (porous) waters and the degree of their defection from the state of baroosmotic balance at several water-bearing horizons. The results of analysis conducted at 4 boreholes from different regions have confirmed the existence of vertical baroosmotic flows in clayey units of all sections and have allowed us to determine the directions of these flows and to reveal the zones affected by specific local hydrogeological processes

Correlates of Orthographic Learning in Swedish Children With Cochlear Implants

This study set out to explore the cognitive and linguistic correlates of orthographic learning in a group of 32 deaf and hard of hearing children with cochlear implants, to better understand the factors that affect the development of fluent reading in these children. To date, the research about the mechanisms of reading fluency and orthographic learning in this population is scarce. The children were between 6:0 and 10:11 years of age and used oral language as their primary mode of communication. They were assessed on orthographic learning, reading fluency and a range of cognitive and linguistic skills including working memory measures, word retrieval and paired associate learning. The results were analyzed in a set of correlation analyses. In line with previous findings from children with typical hearing, orthographic learning was strongly correlated with phonological decoding, receptive vocabulary, phonological skills, verbal-verbal paired-associate learning and word retrieval. The results of this study suggest that orthographic learning in children with CI is strongly dependent on similar cognitive and linguistic skills as in typically hearing peers. Efforts should thus be made to support phonological decoding skill, vocabulary, and phonological skills in this population

Petrochemicals and climate change: Powerful fossil fuel lock-ins and interventions for transformative change

With the risk of climate breakdown, pressure is increasing for all sectors of the economy to break with fossil fuel dependence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, the chemical industry requires more focused attention as it uses more fossil-fuel based energy than any other industry and the production of chemicals is associated with very large emissions. Beyond the climate crisis, the chemical industry significantly impacts several critical dimensions of sustainability, including the planetary boundaries for novel entities, biosphere integrity, and ocean acidification. In this report, we focus on the petrochemical sector, which represents the largest share of the chemicals industry and is generally understood to refer to the part of the industry that relies on fossil-fuel feedstocks from oil, gas, and coal. The petrochemicals sector produces chemicals mainly used for plastics and fertilisers, but the products also end up in paints, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and other applications. This report provides a critical exploration of the petrochemical sector to strengthen awareness of its relevance to the climate crisis and to provide tools and recommendations for decision-makers in different domains to initiate, support, and accelerate much-needed transformation. The report highlights the rapid expansion of the petrochemical sector as well as the range and growth of economic, infrastructural, and political interlinkages with the fossil fuel extraction sector. It argues that these developments and dynamics are crucial to understanding pathways, strategies, and interventions for a low-carbon transition for petrochemicals

Conceptual and empirical advances in analysing policy mixes for energy transitions

Energy transitions face multiple barriers, lock-in, path dependencies and resistance to change which require strategic policy efforts to be overcome. In this regard, it has been increasingly recognised that a multiplicity of instruments – or instrument mixes – are needed to foster low-carbon transitions. In addition, over the past few years a broader conceptualization of policy mixes for sustainability transitions has emerged which we adopt in this special issue. Such a broader perspective not only examines the interaction of instruments, but also captures corresponding policy strategies with their long-term targets and pays greater attention to the associated policy processes. It also encompasses the analysis of overarching policy mix characteristics such as consistency, coherence or credibility, as well as policy design considerations. Furthermore, it embraces the analysis of actors and institutions involved in developing and implementing such policy mixes. To explicitly consider these further aspects of policy mixes, this special issue includes fifteen papers with different analytical perspectives drawing on a range of social science disciplines, such as environmental economics, innovation studies and policy sciences. It is our hope that the conceptual and empirical advances presented here will stimulate diverse future research and inform policy advice on policy mixes for energy transitions