On the scope and assessment of pesticides in groundwater in Skåne, Sweden

Pesticides are known to occur in groundwater worldwide. However, long-term pollution concerns and cause-effect relationships for specific regions remain limited. This thesis explores the occurrence of pesticides in south-Swedish groundwater, with the aims of providing a better knowledge basis for assessment and management of present-day and future pollution risks. The investigations are restricted to Skåne, which is a relatively populous, intensively cultivated and geologically diverse region located at the tip of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The research shows that pesticides are present in very different types of groundwater systems around Skåne, suggesting a wide-ranging, multi-faceted and potentially long-lasting pollution concern. Seemingly, it is only the groundwater environments devoid of influence of waters having recharged since the onset of widespread pesticide use that may be regarded as completely safe and unaffected. Many of the pesticides detected stem from past, less restricted use, primarily for weed control outside of agriculture. Yet, current and future pollution concerns should not be regarded only as a matter of “old sins” as residues from currently used substances manifestly continue to leach towards and into the groundwater system. Through various analyses of comprehensive data sets both at the regional and the catchment scale, a number of particularly important aspects of regional pesticide occurrence in groundwater and future prediction thereof are inferred and investigated. In addition to application intensities and fundamental physicochemical pesticide properties, these include precipitation and recharge patterns in relation to pesticide application events, (mainly superficial) sorption and degradation processes efficiencies, multiple-scale subsurface physical heterogeneity directing water and solute flow (particularly the presence of preferential flow pathways), and groundwater turnover rates. Environmental tracers show great potential as tools for simple but effective calibration of transport models and for deciphering pollution trends and patterns. However, there are certain tracer-specific complications in need of further attention for future application in Skåne. For the future, regional as well as nationwide monitoring of pesticides in groundwater needs to be expanded and regulated for sound groundwater and pollution risk management and in order to be able to comply with environmental directives and the EU Water Framework Directive

Challenges to Newspapers in Digital Platform Ecosystems

Incumbent content providers such as newspapers experience radical changes in their business environment. Digital platforms are becoming increasingly important to innovate digital media services and business. The generativity of digital platforms afforded by digital technology offers new opportunities, but also new challenges. Digital platforms exist in an ecosystem of complex networks of actors and resources. In this paper we shed light on the challenges for incumbent content providers to adapt to and realize business opportunities in digital platforms. We do this from the viewpoints of newspaper management, platform provider and analysts of media business

Trelleborgen – ett exempel på vad fornlämningar och rekonstruktioner av dessa kan ha för betydelse

Trelleborgen, the Viking age fortress in Trelleborg, and its reconstruction, in this essay, constitutes an example of the importance of ancient monuments and the reconstructions of these can have to people who were and are affected by them. This concerns politicians and inhabitants in the area as well as archaeologists. By studying the archaeologist’s theories about Trelleborgen, by interviewing politicians and handing out questionnaires to the inhabitants in Trelleborg, I found out that, since the remains of the fortress were found, intensive discussions have taken place. These debates concerned the meaning and the function of the ancient monument as well as the reconstruction of it. Many archaeologists and inhabitants in the area have an opinion about this. Few stay unaffected. My conclusion is that Trelleborgen and other ancient monuments and reconstructions of these, have been and are of importance, positive as well as negative, to a lot of people. My paper will also discuss what it takes for an ancient monument to be considered a certain type of construction, its connection to Uppåkra as well as Denmark and how authentic the reconstruction has to be

Servitization as business model contestation:A practice approach

In principle, organizations know how to do servitization, but in practice, many struggle to change their business models to include service offerings. To understand this struggle, this paper examines servitization in a large multinational manufacturer within the pulp and paper industry. Utilizing practice theory, the study explicates the servitization process as a contestation of a company's parallel business models — one existing and dominant; one emerging. As business models materialize in organizational practices, and therefore have the potential to frame and organize servitization efforts, the models give rise to contestations in the practices performed by actors in the organization and the ecosystem. The elements of such contestations provide a better understanding of the ways in which practices may be disrupted to support servitization. Contestations can thus be creative instead of problematic. As a result, this paper extends the conceptualization of servitization as a bottom-up, emergent and iterative process of business model contestation

Polymorphisms in inflammation associated genes ALOX15 and IL-6 are associated with bone properties in young women and fracture in elderly.

ALOX12 and ALOX15 encode arachidonate lipoxygenases which produce lipid metabolites involved in inflammatory processes. Metabolites generated by ALOX12 and ALOX15 can activate the expression of the potent pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6, and produce endogenous ligands for PPARG. In this study, polymorphisms in ALOX12, ALOX15, IL6 and PPARG were investigated for association with bone properties in young and elderly Swedish women

Identification of Candidate Gene Regions in the Rat by Co-Localization of QTLs for Bone Density, Size, Structure and Strength.

Susceptibility to osteoporotic fracture is influenced by genetic factors that can be dissected by whole-genome linkage analysis in experimental animal crosses. The aim of this study was to characterize quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for biomechanical and two-dimensional dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) phenotypes in reciprocal F2 crosses between diabetic GK and normo-glycemic F344 rat strains and to identify possible co-localization with previously reported QTLs for bone size and structure. The biomechanical measurements of rat tibia included ultimate force, stiffness and work to failure while DXA was used to characterize tibial area, bone mineral content (BMC) and areal bone mineral density (aBMD). F2 progeny (108 males, 98 females) were genotyped with 192 genome-wide markers followed by sex- and reciprocal cross-separated whole-genome QTL analyses. Significant QTLs were identified on chromosome 8 (tibial area; logarithm of odds (LOD) = 4.7 and BMC; LOD = 4.1) in males and on chromosome 1 (stiffness; LOD = 5.5) in females. No QTLs showed significant sex-specific interactions. In contrast, significant cross-specific interactions were identified on chromosome 2 (aBMD; LOD = 4.7) and chromosome 6 (BMC; LOD = 4.8) for males carrying F344mtDNA, and on chromosome 15 (ultimate force; LOD = 3.9) for males carrying GKmtDNA, confirming the effect of reciprocal cross on osteoporosis-related phenotypes. By combining identified QTLs for biomechanical-, size- and qualitative phenotypes (pQCT and 3D CT) from the same population, overlapping regions were detected on chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10. These are strong candidate regions in the search for genetic risk factors for osteoporosis

Urinary phosphate is associated with cardiovascular disease incidence

Elevated phosphate (P) in urine may reflect a high intake of inorganic P salts from food additives. Elevated P in plasma is linked to vascular dysfunction and calcification. Objective, To explore associations between P in urine as well as in plasma and questionnaire-estimated P intake, and incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods, We used the Swedish Mammography Cohort-Clinical, a population-based cohort study. At baseline (2004–2009), P was measured in urine and plasma in 1625 women. Dietary P was estimated via a food-frequency questionnaire. Incident CVD was ascertained via register-linkage. Associations were assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results, After a median follow-up of 9.4 years, 164 composite CVD cases occurred (63 myocardial infarctions [MIs] and 101 strokes). Median P (percentiles 5–95) in urine and plasma were 2.4 (1.40–3.79) mmol/mmol creatinine and 1.13 (0.92–1.36) mmol/L, respectively, whereas dietary P intake was 1510 (1148–1918) mg/day. No correlations were observed between urinary and plasma P (r = −0.07) or dietary P (r = 0.10). Urinary P was associated with composite CVD and MI. The hazard ratio of CVD comparing extreme tertiles was 1.57 (95% confidence interval 1.05, 2.35; P trend 0.037)—independently of sodium excretion, the estimated glomerular filtration rate, both P and calcium in plasma, and diuretic use. Association with CVD for plasma P was 1.41 (0.96, 2.07; P trend 0.077). Conclusion, Higher level of urinary P, likely reflecting a high consumption of highly processed foods, was linked to CVD. Further investigation is needed to evaluate the potential cardiovascular toxicity associated with excessive intake of P beyond nutritional requirement

Age-dependent variation of genotypes in MHC II transactivator gene (CIITA) in controls and association to type 1 diabetes

The major histocompatibility complex class II transactivator (CIITA) gene (16p13) has been reported to associate with susceptibility to multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and myocardial infarction, recently also to celiac disease at genome-wide level. However, attempts to replicate association have been inconclusive. Previously, we have observed linkage to the CIITA region in Scandinavian type 1 diabetes (T1D) families. Here we analyze five Swedish T1D cohorts and a combined control material from previous studies of CIITA. We investigate how the genotype distribution within the CIITA gene varies depending on age, and the association to T1D. Unexpectedly, we find a significant difference in the genotype distribution for markers in CIITA (rs11074932, P=4 × 10(-5) and rs3087456, P=0.05) with respect to age, in the collected control material. This observation is replicated in an independent cohort material of about 2000 individuals (P=0.006, P=0.007). We also detect association to T1D for both markers, rs11074932 (P=0.004) and rs3087456 (P=0.001), after adjusting for age at sampling. The association remains independent of the adjacent T1D risk gene CLEC16A. Our results indicate an age-dependent variation in CIITA allele frequencies, a finding of relevance for the contrasting outcomes of previously published association studies.Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (2-2000-570) and (1-2001-873The Swedish Research CouncilSvenska Diabetes FondenBarndiabetes FondenNovo Nordisk FoundationMagnus Bergvalls FoundationNeuropromise (LSHM-CT-2005-018637)NIH grant DK-17047Swedish Brain Power initiativeGun and Bertil Stohne’s Foundation,Foundation for Old ServantsAlzheimer FoundationLIONS Foundation for Research of Age Related DisordersAFA foundationSöderberg FoundationKnut and Alice Wallenbergs FoundationManuscrip