Can urban trees be profitable from a timber production perspective

I detta arbete har undersökts om stadens träd kan göras till en mindre kostnad för den kommunala förvaltningen, genom skötsel som ökar virkesintäkterna. Genom att öka andelen stadsträd som skapar netto intäkter skulle kommunerna lättare kunna motivera en ökad mängd träd och skog i stadsmiljön. Arbetet har fokuserat på att identifiera trädarter som idag är relativt vanligt förekommande i städer och samtidigt har en potential att utveckla virkeskvalitéer som generar nettointäkter för kommunala förvaltningar. Vidare har arbetet försökt belysa vilka enklare insatser inom ramen för en kommunal förvaltning som skulle kunna öka trädens ekonomiska värden när de är mogna för avverkning. Baserat på litteraturstudier och en intervjustudie med nio kommunala förvaltare har följande resultat och slutsatser framkommit i arbetet: • Många kommuner gör idag inga aktiva åtgärder för att öka värdet på sitt växande skogsbestånd. • Raka och kvistfria stammar av samtliga undersöka trädarter betingar ett större värde än stockar där inga värdehöjande insatser utförts. • Försäljning av små volymer är svårt då industrin siktar in sig på stora volymer vilket försvårar möjligheterna för att skapa virkesintäkter från den urbana skogen. • Det finns idag rimliga möjligheter för avsättning av tall, gran, asp, ask, björk, ek, bok och lärk från den urban skogen men det borde även finnas en potential för finare kvalitéer av tex lönn, rönn och fågelbär. • Stamkvistning samt selektiv gallring och röjning är de skötselingrepp som verkar ha störst potential som virkeshöjande åtgärder för den urbana skogen, speciellt i de fall dessa ändå utförs av andra skäl som t.ex. förbättrad genomsikt. • Många av de tillfrågade kommunerna upparbetade delar av de finare virkesstockarna själva för att använda det inom den egna verksamheten, vilket indirekt skulle kunna utgöra ett incitament för att sköta fram vissa virkeskvalitéer. • Ytterligare kunskap kring flerskiktade blandskogar och hyggesfria metoder i relation till den urbana skogen och virkesproduktion vore önskvärt med tanke på att dessa angreppssätt troligen kommer bli mer efterfrågade med en fortsatt ökande urbanisering. • Merparten av de kommuner som ansågs ligga i framkant kring skötseln av stadsnära skog använde sig av egen personal eller nära samarbete med lokala entreprenörer

Personers erfarenheter av akutsjukvård på akutmottagningen. En litteraturstudie.

Många personer uppsöker en akutmottagning varje år. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva personers erfarenhet av akutsjukvård på akutmottagningen. I litteraturstudien användes fem kvalitativa artiklar, fem kvantitativa och en med båda metoderna. Kategorierna bemötande, miljö och behandling identifierades. I resultatet framkom det att flera patienter upplevde brister i bemötande där de inte blev sedda eller behandlade med respekt och där vårdpersonalen inte visade intresse för patientens situation. Miljön på akutmottagningen ansågs ha flera brister där miljön inte var anpassad för barn eller äldre och integriteten hotades när patienternas information riskerades att spridas. Väntetiden varierade och många av patienterna upplevde en lång väntan utan att veta varför de väntar. Patientens delaktighet togs inte alltid hänsyn till och smärtbehandlingen fungerade inte optimalt

Birth weight and grip strength in young Swedish males: a longitudinal matched sibling analysis and across all body mass index ranges

Low birth weight is associated with a lower grip strength later in life. However, associations between birth weight among infants born at-term and factors driving associations between birth weight and grip strength are largely unknown. A cohort of 144,369 young men born at-term, including 10,791 individuals who had at least one male sibling/s, were followed until conscription where they performed a grip strength test. We used linear and non-linear regression analyses in the full cohort, and fixed-effects regression analyses in the sibling cohort, to address confounding by factors that are shared between siblings. After adjustment, each unit increase in birth weight z-score was associated with increases of 17.7 (95% CI, 17.2-18.2) and 13.4 (10.1-16.6) newton grip strength, which converts to approximately 1.8 and 1.4 kilogram-force in the full and within-families cohorts, respectively. The associations did not vary with young adulthood BMI. Birth weight, within the at-term range, is robustly positively associated with grip strength in young adulthood among men across all BMI categories and associations appears to be mainly driven by factors that are not shared between siblings. These findings underline the importance of recognizing the influence of low birth weight, also within the at-termrange, on young adulthood muscle strength

Overall and inter-individual effect of four different drug classes on soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor in type 1 and type 2 diabetes

Aim: To evaluate the effect of four different drug classes on soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), a biomarker active in multiple inflammatory processes and a risk factor for complications, in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Methods: We conducted post hoc analyses of a randomized, open-label, crossover trial including 26 adults with type 1 and 40 with type 2 diabetes with urinary albumin-creatinine ratio ≥30 and ≤500 mg/g assigned to 4-week treatments with telmisartan 80 mg, empagliflozin 10 mg, linagliptin 5 mg and baricitinib 2 mg, separated by 4-week washouts. Plasma suPAR was measured before and after each treatment. SuPAR change after each treatment was calculated and, for each individual, the best suPAR-reducing drug was identified. Subsequently, the effect of the best individual drug was compared against the mean of the other three drugs. Repeated-measures linear mixed-effects models were employed. Results: The baseline median (interquartile range) plasma suPAR was 3.5 (2.9, 4.3) ng/mL. No overall effect on suPAR levels was observed for any one drug. The individual best-performing drug varied, with baricitinib being selected for 20 participants (30%), followed by empagliflozin for 19 (29%), linagliptin for 16 (24%) and telmisartan for 11 (17%). The individual best-performing drug reduced suPAR by 13.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.7, 22.8; P = 0.007). The difference in suPAR response between the individual best-performing drug and the other three was −19.7% (95% CI −23.1, −16.3; P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: We demonstrated no overall effect of 4-week treatment with telmisartan, empagliflozin, linagliptin or baricitinib on suPAR. However, individualization of treatment might significantly reduce suPAR levels.</p

Overall and inter-individual effect of four different drug classes on soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor in type 1 and type 2 diabetes

Aim: To evaluate the effect of four different drug classes on soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), a biomarker active in multiple inflammatory processes and a risk factor for complications, in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Methods: We conducted post hoc analyses of a randomized, open-label, crossover trial including 26 adults with type 1 and 40 with type 2 diabetes with urinary albumin-creatinine ratio ≥30 and ≤500 mg/g assigned to 4-week treatments with telmisartan 80 mg, empagliflozin 10 mg, linagliptin 5 mg and baricitinib 2 mg, separated by 4-week washouts. Plasma suPAR was measured before and after each treatment. SuPAR change after each treatment was calculated and, for each individual, the best suPAR-reducing drug was identified. Subsequently, the effect of the best individual drug was compared against the mean of the other three drugs. Repeated-measures linear mixed-effects models were employed. Results: The baseline median (interquartile range) plasma suPAR was 3.5 (2.9, 4.3) ng/mL. No overall effect on suPAR levels was observed for any one drug. The individual best-performing drug varied, with baricitinib being selected for 20 participants (30%), followed by empagliflozin for 19 (29%), linagliptin for 16 (24%) and telmisartan for 11 (17%). The individual best-performing drug reduced suPAR by 13.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.7, 22.8; P = 0.007). The difference in suPAR response between the individual best-performing drug and the other three was −19.7% (95% CI −23.1, −16.3; P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: We demonstrated no overall effect of 4-week treatment with telmisartan, empagliflozin, linagliptin or baricitinib on suPAR. However, individualization of treatment might significantly reduce suPAR levels.</p

Real-time Accelerator Diagnostic Tools for the MAX IV Storage Rings

In this paper, beam diagnostic and monitoring tools developed by the MAX IV Operations Group are discussed. In particular, new beam position monitoring and accelerator tunes visualization software tools, as well as tools that directly influence the beam quality and stability are introduced. An availability and downtime monitoring application is also presented

The neuroendocrine phenotype, genomic profile and therapeutic sensitivity of GEPNET cell lines

Experimental models of neuroendocrine tumour disease are scarce, and no comprehensive characterisation of existing gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumour (GEPNET) cell lines has been reported. In this study, we aimed to define the molecular characteristics and therapeutic sensitivity of these cell lines. We therefore performed immunophenotyping, copy number profiling, whole-exome sequencing and a large-scale inhibitor screening of seven GEPNET cell lines. Four cell lines, GOT1, P-STS, BON-1 and QGP-1, displayed a neuroendocrine phenotype while three others, KRJ-I, L-STS and H-STS, did not. Instead, these three cell lines were identified as lymphoblastoid. Characterisation of remaining authentic GEPNET cell lines by copy number rofiling showed that GOT1, among other chromosomal alterations, harboured losses on chromosome 18 encompassing the SMAD4 gene, while P-STS had a loss on 11q. BON-1 had a homozygous loss of CDKN2A and CDKN2B, and QGP-1 harboured amplifications of MDM2 and HMGA2. Whole-exome sequencing revealed both disease-characteristic mutations (e.g. ATRX mutation in QGP-1) and, for patient tumours, rare genetic events (e.g. TP53 mutation in P-STS, BON-1 and QGP-1). A large-scale inhibitor screening showed that cell lines from pancreatic NETs to a greater extent, when compared to small intestinal NETs, were sensitive to inhibitors of MEK. Similarly, neuroendocrine NET cells originating from the small intestine were considerably more sensitive to a group of HDAC inhibitors. Taken together, our results provide a comprehensive characterisation of GEPNET cell lines, demonstrate their relevance as neuroendocrine tumour models and explore their therapeutic sensitivity to a broad range of inhibitors

Validation of Online Versions of Tinnitus Questionnaires Translated into Swedish

BackgroundDue to the lack of objective measures for assessing tinnitus, its clinical evaluation largely relies on the use of questionnaires and psychoacoustic tests. A global assessment of tinnitus burden would largely benefit from holistic approaches that not only incorporate measures of tinnitus but also take into account associated fears, emotional aspects (stress, anxiety, and depression), and quality of life. In Sweden, only a few instruments are available for assessing tinnitus, and the existing tools lack validation. Therefore, we translated a set of questionnaires into Swedish and evaluated their reliability and validity in a group of tinnitus subjects. MethodsWe translated the English versions of the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), the Fear of Tinnitus Questionnaire (FTQ), the Tinnitus Catastrophizing Scale (TCS), the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-30), and the Tinnitus Sample Case History Questionnaire (TSCHQ) into Swedish. These translations were delivered via the internet with the already existing Swedish versions of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Hyperacusis Questionnaire (HQ), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQoL-BREF). Psychometric properties were evaluated by means of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha α) and test-retest reliability across a 9-week interval (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient ICC, Cohen’s kappa) in order to establish construct as well as clinical validity using a sample of 260 subjects from a population-based cohort.ResultsInternal consistency was acceptable for all questionnaires (α >0.7) with the exception of the ‘social relationships’ subscale of the WHOQoL-BREF. Test-retest reliability was generally acceptable (ICC >.70, Cohens Kappa >.60) for the tinnitus-related questionnaires, except for the TFI ‘sense of control’ subscale and 15 items of the TSCHQ. Spearmen rank correlations showed that almost all questionnaires on tinnitus are significantly related, indicating that these questionnaires measure different aspects of the same construct. The data supported good clinical validity of the tinnitus-related questionnaires. ConclusionOur results suggest that most Swedish adaptations of the questionnaires are suitable for clinical and research settings and should facilitate the assessment of treatment outcomes using a more holistic approach by including measures of tinnitus fears, emotional burden, and quality of life