Naproxen affects multiple organs in fish but is still an environmentally better alternative to diclofenac

The presence of diclofenac in the aquatic environment and the risks for aquatic wildlife, especially fish, have been raised in several studies. One way to manage risks without enforcing improved wastewater treatment would be to substitute diclofenac (when suitable from a clinical perspective) with another non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) associated with less environmental risk. While there are many ecotoxicity-studies of different NSAIDs, they vary extensively in set-up, species studied, endpoints and reporting format, making direct comparisons difficult. We previously published a comprehensive study on the effects of diclofenac in the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Our present aim was to generate relevant effect data for another NSAID (naproxen) using a very similar setup, which also allowed direct comparisons with diclofenac regarding hazards and risks. Sticklebacks were therefore exposed to naproxen in flow-through systems for 27 days. Triplicate aquaria with 20 fish per aquarium were used for each concentration (0, 18, 70, 299 or 1232 mu g/L). We investigated bioconcentration, hepatic gene expression, jaw lesions, kidney and liver histology. On day 21, mortalities in the highest exposure concentration group unexpectedly reached >= 25 % in all three replicate aquaria, leading us to terminate and sample that group the same day. On the last day (day 27), the mortality was also significantly increased in the second highest exposure concentration group. Increased renal hematopoietic hyperplasia was observed in fish exposed to 299 and 1232 mu g/L. This represents considerably higher concentrations than those expected in surface waters as a result of naproxen use. Such effects were observed already at 4.6 mu g/L in the experiment with diclofenac (lowest tested concentration). Similar to the responses to diclofenac, a concentration-dependent increase in both relative hepatic gene expression of c7 (complement component 7) and jaw lesions were observed, again at concentrations considerably higher than expected in surface waters. Naproxen bioconcentrated less than diclofenac, in line with the observed effect data. An analysis of recent sales data and reported concentrations in treated sewage effluent in Sweden suggest that despite higher dosages used for naproxen, a complete substitution would only be expected to double naproxen emissions. In summary, naproxen and diclofenac produce highly similar effects in fish but the environmental hazards and risks are clearly lower for naproxen. Hence, if there are concerns for environmental risks to fish with diclofenac, a substitution would be advisable when naproxen presents an adequate alternative from a clinical point-of-view

Motivationens roll vid inlärning En studie om pedagogers roll vid lärande

___________________________________________________________________________ Bakgrund och syfte Syftet med studien är att belysa hur viktig motivationen är för elevers lärande i skolan och arbetets huvudfråga är ”Vad är motivationens roll vid inlärning?”. Studien undersöker hur pedagoger tänker kring begreppet motivation och hur de resonerar kring motivationens betydelse för elevers lärande.   Metod och material Vi valde att göra en kvalitativ studie där vi intervjuade nio pedagoger, från tre olika skolor, om deras syn på motivation och dess betydelse för elevers lärande. Samtliga pedagoger arbetar med elever i de yngre åldrarna. Vi valde att göra semistrukturerade intervjuer som undersökningsmetod då vi ville ha möjlighet att ställa följdfrågor till informanterna. Efter arbetet med att transkribera intervjuerna sammanställde vi dem. Resultat Pedagogerna var eniga om att motivation är drivkraften, lusten och viljan att lära sig och de ansåg att de påverkar elevers motivation genom sitt bemötande. De beskrev även att det var viktigt att ha förmågan att kunna ta elevers perspektiv samt vikten av att ha en varierad undervisning. Genom att låta eleverna vara delaktiga i planering av undervisningen menade pedagogerna att det motiverade eleverna. Avslutningsvis kan man också läsa om våra egna tankar, reflektioner och didaktiska slutsatser kring motivation och motivationens roll inom lärandet. Betydelse för läraryrket Vi anser att motivation är en central del i elevers långsiktiga lärande och det är vår uppgift att ge elever de bästa förutsättningarna för deras lärande.   

Våga bli chef! - Att ta sig an en chefsroll som ung och nyutexaminerad inom måltidsverksamheten

Inom en snar framtid kommer det att ske en stor generationsväxling, 40 procent av den nuvarande arbetsstyrkan kommer att pensioneras fram till år 2015 och det är 40-talisterna som går i pension. Många av dessa arbetar som chefer och småföretagare och kommer att ersättas av en yngre generation som nu är på frammarsch. De nya yngre cheferna kan känna en viss oro och osäkerhet över att behöva leda och ”chefa” äldre och mer erfarna medarbetare, detta kan ha sin grund i en överdriven respekt för de äldre medarbetarna. Det är en utmaning att vara chef över äldre kollegor då varje generation har sina normer och värderingar som är skapade av den miljö och tidsanda som råder för dem. Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka Hur man tar sig an en chefsroll inom en måltidsverksamhet som ung och nyutexaminerad? Frågor som har försökts besvaras är: Vilka fördelar respektive nackdelar kan man uppleva som ung och nyutexaminerad i en chefsroll inom måltidsverksamheten? Hur övervinner man det eventuella motstånd som kan uppstå? Vad skall man tänka på som ung och nyutexaminerad när man tar sig an en chefsroll inom måltidsverksamheten? Vad har restaurangmanagerutbildningen för betydelse för restaurangmanagerstudenternas kommande profession? Undersökningen är en kvalitativ empirisk studie med hermeneutisk vetenskapsteoretisk inriktning och där intervjuer i fokusgrupper var en nyckelmetod. Det blev ett stort bortfall av respondenter. Detta medförde att det blev två intervjuer med en person vardera och en fokusgrupp med två personer, istället för tre fokusgrupper med tre personer i varje grupp som först var planerat. Som ung och nyutexaminerad är man entusiastisk, nyfiken och ivrig, däremot kan man sakna arbetslivserfarenhet. Genom att visa respekt för sina kollegor och vara ödmjuk kan den unga nyutexaminerade chefen övervinna det eventuella motstånd som kan uppstå. Han/hon bör vara bestämd men ändå demokratisk och alltid försöka utgå från gästens intresse

Indistinguishable gene expression between healthy eyes and eyes with unilateral exfoliative glaucoma

Marcelo Ayala,1–3 Filip Cuklev41Eye Department, Skaraborg Hospital, Skövde, Sweden; 2Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden; 3Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden; 4TATAA Biocenter, Gothenburg, SwedenBackground: Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy associated with visual field loss. There are different types of glaucoma, among them exfoliative glaucoma. Glaucoma can present as unilateral or bilateral. The present study aimed to show the association between gene expression and exfoliation in unilateral glaucoma cases.Methods: Included patients were suffering from exfoliative glaucoma in one eye, meanwhile the other eye was healthy and used as a control. Lens capsule and conjunctival biopsies were taken from both eyes. Gene expression was analyzed.Results: Both groups were completely different at baseline regarding intraocular pressure, visual acuity before the operation, visual field damage, optic nerve damage, etc. As for gene expression, the only significant difference was found in CYP1B1 from lens capsules. None of the other genes studied showed differential expression in either lens capsules or conjunctival biopsies.Conclusion: No difference in gene expression was found between eyes with and without exfoliative glaucoma. Exfoliative glaucoma seems to be a bilateral disease, though the phenotype is not always clinically present.Keywords: exfoliation, glaucoma, gene expression, unilatera

Transcriptomics and bioconcentration studies in fish to identify pharmaceuticals of environmental concern

Pharmaceuticals are frequently found in the aquatic environment. As they are most often highly biologically active, quite persistent and may accumulate in aquatic organisms, i.e. bioconcentrate, they may pose a risk to non-target organisms. Current knowledge on environmental fate and effects of pharmaceuticals are limited, and traditional risk assessment strategies are insufficient to capture all substances posing risks for wildlife. In this thesis we explored the potential of two additional approaches to assist in the identification of substances of environmental concern. The first involved readacross between therapeutic plasma concentrations in humans and measured plasma levels of pharmaceuticals in exposed fish, in order to predict the risks for pharmacological effects in the fish. The second involved microarray analyses of gene expression to confirm pharmacological interactions, find potential biomarkers and assess the mode of action of pharmaceuticals in exposed fish. We could show that waterborne diclofenac affects hepatic gene expression in exposed fish at water concentrations reported in treated effluents and surface waters. Pharmacological responses, resembling those found in mammals, were observed in fish at blood plasma concentrations similar to human therapeutic plasma levels, indicating a similar potency and mode of action in fish and humans. In contrast to some other reported results, the bioconcentration factor of diclofenac in fish was found to be stable across exposure concentrations. Exposure of fish to ketoprofen at concentrations about 100 times higher than those found in treated sewage effluents resulted in plasma concentrations below 1% of human therapeutic plasma levels, suggesting low risk for effects in fish. Accordingly, no effects on hepatic gene expression could be confirmed. However, exposure of fish to complex effluents indicates a higher bioconcentration potential of NSAIDs than does exposure to single substances. Thus, laboratory experiments may underestimate risks in the environment. Microarray analyses revealed several differentially expressed genes after exposure to conventionally treated effluents. These included estrogen-responsive genes and a biomarker for dioxin-like exposure. Further results included indications of general stress after exposure to all studied ozone treated effluents. Effluents treated with activated carbon resulted in the least responses in exposed fish. Exposure to the glucocorticoid beclomethasone-diproprionate affected plasma glucose levels and caused oxidative stress in fish. Effects observed in fish resembled effects in humans, supporting read-across between species. Exposure to free beclomethasone did not result in any observed effects, most probably due to its inability to bioconcentrate. Taken together, both read-across and microarray analyses have proven useful in identifying pharmaceuticals of environmental concern

Indistinguishable gene expression between healthy eyes and eyes with unilateral exfoliative glaucoma

Background: Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy associated with visual field loss. There are different types of glaucoma, among them exfoliative glaucoma. Glaucoma can present as unilateral or bilateral. The present study aimed to show the association between gene expression and exfoliation in unilateral glaucoma cases. Methods: Included patients were suffering from exfoliative glaucoma in one eye, meanwhile the other eye was healthy and used as a control. Lens capsule and conjunctival biopsies were taken from both eyes. Gene expression was analyzed. Results: Both groups were completely different at baseline regarding intraocular pressure, visual acuity before the operation, visual field damage, optic nerve damage, etc. As for gene expression, the only significant difference was found in CY P1131 from lens capsules. None of the other genes studied showed differential expression in either lens capsules or conjunctival biopsies. Conclusion: No difference in gene expression was found between eyes with and without exfoliative glaucoma. Exfoliative glaucoma seems to be a bilateral disease, though the phenotype is not always clinically present

Implementing and Standardising Systems Engineering Practices within a Global Corporation

Developing new products is in many respects the process of identifying and envisaging user needs and bringing those needs into life in a cost-efficient manner, either utilizing existing technologies and solutions, or developing new ones. Product developing organisations are constantly challenged since new products must exceed expectations on quality standards in form, fit, and function – and that they must stand out from competition. This requires people with knowledge in many areas. Consequently, it is a multi-disciplinary process involving many parallel activities, such as product planning, design, production, marketing and after-sale.Systems Engineering (SE) has become increasingly important in these organizations in order to manage the shear complexity of managing large scale development projects and secure the quality standards for all emergent properties of a system. The main driver for introducing SE is that the complexity and interconnectedness of systems continues to grow and the growing shift of focus to the complete offer rather than the product itself. However, there exist little research summarizing experiences of implementing SE, and there remain uncertainties as to how SE should be tailored to specific settings in order to add value to a development organization. Especially, focus needs to be put on managing the complexity of creating product variety.This paper summarises our experiences from implementing and standardising Systems Engineering practices within a global corporation in the transport solution industry. This includes a review of reports on SE implementations, a short description of the Volvo Group, and a summary of our experiences when implementing SE at various units and organisational levels

Implementing and Standardising Systems Engineering Practices within a Global Corporation

Developing new products is in many respects the process of identifying and envisaging user needs and bringing those needs into life in a cost-efficient manner, either utilizing existing technologies and solutions, or developing new ones. Product developing organisations are constantly challenged since new products must exceed expectations on quality standards in form, fit, and function – and that they must stand out from competition. This requires people with knowledge in many areas. Consequently, it is a multi-disciplinary process involving many parallel activities, such as product planning, design, production, marketing and after-sale.Systems Engineering (SE) has become increasingly important in these organizations in order to manage the shear complexity of managing large scale development projects and secure the quality standards for all emergent properties of a system. The main driver for introducing SE is that the complexity and interconnectedness of systems continues to grow and the growing shift of focus to the complete offer rather than the product itself. However, there exist little research summarizing experiences of implementing SE, and there remain uncertainties as to how SE should be tailored to specific settings in order to add value to a development organization. Especially, focus needs to be put on managing the complexity of creating product variety.This paper summarises our experiences from implementing and standardising Systems Engineering practices within a global corporation in the transport solution industry. This includes a review of reports on SE implementations, a short description of the Volvo Group, and a summary of our experiences when implementing SE at various units and organisational levels