From an environmental point of view, reduced use of energy remains a cornerstone in global greenhouse gas mitigation. However, without full internalization of external costs, greenhouse gas ...mitigation as such may not be highly prioritized among business leaders. Rather, it is the magnitude of production costs and ultimately the size of market revenue that articulates success or failure for business leaders. Nevertheless, reduced energy use or improved energy efficiency can have a vast impact on profitability even for companies with low energy costs, as the reduced energy costs directly lead to increased profits. In this paper, a review of ten years of empirical research in the field of industrial energy management in Swedish industry is presented. Based on the review, the paper proposes success factors for efficient energy management, factors which could help guide individual energy managers as well as policy makers in order to close the energy efficiency and management gaps. The paper also presents an overview of important industrial energy management tools, which would facilitate in-house energy management in industry.
The aluminium industry is facing a challenge in meeting the goal of halved greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while the demand for aluminium is estimated to increase 2–3 times by the same year. Energy ...efficiency will play an important part in achieving the goal. The paper's aim was to investigate possible production-related energy efficiency measures in the aluminium industry. Mining of bauxite and production of alumina from bauxite are not included in the study. In total, 52 measures were identified through a literature review. Electrolysis in primary aluminium production, recycling and general measures constituted the majority of the 52 measures. This can be explained by the high energy intensity of electrolysis, the relatively wide applicability of the general measures and the fact that all aluminium passes through either electrolysis or recycling. Electrolysis shows a higher number of emerging/novel measures compared to the other processes, which can also be explained by its high energy intensity. Processing aluminium with extrusion, rolling, casting (shape-casting and casting of ingots, slabs and billets), heat treatment and anodising will also benefit from energy efficiency. However, these processes showed relatively fewer measures, which might be explained by the fact that to some extent, these processes are not as energy demanding compared, for example, to electrolysis. In many cases, the presented measures can be combined, which implies that the best practice should be to combine the measures. There may also be a future prospect of achieving carbon-neutral and coal-independent electrolysis. Secondary aluminium production will be increasingly important for meeting the increasing demand for aluminium with respect to environmental and economic concerns and strengthened competitiveness. Focusing on increased production capacity, recovery yields and energy efficiency in secondary production will be pivotal. Further research and development will be required for those measures designated as novel or emerging.
•52 energy efficiency measures were identified in total.•Electrolysis, recycling and general measures comprised the majority of the measures.•In many cases, the presented measures can be combined.•There may be a future prospect for carbon-neutral and coal-independent electrolysis.•Secondary aluminium production and its energy efficiency will be pivotal.
Today, recognition and classification of sequence motifs and protein folds is a mature field, thanks to the availability of numerous comprehensive and easy to use software packages and web-based ...services. Recognition of structural motifs, by comparison, is less well developed and much less frequently used, possibly due to a lack of easily accessible and easy to use software.
In this paper, we describe an extension of DeepView/Swiss-PdbViewer through which structural motifs may be defined and searched for in large protein structure databases, and we show that common structural motifs involved in stabilizing protein folds are present in evolutionarily and structurally unrelated proteins, also in deeply buried locations which are not obviously related to protein function.
The possibility to define custom motifs and search for their occurrence in other proteins permits the identification of recurrent arrangements of residues that could have structural implications. The possibility to do so without having to maintain a complex software/hardware installation on site brings this technology to experts and non-experts alike.
Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Immune Cells Gutiérrez, Saray; Svahn, Sara L; Johansson, Maria E
International journal of molecular sciences,
10/2019, Letnik:
20, Številka:
20
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Alterations on the immune system caused by omega-3 fatty acids have been described for 30 years. This family of polyunsaturated fatty acids exerts major alterations on the activation of cells from ...both the innate and the adaptive immune system, although the mechanisms for such regulation are diverse. First, as a constitutive part of the cellular membrane, omega-3 fatty acids can regulate cellular membrane properties, such as membrane fluidity or complex assembly in lipid rafts. In recent years, however, a new role for omega-3 fatty acids and their derivatives as signaling molecules has emerged. In this review, we describe the latest findings describing the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on different cells from the immune system and their possible molecular mechanisms.
•Technologies for recovery and use of industrial excess heat were investigated.•Heat harvesting, heat storage, heat utilization, and heat conversion technologies.•Heat recovery potential for ...Gävleborg County in Sweden was calculated.•Effects on global CO2 emissions were calculated for future energy market scenarios.
Industrial excess heat is a large untapped resource, for which there is potential for external use, which would create benefits for industry and society. Use of excess heat can provide a way to reduce the use of primary energy and to contribute to global CO2 mitigation. The aim of this paper is to present different measures for the recovery and utilization of industrial excess heat and to investigate how the development of the future energy market can affect which heat utilization measure would contribute the most to global CO2 emissions mitigation. Excess heat recovery is put into a context by applying some of the excess heat recovery measures to the untapped excess heat potential in Gävleborg County in Sweden. Two different cases for excess heat recovery are studied: heat delivery to a district heating system and heat-driven electricity generation. To investigate the impact of excess heat recovery on global CO2 emissions, six consistent future energy market scenarios were used. Approximately 0.8TWh/year of industrial excess heat in Gävleborg County is not used today. The results show that with the proposed recovery measures approximately 91GWh/year of district heating, or 25GWh/year of electricity, could be supplied from this heat. Electricity generation would result in reduced global CO2 emissions in all of the analyzed scenarios, while heat delivery to a DH system based on combined heat and power production from biomass would result in increased global CO2 emissions when the CO2 emission charge is low.
Autonomic dysfunction is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), however, the exact mechanism linking autonomic dysfunction to cardiovascular disease is not known. In this study we ...hypothesized that autonomic dysfunction increases inflammation, which subsequently accelerates atherosclerosis. The aim of the current study was to investigate the association between autonomic tone, inflammation and atherosclerosis.
124 men under investigation for carotid atherosclerosis were examined for autonomic function (heart rate variability; HRV and baroreflex sensitivity; BRS), inflammatory markers (white blood cell count; WBCC and C-reactive protein; CRP) and degree of carotid atherosclerosis. The direct or indirect associations between autonomic function, inflammatory parameters and carotid plaque area were investigated with multiple linear regressions.
Male subjects with prevalent CVD showed larger carotid plaque area, higher WBCC, and reduced BRS compared to subjects with no history of CVD. Further, BRS was inversely associated with carotid plaque area (r = -0.21, p = 0.018) as well as inflammatory parameters WBCC and CRP (r = -0.29, p = 0.001, and r = -0.23, p = 0.009, respectively), whereas HRV only was inversely associated with WBCC (r = -0.22, p = 0.014). To investigate if inflammation could provide a link between autonomic function and carotid atherosclerosis we adjusted the associations accordingly. After adjusting for WBCC and CRP the inverse association between BRS and carotid plaque area was attenuated and did not remain significant, while both WBCC and CRP remained significantly associated with carotid plaque area, indicating that low-grade inflammation can possibly link BRS to atherosclerosis. Also, after adjusting for age, antihypertensive treatment and cardiovascular risk factors, BRS was independently inversely associated with both WBCC and CRP, and HRV independently inversely associated with WBCC. WBCC was the only inflammatory marker independently associated with carotid plaque area after adjustment.
We demonstrate that autonomic dysfunction is associated with atherosclerosis and that inflammation could play an important role in mediating this relationship.
To investigate the perceptions of primary care nurses and physicians of the potential contributions of physiotherapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) in the treatment of frail older ...persons, as well as the obstacles to, and opportunities for, collaboration.
A qualitative study.
Nurses (n = 9) and physicians (n = 8) in primary care in the county council 14 women (82%) with experience working with older people.
Interview study conducted with a semi-structured interview guide. Analyses were carried out with content analysis with an inductive approach.
The analysis resulted in six categories: knowledge of physiotherapy and occupational therapy interventions; what triggers the need for physiotherapy and occupational therapy?; the availability of rehabilitation interventions; teamwork opportunities and difficulties; motivating the patient; the site of the rehabilitation.
Close and clear collaboration between nurses and physicians and PTs and OTs is an important factor in ensuring that rehabilitation interventions provide the greatest possible benefit to the patient. Improving communication between different healthcare providers and clarifying the contact routes is a prerequisite for patients to be able to get the rehabilitation they need. More research is needed to determine the best approach to achieving this goal.
The processes of iron and steel making are energy intensive and consume large quantities of electricity and fossil fuels. In order to meet future climate targets and energy prices, the iron and steel ...industry has to improve its energy and resource efficiency. For the iron and steel industry to utilize its energy resources more efficiently and at the same time reduce its CO
2 emissions a number of options are available. In this paper, opportunities for both integrated and scrap-based steel plants are presented and some of the options are electricity production, fuel conversion, methane reforming of coke oven gas and partnership in industrial symbiosis. The options are evaluated from a system perspective and more specific measures are reported for two Swedish case companies: SSAB Strip Products and Sandvik AB. The survey shows that both case companies have great potentials to reduce their CO
2 emissions.
► Steel plants have several opportunities to utilize excess energy flows. ► Industrial symbiosis and TES can enhance the utilization of excess energy. ► Options to produce electricity from low-grade heat and heat radiation. ► Options to substitute fossil fuels with biomass. ► The case companies have great potentials to reduce their CO
2 emissions.
The pulp and paper industry faces several challenges linked to climate and environmental impact, resource efficiency, rising energy prices, increased competition for biomass resources, and declining ...demand for traditional printed paper products. However, these challenges also offer strategic opportunities for the industry to develop into a competitive, resource-efficient, and low-carbon industry in line with a biobased economy. Against this background, this paper aims to analyse current energy strategies in the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. Specifically, the paper analyses how companies combine continuous process efficiency to reduce energy costs with activities that could be developed into new energy-related products to increase revenue. Most of the analysed companies work to various degrees with both these strategies, employing methods that include improving energy efficiency, energy security, and energy conversion, as well as developing a wide range of biobased energy products. However, our study indicates that there is an untapped potential associated with energy product development, and we conclude that energy efficiency measures can free up resources, enabling the development of new energy products. Finally, several potential managerial outcomes and implications are outlined.
•The paper analyses the energy strategies in the pulp and paper industry in Sweden.•Energy strategies focus both to improve energy efficiency and develop new energy-products.•The companies' energy strategies combined exploitation and exploration.•A number of managerial implications are presented.
This study was aimed at increasing our understanding of environmental and parental factors influencing mode choice for children's journeys to organized leisure activities. Three hundred and ...fifty-seven Swedish parents of 8–11-year-old children completed a questionnaire and kept a travel diary. The design of urban environment, in which the families lived, was assessed by a group of five experts. By means of multiple regression analyses it was found that the parents’ attitude towards chauffeuring was related to environmental factors such as traffic environment, quality of footpaths and cycle paths, and sense of community as well as the number of cars in the household. The attitude towards independent travel was related to characteristics of the child, such as age and maturity, and individual parental factors, such as trust and the need to protect their child, and whether there were older children in the household. Both the relative frequency of journeys made independently and by car was related to the parent's attitude towards independent travel, as well as environmental and parental factors. To decrease car usage and increase children's independent travel to leisure activities, planners and policy-makers should focus on improvements in the traffic environment and promote a favourable attitude towards independent travel.
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