Search results for "Nordic countries"

Causes and consequences of past and projected Scandinavian summer temperatures, 500-2100 AD

2011

Tree rings dominate millennium-long temperature reconstructions and many records originate from Scandinavia, an area for which the relative roles of external forcing and internal variation on climatic changes are, however, not yet fully understood. Here we compile 1,179 series of maximum latewood density measurements from 25 conifer sites in northern Scandinavia, establish a suite of 36 subset chronologies, and analyse their climate signal. A new reconstruction for the 1483–2006 period correlates at 0.80 with June–August temperatures back to 1860. Summer cooling during the early 17th century and peak warming in the 1930s translate into a decadal amplitude of 2.9°C, which agrees with existin…

Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: Analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone

2019

Published version, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. , available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221338 Resource polymorphism—whereby ancestral generalist populations give rise to several specialised morphs along a resource gradient—is common where species colonise newly formed ecosystems. This phenomenon is particularly well documented in freshwater fish populations inhabiting postglacial lakes formed at the end of the last ice age. However, knowledge on how such differential exploitation of resources across contrasting habitats might be reflected in the biochemical compositions of diverging populations is still limited, though such patterns might be expected. Here, we aimed to assess …

The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region

2018

Correction: Nature communications 9 (2018), art. no. 1494 doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03872-y While the series of events that shaped the transition between foraging societies and food producers are well described for Central and Southern Europe, genetic evidence from Northern Europe surrounding the Baltic Sea is still sparse. Here, we report genome-wide DNA data from 38 ancient North Europeans ranging from similar to 9500 to 2200 years before present. Our analysis provides genetic evidence that hunter-gatherers settled Scandinavia via two routes. We reveal that the first Scandinavian farmers derive their ancestry from Anatolia 1000 years earlier than previously demonstrated. The range of Mesolit…

Editorial: School food provided for free

2016

Predicting the spatial abundance of Ixodes ricinus ticks in southern Scandinavia using environmental and climatic data

2019

AbstractRecently, focus on tick-borne diseases has increased as ticks and their pathogens have become widespread and represent a health problem in Europe. Understanding the epidemiology of tick-borne infections requires the ability to predict and map tick abundance. We measured Ixodes ricinus abundance at 159 sites in southern Scandinavia from August-September, 2016. We used field data and environmental variables to develop predictive abundance models using machine learning algorithms, and also tested these models on 2017 data. Larva and nymph abundance models had relatively high predictive power (normalized RMSE from 0.65–0.69, R2 from 0.52–0.58) whereas adult tick models performed poorly …

Trends in Food Habits and Their Relation to Socioeconomic Status among Nordic Adolescents 2001/2002-2009/2010

2016

BACKGROUND: In the Nordic countries, substantial policy and intervention efforts have been made to increase adolescents' consumption of fruit and vegetables and to reduce their intake of sweets and soft drinks. Some initiatives have been formulated in a Nordic collaboration and implemented at national level. In recent years, social inequalities in food habits have been attracted particular governmental interest and several initiatives addressing the socioeconomic gradient in food habits have been highlighted. However, few internationally published studies have evaluated how trends in adolescents' food habits develop in the context of Nordic nutrition policy, or have compared differences bet…

A large-scale screening for the taiga tick, Ixodes persulcatus, and the meadow tick, Dermacentor reticulatus, in southern Scandinavia, 2016

2019

Abstract The taiga tick, Ixodes persulcatus, has previously been limited to eastern Europe and northern Asia, but recently its range has expanded to Finland and northern Sweden. The species is of medical importance, as it, along with a string of other pathogens, may carry the Siberian and Far Eastern subtypes of tick-borne encephalitis virus. These subtypes appear to cause more severe disease, with higher fatality rates than the central European subtype. Until recently, the meadow tick, Dermacentor reticulatus, has been absent from Scandinavia, but has now been detected in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Dermacentor reticulatus carries, along with other pathogens, Babesia canis and Rickettsia r…

Lower ST-elevation myocardial infarction incidence during COVID-19 epidemic in Northern Europe

2020

We compared the ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) incidence during COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) to January-February 2020 and to same time period in earlier years 2017-2019 in five Nordic-Baltic tertiary centers. During 2017-2019, there were no marked differences in STEMI incidence between January, February and March. During 2020, there was an average drop of 32% in STEMI incidence in March. The isolation measures may decrease the risk for respiratory virus infection and contribute to the lower STEMI incidence and that we might benefit from firmer suggestions on hand hygiene and social distancing during flu season at least among high-risk individuals.

Towards a new welfare state: the social sustainability principle and health care strategies.

2003

In this paper we propose a social and health care model that offers alternatives to three problems arising in converging European welfare states, particularly in the southern nations: the rise in demand for services and features linked to the ageing process, the increase in dependency and the crisis of informal support. Development of the principles of social sustainability implies re-formulation of the regulatory, care, economic, administrative, cultural, and axiological framework enabling a response to the needs of long term care without compromising the welfare of future generations. Together with this principle, quality of life elevated to a subjective right directs attention towards th…

Clinical Application Research through reflection, interpretation and new understanding - a hermeneutic design

2018

The implementation of theoretical knowledge in clinical practice and the implementation of good clinical practice into theory have been of interest in caring science for the last 30 years. The aim of this article was to elaborate and discuss a methodology named clinical application research. The method is grounded in a hermeneutical design inspired by Gadamer's philosophy. The methodology, clinical application research, has been used in a research project A life in dignity and experiences from the researchers forms the bases for the elaboration and discussion. The project was performed in collaboration with residents, family caregivers and healthcare providers at six nursing homes in Scandi…