| 1. |
- Aalberg, Carmen, et al.
(author)
-
Governance patterns and performance of regional strategies in peri-urban areas : comparative analysis of seven cases in Europe and Chine
- 2011
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This report examines how different regional and local governance patterns and specific spatial planning strategies impact on peri-urban land use in Rural Urban regions. It draws from seven regional case studies, presenting a diverse mix of strategies ranging from protecting biodiversity and agricultural land, creating recreation and tourism opportunities to reducing pressure from building and infrastructure development. To study the means of influence or power an analytical framework of ‘policy arrangement’ was employed (Tatenhove et al, 2000): specifying rules of the game, resources, coalitions and discourses. Both government and nongovernment actors such as environmental groups or developers can form coalitions, adopt rules, employ resources and develop discourses to influence policies and developments in urban regions. The analytical and assessment frameworks defined by regional researchers and practitioners helped to organize the case study data and to evaluate both processes and outcomes of governance in peri-urban areas. The outcomes are represented in a summarized way for each strategy and region.The report provides examples of unsustainable developments in peri-urban regions and how certain strategies helped to counteract these, and emphasizes the importance of recognizing peri-urban areas as a policy field in its own right.A sustainable spread of land use over the Rural Urban region requires regional authorities whose jurisdiction covers the Rural Urban region and who have the appropriate mix of policy means of influence and relative power over lower level authorities. Under the current predominant discourse of ‘sustainable’ development largely being equal to economic development, the outcome of sustainability concerns depends on urban areas taking financial responsibility for the inclusion of common good interests such as ecosystem services, cultural heritage and social and environmental justice into the periurban areas. Recommendations for policy makers at different levels conclude the report.
|
|
| 2. |
- Aasa, Ulrika, et al.
(author)
-
Hälsoresan till medelåldern
- 2011
-
In: Svensk Idrottsforskning. - : Centrum för idrottsforskning. - 1103-4629. ; :2, s. 40-43
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Vad är viktigast för att få en god hälsa som vuxen? Sedan 1974 har vi följt samma personer från 16 års ålder in i medelåldern och studerat deras hälsa från flera olika synvinklar. Nu pågår den tredje mätomgången.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Abrahamsson, Pernilla, 1972-
(author)
-
Methodological aspects on microdialysis sampling and measurements
- 2010
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: The microdialysis (MD) technique is widely spread and used both experimentally and in clinical practice. The MD technique allows continuous collection of small molecules such as glucose, lactate, pyruvate and glycerol. Samples are often analysed using the CMA 600 analyser, an enzymatic and colorimetric analyser. Data evaluating the performance of the CMA 600 analysis system and associated sample handling are sparse. The aim of this work was to identify sources of variability related to handling of microdialysis samples and sources of error associated with use of the CMA 600 analyser. Further, to develop and compare different application techniques of the microdialysis probes both within an organ and on the surface of an organ. Material and Methods: Papers I and II are mainly in vitro studies with the exception of the No Net Flux calibration method in paper I where a pig model (n=7) was used to examine the true concentration of glucose and urea in subcutaneous tissue. Flow rate, sampling time, vial and caps material and performance of the analyser device (CMA 600) were examined. In papers III and IV normoventilated anaesthetised pigs (n=33) were used. In paper III, heart ischemia was used as intervention to compare microdialysis measurements in the myocardium with corresponding measurements on the heart surface. In paper IV, microdialysis measurements in the liver parenchyma were compared with measurements on the liver surface in association with induced liver ischemia. All animal studies were approved by the Animal Experimental Ethics Committee at Umeå University Sweden. Results: In paper I we succeeded to measure true concentrations of glucose (4.4 mmol/L) and Urea (4.1 mmol/L) in subcutaneous tissue. Paper II showed that for a batch analyse of 24 samples it is preferred to store microdialysis samples in glass vials with crimp caps. For reliable results, samples should be centrifuged before analysis. Paper III showed a new application area for microdialysis sampling from the heart, i.e. surface sampling. The surface probe and myocardial probe (in the myocardium) showed a similar pattern for glucose, lactate and glycerol during baseline, short ischemic and long ischemic interventions. In paper IV, a similar pattern was observed as in paper III, i.e. data obtained from the probe on the liver surface showed no differences compared with data from the probe in liver parenchyma for glucose, lactate and glycerol concentrations during baseline, ischemic and reperfusion interventions. Conclusion: The MD technique is adequate for local metabolic monitoring, but requires methodological considerations before starting a new experimental serie. It is important to consider factors such as flow rate, sampling time and handling of samples in association with the analysis device chosen. The main finding in this thesis is that analyses of glucose, lactate and glycerol in samples from the heart surface and liver surface reflect concentrations sampled from the myocardium and liver parenchyma, respectively.
|
|
| 5. |
- Abramowicz, Konrad, et al.
(author)
-
Multivariate piecewise linear interpolation of a random field
- 2011
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We consider a multivariate piecewise linear interpolation of a continuous random field on a-dimensional cube. The approximation performance is measured by the integrated mean square error. Multivariate piecewise linear interpolator is defined by N field observations on a locations grid (or design). We investigate the class of locally stationary random fields whose local behavior is like a fractional Brownian field in mean square sense and find the asymptotic approximation accuracy for a sequence of designs for large N. Moreover, for certain classes of continuous and continuously differentiable fields we provide the upper bound for the approximation accuracy in the uniform mean square norm.
|
|
| 6. |
- Abramowicz, Konrad, 1983-
(author)
-
Numerical analysis for random processes and fields and related design problems
- 2011
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this thesis, we study numerical analysis for random processes and fields. We investigate the behavior of the approximation accuracy for specific linear methods based on a finite number of observations. Furthermore, we propose techniques for optimizing performance of the methods for particular classes of random functions. The thesis consists of an introductory survey of the subject and related theory and four papers (A-D).In paper A, we study a Hermite spline approximation of quadratic mean continuous and differentiable random processes with an isolated point singularity. We consider a piecewise polynomial approximation combining two different Hermite interpolation splines for the interval adjacent to the singularity point and for the remaining part. For locally stationary random processes, sequences of sampling designs eliminating asymptotically the effect of the singularity are constructed.In Paper B, we focus on approximation of quadratic mean continuous real-valued random fields by a multivariate piecewise linear interpolator based on a finite number of observations placed on a hyperrectangular grid. We extend the concept of local stationarity to random fields and for the fields from this class, we provide an exact asymptotics for the approximation accuracy. Some asymptotic optimization results are also provided.In Paper C, we investigate numerical approximation of integrals (quadrature) of random functions over the unit hypercube. We study the asymptotics of a stratified Monte Carlo quadrature based on a finite number of randomly chosen observations in strata generated by a hyperrectangular grid. For the locally stationary random fields (introduced in Paper B), we derive exact asymptotic results together with some optimization methods. Moreover, for a certain class of random functions with an isolated singularity, we construct a sequence of designs eliminating the effect of the singularity.In Paper D, we consider a Monte Carlo pricing method for arithmetic Asian options. An estimator is constructed using a piecewise constant approximation of an underlying asset price process. For a wide class of Lévy market models, we provide upper bounds for the discretization error and the variance of the estimator. We construct an algorithm for accurate simulations with controlled discretization and Monte Carlo errors, andobtain the estimates of the option price with a predetermined accuracy at a given confidence level. Additionally, for the Black-Scholes model, we optimize the performance of the estimator by using a suitable variance reduction technique.
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
- Addario, Barbara, 1974-
(author)
-
Alpha-actinin - an amazing journey through time and species
- 2011
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In eukaryotes, the actin cytoskeleton plays an important role in a large variety of cellular events. Its reorganization is regulated by a plethora of actin-modulating proteins, such as α-actinin. α-actinin is a ubiquitous actin-binding protein that belongs to the spectrin superfamily. This family, besides α-actinin, includes spectrin, dystrophin and utrophin. Phylogenetic analyses have indicated that the family members arose after several intragene duplications and rearrangements of a common ancestral α-actinin isoform. Up to the invertebrate-vertebrate bifurcation, organisms seemed to have a single, calcium-dependent α‑actinin. After the split, invertebrates have kept this single isoform, in contrast to vertebrates that acquired four distinct isoforms. Of the four vertebrate α-actinin isoforms, the two present in non-muscle cells are typically calcium sensitive while the two muscle isoforms are calcium insensitive. α-actinin in higher organisms is characterized by the presence of three distinct structural domains: a highly conserved N-terminal actin-binding domain, a central rod domain with four spectrin repeats and a calcium-binding C terminus with EF-hand motifs. In some primitive organisms, such as protozoa and fungi, the rod domain of α-actinin contains only one or two spectrin repeats. With the completion of an ever increasing number of genomes, new and atypical α‑actinin sequences had been available that have not been characterized yet. To obtain a firmer understanding of the evolutionary history of α-actinin, the main objective of this study was to identify, purify and biochemically characterize atypical α‑actinin or α‑actinin-like proteins of the parasite Entamoeba histolytica and of the fungus Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Our results show that both isoforms, despite the much shorter rod domain, are able to bind and cross-link actin filaments and therefore can be considered genuine α-actinins.
|
|
| 9. |
- Adolfsson, Lena, 1955-
(author)
-
Attityder till naturvetenskap : Förändringar av flickors och pojkars attityder till biologi, fysik och kemi 1995 till 2007
- 2011
-
Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- I den här avhandlingen beskrivs hur hög- och lågpresterande flickors och pojkars attityder till biologi, fysik och kemi har förändrats från 1995 till 2007. Data från den svenska delen av TIMSS-studierna för årskurs 8 i Sverige används. För att definiera hög- och lågpresterande används resultatet på matematikprovet från TIMSS och attityderna undersöks med hjälp av fyra frågor från elevenkäterna. Resultatet diskuteras utifrån olika perspektiv som kan bidra till förståelsen av den komplexa bilden av olika faktorers betydelse för elevers attityder till naturvetenskap. Det första resultatet, pojkar är mer positiva till fysik och kemi och flickor till biologi, diskuteras utifrån ämnenas genuskodning. På ett symboliskt plan är fysik och kemi mer förknippade med maskulinitet än biologi. Det andra resultatet, högpresterande elever och särskilt pojkar, är mindre positiva till de tre ämnena 2007 än 1995. Det resultatet diskuteras mot bakgrund av ungdomars identitet och identitetskonstruktion. Det verkar som om unga människor i dag inte tycker att utbildningar och arbeten inom det naturvetenskapliga och tekniska området ger dem möjligheter att använda sina talanger, kreativitet och självförverkligande. Resultatet diskuteras också utifrån de förändringar av arbetsmetoder som har skett i svensk skola där det individuella arbetet har ökat och lärarledda genomgångar har minskat. Kan det ha påverkat de högpresterande eleverna så att de har blivit mindre stimulerade och fått färre utmaningar och på så sätt blivit mindre positiva till de naturvetenskapliga ämnena? Det tredje resultatet, en större andel hög- och lågpresterande pojkar tycker att de tre ämnena är tråkiga 2007 jämfört med 1995, diskuteras utifrån begreppen "antipluggkultur" och att vara "cool". Kan resultatet från denna studie indikera att det är viktigare för pojkar 2007 att ha en attityd att visa sig ”cool” och att inte plugga. Kan detta ha påverkat attityderna till de naturvetenskapliga ämnena negativt? Slutligen visar resultaten att lågpresterande flickor och pojkar tycker att de presterar bättre 2007 än 1995 och det diskuteras mot bakgrund av förändringarna av arbetsmetoder i den svenska skolan. Mer tid ägnas åt individuellt arbete vilket kan innebära att de lågpresterande eleverna väljer att inte arbeta med svårare uppgifter och att de därför upplever att de presterar bättre. Avhandlingen avslutas med mina egna reflektioner kring undervisningen i de naturvetenskapliga ämnena i grundskolan, kring förändringarna av flickors och pojkars attityder till naturvetenskap utifrån resultaten från denna studie och kring mina erfarenheter som lärare i dessa ämnen.
|
|
| 10. |
|
|
