| 1. |
- Albinsson, John, et al.
(författare)
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Combined use of Iteration, Quadratic Interpolation and an Extra Kernel for high-resolution 2D particle tracking : a first evaluation
- 2010
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Ingår i: 2010 ieee international ultrasonics symposium. - New York : IEEE Press. - 9781457703829 ; , s. 2000-2003
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A novel 2D particle tracking method, that uses 1) iteration, 2) fast quadratic sub-pixel estimation (with only 28 multiplications per movement), and 3) a previous kernel, has been evaluated and compared with a full-search block-matching method. The comparison with high-frequency ultrasound data (40 MHz) was conducted in silico and on phantoms, which comprised lateral, diagonal, and ellipsoidal movement patterns with speeds of 0–15 mm/s. The mean tracking error was reduced by 68% in silico and 71% for the phantom measurements. When only sub-pixel estimation was used, the decrease in the tracking error was 61% in silico and 57% for the phantom measurements. As well as decreasing the tracking error, the new method only used 70% of the computational time needed by the full-search block-matching method. With a fast method having good tracking ability for high-frequency ultrasound data, we now have a tool to better investigate tissue movements and its dynamic functionality.
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| 2. |
- Argento, Daniela, et al.
(författare)
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The ‘externalisation’ of local public service delivery : experience in Italy and Sweden
- 2010
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Ingår i: International Journal of Public Policy. - Olney : InderScience Publishers. - 1740-0600 .- 1740-0619. ; 5:1, s. 41-56
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent years, the local government sector in European countries has undergone important changes involving, among other things, the externalisation of local public service provision through various forms of corporatisation, public-public collaboration, public-private partnerships and contracting out. An important consequence of these institutional changes has been the recasting of local governance systems through the need for increased cooperation between public and private actors. This article addresses these matters with comparative reference to the experience in Italy and Sweden. In doing so, it considers local governments in their constitutional and legal contexts, leading to more detailed discussions of their externalisation initiatives and resultant organisational forms and governance arrangements. Issues of ownership have been important concerning the significance of 'community' and 'place' in the management of public affairs. © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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| 3. |
- Asker-Árnason, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Picture-elicited written narratives, process and product, in 18 children with cochlear implants
- 2010
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Ingår i: Communication Disorders Quarterly. - Austin, TX : PRO-ED. - 1525-7401 .- 1538-4837. ; 31:4, s. 195-212
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of the study was to explore the narrative writing of 18 children, ages 11 to 19, with severe and profound hearing impairment who had cochlear implants (CI), compared with the performance of hearing children. Nine of the 18 children had prelingual deafness and 9 children had postlingual deafness. The hearing impairment was progressive in 11 children. The participants thus formed a heterogeneous group, which was split in two ways: according to age at testing and age at implantation. The narratives were collected by means of keystroke logging. The difference between the children with CI and the hearing children was most prominent for two measures: the percentage of pause time (in the group of children older than 13 years) and lexical density. Furthermore, the children implanted after 5 years of age performed more like the hearing children. This group consisted of children with postlingual deafness and also of children who were deafened progressively. Our interpretation is that these children benefited from the early linguistic input. Taking the whole group of participants into consideration, the results reflect linguistic and cognitive processing limitations in complex linguistic tasks like narration for the children with CI in comparison with their hearing peers.
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| 4. |
- Behrns, Ingrid, 1961, et al.
(författare)
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Aphasia and text writing
- 2010
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Ingår i: International journal of language and communication disorders. - New York, NY : John Wiley & Sons. - 1368-2822 .- 1460-6984. ; 45:2, s. 230-243
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:Good writing skills are needed in almost every aspect of life today, and there is a growing interest in research into acquired writing difficulties. Most of the findings reported so far, however, are based on words produced in isolation. The present study deals with the production of entire texts.Aims:The aim was to characterize written narratives produced by a group of participants with aphasia.Methods & Procedures:Eight persons aged 28–63 years with aphasia took part in the study. They were compared with a reference group consisting of ten participants aged 21–30 years. All participants were asked to write a personal narrative titled ‘I have never been so afraid’ and to perform a picture-based story-generation task called the ‘Frog Story’. The texts were written on a computer.Outcome & Results: The group could be divided into participants with low, moderate, and high general performance, respectively. The texts written by the participants in the group with moderate and high writing performance had comparatively good narrative structure despite indications of difficulties on other linguistic levels.Conclusions & Implications:Aphasia appeared to influence text writing on different linguistic levels. The impact on overall structure and coherence was in line with earlier findings from the analysis of spoken and written discourse and the implication of this is that the written modality should also be included in language rehabilitation.
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| 5. |
- Bigelius, Ulla, et al.
(författare)
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The value and meaning of an instrumental occupation performed in a clinical setting
- 2010
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy. - London : Informa Healthcare. - 1103-8128 .- 1651-2014. ; 17:1, s. 4-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim was to investigate how patients in a clinical setting, combining acute stroke care and rehabilitation, perceived the value and meaning attached to a commonly used instrumental occupation, namely "Brewing coffee and making an open-face cheese sandwich with sliced vegetable". Another aim was to validate the ValMO model, proposing that value and meaning are related phenomena. Upon performing the occupation, 38 participants answered questionnaires concerning perceived meaning and occupational value. The results showed that the occupation was highly valued by the participants and that it was perceived as meaningful. No age or gender differences were found. The findings confirmed the proposed link between value and meaning. In conclusion, a commonly used and supposedly meaningful occupation was indeed found to be valued and meaningful by the patients and the findings validated the targeted aspects of the ValMO model. This study was unique in its focus on value and meaning in a clinical context. Futures studies should clarify if the link between meaningful occupation and well-being, which has been shown in many studies of everyday situations and is another of the assumptions in the ValMO model, can be proved in clinical contexts as well. © 2010 Informa UK Ltd.
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| 6. |
- Boberg, Pelle, et al.
(författare)
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The effect of high temperatures on seed germination of one native and two introduced conifers in Patagonia
- 2010
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Botany. - Chichester : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0107-055X .- 1756-1051. ; 28:2, s. 231-239
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examined the effect of thermal shock on the germination of seeds of three conifers, two introduced (Pseudotsuga menziesii and Pinus ponderosa), and one native to Patagonia (Araucaria araucana). Previous research has suggested increased susceptibility to invasions in burnt areas, and therefore, the effect of simulated fire (heat) on seed germination in these native and introduced species was compared. Seeds were heated to two different heat intensities (50°C and 100°C) for 1 or 5 min, which is within the temperature range reached in the upper soil layers during forest fires. Germination tests were then carried out in a growth chamber. The heat treatments had a negative effect on the germination of P. menziesii at temperatures of 100°C, and a negative effect on the germination of P. ponderosa at the temperature of 100°C and the exposure of 5 min. The heat treatments had no affect at all on A. araucana. The species with larger seeds (A. araucana) had higher survival rates after the thermal shocks. Also intraspecific differences in seed sizes possibly point at larger seeds surviving thermal shocks better than smaller seeds. In addition, thermal shock caused a delay in the onset of germination in the two introduced species, while it did not change the time for germination in A. araucana. © The Authors. Journal compilation © Nordic Journal of Botany 2010.
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| 7. |
- Broberg, Pernilla, et al.
(författare)
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What explains variation in voluntary disclosure? : A study of the annual reports of corporations listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Management and Governance. - New York, NY : Springer-Verlag New York. - 1385-3457 .- 1572-963X. ; 14:4, s. 351-377
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The demand for information and transparency from listed corporations has recently increased. In spite of an increased demand for mandatory disclosures from regulators, corporations choose to voluntarily disclose additional information in order to satisfy demands from the capital market. However, the extent and content of information in those voluntary disclosures vary across corporations. The aim of this study is to explain the variation in the content of information in voluntary disclosures by listed corporations. The analyses are based on data collected from 431 annual reports from corporations listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the years 2002 and 2005. The findings support explanations from agency theory and positive accounting theory that size and the debt ratio are positively correlated with the content of information in voluntary disclosures. Corporations with a high share of management ownership disclosed less information than corporations with a low share of management ownership. The study also shows that variations in voluntary disclosures can be explained by factors derived from institutional theory and ’international capital market pressures’. The results indicate that foreign ownership and international listing to some extent have a positive effect on the content of information in voluntary disclosures. Industry was another factor that had a significant influence on voluntary disclosures. One important finding is that regulation to some extent can stimulate voluntary disclosures; our results did not indicate an ’unintended chilling effect’ due to too much regulation. In general, the corporations disclosed more voluntary information after the introduction of IFRS. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Conache, Gabriela, et al.
(författare)
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Bias-controlled friction of InAs nanowires on a silicon nitride layer studied by atomic force microscopy
- 2010
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Ingår i: Physical Review B Condensed Matter. - College Park, Md. : American Physical Society. - 0163-1829 .- 1095-3795. ; 82:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- By studying how nanowires lying on a surface bend when pushed by an atomic force microscopy tip we are able to measure the friction between them and the substrate. Here, we show how the friction between InAs nanowires and an insulating silicon nitride layer varies when a dc voltage is applied to the tip during manipulation. The bias charges the capacitor formed by the wire and the grounded silicon back contact. Electrostatic forces increase the contact pressure and allow us to tune the friction between the wire and the silicon nitride surface. Using nanowires of about 40-70 nm diameter and a few microns in length we have applied biases in the range +12 to -12 V. A monotonic increase of the sliding friction with voltage was observed. This increase in friction with the normal force implies that the mesoscopic nanowire-surface system behaves like a macroscopic contact, despite the nanometer size of the contact in the direction of motion. The demonstrated bias-controlled friction has potential applications in MEMS/NEMS devices.
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| 10. |
- Conache, Gabriela, et al.
(författare)
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Comparative friction measurements of InAs nanowires on three substrates
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Physics. - College Park, MD : American Institute of Physics (AIP). - 0021-8979 .- 1089-7550. ; 108:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have investigated friction between InAs nanowires and three different substrates: SiO2, fluorosilanized SiO2, and Si3N4. The nanowires were pushed laterally with the tip of an atomic force microscope and the friction force per unit length for both static and sliding friction was deduced from the equilibrium shape of the bent wires. On all three substrates, thick wires showed a difference between sliding and static friction of up to three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, all substrates display a transition to stick-slip motion for nanowires with a diameter of less than about 40 nm. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic substrates display similar friction behavior suggesting that a condensed water layer does not strongly influence our results. The patterns and trends in the friction data are similar for all three substrates, which indicates that they are more fundamental in character and not specific to a single substrate. ©2010 American Institute of Physics.
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