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- Adman, Per, 1970-
(author)
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Arbetslöshet, arbetsplatsdemokrati och politiskt deltagande
- 2004
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to test two hypotheses about how work affects political participation. The first concerns unemployment, and states that unemployment has strong and negative effects on political activity. The second hypothesis is found in theories of participatory democracy, and claims that more democratic workplaces lead to more political participation. Existing empirical evidence on both of the hypotheses is not conclusive. Furthermore, studies have mainly been carried out using data collected in the United States. Here empirical tests of the hypotheses are undertaken using a Swedish survey.The results confirm the first hypothesis; unemployment has negative effects on political participation. The reasons for these negative effects are that the unemployed become less active in organisational life, fall outside of the recruitment networks where people are being asked to participate in politics, and experience a decrease in income. The second hypothesis is not supported. Workplace participation does not affect political participation, according to the analyses. The results are surprising for both hypotheses, and contradict previous empirical findings. The differences in results are likely due to differences in research design and differences in approaches to analysing political participation. Previous studies are inadequate in these perspectives, it is maintained.The thesis ends with a discussion of the results from the perspective of normative democratic theory. It is argued that the lack of political equality is particularly acute when the low participation among the unemployed is considered.
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| 2. |
- Björkman, Eva, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of design options for the scale-space primal sketch analysis of brain activation images
- 2000
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A key issue in brain imaging concerns how to detect the functionally activated regions from PET and fMRI images. In earlier work, it has been shown that the scale-space primal sketch provides a useful tool for such analysis [1]. The method includes presmoothing with different filter widths and automatic estimation of the spatial extent of the activated regions (blobs).The purpose is to present two modifications of the scale-space primal sketch, as well as a quantitative evaluation which shows that these modifications improve the performance, measured as the separation between blob descriptors extracted from PET images and from noise images. This separation is essential for future work of associating a statistical p-value with the scale-space blob descriptors.
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| 3. |
- Björkman, Per, et al.
(author)
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A case-control study of transmission routes for GB virus C/hepatitis G virus in Swedish blood donors lacking markers for hepatitis C virus infection
- 2001
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In: Vox Sanguinis. - 1423-0410. ; 81:3, s. 148-153
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The transmission routes for GB virus-C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV) in blood donors unexposed to hepatitis C virus (HCV) are unknown. We performed a case-control study of risk factors for GBV-C/HGV exposure in blood donors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After testing stored sera from 458 HCV-negative blood donors for GBV-C/HGV RNA and GBV-C/HGV E2 antibodies, 66 donors with GBV-C/HGV markers and 125 age- and gender-matched controls were interviewed regarding risk factors for viral transmission. RESULTS: Exposure to GBV-C/HGV was strongly associated with previous treatment for a sexually transmitted disease (odds ratio [OR] 4.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.2-9.8), with multiple sexual partners (OR 2.9; 95% CI 1.4-5.7) and with a past history of endoscopy (OR 7.0; 95% CI 3.0-16.4). CONCLUSIONS: In blood donors with GBV-C/HGV markers, sexual contacts and medical procedures appear to be the main transmission routes.
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| 5. |
- Björkman, Per, et al.
(author)
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Assessment of liver disease and biochemical and immunological markers in Swedish blood donors with isolated GB virus C/hepatitis G virus viremia
- 2000
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In: Vox Sanguinis. - 1423-0410. ; 78:3, s. 143-148
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To investigate signs of liver disease, and biochemical and immunological markers in blood donors with isolated GBV-C/HGV viremia. METHODS: Eighteen donors with isolated GBV-C/HGV viremia were followed up 3-5 years after initial identification. Testing for GBV-C/HGV RNA, GBV-C/HGV-E2 antibodies and a range of biochemical and immunological tests was performed. Thirteen donors consented to liver biopsy. RESULTS: Twelve donors remained GBV-C/HGV viremic at follow-up. Five donors had developed E2 antibodies. Liver biopsies revealed mild portal inflammatory lesions in 6/11 individuals with persistent viremia, and steatosis in 10/13 biopsied donors. CONCLUSION: Steatosis and mild portal inflammatory lesions were found in liver biopsies from several blood donors with isolated GBV-C/HGV viremia.
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| 8. |
- Björkman, Per
(author)
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GB virus C/hepatitis G virus infection: clinical, histological and epidemiological aspects
- 2001
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- GBV-C/HGV is a blood-borne virus related to the hepatitis C virus. We studied GBV-C/HGV infection in different populations, its transmission, and its association with liver disease. GBV-C/HGV viraemia was detected by PCR in 19/576 blood donors. Donors with normal and elevated ALT levels had similar rates of viraemia (1.6% vs. 4.1%; p = 0.20). Signs of resolved GBV-C/HGV infection (anti-E2 antibodies) were found in 13.5% of donors. In donors with isolated GBV-C/HGV viraemia, very mild portal inflammatory lesions were observed in 6/11 subjects. No other significant biochemical or histological abnormalities were noted. In a case-control study of 66 donors exposed to GBV-C/HGV and 125 age- and sex-matched controls, GBV-C/HGV exposure was associated with multiple sex partners, history of a sexually transmitted disease, and previous endoscopy. GBV-C/HGV markers were found in 35/62 blood donors deferred due to hepatitis C, but co-infection with GBV-C/HGV did not affect liver histology in these subjects. Exposure to GBV-C/HGV was more frequent in patients with chronic liver disease than in the general population (34% vs. 19%; p < 0.0001). Viraemia was uncommon in patients with cryptogenic disease. Apart from an increased occurrence of bile duct degeneration, GBV-C/HGV-viraemic patients did not display any biochemical or histological characteristics. This thesis shows that GBV-C/HGV is common both among persons at high risk of parenteral exposure and in the general population. Besides via parenteral routes, transmission can occur by sexual contacts, and probably also nosocomially. GBV-C/HGV does not cause significant liver disease. Accordingly, blood donor screening for this virus is not warranted.
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| 9. |
- Björkman, Per, et al.
(author)
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GB virus C/hepatitis G virus infection in patients investigated for chronic liver disease and in the general population in southern Sweden
- 2001
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1651-1980 .- 0036-5548. ; 33:8, s. 611-617
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serum samples from patients referred for liver biopsy for investigation of suspected chronic liver disease (n = 286) and from healthy middle-aged volunteers (n = 445) were analyzed for markers of exposure to GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV), hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus. GBV-C/HGV analyses included GBV-C/HGV PCR for detection of viremia and GBV-C/HGV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for anti-GBV-C/HGV E2 antibodies. Liver biopsies were re-evaluated by a hepatopathologist. GBV-C/HGV markers were detected in 97/286 (34%) patients (GBV-C/HGV RNA = 26; anti-GBV-C/HGV E2 antibodies = 74) compared to 86/445 (19%; p < 0.0001) controls (GBV-C/HGV RNA = 7, anti-GBB-C/HGV E2 antibodies = 79). A significantly higher proportion of GBV-C/HGV-exposed subjects in the patient group were viremic compared to controls (27% vs. 8.1%; p = 0.0015). GBV-C/HGV markers were more commonly found in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C. In patients with GBV-C/HGV viremia, a higher occurrence of bile duct degeneration was detected than in non-viremic patients. Markers of GBV-C/HGV infection were over-represented among patients investigated for chronic liver disease, and ongoing GBV-C/HGV viremia was more common in this group than in controls. Apart from a higher prevalence of bile duct degeneration in viremic patients, infection with GBV-C/HGV did not confer any specific histological characteristics.
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