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- Ekblom Bak, Elin, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Accelerometer derived physical activity and subclinical coronary and carotid atherosclerosis : cross-sectional analyses in 22 703 middle-aged men and women in the SCAPIS study
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 13:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The aim included investigation of the associations between sedentary (SED), low-intensity physical activity (LIPA), moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA) and the prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis in both coronaries and carotids and the estimated difference in prevalence by theoretical reallocation of time in different PA behaviours.DESIGN: Cross-sectional.SETTING: Multisite study at university hospitals.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 22 670 participants without cardiovascular disease (51% women, 57.4 years, SD 4.3) from the population-based Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage study were included. SED, LIPA and MVPA were assessed by hip-worn accelerometer.PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Any and significant subclinical coronary atherosclerosis (CA), Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CACS) and carotid atherosclerosis (CarA) were derived from imaging data from coronary CT angiography and carotid ultrasound.RESULTS: High daily SED (>70% ≈10.5 hours/day) associated with a higher OR 1.44 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.91), for significant CA, and with lower OR 0.77 (95% CI 0.63 to 0.95), for significant CarA. High LIPA (>55% ≈8 hours/day) associated with lower OR for significant CA 0.70 (95% CI 0.51 to 0.96), and CACS, 0.71 (95% CI 0.51 to 0.97), but with higher OR for CarA 1.41 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.76). MVPA above reference level, >2% ≈20 min/day, associated with lower OR for significant CA (OR range 0.61-0.67), CACS (OR range 0.71-0.75) and CarA (OR range 0.72-0.79). Theoretical replacement of 30 min of SED into an equal amount of MVPA associated with lower OR for significant CA, especially in participants with high SED 0.84 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.96) or low MVPA 0.51 (0.36 to 0.73).CONCLUSIONS: MVPA was associated with a lower risk for significant atherosclerosis in both coronaries and carotids, while the association varied in strength and direction for SED and LIPA, respectively. If causal, clinical implications include avoiding high levels of daily SED and low levels of MVPA to reduce the risk of developing significant subclinical atherosclerosis.
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- Ekblom Bak, Elin, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Accelerometer derived physical activity patterns in 27.890 middle‐aged adults : The SCAPIS cohort study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0905-7188 .- 1600-0838. ; 32:5, s. 866-880
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study aims to describe accelerometer-assessed physical activity (PA) patterns and fulfillment of PA recommendations in a large sample of middle-aged men and women, and to study differences between subgroups of socio-demographic, socio-economic, and lifestyle-related variables. A total of 27 890 (92.5% of total participants, 52% women, aged 50–64 years) middle-aged men and women with at least four days of valid hip-worn accelerometer data (Actigraph GT3X+, wGT3X+ and wGT3X-BT) from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study, SCAPIS, were included. In total, 54.5% of daily wear time was spent sedentary, 39.1% in low, 5.4% in moderate, and only 0.1% in vigorous PA. Male sex, higher education, low financial strain, born in Sweden, and sedentary/light working situation were related to higher sedentary time, but also higher levels of vigorous PA. High BMI and having multiple chronic diseases associated strongly with higher sedentary time and less time in all three PA intensities. All-year physically active commuters had an overall more active PA pattern. The proportion fulfilling current PA recommendations varied substantially (1.4% to 92.2%) depending on data handling procedures and definition used. Twenty-eight percent was defined as having an “at-risk” behavior, which included both high sedentary time and low vigorous PA. In this large population-based sample, a majority of time was spent sedentary and only a fraction in vigorous PA, with clinically important variations between subgroups. This study provides important reference material and emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of the individual PA pattern in future research and clinical practice.
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- Sjöström, Johan, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Water Contamination on the Supercooled Dynamics of a Hydrogen-Bonded Model Glass Former
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry B. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5207 .- 1520-6106. ; 115:8, s. 1842-1847
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Broad-band dielectric spectroscopy is a commonly used tool in the study of glass-forming liquids. The high sensitivity of the technique together with the wide range of probed time scales makes it a powerful method for investigating the relaxation spectra of liquids. One particularly important class of glass-forming liquids that is often studied using this technique consists of liquids dominated by hydrogen (H) bond interactions. When investigating such liquids, particular caution has to be taken during sample preparation due to their often highly hygroscopic nature. Water can easily be absorbed from the atmosphere, and dielectric spectroscopy is a very sensitive probe of such contamination due to the large dipole moment of water. Our knowledge concerning the effects of small quantities of water on the dielectric properties of these commonly investigated liquids is limited. We here demonstrate the effects due to the presence of small amounts of water on the dielectric response of a typical H-bonded model glass former, tripropylene glycol. We show how the relaxation processes present in the pure liquid are affected by addition of water, and we find that a characteristic water induced relaxation response is observed for water contents as low as 0.15 wt %. We stress the importance of careful purification of hygroscopic liquids before experiments and quantify what the effects are if such procedures are not undertaken.
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- Bergman, Becky, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Forming effective culturally diverse work teams in project courses
- 2017
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Ingår i: 13th international CDIO conference proceedings CDIO, June 18-22 2017, Calgary. - 1796-9964. - 9780889533998 ; 2017:13, s. 508-518
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A culturally diverse student population at Master’s level is a reality at many universities today, as it is at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. However, a common issue is the lack of interaction between home and international students, which counteracts university goals of fostering intercultural cooperation. This paper will discuss and evaluate a pilot project in one Master’s program in production engineering, where activities around group diversity were integrated into a company-based project course. Students were assigned groups where a mixture of backgrounds and expertise were prioritised.The project used a number of group dynamics activities including a pre-survey of expectations of group work; negotiating a group contract; and continuous peer group assessment in order to develop and reflect on the skills required in a culturally diverse work team.From reflective essays that students wrote, as well as interviews carried out, the project and tasks were evaluated. The following themes were identified: attitudes to diversity; the importance of well-functioning communication; and attitudes and roles within the group.Results show that students found this a challenging but useful environment to work in and found the group dynamics activities helpful in negotiating this environment. Continuous peer group assessment, in particular, was seen as helpful in providing a forum for feedback and discussion on individual performance in the group and challenges for the group as a whole.Recommendations include constructive alignment within the program in terms of clear goals, activities and assessment, in order to build up these skills and awareness, not only in a single course but throughout the program.
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- Bergman, Becky, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Intercultural competence for all students: how prepared are our students for the global workplace?
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- SHORT SUMMARY Many Swedish students have little contact with non-Swedish students in their education. This round table aims to discuss examples of good practice at Chalmers and elsewhere, and look at how intercultural competence can become part of the learning goals at both course and program level. ABSTRACT Chalmers students study in a multicultural environment and will work in a global environment. This is an environment which involves meeting, communicating with, negotiating with, and cooperating with a range of cultures in different companies and different countries. The ability to deal with such meetings in a constructive way is vital when team members and work colleagues come with experiences and expectations different to one’s own. Technical universities in Sweden are in a paradoxical situation in terms of intercultural communication. On the one hand, technical universities are more international in terms of students, teachers and researchers and the work market is one of the most culturally heterogeneous. On the other hand, many teachers see their subject as objective and free from cultural dimensions and they feel little responsibility for the university’s explicit goals on global competence and cultural diversity. Activities connected to these goals seldom have any merit in an academic career. Where activities in intercultural communication take place, they are often directed at non-Swedish students. Consequently, it is possible for Swedish students to complete their education at Chalmers with very little contact with students from other countries. Comments from the International Student Barometer 2014 show that non-Swedish students do not feel part of an international environment at Chalmers. An UKÄ project carried out in 2015 consisting of interviews and questionnaires, showed that Chalmers at Master’s level can be a segregated environment with students choosing to sit and work with their own nationality groups. Clearly, there is a need to work actively with intercultural competence within the programs to support students’ awareness. There is also a need for learning activities and learning goals where intercultural competence is included. This round table discussion is designed to discuss possible initiatives that can be taken and how these can be assessed within the framework for engineering education. The following questions are presented for the workshop discussion: · What examples are there at Chalmers of successful integration of Swedish and non-Swedish students? · What strategies are used / can be used to create this integration? · How is it possible to integrate a global perspective in teaching? · How is it possible to use the cultural diversity in a teaching situation?
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- Bergman, Becky, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Intercultural Competence – Stakeholders and Learning Activities at the University
- 2015
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the International CDIO Conference. ; 2015
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACT This project is currently being carried out at Chalmers University of technology and is scheduled to be finished by early 2016. The study aims at exploring views on intercultural initiatives at the Master’s level the university. It also aims at providing strategies for active learning by designing learning objectives, activities and assessment practices for intercultural competence among students and teachers. Project in Progress Many Master’s students across the world study in a multicultural environment and will work in a global environment. This is an environment that involves meeting, communicating with, negotiating with, and cooperating with a range of cultures both currently at the university level and later on in different companies and different countries. Many universities work actively to attract students from other countries and have internationalization as a stated goal of the university. The question this work-in-progress presentation seeks to address is how far universities prepare students for such environments. This project has carried out interviews and questionnaires with engineering students and faculty at Master’s programs at Chalmers University of Technology in order to investigate the level of integration between Swedish and non-Swedish students and if steps are being taken in order to facilitate this integration. Furthermore, the project also investigates and proposes actions to be taken in order to introduce active learning within the realm of intercultural competence. One of the initial findings is that there is some work being done in this field, but this seems primarily focused on the visiting students, thereby neglecting learning activities for the national students. This presentation will therefore report on the preliminary results of this study and, in particular, present steps that universities can take in order to increase intercultural communication competence amongst its students. REFERENCES Del Vitto, C. (2008). Cross-Cultural" soft skills" and the global engineer: Corporate best practices and trainer methodologies. Online Journal for Global Engineering Education, 3(1), 1. Downey, G. L., Lucena, J. C., Moskal, B. M., Parkhurst, R., Bigley, T., Hays, C., Jesiek,B,, Kelly,L., Miller,J., Ruff,S., Lehr, J. & Nichols-‐Belo, A. (2006). The globally competent engineer: Working effectively with people who define problems differently. Journal of Engineering Education, 95(2), 107- 122. Jameson, D. A. (2007). Reconceptualizing cultural identity and its role in intercultural business communication. Journal of Business Communication, 44(3), 199-235. Jansen, D. E. (2004). Developing the intercultural competence of engineering students: a proposal for the method and contents of a seminar. World Transactions on Engineering and Teaching Education, 3(1). Korhonen, K. (2002). Intercultural competence as part of professional qualifications: a training experiment with bachelor of engineering students. University of Jyväskylä. Levy, M. (2007). Culture, culture learning and new technologies: Towards a pedagogical framework. Language Learning & Technology, 11(2), 104-127. Lohmann, J. R., Rollins, H. A., & Joseph Hoey, J. (2006). Defining, developing and assessing global competence in engineers. European journal of engineering education, 31(01), 119-131.
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