| 1. |
- Pham-Thanh, Long, 1975-
(författare)
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The influence of urban livestock-keeping on the epidemiology of mosquito-borne zoonotic flaviviruses in Hanoi city of Vietnam
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In rapid urbanizing cities, the high density of livestock populations in close vicinity to humans, and high mosquito vector abundance have provided suitable conditions for transmission of mosquito-borne zoonotic flaviviruses, that cause several million cases of human disease annually. This thesis explores the urban livestock-keeping in Hanoi and its potential influence on the epidemiology of flavivirus infections. Four major components were investigated: livestock development of the city, knowledge and practices of local people on mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs), mosquito vector abundance, and risk factors for flavivirus exposure in animals.The analyses of the livestock development policy, animal data and key informant interviews showed that the livestock production system of Hanoi had increased in line with the governmental policy during 2014 to 2018. However, some major challenges were identified such as the high proportion of small-scale livestock farms, animal diseases, and a slow progress of translocation of livestock farms out of the urban areas.A cross-sectional study was conducted in 513 households in six districts of Hanoi (two urban, two peripheral, and two peri-urban). Knowledge and practices were evaluated; mosquitoes and larvae inside and outside the houses were collected and identified; blood samples of pigs and dogs were tested by a West Nile virus competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA), a kit that allowed for detection of antibodies against several flaviviruses of different animal species. JEV-specific antibodies were confirmed by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). Logistic regression models using seropositivity of households as the outcome were built to identify significant risk factors.A low level of knowledge and preventive practices against zoonotic MBDs in community was indicated in the study. Among 12,861 adult mosquitoes and 2,427 larvae collected, Culex mosquitoes were the most abundant (93.01%), followed by Anopheles (3.82%), Mansonia (1.21%), Armigeres (1.18%) and Aedes mosquitoes (0.78%). In contrast, Aedes genus larvae were prominent at 87.02%, followed by Culex spp. (12.2%). There was a positive association between pig-keeping and Culex mosquitoes (p<0.001). In total, 475 dogs and 636 pigs were tested by a cELISA. The overall flavivirus seroprevalences in dogs and pigs were 70.7% and 88.5%, respectively. The PRNT results for a subset of 50 dog sera (34 positive, 6 doubtful and 10 negative samples by cELISA), and 50 pig sera (26 positive, 6 doubtful and 18 negative samples by cELISA) showed a lower proportion of JEV-specific antibodies (28 positives for dog samples, and 13 positives for pig samples). In conclusion, this thesis shows associations between livestock-keeping and risks of mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus infections to humans in Hanoi.
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| 2. |
- Magnusson, Hans, 1943-
(författare)
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From recovery boiler to integration of a textile fiber plant : Combination of mass balance analysis and chemical engineering
- 2015
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Modern chemical technology is an efficient tool for solving problems, particularly within the complex environment of the pulp and paper industry, and the combination of experimental studies, mill data and mass balance calculations are of fundamental importance to the development of the industry. In this study various examples are presented, whereby chemical technology is of fundamental importance.It is well documented that under normal conditions the molten salt mixture from the kraft recovery boiler flows down into the dissolving tank without problems. However, in the case of alternatives to the kraft recovery boiler, knowledge of more precise data of the molten salts is required for the design calculations. In this study the viscosity for the case of sodium carbonate and 30 mole% sulphide has been measured and is of the magnitude 2 – 3 cP at temperatures relevant for a recovery boiler, i.e. similar to water at room temperature.The presence of non-process elements (NPE) in a typical pulp mill has been investigated. The main input is with regards to the wood, and anticipated problems include; deposits in evaporators, high dead-load in liquor streams, plugging of the upper part of the recovery boiler and decreasing efficiency in the causticization department. Efficient green liquor clarification is of the greatest importance as an efficient kidney for many NPE. Mill data and calculations show that the magnesium added in the oxygen delignification does not form a closed loop.Integration of a prehydrolysis kraft pulp mill producing dissolving pulp with a plant producing viscose textile fiber could be highly beneficial. The prehydrolysis liquor will contain both sugars and acetic acid. It is however not possible to fully replace the sulphuric acid of the viscose spinning bath with acetic acid of own production. The sulphuric chemicals from the viscose plant can be partly taken care of in the kraft recovery area as well as the viscose plant which can be supplied with alkali and sulphuric acid. Zinc-containing effluents from the viscose plant can be treated with green liquor to precipitate zinc sulphide.
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| 3. |
- McMillion, Alan, 1949-
(författare)
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Labile Verbs in English : Their Meaning, Behavior and Structure
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- English has many verbs that syntactically occur in both transitive and intransitive clausal patterns. A subset of such verbs are called labile verbs, and these have a causative sense when they occur in the transitive pattern and a non-causative or inchoative sense in the intransitive pattern. Moreover, the object of the transitive pattern corresponds to the subject of the intransitive, e.g. she broke the window / the window broke. There are over 800 labile verbs in Present-day English. The central criterion for distinguishing labile verbs from other similarly alternating verbs is the switch in causativity.This study is an investigation of the meanings, patterning and behavior of Present-day English labile verbs. It also investigates the development of these verbs historically. Diachronically, the number of labile verbs in English has steadily increased since the Old English period, unlike any of the sister Germanic languages. Labile verbs developed from both transitive and intransitive verbs.The investigation also attempts to explain the behavior of labile verbs in terms of the notions result- and process-orientation, lexical event structures and compositionality of lexical verbs with clause level constructions.
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| 4. |
- Ahmad, Shafqat, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of General Adiposity and Central Body Fat Distribution on the Circulating Metabolome : A Multi-Cohort Nontargeted Metabolomics Observational and Mendelian Randomization Study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Diabetes. - : American Diabetes Association. - 0012-1797 .- 1939-327X. ; 71:2, s. 329-339
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Obesity is associated with adverse health outcomes, but the metabolic effects have not yet been fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the association between adiposity with circulating metabolites and to address causality with Mendelian randomization (MR). Metabolomics data was generated by non-targeted ultra-performance liquid-chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass-spectrometry in plasma and serum from three population-based Swedish cohorts: ULSAM (N=1,135), PIVUS (N=970), and TwinGene (N=2,059). We assessed associations between general adiposity measured as body mass index (BMI) and central body fat distribution measured as waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI) with 210 annotated metabolites. We employed MR analysis to assess causal effects. Lastly, we attempted to replicate the MR findings in the KORA and TwinsUK cohorts (N=7,373), the CHARGE consortium (N=8,631), the Framingham Heart Study (N=2,076) and the DIRECT consortium (N=3,029). BMI was associated with 77 metabolites, while WHRadjBMI was associated with 11 and 3 metabolites in women and men, respectively. The MR analyses in the Swedish cohorts suggested a causal association (p-value <0.05) of increased general adiposity and reduced levels of arachidonic acid, dodecanedioic acid and lysophosphatidylcholine (P-16:0) as well as with increased creatine levels. The replication effort provided support for a causal association of adiposity on reduced levels of arachidonic acid (p-value 0.03). Adiposity is associated with variation of large parts of the circulating metabolome, however causality needs further investigation in well-powered cohorts.
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| 5. |
- Johansson Falck, Marlene
(författare)
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Technology, Language and Thought : Extensions of Meaning in the English Lexicon
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this thesis, the relationship between technological innovation and the development of language and thought is analysed. For this purpose, three different fields of technology are investigated: 1) the steam engine, 2) electricity, and 3) motor vehicles, roads and ways. They have all either played an extremely important part in people’s lives, or they are still essential to us. The overall aim is to find out in what ways these inventions and discoveries have helped people to develop abstract thinking and given speakers of English new possibilities to express themselves. Questions being asked are a) if the correlations in experience between the inventions and other domains have motivated new conceptual mappings? b) if the experiences that they provide people with may be used to re-experience certain conceptual mappings, and hence make them more deeply entrenched in people’s minds? and c) if the uses of them as cognitive tools have resulted in meaning extension in the English lexicon? The study is based on metaphoric and metonymic phrases collected from a number of different dictionaries. In the material a large number of metaphorical and metonymic expressions including terms connected to the inventions and discoveries that are part of this thesis are found. As is clear from the expressions, the steam engine, electricity, motor vehicles, roads and ways have all provided us with ample tools for structuring our thoughts, and for conveying our thoughts to others. Primarily, it seems to be the different functions of the discoveries and inventions, or the effects that they have on other objects that have motivated the mappings. In addition to analysing the cognitive role of the inventions that are part of this thesis, some general conclusions concerning the relationship between language, thought and world are suggested.
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| 6. |
- Karim, Hawzheen, 1973-
(författare)
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Road Design for Future Maintenance : Life-cycle Cost Analyses for Road Barriers
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The cost of a road construction over its service life is a function of design, quality of construction as well as maintenance strategies and operations. An optimal life-cycle cost for a road requires evaluations of the above mentioned components. Unfortunately, road designers often neglect a very important aspect, namely, the possibility to perform future maintenance activities. Focus is mainly directed towards other aspects such as investment costs, traffic safety, aesthetic appearance, regional development and environmental effects.This doctoral thesis presents the results of a research project aimed to increase consideration of road maintenance aspects in the planning and design process. The following subgoals were established:Identify the obstacles that prevent adequate consideration of future maintenance during the road planning and design process; andExamine optimisation of life-cycle costs as an approach towards increased efficiency during the road planning and design process.The research project started with a literature review aimed at evaluating the extent to which maintenance aspects are considered during road planning and design as an improvement potential for maintenance efficiency. Efforts made by road authorities to increase efficiency, especially maintenance efficiency, were evaluated. The results indicated that all the evaluated efforts had one thing in common, namely ignorance of the interrelationship between geometrical road design and maintenance as an effective tool to increase maintenance efficiency. Focus has mainly been on improving operating practises and maintenance procedures. This fact might also explain why some efforts to increase maintenance efficiency have been less successful.An investigation was conducted to identify the problems and difficulties, which obstruct due consideration of maintainability during the road planning and design process. A method called “Change Analysis” was used to analyse data collected during interviews with experts in road design and maintenance. The study indicated a complex combination of problems which result in inadequate consideration of maintenance aspects when planning and designing roads. The identified problems were classified into six categories: insufficient consulting, insufficient knowledge, regulations and specifications without consideration of maintenance aspects, insufficient planning and design activities, inadequate organisation and demands from other authorities. Several urgent needs for changes to eliminate these problems were identified.One of the problems identified in the above mentioned study as an obstacle for due consideration of maintenance aspects during road design was the absence of a model for calculating life-cycle costs for roads. Because of this lack of knowledge, the research project focused on implementing a new approach for calculating and analysing life-cycle costs for roads with emphasis on the relationship between road design and road maintainability. Road barriers were chosen as an example. The ambition is to develop this approach to cover other road components at a later stage.A study was conducted to quantify repair rates for barriers and associated repair costs as one of the major maintenance costs for road barriers. A method called “Case Study Research Method” was used to analyse the effect of several factors on barrier repairs costs, such as barrier type, road type, posted speed and seasonal effect. The analyses were based on documented data associated with 1625 repairs conducted in four different geographical regions in Sweden during 2006. A model for calculation of average repair costs per vehicle kilometres was created. Significant differences in the barrier repair costs were found between the studied barrier types.In another study, the injuries associated with road barrier collisions and the corresponding influencing factors were analysed. The analyses in this study were based on documented data from actual barrier collisions between 2005 and 2008 in Sweden. The result was used to calculate the cost for injuries associated with barrier collisions as a part of the socio-economic cost for road barriers. The results showed significant differences in the number of injuries associated with collisions with different barrier types.To calculate and analyse life-cycle costs for road barriers a new approach was developed based on a method called “Activity-based Life-cycle Costing”. By modelling uncertainties, the presented approach gives a possibility to identify and analyse factors crucial for optimising life-cycle costs. The study showed a great potential to increase road maintenance efficiency through road design. It also showed that road components with low investment costs might not be the best choice when including maintenance and socio-economic aspects.The difficulties and problems faced during the collection of data for calculating life-cycle costs for road barriers indicated a great need for improving current data collecting and archiving procedures.The research focused on Swedish road planning and design. However, the conclusions can be applied to other Nordic countries, where weather conditions and road design practices are similar. The general methodological approaches used in this research project may be applied also to other studies.
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| 7. |
- Agarwal, Girish Kumar, et al.
(författare)
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Value Changes during Service Delivery
- 2021
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Ingår i: 2021 IEEE International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC). - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most industries are shifting from product-orientedbusiness models towards services to step up the value chain andengage in long-term relationships with their customersthroughout the service lifecycle. Digital technologies arecontributing to servitization in many ways by creating andenabling capabilities like connectivity, IoT, data generation andassessment, etc., for new value generation, distribution, andcapture. Because value is subjective, dynamic, and changes duringthe service lifecycle, service providers need to examine closely thevalue perceptions of customers to constantly provide better valueand remain relevant with the competition. Through a consumersurvey and a longitudinal study of thirteen customers, this paperuses qualitative and quantitative assessment to identify the valuedimensions that play a major role for customers being onboardedon a digital enabled service, and also highlights how customervalue dimensions change over the course of the service lifecycle.One important finding is that change in customer value perceptiondoes not follow a pattern and is highly individual and personal.This opens a discussion regarding the need for hyperpersonalizationin successful servitization, and the role of digitaltechnologies towards the same.
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| 8. |
- Bergström, Göran, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence of Subclinical Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis in the General Population
- 2021
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Ingår i: Circulation. - Philadelphia : American Heart Association. - 0009-7322 .- 1524-4539. ; 144:12, s. 916-929
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Early detection of coronary atherosclerosis using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), in addition to coronary artery calcification (CAC) scoring, may help inform prevention strategies. We used CCTA to determine the prevalence, severity, and characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis and its association with CAC scores in a general population.Methods: We recruited 30 154 randomly invited individuals age 50 to 64 years to SCAPIS (the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study). The study includes individuals without known coronary heart disease (ie, no previous myocardial infarctions or cardiac procedures) and with high-quality results from CCTA and CAC imaging performed using dedicated dual-source CT scanners. Noncontrast images were scored for CAC. CCTA images were visually read and scored for coronary atherosclerosis per segment (defined as no atherosclerosis, 1% to 49% stenosis, or ≥50% stenosis). External validity of prevalence estimates was evaluated using inverse probability for participation weighting and Swedish register data.Results: In total, 25 182 individuals without known coronary heart disease were included (50.6% women). Any CCTA-detected atherosclerosis was found in 42.1%; any significant stenosis (≥50%) in 5.2%; left main, proximal left anterior descending artery, or 3-vessel disease in 1.9%; and any noncalcified plaques in 8.3% of this population. Onset of atherosclerosis was delayed on average by 10 years in women. Atherosclerosis was more prevalent in older individuals and predominantly found in the proximal left anterior descending artery. Prevalence of CCTA-detected atherosclerosis increased with increasing CAC scores. Among those with a CAC score >400, all had atherosclerosis and 45.7% had significant stenosis. In those with 0 CAC, 5.5% had atherosclerosis and 0.4% had significant stenosis. In participants with 0 CAC and intermediate 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease according to the pooled cohort equation, 9.2% had CCTA-verified atherosclerosis. Prevalence estimates had excellent external validity and changed marginally when adjusted to the age-matched Swedish background population.Conclusions: Using CCTA in a large, random sample of the general population without established disease, we showed that silent coronary atherosclerosis is common in this population. High CAC scores convey a significant probability of substantial stenosis, and 0 CAC does not exclude atherosclerosis, particularly in those at higher baseline risk.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Ivansson, Emma, 1975-
(författare)
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Contribution of Immunogenetic Factors in Susceptibility to Cervical Cancer
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. Persistent infection by an oncogenic type of human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary but not sufficient cause and there is also a genetic component. This thesis aims to identify host genetic risk factors for cervical cancer based on the hypothesis that susceptibility is affected by genetic variation in the immune response towards HPV infection. Paper I analyzed allergy in sons and cervical cancer in their mothers, and revealed an inverse association between cervical cancer and allergy across generations. Mothers of allergic sons have a lower incidence of cervical cancer, supporting the importance of immunogenetic factors. Paper II investigated the HPV type in 1079 women diagnosed 1965-1993. All women were from families with at least two affected. It appeared that HPV 16 was becoming less common with time. There was no evidence that related women were prone to infection by the same type, indicating that the immunogenetic factors act in a general, rather than an HPV type specific, manner. Paper III and IV analysed the association of candidate genes with susceptibility to cervical cancer in 1306 women with cervical cancer in situ and 288 unrelated controls. Paper III showed the association of variation in the two immune response genes chemokine receptor 2 (CCR-2) and interleukin 4 receptor (IL-4R) with cervical cancer. In paper IV variation at several loci in the MHC region was studied and the importance of the HLA class II locus DQB1 emphasized. This thesis work supports the contribution of genes of the immune system to cervical cancer susceptibility. The genetic risk factors so far identified account for only a part of the genetic susceptibility, which implies that other yet undiscovered variants of importance remain to be identified.
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