| 1. |
- Backman, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Lung function trajectories and associated mortality among adults with and without airway obstruction
- 2023
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Ingår i: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. - : American Thoracic Society. - 1073-449X .- 1535-4970. ; 208:10, s. 1063-1074
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rationale: Spirometry is essential for diagnosis and assessment of prognosis in COPD.Objectives: To identify FEV1 trajectories and their determinants, based on annual spirometry measurements among individuals with and without airway obstruction. Furthermore, to assess mortality in relation to trajectories.Methods: In 2002-04, individuals with airway obstruction (AO) (FEV1/VC<0.70, n=993) and age- and sex-matched non-obstructive (NO) referents were recruited from population-based cohorts. Annual spirometries until 2014 were utilized in joint-survival Latent Class Mixed Models to identify lung function trajectories. Mortality data were collected during 15 years of follow-up.Results: Three trajectories were identified among the AO-cases and two among the NO referents. Trajectory membership was driven by baseline FEV1%predicted (%pred) in both groups and additionaly, pack-years in AO and current smoking in NO. Longitudinal FEV1%pred level depended on baseline FEV1%pred, pack-years and obesity. The trajectories were distributed: 79.6% T1AO FEV1-high with normal decline, 12.8% T2AO FEV1-high with rapid decline, and 7.7% T3AO FEV1-low with normal decline (mean 27, 72 and 26 mL/year) among AO-individuals, and 96.7% T1NO FEV1-high with normal decline and 3.3% T2NO FEV1-high with rapid decline (mean 34 and 173 mL/year) among referents. Hazard for death was increased for T2AO (HR1.56) and T3AO (HR3.45) vs. T1AO, and for T2NO (HR2.99) vs. T1NO.Conclusions: Three different FEV1 trajectories were identified among those with airway obstruction and two among the referents, with different outcomes in terms of FEV1-decline and mortality. The FEV1 trajectories among airway obstructive and the relationship between low FVC and trajectory outcome are of particular clinical interest.
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| 2. |
- Boman, Christoffer, et al.
(författare)
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Development of innovative small(micro)-scale biomass-based CHP technologies
- 2017
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- To enhance the overall efficiency of the use of biomass in the energy sector in Europe, the large electricity production potential from small-scale biomass heating systems should be utilised. So far, no technologically sound (in terms of efficiency and reliability) and economically affordable micro- and small-scale biomass CHP technologies are, however, available. Therefore, the present ERA-NET project (MiniBioCHP) aimed at the further development and test of new CHP technologies based on small-scale biomass combustion in the electric capacity range between some W and 100 kW. Within the project, an international consortium consisting of 12 partners from 4 countries, including university institutions, institutes and industry (both engineering and manufacturing), collaborated closely to perform high level R&D on three promising micro/small-scale biomass based CHP technologies which are covering a broad range of applications in the residential heating sector. The Austrian engineering company BIOS, coordinated the international project. The project was based on earlier basic research and development work related to these promising new technologies and aimed at the achievement of a technological level which allows a first (commercial) demonstration after the end of the project. The three CHP concepts included in the MiniBioCHP project were;1. Pellet stoves with a thermoelectric generator (TEG)2. Small-scale biomass boilers (10-30 kWth) with a micro-ORC process3. High temperature heat exchanger (HT-HE) for an externally fired gas turbine (EFGT)The Swedish part of the project was focused on the development of the concept of biomass based EFGT with dedicated R&D activities related to the development of the HT-HE system. The Swedish project consisted of the research partners Umeå University (project leader), Luleå University of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, together with the industrial partners Enertech AB/Osby Parca and Ecergy. The expertise of the Swedish partners regarding ash related problems, grate boiler combustion and modelling, deposit formation and high temperature corrosion, were combined with the know-how of a Polish partner regarding HT-HE design, construction, testing and optimisation.The HT-HE is the most crucial component in EFGT processes significantly influencing the investment costs, availabilities as well as the efficiencies that can be achieved. With a thermal capacity from several hundred kW up to 2-3 MWth) the CHP technology based on a biomass boiler and an EFGT is suitable for district heating systems, or process heat consumers. The electricity produced by the gas turbine (up to some 100 kWel) can be used to cover the own electricity consumption of a company and/or fed into the grid. Even though the concept of biomass based EFGT has been an interesting alternative for small-scale CHP production for some decades, and R&D activities have been undertaken, tackling both economic and technical aspects, only a few pilot-plants have been in operation and no initiative has so far reached the level of commercial implementation. Thus, the concept of EFGT fed with biomass is still considered to be in a rather early development stage and the main technical challenges are related to alkali deposit induced corrosion and thermal stress of the HT-HE material, turbine design/operation and system integration.Within the present project, a HT-HE prototype aimed for an EFGT system was therefore designed, constructed and successfully tested at flue gas temperatures up to 900°C. Thus, appropriate guidelines for a compact design of the HT-HE and recommendations have been worked out to minimize thermal stresses as well as ash related problems regarding ash deposit formation and high temperature corrosion in a biomass boiler system. Furthermore, different concepts for the overall biomass based EFGT system have been worked out and evaluated. The outcome of the project will hopefully be used in the further development work and form the basis for a first testing and demonstration plant within the coming years.
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| 3. |
- Edvardsson, David, et al.
(författare)
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The Umeå Ageing and health research programme (U-age) : exploring person-centred care and health promoting living conditions for an ageing population
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nordic journal of nursing research. - : Sage Publications. - 2057-1585 .- 2057-1593. ; 36:3, s. 168-174
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this article is to describe the Umeå ageing and health research programme that explores person-centred care and health-promoting living conditions for an ageing population in Sweden, and to place this research programme in a national and international context of available research evidence and trends in aged care policy and practice. Contemporary trends in aged care policy includes facilitating ageing in place and providing person-centred care across home and aged care settings, despite limited evidence on how person-centred care can be operationalised in home care services and sheltered housing accommodation for older people. The Umeå ageing and health research programme consists of four research projects employing controlled, cross-sectional and longitudinal designs across ageing in place, sheltered housing, and nursing homes. The research programme is expected to provide translational knowledge on the structure, content and outcomes of person-centred care and health-promoting living conditions in home care, sheltered housing models, and nursing homes for older people and people with dementia.
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| 4. |
- Holmquist Mengelbier, Linda, et al.
(författare)
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Intratumoral genome diversity parallels progression and predicts outcome in pediatric cancer.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic differences among neoplastic cells within the same tumour have been proposed to drive cancer progression and treatment failure. Whether data on intratumoral diversity can be used to predict clinical outcome remains unclear. We here address this issue by quantifying genetic intratumoral diversity in a set of chemotherapy-treated childhood tumours. By analysis of multiple tumour samples from seven patients we demonstrate intratumoral diversity in all patients analysed after chemotherapy, typically presenting as multiple clones within a single millimetre-sized tumour sample (microdiversity). We show that microdiversity often acts as the foundation for further genome evolution in metastases. In addition, we find that microdiversity predicts poor cancer-specific survival (60%; P=0.009), independent of other risk factors, in a cohort of 44 patients with chemotherapy-treated childhood kidney cancer. Survival was 100% for patients lacking microdiversity. Thus, intratumoral genetic diversity is common in childhood cancers after chemotherapy and may be an important factor behind treatment failure.
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| 5. |
- Karlsson, Jenny, et al.
(författare)
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Four evolutionary trajectories underlie genetic intratumoral variation in childhood cancer
- 2018
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 50:7, s. 944-950
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A major challenge to personalized oncology is that driver mutations vary among cancer cells inhabiting the same tumor. Whether this reflects principally disparate patterns of Darwinian evolution in different tumor regions has remained unexplored1–5. We mapped the prevalence of genetically distinct clones over 250 regions in 54 childhood cancers. This showed that primary tumors can simultaneously follow up to four evolutionary trajectories over different anatomic areas. The most common pattern consists of subclones with very few mutations confined to a single tumor region. The second most common is a stable coexistence, over vast areas, of clones characterized by changes in chromosome numbers. This is contrasted by a third, less frequent, pattern where a clone with driver mutations or structural chromosome rearrangements emerges through a clonal sweep to dominate an anatomical region. The fourth and rarest pattern is the local emergence of a myriad of clones with TP53 inactivation. Death from disease was limited to tumors exhibiting the two last, most dynamic patterns.
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| 6. |
- Larsson, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of black liquor variability, combustion, and gasification process variables and inaccuracies in thermochemical data on equilibrium modeling results
- 2006
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Ingår i: Energy & Fuels. - Washington : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0887-0624 .- 1520-5029. ; 20:1, s. 359-363
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present work is a systematic sensitivity study of how inaccuracies in thermochemical data influence important parameters resulting from chemical equilibrium modeling of black liquor combustion and gasification processes. These effects have also been compared with those originating from normal variations in process variables and black liquor composition. Determination of the effects was achieved by performing a large number of equilibrium calculations structured according to statistical designs. Evaluation of the chemical equilibrium model calculations was facilitated by regression analysis. From the results, it can be concluded that uncertainties in thermochemical data of several key components have significant effects on important chemical and physical modeling responses in black liquor combustion and gasification. These effects are in many cases comparable to, or larger than, the effects from variation in fuel and process variables. Experimental redetermination of thermochemical data for Na2S, K2S, and gaseous NaOH is suggested.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Lindberg, Gustav, et al.
(författare)
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Determination of thermodynamic properties of Na2S using solid-state EMF measurements
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics. - : Elsevier. - 0021-9614 .- 1096-3626. ; 39:1, s. 44-48
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To obtain reliable thermodynamic data for Na2S(s), solid-state EMF measurements of the cell Pd(s)|O2(g)|Na2S(s), Na2SO4(s)|YSZ| Fe(s), FeO(s)|O2(g)ref| Pd(s) were carried out in the temperature range 870 < T/K < 1000 with yttria stabilized zirconia as the solid electrolyte. The measured EMF values were fitted according to the equation Efit/V (±0.00047) = 0.63650 − 0.00584732(T/K) + 0.00073190(T/K) ln (T/K). From the experimental results and the available literature data on Na2SO4(s), the equilibrium constant of formation for Na2S(s) was determined to be lg Kf(Na2S(s)) (±0.05) = 216.28 − 4750(T/K)−1 − 28.28878 ln (T/K). Gibbs energy of formation for Na2S(s) was obtained as ΔfG(Na2S(s))/(kJ · mol−1) (±1.0) = 90.9 − 4.1407(T/K) + 0.5415849(T/K) ln (T/K). By applying third law analysis of the experimental data, the standard enthalpy of formation of Na2S(s) was evaluated to be ΔfH(Na2S(s), 298.15 K)/(kJ · mol−1) (±1.0) = −369.0. Using the literature data for Cp and the calculated ΔfH, the standard entropy was evaluated to S(Na2S(s), 298.15 K)/(J · mol−1 · K−1) (±2.0) = 97.0.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Malinovschi, Andrei, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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Consequences of Using Post- or Prebronchodilator Reference Values in Interpreting Spirometry
- 2023
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Ingår i: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. - : American Thoracic Society. - 1073-449X .- 1535-4970. ; 208:4, s. 461-471
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- RATIONALE: Post-bronchodilator (BD) spirometry is used for diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, pre-BD reference values are used for spirometry interpretation.OBJECTIVES: To compare the resulting prevalence rates of abnormal spirometry and study the consequences of using pre- or post-BD reference values generated within the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) when interpreting post-BD spirometry in a general population.METHODS: SCAPIS reference values for post-BD and pre-BD spirometry were based on 10,156 and 1,498 never-smoking, healthy participants, respectively. We studied the associations of abnormal spirometry, defined by using pre- or post-BD reference values, with respiratory burden in the SCAPIS general population (28,851 individuals).MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Bronchodilation resulted in higher predicted median and lower limit of normal (LLN) for FEV1/FVC ratio. The prevalence of post-BD FEV1/FVC < pre-bronchodilator LLN was 4.8% and that of post-BD FEV1/FVC < post-bronchodilator LLN was 9.9% for the general population. An additional 5.1% was identified as having an abnormal post-BD FEV1/FVC ratio and this group had more respiratory symptoms, emphysema (13.5% vs. 4.1%, p<0.001) and self-reported physician-diagnosed COPD (2.8% vs. 0.5%, p<0.001) than subjects with post-BD FEV1/FVC ratio > LLN for both pre- and post-bronchodilation).CONCLUSIONS: Pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry reference values differ with regard to FEV1/FVC ratio. Use of post-bronchodilator reference values doubled the population prevalence of airflow obstruction; this was related to a higher respiratory burden. Using post-bronchodilator reference values when interpreting post-bronchodilator spirometry might enable identification of individuals with mild disease and be clinically relevant.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Sköldunger, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Resource use and its association to cognitive impairment, ADL functions, and behavior in residents of Swedish nursing homes : Results from the U-Age program (SWENIS study)
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0885-6230 .- 1099-1166. ; 34:1, s. 130-136
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: We aimed to investigate resource use and its association to cognitive impairment, activities of daily living, and neuropsychiatric symptoms in residents of Swedish nursing homes.Methods: Data were collected in 2014 from a Swedish national sample of nursing home residents (n = 4831) and were collected by staff in the facility. The sample consists of all nursing homes in 35 of 60 randomly selected Swedish municipalities. Demographic data and data on resource use, cognitive and physical function as well as neuropsychiatric symptoms were collected through proxies. Descriptive statistics and regression modeling were used to investigate this association.Results: We found that cognitive impairment, activities of daily living, and neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with 23 hours per week increase in total resource use versus cognitively intact persons. This was also the case for being dependent in activities of daily living. Being totally dependent increased the amount of resource use by 25 hours per week. The sex of a resident did not influence the resource use. Annual costs of resource use with no functional dependency were 359 685 SEK, and in severely cognitive impaired resident, the cost was 825 081 SEK.Conclusion: Being cognitively impaired as well as functionally dependent increases the resource use significantly in nursing homes. This has implications for differentiation of costs in institutional settings in health economic evaluations.
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| 13. |
- Abul-Kasim, Kasim, et al.
(författare)
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Advanced radiological work-up as an adjunct to decision in early reconstructive surgery in brachial plexus injuries
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Brachial Plexus and Peripheral Nerve Injury. - : BioMed Central. - 1749-7221. ; 5, s. 14-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundAs neurophysiologic tests may not reveal the extent of brachial plexus injury at the early stage, the role of early radiological work-up has become increasingly important. The aim of the study was to evaluate the concordance between the radiological and clinical findings with the intraoperative findings in adult patients with brachial plexus injuries.MethodsSeven consecutive male patients (median age 33; range 15-61) with brachial plexus injuries, caused by motor cycle accidents in 5/7 patients, who underwent extensive radiological work-up with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography myelography (CT-M) or both were included in this retrospective study. A total of 34 spinal nerve roots were evaluated by neuroradiologists at two different occasions. The degree of agreement between the radiological findings of every individual nerve root and the intraoperative findings was estimated by calculation of kappa coefficient (К-value). Using the operative findings as a gold standard, the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the clinical findings and the radiological findings were estimated.ResultsThe diagnostic accuracy of radiological findings was 88% compared with 65% for the clinical findings. The concordance between the radiological findings and the intraoperative findings was substantial (К = 0.76) compared with only fair (К = 0.34) for the clinical findings. There were two false positive and two false negative radiological findings (sensitivity and PPV of 0.90; specificity and NPV of 0.87).ConclusionsThe advanced optimized radiological work-up used showed high reliability and substantial agreement with the intraoperative findings in adult patients with brachial plexus injury.
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| 14. |
- Avelar-Pereira, Bárbara, et al.
(författare)
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Age-Related Differences in Dynamic Interactions Among Default Mode, Frontoparietal Control, and Dorsal Attention Networks during Resting-State and Interference Resolution
- 2017
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1663-4365. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) can identify large-scale brain networks, including the default mode (DMN), frontoparietal control (FPN) and dorsal attention (DAN) networks. Interactions among these networks are critical for supporting complex cognitive functions, yet the way in which they are modulated across states is not well understood. Moreover, it remains unclear whether these interactions are similarly affected in aging regardless of cognitive state. In this study, we investigated age-related differences in functional interactions among the DMN, FPN and DAN during rest and the Multi-Source Interference task (MSIT). Networks were identified using independent component analysis (ICA), and functional connectivity was measured during rest and task. We found that the FPN was more coupled with the DMN during rest and with the DAN during the MSIT. The degree of FPN-DMN connectivity was lower in older compared to younger adults, whereas no age-related differences were observed in FPN-DAN connectivity in either state. This suggests that dynamic interactions of the FPN are stable across cognitive states. The DMN and DAN were anti correlated and age-sensitive during the MSIT only, indicating variation in a task-dependent manner. Increased levels of anticorrelation from rest to task also predicted successful interference resolution. Additional analyses revealed that the degree of DMN-DAN anticorrelation during the MSIT was associated to resting cerebral blood flow (CBF) within the DMN. This suggests that reduced DMN neural activity during rest underlies an impaired ability to achieve higher levels of anticorrelation during a task. Taken together, our results suggest that only parts of age-related differences in connectivity are uncovered at rest and thus, should be studied in the functional connectome across multiple states for a more comprehensive picture.
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| 15. |
- Backman, Annica, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Characteristics of nursing home units with high versus low levels of person-centred care in relation to leadership, staff- resident- and facility factors : findings from SWENIS, a cross-sectional study in Sweden
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMC Geriatrics. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2318. ; 21:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The context of care consists of factors that determines the extent to which staff can offer person-centred care. However, few studies have investigated factors that can explain variation in levels of person-centred care among nursing home units. The aim of this study was to explore factors characterizing nursing home units with high and low degree of person-centred care, with focus on leadership, staff, resident and facility factors.Methods: Cross-sectional data from residents, staff, and managers in 172 randomly selected nursing homes in Sweden were collected in 2014. Activities of Daily Living Index, Gottfries' cognitive scale, Person-centred Care Assessment Tool together with demographic information and estimations of leadership engagement was used. Independent samples t-test and Chi2 test were conducted.Results: Highly person-centred units were characterised by leaders engaging in staff knowledge, professional development, team support and care quality. In highly person-centred units' staff also received supervision of a nurse to a larger extent. Highly person-centred units were also characterised as dementia specific units, units with fewer beds and with a larger proportion of enrolled nurses. No differences in degree of person-centred care were seen between public or private providers.Conclusions: This study provides guidance for practitioners when designing, developing and adapting person-centred units in aged care contexts. Managers and leaders have an important role to promote the movement towards a person-centred practice of care, by supporting their staff in daily care, and engaging in staff knowledge and professional development. Targeting and adjusting environmental factors, such as provide small and dementia adapted environments to match the residents' personal preferences and capacity are also important when striving towards person-centredness.
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| 16. |
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| 17. |
- Backman, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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easyADL – Wearable Support System for Independent Life despite Dementia
- 2006
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Ingår i: ACM CHI 2006 Workshop onDesigning Technology for People with Cognitive Impairments.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This position paper outlines the easyADL project, a two-year project investigating the possibility of using wearable technology to assist people suffering the dementia disease in performing Activities of Daily Living (ADL). An introduction to the egocentric interaction modeling framework is provided and the virtual reality based development methodology is discusssed.
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| 18. |
- Backman, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of an extended diagnostic PCR assay for detection and verification of the common causes of bacterial meningitis in CSF and other biological samples
- 1999
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Ingår i: Molecular and Cellular Probes. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8508 .- 1096-1194. ; 13:1, s. 49-60
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A seminested polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic assay was evaluated for detection and verification of Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Steptococcus agalactiae and Listeria monocytogenes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and other biological samples. A general bacterial amplicon from the 16S rRNA gene was amplified in a first step, and species-specific regions in a second. The detection level was 4 fg DNA/reaction, corresponding to about one bacterial genome per reaction tube. Sample preparations (Dynabeads DNA DIRECT kit) were assayed from 140 bacterial strains suspended in saline. In CSF the detection level for bacteria was 103 CFU ml-1 for N. meningitidis, H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae, 104 CFU ml-1 for Escherichia coli and 105 CFU ml-1 for S. agalactiae and L. monocytogenes. The detection levels for these bacteria were the same in the other tested biological samples, like blood with or without culture media. Clinical CSF samples were evaluated from 71 patients with proven bacterial meningitis, as were 61 CSF samples from individuals without bacterial meningitis. The diagnostic sensitivity of the assay in detecting bacteria in general was 0.97, and for the specific species in the clinical CSF samples 0.87-0.94. The specificity was 1.0 for detecting bacteria in general. Some cross-reactions were noted within the streptococcus group. The PCR results were verified by banding patterns of HaeIII digested PCR products.
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| 19. |
- Backman, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Decrease in prevalence of COPD in Sweden after decades of decrease in smoking
- 2018
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 52
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: The smoking prevalence in Sweden has steadily decreased during three decades. The prevalence of COPD in Sweden in the 1990s and around the millennium shift was similar to neighboring European countries, i.e. estimated at 11-17%, and of moderate to severe COPD to 7-11%, in ages over 40y.Aim: Has the prevalence of chronic airway obstruction (CAO) and of COPD in Sweden decreased after decades of decreasing smoking prevalence?Methods: Within two large scale population studies in progress, the West Sweden Asthma Study (WSAS) and the Obstructive Lung Disease in Northern Sweden Studies (OLIN), the prevalence of COPD in ages 41-72y was calculated among randomly selected subjects from the general population in 2009-2012. The following post-bronchodilator definitions were used; CAO: FEV1/FVCResults: The prevalence of CAO based on the FEV1/FVCConclusion: As prevalence of COPD defined as chronic airway obstruction before and around the millennium shift was estimated at 11-17% in ages >40 years, the prevalence of COPD has decreased in Sweden, and the decrease in smoking over decades is probably the main causal factor.
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| 20. |
- Backman, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Decreased COPD prevalence in Sweden after decades of decrease in smoking
- 2020
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Ingår i: Respiratory Research. - : Springer Nature. - 1465-9921 .- 1465-993X. ; 21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundCOPD has increased in prevalence worldwide over several decades until the first decade after the millennium shift. Evidence from a few recent population studies indicate that the prevalence may be levelling or even decreasing in some areas in Europe. Since the 1970s, a substantial and ongoing decrease in smoking prevalence has been observed in several European countries including Sweden. The aim of the current study was to estimate the prevalence, characteristics and risk factors for COPD in the Swedish general population. A further aim was to estimate the prevalence trend of COPD in Northern Sweden from 1994 to 2009.MethodsTwo large random population samples were invited to spirometry with bronchodilator testing and structured interviews in 2009–2012, one in south-western and one in northern Sweden, n = 1839 participants in total. The results from northern Sweden were compared to a study performed 15 years earlier in the same area and age-span. The diagnosis of COPD required both chronic airway obstruction (CAO) and the presence of respiratory symptoms, in line with the GOLD documents since 2017. CAO was defined as post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC < 0.70, with sensitivity analyses based on the FEV1/FVC < lower limit of normal (LLN) criterion.ResultsBased on the fixed ratio definition, the prevalence of COPD was 7.0% (men 8.3%; women 5.8%) in 2009–2012. The prevalence of moderate to severe (GOLD ≥ 2) COPD was 3.5%. The LLN based results were about 30% lower. Smoking, occupational exposures, and older age were risk factors for COPD, whereof smoking was the most dominating risk factor. In northern Sweden the prevalence of COPD, particularly moderate to severe COPD, decreased significantly from 1994 to 2009, and the decrease followed a decrease in smoking.ConclusionsThe prevalence of COPD has decreased in Sweden, and the prevalence of moderate to severe COPD was particularly low. The decrease follows a major decrease in smoking prevalence over several decades, but smoking remained the dominating risk factor for COPD.
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
- Backman, Helena, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Reference values for spirometry - report from the Obstructive Lung Disease in Northern Sweden studies.
- 2015
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Ingår i: European clinical respiratory journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2001-8525. ; 2, s. Article number 26375-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abnormal lung function is commonly identified by comparing observed spirometric values to corresponding reference values. It is recommended that such reference values for spirometry are evaluated and updated frequently. The aim of this study was to estimate new reference values for Swedish adults by fitting a multivariable regression model to a healthy non-smoking general population sample from northern Sweden. Further aims were to evaluate the external validity of the obtained reference values on a contemporary sample from south-western Sweden, and to compare them to the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) reference values.
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| 23. |
- Backman, Samuel, et al.
(författare)
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The Evolutionary History of Metastatic Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumours Reveals a Therapy Driven Route to High-Grade Transformation.
- 2024
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Ingår i: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tumour evolution with acquisition of more aggressive disease characteristics is a hallmark of disseminated cancer. Metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PanNETs) in particular, show frequent progression from a low/intermediate to a high-grade disease. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, we performed multi-omics analysis of 32 longitudinal samples from six metastatic PanNET patients. Following MEN1 inactivation, PanNETs exhibit genetic heterogeneity on both spatial and temporal dimensions with parallel and convergent tumuor evolution involving the ATRX/DAXX and mTOR pathways. Following alkylating chemotherapy treatment, some PanNETs develop mismatch repair deficiency and acquire a hypermutator phenotype. This DNA hypermutation phenotype was only found in cases that also showed transformation into a high-grade PanNET. Overall, our findings contribute to broaden the understanding of metastatic PanNET, and suggests that therapy driven disease evolution is an important hallmark of this disease.
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| 24. |
- Backman, Ylva, et al.
(författare)
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Ethics in school : from moral development to children's conceptions of justice
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A main issue in Swedish school debate is the question of how to teach the student a common value system based on democracy and western humanism. The debate is rather intense, to say the least. Not only is the premise that there exists one value system that we share a target for critique, but there is also the question of what value education is or could be. There is, as well, quite a body of research on children's moral development, where many take as their departure the work of Kohlberg. However, there has been little or no attention on how the individual learner conceptualizes and makes meaning out of ethical issues. That is, descriptions of processes. In this paper we will present what we take to be urgent questions that need to be investigated against the background of prior research and practical work at Södra teatern in Stockholm, Sweden. For eight years in a row, Södra teatern has had as a main project to lead a practice on the subject of philosophy with children. Several groups of youths in the age of nine to eighteen have regularly met to discuss philosophical thoughts and problems, which in a democratic manner are settled for discussion by the participants. Today this philosophical practice has spread to the north of Sweden. In Backman's final exam within the teacher education she has explored the development of children's (7‐8 years old) ability to argue for different ethical positions, both verbally and in writing and painting. This practice has been inspired by the tradition at Södra teatern, but customized to fit a regular school class in Luleå, with very little experience of philosophical discussion. In the very short period of five weeks Backman has been able to see quite significant changes in the children's ability to argue for their ethical positions. The study was initiated by examining some argumentative abilities of the pupils, for instance the ability of expressing an argument for an ethical position in writing. In the final part of the study, the same ability was examined in very similar circumstances, and the augment of expressed arguments in writing was significant. Another consideration that was raised as a consequence of the study regards the pupil's conceptualizing of ethical issues. In some conversations about the notion of justice it became clear that children interpreted the term very differently. This is not very surprising but important to pay further attention to. As mentioned earlier, there has been very little attention on how individual children conceptualize ethical issues. In this paper we argue that more interest should be put on investigating these issues in more depth, and we will do this by an outlining of a research application.
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
- Backman, Ylva, et al.
(författare)
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Philosophy with children : moral argumentation and the role of pictures
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Educating for complex thinking through philosophical inquiry. - Padova : Liguori. ; , s. 12 s.-
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this paper is to outline the disposition and results of a short-time pilot study (Backman, 2009) of pupils’ ability to express ethical arguments and of the role of pictures in ethical argumentation. There were 18 pupils, in the ages 7-8 years, that participated in the study, which was carried out in a school in the northern part of Sweden. In this paper, we begin by giving a short description of some relevant statements in the Swedish national curriculum and put this in relation to some previous research on philosophical inquiry with children. Then we continue by describing some of the project’s influences from philosophical practice and theoretical groundwork. After this, some methodological concerns and ethical considerations are referred. Finally, some results of the study are described and shortly discussed.
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| 27. |
- Backman, Ylva, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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Results from a PwC Intervention in a Swedish Socio-economically Disadvantaged School – A Multiple Case Study of Students Diagnosed with Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- 2022
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We will present results from a multiple case study based on interviews with students diagnosed with neurodevelopment disorders and their school staff after participating in a short and small-scale intervention carried out in a socio-economically disadvantaged Swedish elementary school in 2019. Two small school classes participated in 12 philosophical dialogues each (ranging from 45 to 60 minutes) during a total of seven weeks. Two facilitators, both with years of facilitation experience and teacher degree and at least BA in philosophy, facilitated the majority of the dialogues. The philosophical dialogues mainly followed a ”routine” procedure, but a few differences can be noted. First, one of the facilitators wrote short stories prompting interest in contestable issues during the intervention, which helped the stimuli to get adapted to the groups’ developing interests. Second, in the start-up phase of several dialogues, the students were encouraged to practice dialogic skills through randomly assigned individual and group tasks based on both the jointly decided rules for interaction and on ART for kids (a tool for children to become aware of and evaluate dialogic quality and progress in inquiry dialogic sessions). During meta-dialogue, the groups returned to these tasks in order to increase meta-cognitive awareness, evaluate group performance, and set up short term goals for the upcoming session. Third, during two sessions, the sessions were organized in the form of a dialogic puzzle. The sample in this multiple case study contains students from two school classes (school years 3 and 4) in a Swedish elementary school. The school was small (about 150 students in total), rural, and ranked among the 10 % most socio-economically disadvantaged in Sweden. The school included students from around 20 different countries and about 20 % of the schools’ students were asylum seekers. All the students in the multiple case study were diagnosed with different neurodevelopmental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and severe developmental language disorder (DLD).We interviewed the students, four teachers who participated in the dialogues, and the school principal. The students were interviewed individually in direct connection to the end of the intervention about their experiences from the dialogues and their perceptions about the influence of the dialogues. The interviewed teachers (two in each grade) were those who had participated in the dialogues. They were interviewed in pairs, also in direct connection to the end of the intervention, while the school principal was interviewed two years after the study. The staff interviews concerned the staff’s experiences of the influence of the dialogues on the students within the intervention as well as transfer effects to other contexts in school. All interviews were semistructured. For each student, we present data from both student and staff interviews. We strive to give a representative picture of both the advantages and disadvantages expressed by students and staff.
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| 28. |
- Backman, Ylva, et al.
(författare)
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Vetenskapliga tankeverktyg : till grund för akademiska studier
- 2012. - 1
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Bok (refereegranskat)abstract
- I princip alla vetenskapliga studier vid universitet och högskola kräver kunskaper och färdigheter inom kritiskt tänkande, etik, kunskapsteori, vetenskapsteori, metodteori och vetenskapligt skrivande. Denna bok ger en introduktion till dessa områden.Författarna vägleder läsaren till att upptäcka det intressanta, begripliga och samtidigt problemfyllda med frågor som: Vad är kunskap? Vad skiljer vetenskap från annat? Hur samlar man in data? Hur ska man förhålla sig till källor? Vilka metoder leder till tillförlitliga slutsatser? Var går gränsen för vad man får göra inom forskning? Hur argumenterar och skriver man vetenskapligt?Genom hela boken finns övningar, exempel och förslag till vidare läsning. På bokens webbplats finns ytterligare material för att underlätta och fördjupa lärandet av bokens innehåll. Vetenskapliga tankeverktyg – till grund för akademiska studier vänder sig till studenter inom alla akademiska områden. Den kan användas vid introducerande moment i utbildningar eller som resurs vid skrivande av rapporter, uppsatser och examensarbeten.
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| 29. |
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| 30. |
- Broström, Markus, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Sulfation of corrosive alkali chlorides by ammonium sulfate in a biomass fired CFB boiler
- 2007
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Ingår i: Fuel processing technology. - Amsterdam : Elsevier Bv. - 0378-3820 .- 1873-7188. ; 88:11-12, s. 1171-1177
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biomass and waste derived fuels contain relatively high amounts of alkali and chlorine, but contain very little sulfur. Combustion of such fuels can result in increased deposit formation and superheater corrosion. These problems can be reduced by using a sulfur containing additive, such as ammonium sulfate, which reacts with the alkali chlorides and forms less corrosive sulfates. Ammonium sulfate injection together with a so-called in situ alkali chloride monitor (IACM) is patented and known as "ChlorOut". IACM measures the concentrations of alkali chlorides (mainly KCl in biomass combustion) at superheater temperatures. Tests with and without spraying ammonium sulfate into the flue gases have been performed in a 96MW(th)/25MW(e) circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler. The boiler was fired mainly with bark and a chlorine containing waste. KCl concentration was reduced from more than 15 ppm to approximately 2 ppm. during injection of ammonium sulfate. Corrosion probe measurements indicated that both deposit formation and material loss due to corrosion were decreased using the additive. Analysis of the deposits showed significantly higher concentration of sulfur and almost no chlorine in the case with ammonium sulfate. Results from impactor measurements supported that KCl was sulfated to potassium sulfate by the additive. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 31. |
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| 32. |
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| 33. |
- Colliander Celik, Å, et al.
(författare)
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Därför krävs det stora satsningar på geografi och geovetenskap
- 2021
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Ingår i: Läraren. - 1101-2633.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Som geografer, geovetare och geografilärare frågar vi oss varför kunskaper om vår livsmiljö, och de processer som styr den, är så styvmoderligt behandlade i skolan när vårt samhälle och stora delar av vår civilisation står inför många stora utmaningar, skriver 52 tunga företrädare.
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| 34. |
- Crona, Joakim, et al.
(författare)
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Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity Characterizes the Genetic Landscape of Pheochromocytoma and Defines Early Events in Tumorigenesis.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 21:19, s. 4451-4460
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL) patients display heterogeneity in the clinical presentation and underlying genetic cause. The degree of inter- and intratumor genetic heterogeneity has not yet been defined.EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: In PPGLs from 94 patients, we analyzed LOH, copy-number variations, and mutation status of SDHA, SDHB, SDHC, SDHD, SDHAF2, VHL, EPAS1, NF1, RET, TMEM127, MAX, and HRAS using high-density SNP array and targeted deep sequencing, respectively. Genetic heterogeneity was determined through (i) bioinformatics analysis of individual samples that estimated absolute purity and ploidy from SNP array data and (ii) comparison of paired tumor samples that allowed reconstruction of phylogenetic trees.RESULTS: Mutations were found in 61% of the tumors and correlated with specific patterns of somatic copy-number aberrations (SCNA) and degree of nontumoral cell admixture. Intratumor genetic heterogeneity was observed in 74 of 136 samples using absolute bioinformatics estimations and in 22 of 24 patients by comparison of paired samples. In addition, a low genetic concordance was observed between paired primary tumors and distant metastases. This allowed for reconstructing the life history of individual tumors, identifying somatic mutations as well as copy-number loss of 3p and 11p (VHL subgroup), 1p (Cluster 2), and 17q (NF1 subgroup) as early events in PPGL tumorigenesis.CONCLUSIONS: Genomic landscapes of PPGL are specific to mutation subtype and characterized by genetic heterogeneity both within and between tumor lesions of the same patient.
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| 35. |
- Dahlin, Lars, et al.
(författare)
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Axillary nerve injury in young adults-An overlooked diagnosis? : early results of nerve reconstruction and nerve transfers
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Journal of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery. - 2000-656X .- 2000-6764. ; 46:3-4, s. 257-261
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An injury to the axillary nerve from a shoulder trauma can easily be overlooked. Spontaneous functional recovery may occur, but occasionally reconstructive surgery is required. The time frame for nerve reconstruction procedures is from a neurobiological view crucial for a good functional outcome. This study presents a group of operatively and non-operatively treated young adults with axillary nerve injuries caused by motorcycle accidents, where the diagnosis was set late. Ten young men (median age at trauma 13 years, range 9-24) with an axillary nerve injury were diagnosed by examination of shoulder function and electromyography (EMG). The patients had either a nerve reconstruction procedure or were treated conservatively and their recovery was monitored. The axillary nerve was explored and reconstructed at a median of 8 months (range 1-22 months) after trauma in 8/10 patients. Two patients were treated non-operatively. In 4/8 cases, a reconstruction with sural nerve graft was performed and in 1/8 case only exploration of the nerve was made (minor neuroma). In 3/8 cases a radial nerve branch transfer to the axillary nerve was chosen as the procedure. The shoulder was mobilised after 3 weeks with physiotherapy and the patients were monitored regularly. Functional recovery was observed in 9/10 cases (median follow up 11 months, range 7-64) with EMG signs of reinnervation in seven patients. Axillary nerve function should not be overlooked in young patients with a minor shoulder trauma. Nerve reconstruction can successfully recreate function.
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| 36. |
- Dahlin, Lars B., et al.
(författare)
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Rehabilitation, Using Guided Cerebral plasticity, of a Brachial plexus Injury treated with Intercostal and phrenic Nerve transfers
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in Neurology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-2295. ; 8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recovery after surgical reconstruction of a brachial plexus injury using nerve grafting and nerve transfer procedures is a function of peripheral nerve regeneration and cerebral reorganization. A 15-year-old boy, with traumatic avulsion of nerve roots C5-C7 and a non-rupture of C8-T1, was operated 3 weeks after the injury with nerve transfers: ( a) terminal part of the accessory nerve to the suprascapular nerve, (b) the second and third intercostal nerves to the axillary nerve, and (c) the fourth to sixth intercostal nerves to the musculocutaneous nerve. A second operation-free contralateral gracilis muscle transfer directly innervated by the phrenic nerve-was done after 2 years due to insufficient recovery of the biceps muscle function. One year later, electromyography showed activation of the biceps muscle essentially with coughing through the intercostal nerves, and of the transferred gracilis muscle by deep breathing through the phrenic nerve. Voluntary flexion of the elbow elicited clear activity in the biceps/gracilis muscles with decreasing activity in intercostal muscles distal to the transferred intercostal nerves (i.e., corresponding to eighth intercostal), indicating cerebral plasticity, where neural control of elbow flexion is gradually separated from control of breathing. To restore voluntary elbow function after nerve transfers, the rehabilitation of patients operated with intercostal nerve transfers should concentrate on transferring coughing function, while patients with phrenic nerve transfers should focus on transferring deep breathing function.
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| 37. |
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| 38. |
- de Brun, Maryam, 1991-, et al.
(författare)
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Changing diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes (CDC4G) in Sweden : A stepped wedge cluster randomised trial
- 2024
-
Ingår i: PLoS Medicine. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1549-1277 .- 1549-1676. ; 21:7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The World Health Organisation (WHO) 2013 diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has been criticised due to the limited evidence of benefits on pregnancy outcomes in different populations when switching from previously higher glycemic thresholds to the lower WHO-2013 diagnostic criteria. The aim of this study was to determine whether the switch from previous Swedish (SWE-GDM) to the WHO-2013 GDM criteria in Sweden following risk factor-based screening improves pregnancy outcomes.METHODS AND FINDINGS: A stepped wedge cluster randomised trial was performed between January 1 and December 31, 2018 in 11 clusters (17 delivery units) across Sweden, including all pregnancies under care and excluding preexisting diabetes, gastric bypass surgery, or multifetal pregnancies from the analysis. After implementation of uniform clinical and laboratory guidelines, a number of clusters were randomised to intervention (switch to WHO-2013 GDM criteria) each month from February to November 2018. The primary outcome was large for gestational age (LGA, defined as birth weight >90th percentile). Other secondary and prespecified outcomes included maternal and neonatal birth complications. Primary analysis was by modified intention to treat (mITT), excluding 3 clusters that were randomised before study start but were unable to implement the intervention. Prespecified subgroup analysis was undertaken among those discordant for the definition of GDM. Multilevel mixed regression models were used to compare outcome LGA between WHO-2013 and SWE-GDM groups adjusted for clusters, time periods, and potential confounders. Multiple imputation was used for missing potential confounding variables. In the mITT analysis, 47 080 pregnancies were included with 6 882 (14.6%) oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) performed. The GDM prevalence increased from 595/22 797 (2.6%) to 1 591/24 283 (6.6%) after the intervention. In the mITT population, the switch was associated with no change in primary outcome LGA (2 790/24 209 (11.5%) versus 2 584/22 707 (11.4%)) producing an adjusted risk ratio (aRR) of 0.97 (95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.02, p = 0.26). In the subgroup, the prevalence of LGA was 273/956 (28.8%) before and 278/1 239 (22.5%) after the switch, aRR 0.87 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.01, p = 0.076). No serious events were reported. Potential limitations of this trial are mainly due to the trial design, including failure to adhere to guidelines within and between the clusters and influences of unidentified temporal variations.CONCLUSIONS: In this study, implementing the WHO-2013 criteria in Sweden with risk factor-based screening did not significantly reduce LGA prevalence defined as birth weight >90th percentile, in the total population, or in the subgroup discordant for the definition of GDM. Future studies are needed to evaluate the effects of treating different glucose thresholds during pregnancy in different populations, with different screening strategies and clinical management guidelines, to optimise women's and children's health in the short and long term.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered with ISRCTN (41918550).
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| 39. |
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| 40. |
- Dennhag, Nils, 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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fhl2b mediates extraocular muscle protection in zebrafish models of muscular dystrophies and its ectopic expression ameliorates affected body muscles
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In muscular dystrophies, muscle fibers loose integrity and die, causing significant suffering and premature death. Strikingly, the extraocular muscles (EOMs) are spared, functioning well despite the disease progression. Although EOMs have been shown to differ from body musculature, the mechanisms underlying this inherent resistance to muscle dystrophies remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate important differences in gene expression as a response to muscle dystrophies between the EOMs and trunk muscles in zebrafish via transcriptomic profiling. We show that the LIM-protein Fhl2 is increased in response to the knockout of desmin, plectin and obscurin, cytoskeletal proteins whose knockout causes different muscle dystrophies, and contributes to disease protection of the EOMs. Moreover, we show that ectopic expression of fhl2b can partially rescue the muscle phenotype in the zebrafish Duchenne muscular dystrophy model sapje, significantly improving their survival. Therefore, Fhl2 is a protective agent and a candidate target gene for therapy of muscular dystrophies.
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| 41. |
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| 42. |
- Eriksson, Berne, et al.
(författare)
-
Only severe COPD is associated with being underweight: Results from a population survey
- 2016
-
Ingår i: ERS Monograph. - Sheffield : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 2312-508X. ; 2:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Low body mass index (BMI) and malnutrition in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with a poor prognosis. The prevalence of underweight, as well as overweight, in severity grades of COPD is sparsely investigated in studies of the general population and the associated patterns of risk factors are not well established. The aim of the present study was to determine the association between severity grades of airflow limitation in COPD, and both underweight and obesity when corrected for possible confounding factors. The study is based on pooled data from the OLIN (Obstructive Lung Disease in Northern Sweden) studies. Complete records with lung function, BMI and structured interview data were available from 3942 subjects (50.7% women and 49.3% men). COPD and severity grading were defined using the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease criteria. In sensitivity analyses, the lower limit of normal was used. The prevalence of underweight was 7.3% in severe COPD (grades 3 and 4) versus 2.0% in those with normal spirometry. The prevalence of obesity increased from 9.7% in grade 1, to 16.3% in grade 2 and 20.0% in severe COPD, versus 17.7% in those with normal spirometry. In adjusted analysis, of the COPD severity grades, only severe COPD was associated with underweight (OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.0004–10.5), while the COPD severity grades tended to be inversely associated with overweight. © ERS 2016.
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| 43. |
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| 44. |
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| 45. |
- Gardelli, Viktor, et al.
(författare)
-
Coherentism as a foundation for ethical dialog and evaluation in school : value communication, assessment and mediation
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Educating for complex thinking through philosophical inquiry. Models, advances, and proposals for the new millennium.. - Padova : Liguori. - 9788820757113 ; , s. 197-208
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we are mainly concerned with coherentism as an approach to ethical dialog in school. We have two different but connected aims with the paper. The first aim is to say something about general philosophical questions relating to coherentism as a theory in metaethics, and especially in relation to value education; the second aim is to explore some possible implications of coherentism as a method in studying the enterprise of discussing ethical issues and questions with children as well as the study of the actual ethical discussion in school. Furthermore, we evaluate the connection between a coherentistic approach to justification and the methodological parts of a Philosophy with Children, or Community of Inquiry, approach to ethics in school. Related to this, we scrutinize what implications this has for evaluating ethical learning within Philosophy with Children, or Community of Inquiry, as well as implications for evaluation of the Philosophy with Children, or Community of Inquiry, approaches as methods for dealing with ethical matters in school.
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| 46. |
- Gardelli, Viktor, et al.
(författare)
-
Coherentism as a foundation for ethical dialog and evaluation in school : value communication, assessment and mediation
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Educating for complex thinking through philosophical inquiry. - Padova : Liguori. ; , s. 13 s.-
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this paper, we are mainly concerned with coherentism as an approach to ethical dialog in school. We have two different but connected aims with the paper. The first aim is to say something about general philosophical questions relating to coherentism as a theory in metaethics, and especially in relation to value education; the second aim is to explore some possible implications of coherentism as a method in studying the enterprise of discussing ethical issues and questions with children as well as the study of the actual ethical discussion in school. Furthermore, we evaluate the connection between a coherentistic approach to justification and the methodological parts of a Philosophy with Children, or Community of Inquiry, approach to ethics in school. Related to this, we scrutinize what implications this has for evaluating ethical learning within Philosophy with Children, or Community of Inquiry, as well as implications for evaluation of the Philosophy with Children, or Community of Inquiry, approaches as methods for dealing with ethical matters in school.
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| 47. |
- Gardelli, Viktor, et al.
(författare)
-
Ethics in school : a study of the foundation and methods for value communication
- 2009
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article is about a coming project concerning a coherentist approach to ethics in school. The project has two main parts; one theoretical and one empirical. The former focuses on philosophical problems and issues concerning coherentism as a metaethical position in general, and particularly when applied to the field of value education, and the latter aims to study some consequences of a coherentist approach to the study of discussing ethical matters with children.Metaethical coherentism is a position in the discussion about justification of moral judgements. According to coherentism, we build some kind of web in which different moral judgements are connected by some justification‐relation or the like. Some judgements might be more central than others, but these can be justified by the more particular and peripheral ones, and vice versa. Coherentism differs from foundationalism, according to which there are some foundational judgements that are not justified by any other judgements. The rest of our judgements are justified if they are justified by this foundation. We wish to study what benefits a coherentist approach might have in the study of ethical discussions in school. In Sweden, the educational system has as one of its main purposes to mediate a "value foundation" based on "Christian ethical tradition and western humanism" to the pupils. Suppose now that you have a foundationalist approach to ethical discussion in schools, as many seem to have had historically, and that some pupil expresses the judgement that some of his classmates have a lower value than him, due to the colour of their skin. This judgement conflicts with the judgement that the colour of ones skin does not have any bearing of ones value, included in the value foundation of the school. According to a foundationalist, we here have a conflict between foundational values, or so we can suppose. In this case, there is nothing obvious to do to resolve this conflict, because the foundational values cannot be justified; it is supposed that we simply realise the correctness of them by our moral intuition, or the like. A coherentist, on the other side, could point to how these two different judgements gain different amount of justification from other judgements, and thereby hopefully find consensus, and hence dissolve the conflict.Coherentism is not theoretically unproblematic, though. One problem is how to understand the justification‐relation. What does it mean that two propositions justify each other? Philosophers have discussed several different proposals. We give a new proposal, based on some of Arne Naess' theories. With regard to methods for ethical discussion in relation to a coherentistic approach, it seems as a "philosophy with children" approach will seem as a natural choice.
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| 48. |
- Gardelli, Viktor, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
-
’You Talk and Try to Think, Together’ - A Case Study of a Student Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Participating in Philosophical Dialogues
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Childhood & Philosophy. - : State University of Rio de Janeiro. - 2525-5061 .- 1984-5987. ; 19, s. 1-28
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present results from a single case study based on semi-structured interviews with a student (a boy in school year 3) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and his school staff after participating in a short and small-scale intervention carried out in a socio-economically disadvantaged Swedish elementary school in 2019. The student participated in a seven week long long intervention with a total of 12 philosophical dialogues (ranging from 45 to 60 minutes). Two facilitators, both with years of facilitation experience and teacher degree and at least BA in philosophy, facilitated the majority of the dialogues, mainly followed a ”routine” procedure. The student was interviewed in direct connection to the end of the intervention about his experiences from the dialogues and his perceptions about wether and how the dialogues had influenced him. The student’s two teachers, who had participated in the dialogues as participants, were interviewed as a pair, also in direct connection to the end of the intervention, while the school principal was interviewed two years after the study. These staff interviews concerned the staff’s experiences of the influence of the dialogues on the students within the intervention as well as transfer effects to other contexts in school. The data from the study include detailed elaborations from a student perspective of different effects on the student’s communicative and cognitive development, which are in several respects supported also by staff reports. The results show that the student was able, interested, and willing to participate in philosophical dialogues, and our data point to several positive outcomes for the student in the communicative and cognitive domains.
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| 49. |
- Golriz, Mohammad R., et al.
(författare)
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Influence of fluidization velocity on bed defluidization in fluidized bed combustors
- 2005
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Fluidized Bed Combustion. - New York : American Society of Mechanical Engineers. ; , s. 551-556
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Effects of superficial gas velocity and bed particle size on bed defluidization during biomass combustion were investigated. Sampled bed particles from four different large-scale circulating- and bubbling fluidized bed combustors, using biomass as fuel, were collected and analyzed. The bed particles from each fluidized bed unit were divided into small and large particle size fractions. The results indicate no significant difference in elemental compositions between small and large coated bed particles but the ratio of coating thickness to the mean particle diameter was higher for the small particles compared to the large ones. Controlled fluidized bed agglomeration tests revealed strong influence from fluidization velocity on initial defluidization temperatures at lower velocities, but little effect at higher velocities. Influence of bed particle size on initial defluidization temperature varied depending on operating conditions. Finally, a model based on viscous flow sintering is proposed for the relation between agglomeration temperature and superficial gas velocity. The model predictions are in good agreement with experimental data.
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| 50. |
- Hagman, Henrik, 1980-
(författare)
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Co-firing animal waste, sludge, residue wood, peat and forest fuels in a 50MWth CFB boiler : ash transformation, availability and process improvements
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The direct variable costs for heat and electricity production based on solid biomass fuel combustion is approximately 3-5 times lower than the costs in a fossil fuel-oil based boiler in Sweden. In addition waste derived biomass fuels are typically much cheaper than biomass not classified as waste. The introduction of the waste derived fuels; wastewater treatment sludge, demolition wood, and animal waste in a 50MWth circulating fluidized bed (CFB) biomass boiler located in Perstorp, Sweden, led to rapid deposit buildup in superheaters, heavy ash accumulation in economizers and failing boiler tubes and vortex finders that forced frequent boiler shutdowns. This in turn increased the use of expensive oil (fossil fuel) in backup boilers and the CO2 footprint of the on-site energy conversion system. This work aims to increase the general mechanistic understanding of combustion systems using complex fuels, and includes: A mapping of the boiler failure and preventive maintenance statistics; elemental composition analysis of ash, deposits and fuel fractions; flue-gas composition measurements; chemical speciation analysis; an attempt to describe the overall ash transformation reactions and mass balance throughout the combustion process. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used to analyze the elemental composition of ash and deposits. The SEM-EDS results were used together with data from X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis, thermodynamic phase data, and equilibrium calculations in an attempt to quantify the crystalline phases and the overall ash transformation of the process. Based on the findings concerning ash transformation and the failure statistics, it has been possible to identify generic key parameters regarding boiler design and process parameters, enabling major improvements of the CFB boiler availability, a lower overall energy conversion cost and a reduced CO2 footprint.
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