| 1. |
- Adolfsson, Rolf
(författare)
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Documentation of data on landfills
- 2004
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this report some vital data on landfills, used in Sweden’s greenhouse gas inventory to the UNFCCC, are controlled according to current guidelines. Quality aspects of historic surveys on deposited wastes are considered and compared over time. Plant specific data on recovered methane gas from landfills have been scanned into a database, which has been used as a tool for quality control.Despite of some minor differences, the historic quantities of deposited wastes seem to be consistently estimated. There seem to be no systematic differences between the surveys with data on deposited waste amounts, but the variability in the earliest surveys is probably greater.Data on recovered methane are accurate in general, since they mainly depend on sold energy; information that is well documented at the plants. Some unexplained deviations are however identified, when comparing the plant specific values over time. In some cases, it may be possible to increase the quality of the data by renewed contacts with the respondents. Much data were however collected some years back in time, which probably will make a systematic revision of the data unrealistic. A revision of a few values would probably only have minor impacts on the total amount of recovered methane. In the future, the quality of data input could be improved, by immediate consistency checks with older data. The collected data could be stored in a waste database, such as DIA (a database created within the project Data om hushållsavfall), to simplify this procedure.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Chotai, Jayanti, et al.
(författare)
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A dual vulnerability hypothesis for seasonal depression is supported by the seasonal pattern assessment questionnaire in relation to the temperament and character inventory of personality in a general population.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Affective Disorders. - : Elsevier BV. - 0165-0327 .- 1573-2517. ; 82:1, s. 61-70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Personality structure obtained from the psychobiological Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was studied in relation to self-reported seasonal variations in mood and behavior measured by the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). METHODS: The subjects comprised 1761 adults (57.6% women) in the age range 35-85 years, enrolled in the Betula prospective random cohort study of Umea, Sweden. RESULTS: Personality profiles of subjects who reported the occurrence of a high degree of seasonal variation as such were associated with a combination of high self-transcendence (ST) and high persistence (PS), irrespective of the level of harm avoidance (HA). Subjects who reported feeling worst in winter were associated with high HA, irrespective of the levels of ST and PS. Also, subjects feeling worst in summer or experiencing overall problems with seasonal variation were associated with high HA in their personality profiles. Using the SPAQ criteria to define seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or subsyndromal SAD (S-SAD), subjects with these disorders often had combinations of high self-transcendence (ST) and high persistence (PS), but with different associations with HA. LIMITATIONS: No evaluations were made for SAD or subsyndromal SAD according to the DSM-IV or ICD 10 criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Our results relating SPAQ with TCI give support for a dual vulnerability hypothesis for seasonal depression proposed in the literature, where it is attributed to a combination of a seasonal factor and a depression factor. Examining the literature regarding the relationships between the different TCI scales and monoamine neurotransmitter functions, those relationships suggest that these two vulnerability factors for seasonal depression may be modulated by different neurotransmitter systems.
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| 4. |
- Chotai, Jayanti, et al.
(författare)
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An epidemiological study on gender differences in self-reported seasonal changes in mood and behaviour in a general population of northern Sweden.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0803-9488 .- 1502-4725. ; 58:6, s. 429-37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gender differences have been reported regarding symptoms, prevalence and heritability of seasonal affective disorders (SAD). We focus on gender aspects in this study of self-reported seasonal changes in mood and behaviour in a general population. The Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) was completed by 2620 adults (55.6% women) aged 35-85 years, enrolled in the Betula prospective random cohort study of Umeå, Sweden. October to February turned out to be suitable winter months. SAD was found in 2.2% and sub-syndromal SAD (S-SAD) in 5.7%. Women had about 1.5 times higher prevalences than men, and seasonality problems decreased with age in both genders. Preference for eating least was distributed with a peak in summer, whereas preference for eating most had a major peak in winter (winter eaters) and a minor peak in summer (summer eaters). Significantly more of winter eaters in women, and significantly more of summer eaters in men, felt worst in winter. Seasonal change in weight was considered significantly as a problem by women but not by men. Winter behaviour of sleeping most was considered significantly as a problem by men but not by women. Women reacted significantly to temperature-related changes (negatively to cold/short days and positively to hot/long days), whereas men reacted significantly to sunshine-related changes (negatively to cloudy days and positively to sunny days). Subtle gender differences may thus underlie the pathophysiology of seasonal problems. Studies of an eventual efficacy of treating SAD women with raised ambient temperature, and gender-specific comparisons with other therapies, would be of interest.
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| 5. |
- Chotai, Jayanti, et al.
(författare)
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Converging evidence suggests that monoamine neurotransmitter turnover in human adults is associated with their season of birth.
- 2002
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Ingår i: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0940-1334 .- 1433-8491. ; 252:3, s. 130-4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Separate studies on adults, including those in suicidology and another regarding personality in the general population, have indicated associations with their season of birth. We analyse each of these studies by multiple nonlinear regression employing a cosine function for the month of birth, and compare these studies regarding the birth months giving the maxima and minima. The method of suicide in suicide studies shows a significant month-of-birth variation similar to that for the serotonin metabolite 5-HIAA in the separate study on cerebrospinal fluid, with a peak around the birth month September and a nadir around birth in March. When comparing the personality study with the study on cerebrospinal fluid, the trait novelty seeking varies similar to that for the dopamine metabolite HVA or the norepinephrine metabolite MHPG, and the trait reward dependence varies similar to that for HVA. The trait self-transcendence varies similar to the ratio of the dopamine and serotonin metabolites. Dopamine turnover in adults thus shows a peak around the birth months November-December, and a nadir around the birth months May-June, suggesting a possible involvement of the length of photoperiod during their perinatal period. These results provide strong evidence for the influence of season of birth on adult monoamine neurotransmitter turnover, and give further support for the monoaminergic modulation of the temperament and character traits.
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| 6. |
- Chotai, Jayanti, et al.
(författare)
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Season of birth variations in the temperament and character inventory of personality in a general population.
- 2001
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Ingår i: Neuropsychobiology. - 0302-282X .- 1423-0224. ; 44:1, s. 19-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Since several studies show season of birth variations in morbidity, suicidal behavior and CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) monoamine metabolites, we investigated season of birth variations in personality in the population. METHODS: We analyzed by multiple logistic regressions the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) for 2,130 individuals taking part in the Betula prospective random cohort study of Umeå, Sweden. RESULTS: The personality dimensions were correlated significantly with age and gender. We stratified the data according to age, gender and the season of TCI measurement. By the median split in each stratum, a high-value group and a low-value group were obtained for each of the personality dimensions. Those born during February to April were significantly more likely than those born during October to January to have high NS (novelty seeking) among women, particularly the subscale NS2 (impulsiveness vs. reflection), and to have high PS (persistence) among men. Temperament profiles also showed season of birth variations. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss the associations in the literature between personality and the monoamines serotonin and dopamine, and suggest that our results are compatible with a hypothesis of season of birth variation in the monoamine turnover. The personality traits are likely to be influenced by several genetic and environmental factors, one of them being the season of birth.
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| 7. |
- Chotai, Jayanti, et al.
(författare)
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The Temperament Scale of Novelty Seeking in adolescents shows an association with season of birth opposite to that in adults.
- 2002
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Ingår i: Psychiatry Research. - 0165-1781 .- 1872-7123. ; 111:1, s. 45-54
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated the relationship between season of birth and the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory of Personality (Junior TCI, JTCI) in adolescents. The Temperament Scale of Novelty Seeking (NS) is significantly higher for females born during October-January as compared to females born otherwise. This association is opposite to that obtained earlier for adults. For both genders pooled, NS is significantly higher for those born during October-March compared to April-September. This association is also found when examining the data for those of age up to 18 years in a third independent study on the age range 11-81 years with the adult TCI. There is a greater tendency for exploration and risk-taking behavior as the child individuates from the family. Our study suggests that the effects of such environmental and developmental changes on personality are different in those born during October-March as compared to those born during April-September. The former show a higher rise in NS during adolescence and a steeper fall in NS during the years of adulthood, compared to the latter. Dopamine turnover is likely associated with NS, and the mutually inhibitory systems of dopamine and melatonin are the paracrine signals of day and night, respectively. Thus, the maternal entrainment of these systems during the prenatal period, or the postnatal environmental influence on these systems, may be different for those born during the short photoperiod of October-March as compared to those born during the long photoperiod part of the year.
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| 8. |
- de Frias, Cindy M, et al.
(författare)
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COMT gene polymorphism is associated with declarative memory in adulthood and old age.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Behavior genetics. - New York : Kluwer Academic Publishers. - 0001-8244 .- 1573-3297. ; 34:5, s. 533-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Variation in memory performance is to a large extent explained by genes. In the prefrontal cortex, the catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene is essential in the metabolic degradation of dopamine, a neurotransmitter implicated in cognitive functions. The present study examined the effect of a polymorphism in the COMT gene on individual differences and changes in memory in adulthood and old age. Tests assessing episodic and semantic memory were administered to 286 men (initially aged 35-85 years) from a random sample of the population (i.e., the Betula prospective cohort study) at two occasions followed over a 5-year period. Carriers of the Met/Met genotype (with low enzyme activity) performed better on episodic and semantic memory, as compared to carriers of the Val allele (with higher enzyme activity). Division of episodic memory into its recall and recognition components showed that the difference was specific to episodic recall, not recognition tasks; an effect that was observed across three age groups (middle-age, young-old, and old-old adults) and over a 5-year period. The COMT gene is a plausible candidate gene for memory functioning in adulthood and old age.
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| 9. |
- Johansson, Carolina, et al.
(författare)
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Seasonal affective disorder and the G-protein beta-3-subunit C825T polymorphism
- 2004
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Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - New York : Elsevier. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 55:3, s. 317-319
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) have been implicated in affective disorders, with reports of altered signal transduction and G-protein levels. Association with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) has been found for the higher activity T-allele of the G-protein beta-3-subunit C825T polymorphism.Methods. European SAD patients (n = 159) and matched controls (n = 159) were genotyped for the C825T. Seasonality and diurnal preference were investigated in subsets of the material (n = 177 and 92, respectively).Results. We found no association between C825T and SAD (chi(2) = .09, p = .96) or seasonality (F = 1.76, p = .18). There was some evidence for an effect on diurnal preference but only in the control group (n = 46, t = - 2.8, Bonferroni corrected p = .045).Conclusions: These results suggest that the G-protein beta-3-subunit 825 T-allele does not play a major role in susceptibility to seasonal affective disorder in the population studied.
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| 10. |
- Karlsson, Thomas, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Primed word-fragment completion and successive memory test performance in normal aging
- 2003
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. - : Wiley. - 0036-5564 .- 1467-9450. ; 44:4, s. 355-361
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Young and old subjects were investigated to examine whether: the effects of priming are influenced by aging there is independence between primed word-fragment completion and recognition performances, and the dependence between different tests is influenced by aging. A successive test paradigm was employed involving repeated assessment of to-be-remembered words by means of recognition and primed word-fragment completion. The results show that implicit memory declines with increasing age, and that correlations between different memory tests decrease with age. The outcome suggests that age-related memory decline involves several forms of memory, including primed word-fragment completion, and is reflected in correlations between measures of implicit and explicit memory.
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