| 1. |
- Hart Reeve, Andrew, et al.
(författare)
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The formation of the Indo-Pacific montane avifauna
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The processes generating the earth’s montane biodiversity remain a matter of debate. Two contrasting hypotheses have been advanced to explain how montane populations form: via direct colonization from other mountains, or, alternatively, via upslope range shifts from adjacent lowland areas. We seek to reconcile these apparently conflicting hypotheses by asking whether a species’ ancestral geographic origin determines its mode of mountain colonization. Island-dwelling passerine birds at the faunal crossroads between Eurasia and Australo-Papua provide an ideal study system. We recover the phylogenetic relationships of the region’s montane species and reconstruct their ancestral geographic ranges, elevational ranges, and migratory behavior. We also perform genomic population studies of three super-dispersive montane species/clades with broad island distributions. Eurasian-origin species populated archipelagos via direct colonization between mountains. This mode of colonization appears related to ancestral adaptations to cold and seasonal climates, specifically short-distance migration. Australo-Papuan-origin mountain populations, by contrast, evolved from lowland ancestors, and highland distribution mostly precludes their further colonization of island mountains. Our study explains much of the distributional variation within a complex biological system, and provides a synthesis of two seemingly discordant hypotheses for montane community formation.
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| 2. |
- Ahlström, Christer, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of Suspected Aortic Stenosis by Auto Mutual Information Analysis of Murmurs
- 2007
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Ingår i: Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2007. EMBS 2007. - 9781424407873 ; , s. 1945-1948
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mild sclerotic thickening of the aortic valve affects 25% of the population, and the condition causes aortic valve stenosis (AS) in 2% of adults above 65 years. Echocardiography is today the clinical standard for assessing AS. However, a cost effective and uncomplicated technique that can be used for decision support in the primary health care would be of great value. In this study, recorded phonocardiographic signals were analyzed using the first local minimum of the auto mutual information (AMI) function. The AMI method measures the complexity in the sound signal, which is related to the amount of turbulence in the blood flow and thus to the severity of the stenosis. Two previously developed phonocardiographic methods for assessing AS severity were used for comparison, the murmur energy ratio and the sound spectral averaging technique. Twenty-nine patients with suspected AS were examined with Doppler echocardiography. The aortic jet velocity was used as a reference of AS severity, and it was found to correlate with the AMI method, the murmur energy ratio and the sound spectral averaging technique with the correlation coefficient R = 0.82, R = 0.73 and R = 0.76, respectively.
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| 3. |
- Ahlström, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Feature Extraction for Systolic Heart Murmur Classification
- 2006
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Ingår i: Annals of Biomedical Engineering. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0090-6964 .- 1573-9686. ; 34:11, s. 1666-1677
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Heart murmurs are often the first signs of pathological changes of the heart valves, and they are usually found during auscultation in the primary health care. Distinguishing a pathological murmur from a physiological murmur is however difficult, why an “intelligent stethoscope” with decision support abilities would be of great value. Phonocardiographic signals were acquired from 36 patients with aortic valve stenosis, mitral insufficiency or physiological murmurs, and the data were analyzed with the aim to find a suitable feature subset for automatic classification of heart murmurs. Techniques such as Shannon energy, wavelets, fractal dimensions and recurrence quantification analysis were used to extract 207 features. 157 of these features have not previously been used in heart murmur classification. A multi-domain subset consisting of 14, both old and new, features was derived using Pudil’s sequential floating forward selection (SFFS) method. This subset was compared with several single domain feature sets. Using neural network classification, the selected multi-domain subset gave the best results; 86% correct classifications compared to 68% for the first runner-up. In conclusion, the derived feature set was superior to the comparative sets, and seems rather robust to noisy data.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Alexander, Shovsky, 1978-
(författare)
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Polyelectrolyte complexes of bottle brush copolymers : Solution and adsorption properties
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis work was to systematically investigate the physico-chemical properties of polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) formed by bottle brush and linear polyelectrolytes in solution and at solid / liquid interfaces. Electrostatic self-assembly of oppositely charged macromolecules in aqueous solution is a versatile strategy to construction of functional nanostructures with easily controlled properties. Bottle brush architecture, introduced into the PEC, generates a number of distinctive properties of the complexes, related to a broad range of application, such as colloidal stability and protein repellency to name a few. To utilize these materials in a wide range of applications e.g. drug delivery, the understanding of the effects of polymer architecture and solution parameters on the properties of bottle brush PECs is of paramount importance. This thesis constitutes a systematic investigation of PECs formed by a series of cationic bottle-brush polyelectrolytes and a series of anionic linear polyelectrolytes in aqueous solution. The focus of the first part of the thesis was primarily on formation and characterization of PECs in solution, whereas the adsorption properties and adsorption kinetics of bottle-brush polyelectrolytes and their complexes was investigated in the second part of the thesis work. In particular, effects of the side-chain density of the bottlebrush polyelectrolyte, concentration, mixing ratio and molecular weigh of the linearpolyelectrolyte on formation, solution properties, stability and adsorption of PECs were addressed. The pronounced effect of the side-chain density of the bottle-brush polyelectrolyte on the properties of stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric PECs was demonstrated. Formation of PECs by bottle-brush copolymers with high density of side-chains results in small, watersoluble, molecular complexes having nonspherical shape, independent of concentration. Whereas formation of PEC-aggregates was revealed by bottle-brush polyelectrolytes with low side chain density, the level of aggregation in these complexes is controlled by polyelectrolyte concentration. The structure of the PECs formed with low molecular weight polyanions is consistent with the picture that several small linear polyelectrolyte molecules associate with the large bottle-brush. In contrast, when complexation occurs between polyanions of high molecular weigh and the bottle-brush polymers considerably larger PECs are formed, consistent with several bottle-brush polymers associating with one high molecular weight polyanion.
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Per, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Folkhögskolor, funktionsnedsättningar och specialpedagogik
- 2015
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Detta paper presenterar kvantitativa resultat från en kartläggning av folkhögskolans deltagargrupper över tid 1997-2013 vad gäller deltagare som kategoriserats i olika funktionshinderområden, och från en enkät till landets folkhögskolor kring hur de arbetar med och ser på lärmiljön i relation till olika funktionsnedsättningar hos deltagarna.
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| 7. |
- Angelescu, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Adsorption of Branched-Linear Polyethyleneimine-Ethylene Oxide Conjugate on Hydrophilic Silica Investigated by Ellipsometry and Monte Carlo Simulations
- 2011
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Ingår i: Langmuir. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0743-7463 .- 1520-5827. ; 27:16, s. 9961-9971
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The adsorption of and conformation adopted by a branched-linear polymer conjugate to the hydrophilic silica aqueous solution interface have been studied by in situ null ellipsornetry and Monte Carlo simulations. The conjugate is a highly branched polyethyleneimine structure with ethyleneoxide chains grafted to its primary and secondary amino groups. In situ null ellipsometry demonstrated that the polymer conjugate adsorbs to the silica surface from water and aqueous solution of 1 mM asymmetric divalent salt (calcium and magnesium chloride to emulate hard water) over a large pH range. The adsorbed amount is hardly affected by pH and large charge reversal on the negatively charged silica surface occurred at pH = 4.0, due to the adsorption of the cationic polyelectrolyte. The Monte Carlo simulations using an appropriate coarse-grained model of the polymer in solution predicted a core shell structure with no sharp boundary between the ethyleneimine and ethyleneoxide moieties. The structure at the interface is similar to that in solution when the polymer degree of protonation is low or moderate while at high degree of protonation the strong electrostatic attraction between the ethyleneimine core and oppositely charged silica surface distorts the ethyleneoxide shell so that an "anemone"-like configuration is adopted. The adsorption of alkyl benzene sulfonic acid (LAS) to a preadsorbed polymer layer was also investigated by null ellipsometry. The adsorption data brought additional support for the existence of a strong polymer adsorption and showed the presence of a binding which was further enhanced by the decreased solvency of the surfactant in the salt solution and confirmed the surface charge reversal by the polymer adsorption at pH = 4.0.
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| 8. |
- Arvidsson, Sandra, 1986-
(författare)
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Cardiac function in hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis : an echocardiographic study
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) is a lethal disease in which misfolded transthyretin (TTR) proteins accumulate as insoluble aggregates in tissues throughout the body. A common mutation is the exchange of valine to methionine at place 30 (TTR V30M), a form endemically found in the northern parts of Sweden. The main treatment option for ATTR amyloidosis is liver transplantation as the procedure halts production of mutated transthyretin. The disease is associated with marked phenotypic diversity ranging from predominant cardiac complications to pure neuropathy. Two different types of fibril composition – one in which both fragmented and full-length TTR are present (type A) and one consisting of only full-length TTR (type B) have been suggested to account for some phenotypic differences. Cardiac amyloidosis is associated with increased myocardial thickness and the disease could easily be mistaken for other entities characterised by myocardial thickening, such as sarcomeric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The aims in this thesis were to investigate echocardiographic characteristics in Swedish ATTR amyloidosis patients, and to identify markers aiding in differentiating ATTR heart disease from HCM. Another objective was to examine the impact of fibril composition and sex on the phenotypic variation in amyloid heart disease.Methods: A total of 122 ATTR amyloidosis patients that had undergone thorough echocardiographic examinations were included in the studies. Analyses of ventricular geometry as well as assessment of systolic and diastolic function were performed, using both conventional echocardiographic methods and speckle tracking technique. ECG analysis was conducted in study I, allowing measurement of QRS voltage. In study I and study II ATTR patients were compared to patients with HCM. In addition, 30 healthy controls were added to study II.Results: When parameters from ECG and echocardiography were investigated, the results revealed that the combination of QRS voltage <30 mm (<3 mV) and an interventricular/posterior wall thickness quotient <1.6 could differentiate cardiac ATTR amyloidosis from HCM. Differences in degree of right ventricular involvement were also demonstrated between HCM and ATTR amyloidosis, where ATTR patients displayed a right ventricular apical sparing pattern whereas the inverse pattern was found in HCM. Analysis of fibril composition revealed increased LV wall thickness in type A patients compared to type B, but in addition type A women displayed both lower myocardial thickness and more preserved systolic function as compared to type A males. When cardiac geometry and function were evaluated pre and post liver transplantation in type A and B patients, significant deterioration was detected in type A but not in type B patients after liver transplantation.Conclusions: Increasing awareness of typical cardiac amyloidotic signs by echocardiography is important to reduce the risk of delayed diagnosis. Our classification model based on ECG and echocardiography could aid in differentiating ATTR amyloidosis from HCM. Furthermore, the apical sparing pattern found in the right ventricle may pose another clue for amyloid heart disease, although it requires to be studied further. Furthermore, we disclosed that type A fibrils, male sex and increasing age were important determinants of increased myocardial thickness. As type A fibril patients displayed rapid cardiac deterioration after liver transplantation other treatment options should probably be sought for this group of patients.
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| 9. |
- Bain, C. D., et al.
(författare)
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Complexes of surfactants with oppositely charged polymers at surfaces and in bulk
- 2010
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Ingår i: Advances in Colloid and Interface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0001-8686 .- 1873-3727. ; 155:1-2, s. 32-49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Addition of surfactants to aqueous solutions of polyelectrolytes carrying an opposite charge causes the spontaneous formation of complexes in the bulk phase in certain concentration ranges. Under some conditions, compact monodisperse multichain complexes are obtained in the bulk. The size of these complexes depends on the mixing procedure and it can be varied in a controlled way from nanometers up to micrometers. The complexes exhibit microstructures analoguous to those of the precipitates formed at higher concentrations. In other cases, however, the bulk complexes are large, soft and polydisperse. In most cases, the dispersions are only kinetically stable and exhibit pronounced non-equilibrium features. Association at air-water interfaces readily occurs, even at very small concentrations. When the surfactant concentration is small, the surface complexes are usually made of a surfactant monolayer to which the polymer binds and adsorbs in a flat-like configuration. However, under some conditions, thicker layers can be found, with bulk complexes sticking to the surface. The association at solid-water interfaces is more complex and depends on the specific interactions between surfactants, polymers and the surface. However, the behaviour can be understood if distinctions between hydrophilic surfaces and hydrophobic surfaces are made. Note that the behaviour at air-water interfaces is closer to that of hydrophobic than that of hydrophilic solid surfaces. The relation between bulk and surface complexation will be discussed in this review. The emphasis will be given to the results obtained by the teams of the EC-funded Marie Curie RTN "SOCON".
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| 10. |
- Bengtsson, Magnus Wilhelm, 1977-
(författare)
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Effects of Orexins, Guanylins and Feeding on Duodenal Bicarbonate Secretion and Enterocyte Intracellular Signaling
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The duodenal epithelium secretes bicarbonate ions and this is regarded as the primary defence mechanism against the acid discharged from the stomach. For an efficient protection, the duodenum must also function as a sensory organ identifying luminal factors. Enteroendocrine cells are well-established intestinal “taste” cells that express signaling peptides such as orexins and guanylins. Luminal factors affect the release of these peptides, which may modulate the activity of nearby epithelial and neural cells.The present thesis considers the effects of orexins and guanylins on duodenal bicarbonate secretion. The duodenal secretory response to the peptides was examined in anaesthetised rats in situ and the effects of orexin-A on intracellular calcium signaling by human as well as rat duodenal enterocytes were studied in vitro.Orexin-A, guanylin and uroguanylin were all stimulants of bicarbonate secretion. The stimulatory effect of orexin-A was inhibited by the OX1-receptor selective antagonist SB-334867. The muscarinic antagonist atropine on the other hand, did not affect the orexin-A-induced secretion, excluding involvement of muscarinic receptors. Orexin-A induced calcium signaling in isolated duodenocytes suggesting a direct effect at these cells. Interestingly, orexin-induced secretion and calcium signaling as well as mucosal orexin-receptor mRNA and OX1-receptor protein levels were all substantially downregulated in overnight fasted rats compared with animals with continuous access to food. Further, secretion induced by Orexin-A was shown to be dependent on an extended period of glucose priming.The uroguanylin-induced bicarbonate secretion was reduced by atropine suggesting involvement of muscarinic receptors. The melatonin receptor antagonist luzindole attenuated the secretory response to intra-arterially administered guanylins but had no effect on secretion when the guanylins were given luminally. In conclusion, the results suggest that orexin-A as well as guanylins may participate in the regulation of duodenal bicarbonate secretion. Further, the duodenal orexin system is dependent on the feeding status of the animals.
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| 11. |
- Boija, Per Olov, et al.
(författare)
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Hypovolaemic stress induced glycogenolysis, isolated liver perfusion study
- 1987
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Ingår i: Research in experimental medicine. - : Springer. - 0300-9130 .- 1433-8580. ; 187:5, s. 315-322
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intrinsic hepatic glycogenolysis was examined after hypovolemic stress. Hemorrhagic hypotension of 70 (P70) and 40 mm Hg (P40) for 60 min was inflicted for two postprandial groups and of 70 mm Hg (S70) in a 24-h starved group. The results were compared with three control groups; one postprandial (Pc), one 24-h starved (Sc), and one starved for 9 h (Sc: 9) to mimic the glycogen depletion produced by 70 mm Hg hemorrhagic hypotension. Glucose output was studied in vitro using av recirculating isolated liver perfusion system with a perfusate free of glucose and endocrine stimulation. Liver glycogen determination was made before perfusion start. Although the glycogen stores were decreased after hemorrhage glucose yield was increased (P70) and unchanged (P40) as compared to controls (Pc and Sc: 9). Both starved groups delivered small amounts of glucose, but the released fraction of the S70 group was more than twice that from the Sc group. These data suggest a liver enzyme activation with increased velocity of the enzymesubstrate reactions responsible for glycogen degradation, induced during in vivo hemorrhage and persisting for at least 30 min in vitro perfusion.
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
- Bruhn, Anders, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Emotional labour and emotional strain in late-modern prison work
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper explores emotional labour strategies among Swedish prison officers, and how these affect the emotional strain. Case studies of five Swedish prisons and a national survey of prison officers are used. Analysis indicates that prison officers perform complex emotional labour. Due to differences in subcultures and informal norms, the strategies officers use in managing their emotional display vary between wings and roles. Different strategies may also cause different kinds of emotional strain. Emotional surface acting may lead to cynicism and alienation tendencies, while deep acting may lead to stress and exhaustion.
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| 15. |
- Bruhn, Anders, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Farewell to Exceptionalism : An Analysis of Swedish Prisons Officers' Attitudes Towards Prison Policy, Organisation, and Their Occupational Rolen in 2009 and 2019
- 2024
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Ingår i: Prison Officers. - Cambridge : Palgrave Macmillan. - 9783031410604 - 9783031410611 - 9783031410635 ; , s. 325-348
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this chapter, we discuss changes in how Swedish prison officers experience their working conditions based on the results of a nationwide survey that was carried out on two occasions. 2009 and 2019. During the time that has elapsed between the first and second survey, a lot has happened in Sweden that has impacted on Swedish policy relatiing to crime and punishment, and also the working conditions experienced by prison officers. Growing violence and criminality in society has led to a continious ongoing competition between different political parties and camps towards tougher measures against crime. In prolongations of this "punitive turn", prison officers work tasks has increasingly changed in the direction of monitoring and security work at the expense of rehabilitative and motivational efforts. The result of our comparison between two populations of prison officers points to a substantially changed prison climate. At the same time, the organisational culture has become more homogeneous, but this has happened at the expense of a degradation of the occupational role of prison officers towards pure guardin and security work. Prisoin officer turnover is currently high in Sweden. People with aspirations to work with motivational and rehabilitative measures no longer seem to seek careers within the prison system, and those with long work experience do not expect development towards such work tasks at this point either.
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| 16. |
- Bruhn, Anders, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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From prison guards to… what? : Occupational development of prison officers in Sweden and Norway
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1404-3858 .- 1651-2340. ; 18:1, s. 68-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prison officers are a key group of civil servants in the criminal justice system. Based on a comparative study of the systems for vocationaleducation in Sweden and Norway, this article compares policies andstrategies for developing the prison officer occupation. Differencesin this domain are analysed against the backdrop of theories aboutprofessionalization and growing differences between these countriesconcerning the ends and means of prison policy in general. Datacome from interviews and documents collected in 2013–2014, aswell as a rereading of data from two earlier prison-research projects.Results show that Norway is adopting a strategy quite similar to theone behind the birth of the so-called welfare professions duringthe heyday of the social-democratic welfare state. In Sweden, thecontinuing division of labour is leading to enhanced skills amongsome specialized subgroups, such as security and programme staff,but a reduction in qualifications for the majority. The study should beof interest in relation to different strategies for developing the workof prison officers as well as of other categories of public servants.It points to growing differences between two welfare regimes thatused to be quite similar, not least concerning the prison policy field.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Bruhn, Anders, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Professionalization of prison officers in Sweden and Norway : two routes, two different goals?
- 2013
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper addresses the development of the prison officer occupation within two prison systems, often characterized as “penal welfare” systems, namely the Swedish and the Norwegian. Despite a common origin, the development in the last decades shows diverging tendencies. What are the signs of, and the strategies behind, this development? The paper is based on documents, interviews with key positioned persons in these organizations, and data from a recent research project. Results show that while the Norwegian prison officer training is developed towards a University degree, the Swedish one is shortened to 20 weeks and made more vocational. The Norwegian prison officer training is developing in accordance to a traditional professionalization strategy. The Swedish one is adjusted to security-differentiation of prisoners, and the running of treatment programs, and seems more aimed towards a kind of narrowed organizational skill. The Norwegian prison officer role has been developed close to prison research and with support of unions in a long-term perspective. The Swedish officer role suffers from political-level ad hoc-adjustments to public debate combined with short-termed cost savings inspired by New Public Management ideas.
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| 19. |
- Bruhn, Anders, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Professionalization of prison officers in Sweden and Norway : two routes, two different goals?
- 2014
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nordic prison policy has a reputation of beingliberal and progressive with rehabilitative efforts in prisons in a centralposition. Anglophone researchers have characterized this as a “Nordicexceptionalism” in comparison with the ongoing “penal excess” in their own countries. However, there are several important differences in prison policy and practice between the Nordic countries. Prison officers (PO) are the key actors and by far the biggest occupational group transforming penal policy into daily prison practice. In Sweden and Norway the strategies for developing this group are very different. The aim of this paper is to compare and analyse these strategies and how they are implemented. It is based on documents, interviews with key actors in and above the prison organizations, and data from recent research projects. Results show that the Norwegian prison officer recruitment and training is developing very much in accordance with a traditional strategy for transforming this occupational group into a profession. The main actor behind this has been the prison institute for research and education. In Sweden on the other hand development seems to go towards routinization and de-skilling, and at best a kind of differentiated and narrowed organizational professionalism. The Swedish officer role suffers from political-level ad hoc-initiatives combined with cost savings, and investments in security and rehab-programs based on “evidence based practice” run by special expertise.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
- Bruhn, Anders, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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The prison officer's dilemma : professional representations among Swedish prison officers
- 2010
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Ingår i: Les Dossiers des sciences de l'education. - Toulouse : Les Presses Universitaires du Mirail. - 1296-2104. ; 23:1, s. 77-93
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The article is based on a study of Swedish prison officers. We analyse two types of professional representations, that is, their collectively evolved knowledge. A point of departure is the existence of sub-cultural gaps between different groups of officers. Society’s contradictory aims with the prison system lead to a permanent dilemma in prison work between security and rehabilitation. This dilemma becomes evident in the professional representations studied. However, there are also some differences in relation to different sub-cultural belongings. In our analysis of how prison officers deal with the dilemma in everyday practice we develop three ideal types - the frustrated, the rigid and the flexible one.
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| 24. |
- Bruhn, Anders, 1953-, et al.
(författare)
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Treating Drug Abusers in Prison: Competing Paradigms Anchored in Different Welfare Ideologies : The Case of Sweden
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian penal history, culture and prison practice. - London : Palgrave Macmillan. - 9781137585288 ; , s. 177-204
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The number of prisoners in Sweden categorized as drug abusers have increased substantially in the last 20 years according to the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (SPPS). Drug abusers are defined by SPPS as those who have used illicit drugs during the previous 12 months (Ekbom et al. 2006). In 1970 about 20 % of the prisoners could be classified as drug abusers, while they made up 28 % of the prison population in 1997 (Amilon and Edstedt 1998). In 2010 the number of prisoners with drug problems had risen to 60 % (Ekbom et al. 2011). One reason for this increase may be the sentencing policy.
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| 25. |
- Brändström, Sven, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
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Further development of the Temperament and Character Inventory
- 2001
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Ingår i: Psychological Reports. - 0033-2941 .- 1558-691X. ; 93, s. 995-1002
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Temperament and Character Inventory is an internationally used personality questionnaire based on Cloninger’s psychobiological theory of personality. Given some limitations of Version 9 a revised version was developed. The structural equivalence of the two versions was demonstrated from a cross-cultural perspective with 309 and 173 healthy volunteers from Sweden and Germany, respectively, who completed both versions in one session. In testing for the replicability of the factors across both samples as well as across both versions, an orthogonal Procrustes rotation method was used. The reliability coefficients for the revision were higher than the former version for both samples. The factor structures of the inventory remain highly equivalent across cultures and across versions. The results indicate a cross-cultural transferability of the Temperament and Character dimensions of the inventory. The stability and the validity of the 7-factor model of personality, as suggested by Cloninger, are supported. The Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised represents an important and useful method for the assessment of personality.
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| 26. |
- Brändström, Sven, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
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Further development of the temperament and character inventory
- 2003
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Ingår i: Psychological Reports. - 0033-2941 .- 1558-691X. ; 93:3 II, s. 995-1002
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Temperament and Character Inventory is an internationally used personality questionnaire based on Cloninger's psychobiological theory of personality. Given some limitations of Version 9 a revised version was developed. The structural equivalence of the two versions was demonstrated from a cross-cultural perspective with 309 and 173 healthy volunteers from Sweden and Germany, respectively, who completed both versions in one session. In testing for the replicability of the factors across both samples as well as across both versions, an orthogonal Procrustes rotation method was used. The reliability coefficients for the revision were higher than the former version for both samples. The factor structures of the inventory remain highly equivalent across cultures and across versions. The results indicate a cross-cultural transferability of the Temperament and Character dimensions of the inventory. The stability and the validity of the 7-factor model of personality, as suggested by Cloninger, are supported. The Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised represents an important and useful method for the assessment of personality.
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| 27. |
- Brändström, Sven, 1952-
(författare)
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Personality and its complexity : An investigation of the Swedish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In former days the descriptions of personality were based on typologies, reflecting the view that people do not change over time and so have a stable, life-long personality type. Later on exclusive categories were created, but during recent times the understanding of personality has changed due to more dimensional and dynamic thinking.Cloninger’s personality theory integrates concepts and research findings from neuroanatomy, neurophysiology of behavior and learning, and from developmental, social and clinical psychology. It is postulated that the behavioural systems of temperament and character are related to two major neural systems for the adaptation of experiences on various levels. The continuous interaction between temperament and character affects the personality development in both directions; temperament impacts upon character and vice versa during life.The development of the TCI was founded on the development of the biosocial theory of personality, which in turn stimulated the further development of the theory. Unfortunately this theory-based approach is not commonly used in the development of personality measurements. The development of a personality questionnaire on the basis of the theory must be viewed as a significant challenge, and this prompted my interest in dealing with and learning more about this personality assessment method.The objectives of this thesis were a critical evaluation of Cloninger’s theory; a test of its applicability in psychiatric science; and an attempt to contribute to its development.The main findings of our investigations can be described as follows:The adaptation of the Swedish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was successful and the seven factor structure of Cloninger’s biopsychological theory of personality theory was mainly confirmed by the Swedish normative data and by cross-cultural comparisons between data from Germany, Sweden and the U.S.A.The results concerning internal consistency and factor structure further underline that the adult version of the TCI is unsuitable for use in adolescents before age of 17 years. For the adolescents the junior TCI is recommended.Furthermore temperament dimensions seem to be more stable over time compared to the character dimensions. The gender and age differences found suggest that both have to be taken into account in research and clinical application.The results from our studies suggested that the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) has to be evaluated as a useful tool within the process of validation of diagnosis of a Personality Disorder (PD), especially in clinical practice where it is often difficult to recognise all a patient’s personality disturbances during a short time. Use of the TCI is likely to improve understanding, classification, and subsequently the interpretations in clinical settings.
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| 28. |
- Brändström, Sven, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
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Swedish normative data on personality using the Temperament and Character Inventory
- 1998
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Ingår i: Comprehensive Psychiatry. - 0010-440X .- 1532-8384. ; 39:3, s. 122-128
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) is a self-report personality questionnaire based on Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality, which accounts for both normal and abnormal variation in the two major components of personality, temperament and character. Normative data for the Swedish TCI based on a representative Swedish sample of 1,300 adults are presented, and the psychometric properties of the questionnaire are discussed. The structure of the Swedish version replicates the American version well for the means, distribution of scores, and relationships within the between scales and subscales. Further, the Swedish inventory had a reliable factor structure and test-retest performance. The results of this study confirm the theory of temperament and character as a seven-factor model of personality.
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| 29. |
- Brändström, Sven, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
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The Swedish Version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) : A Cross-Validation of Age and Gender Influences
- 2008
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Ingår i: European Journal of Psychological Assessment. - : Hogrefe Publishing Group. - 1015-5759 .- 2151-2426. ; 24:1, s. 14-21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to establish new norms of the Swedish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), data from 2,209 Swedish individuals (age between 13 and 80) was analyzed. The second aim was to evaluate the impact of age and gender on the questionnaire scores. The third aim was to investigate whether the TCI can be meaningfully applied to adolescents in personality assessment as a basis for further research and clinical studies. Age and gender showed independent effects on personality dimensions, which implies that age and gender specific norms have to be established for the TCI. Furthermore, the results in terms of inconsistencies in the correlational and factorial structure, as well as low internal consistency scores in the younger age groups, suggest that the adult version of the TCI should not be applied below the age of 17; for these age groups we recommend the use of the junior TCI (JTCI). The inventory is under further development and several items are in need of revision in order to create less complicated formulations, enabling an improvement in the psychometrics.
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| 30. |
- Brändström, Sven, et al.
(författare)
-
The Swedish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI)
- 2008
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Psychological Assessment. - Göttingen : Hogrefe & Huber Publishers. - 1015-5759 .- 2151-2426. ; 24:1, s. 14-21
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to establish new norms of the Swedish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), data from 2,209 Swedish individuals (age between 13 and 80) was analyzed. The second aim was to evaluate the impact of age and gender on the questionnaire scores. The third aim was to investigate whether the TO can be meaningfully applied to adolescents in personality assessment as a basis for further research and clinical studies. Age and gender showed independent effects on personality dimensions, which implies that age and gender specific norms have to be established for the TCI. Furthermore, the results in terms of inconsistencies in the correlational and factorial structure, as well as low internal consistency scores in the younger age groups, suggest that the adult version of the TCI should not be applied below the age of 17; for these age groups we recommend the use of the junior TCI (JTCI). The inventory is under further development and several items are in need of revision in order to create less complicated formulations, enabling an improvement in the psychometrics.
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| 31. |
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| 32. |
- Carlsson, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of a susceptibility locus for migraine with and without aura on 6p12.2-p21.1
- 2002
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Ingår i: Neurology. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0028-3878 .- 1526-632X. ; 59:11, s. 1804-1807
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Migraine is the most common type of chronic episodic headache. To find novel susceptibility genes for familial migraine with and without aura, a genomewide screen was performed in a large family from northern Sweden. Evidence of linkage was obtained on chromosome 6p12.2-p21.1, with a maximum two-point lod score of 5.41 for marker D6S452. The patients with migraine shared a common haplotype of 10 Mb between markers D6S1650 and D6S1960.
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| 33. |
- Dalen, Love, et al.
(författare)
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Identifying Bird Remains Using Ancient DNA Barcoding
- 2017
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Ingår i: Genes. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4425. ; 8:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bird remains that are difficult to identify taxonomically using morphological methods, are common in the palaeontological record. Other types of challenging avian material include artefacts and food items from endangered taxa, as well as remains from aircraft strikes. We here present a DNA-based method that enables taxonomic identification of bird remains, even from material where the DNA is heavily degraded. The method is based on the amplification and sequencing of two short variable parts of the 16S region in the mitochondrial genome. To demonstrate the applicability of this approach, we evaluated the method on a set of Holocene and Late Pleistocene postcranial bird bones from several palaeontological and archaeological sites in Europe with good success.
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| 34. |
- Diwakarla, Shanti, et al.
(författare)
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Aryl Sulfonamide Inhibitors of Insulin-Regulated Aminopeptidase Enhance Spine Density in Primary Hippocampal Neuron Cultures
- 2016
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Ingår i: ACS Chemical Neuroscience. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7193. ; 7:10, s. 1383-1392
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The zinc metallopeptidase insulin regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP), which is highly expressed in the hippocampus and other brain regions associated with cognitive function, has been identified as a high-affinity binding site of the hexapeptide angiotensin IV (Ang IV). This hexapeptide is thought to facilitate learning and memory by binding to the catalytic site of IRAP to inhibit its enzymatic activity. In support of this hypothesis, low molecular weight, nonpeptide specific inhibitors of TRAP have been shown to enhance memory in rodent models. Recently, it was demonstrated that linear and macrocyclic Ang IV-derived peptides can alter the shape and increase the number of dendritic spines in hippocampal cultures, properties associated with enhanced cognitive performance. After screening a library of 10 500 drug like substances for their ability to inhibit IRAP, we identified a series of low molecular weight aryl sulfonamides, which exhibit no structural similarity to Ang IV, as moderately potent IRAP inhibitors:A structural and biological characterization of three of these aryl sulfonamides was performed. Their binding modes to human IRAP were explored by docking calculations combined with molecular dynamics simulations and binding affinity estimations using the linear interaction energy method. Two alternative binding modes emerged from this analysis, both of which correctly rank the ligands according to their experimental binding affinities for this series of compounds. Finally, we show that two of these drug-like IRAP inhibitors can alter dendritic spine morphology and increase spine density in primary cultures of hippocampal neurons.
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| 35. |
- Engström, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Bipolar disorder I. Temperament and character
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Affective Disorders. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 0165-0327 .- 1573-2517. ; 82:1, s. 131-134
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The nature of the relationship between personality and bipolar affective disorders is an important but unanswered question. Methods: We have studied personality in bipolar patients by using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). TCI were administered to 100 euthymic bipolar patients and 100 controls from the normal population.Results: Bipolar patients were significantly higher in harm avoidance (HA) and lower in reward dependence (RD), self-directedness (SD), and cooperativeness (CO) than controls. Bipolar patients are more fatigable, less sentimental, more independent, less purposeful, less resourceful, less empathic, less helpful, less pure-hearted, and have less impulse control than controls. Bipolar II patients are more impulsive, more fatigable, less resourceful, and have less impulse control than bipolar I patients.Limitations: Our results are limited to euthymic bipolar patients and cannot be generalized to affective disorders.Conclusions: Even when clinically euthymic on lithium maintenance, bipolar patients continue to have a characteristic cognitive deficit. This is in agreement with cognitive theories about cognitive deficits in depression that are regarded as important vulnerability factors in mood disorders.
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| 36. |
- Engström, C, et al.
(författare)
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Bipolar disorder. II : Personality and age of onset
- 2003
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Ingår i: Bipolar Disorders. - : Wiley. - 1398-5647 .- 1399-5618. ; 5:5, s. 340-348
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine whether personality i.e. temperament and character interacts with age of onset in bipolar disorder. Methods: Bipolar patients were recruited among in- and outpatients from lithium dispensaries of northern Sweden. Patients were diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder type I and II. Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was used for measuring personality. TCI was administered to 100 lithium treated bipolar patients and 100 controls. Results: Treatment response was significantly lower (p = 0.005) in patients with early onset compared with late onset. Family history (p = 0.013) and suicide attempts (p = 0.001) were also significantly more common in patients with early onset. Further, patients with early onset were significantly higher (p = 0.045) in the temperament factor harm avoidance (HA) than patients with late onset, but the difference was weak. Patients with early onset had more fear of uncertainty (HA2, P = 0.022) and were more shy (HA3, p = 0.030). Bipolar I patients showed similar results as those in the total bipolar group (I and II), with significantly higher HA (p = 0.019, moderate difference), HA2 (p = 0.015) and HA3 (p = 0.043) in patients with early onset compared with late onset. Bipolar II patients showed no differences between early and late age of onset but the groups are small and the results are therefore uncertain. Conclusions: Early age of onset in bipolar disorder was correlated to an increase in severity, family history, poorer treatment response and poorer prognosis. Early onset was also correlated to personality.
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| 37. |
- Engström, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Bipolar disorder. III : harm avoidance a risk factor for suicide attempts
- 2004
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Ingår i: Bipolar Disorders. - Copenhagen : Blackwell Munksgaard. - 1398-5647 .- 1399-5618. ; 6:2, s. 130-138
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine whether personality, i.e. temperament and character influence suicide attempts in bipolar patients.Methods: Bipolar patients were recruited from lithium dispensaries. Temperament and character inventory (TCI) was administered to 100 euthymic bipolar patients and 100 controls.Results: Age of onset was significantly lower in patients with suicide attempts in the total bipolar group (I and II) and bipolar I patients compared with patients without suicide attempts. Bipolar (I and II) and bipolar I patients with suicide attempts were significantly higher in harm avoidance (HA) and reward dependence compared with patients without suicide attempts. Patients (I and II) with suicide attempts had significantly more anticipatory worry, fatigability and asthenia than patients without suicide attempts. Bipolar I patients with suicide attempts had significantly more fatigability and asthenia and were more dependent than patients without suicide attempts. HA was lowest in patients with no suicide attempts and no family history of suicide, higher in patients with family history of suicide or patients with suicide attempts, and significantly highest in patients with suicide attempts and family history of suicide. Patients with suicide attempts and family history of suicide had more anticipatory worry, fatigability and asthenia. Bipolar disorder was significantly correlated to HA and suicide attempts to HA and PS. Family history of suicide and gender were significantly correlated to suicide attempts.Conclusions: Age of onset, HA, PS, gender and family history of suicide had a moderate to very strong effect on suicide attempts in bipolar patients.
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| 38. |
- Engström, Christer, et al.
(författare)
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Relationship between prophylactic effect of lithium therapy and family history of affective disorders
- 1997
-
Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 42:6, s. 425-433
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lithium therapy response and age of onset (AOO) were studied in 98 patients with bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) who were divided into subgroups depending on type of family history of affective disorders. The highest (33.0 years) and lowest (25.5 years) age of onset were found in nonfamilial patients and in familial patients with a first-degree relative of BPAD, respectively. Nonfamilial patients showed the best response to lithium. There were 0.9 episodes/year off lithium compared to 0.3 episodes/year on lithium (an 88% decrease). A poorer response (a 71% decrease; a reduction from 1.39 episodes per year off lithium to 0.65 on lithium) was found in familial patients with a first-degree relative of BPAD. Differences in serum lithium values between the groups could not explain the observed differences. Thus, familial patients showed a more severe manifestation of the disease with an earlier AOO and a lower prophylactic effect of lithium.
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| 39. |
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| 40. |
- Ericson, Per G P, 1956-, et al.
(författare)
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Dating the diversification of the major lineages of Passeriformes (Aves)
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Evolutionary Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2148. ; 14:8, s. 1-15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The avian Order Passeriformes is an enormously species-rich group, which comprises almost 60% ofall living bird species. This diverse order is believed to have originated before the break-up of Gondwana in the lateCretaceous. However, previous molecular dating studies have relied heavily on the geological split between NewZealand and Antarctica, assumed to have occurred 85–82 Mya, for calibrating the molecular clock and might thusbe circular in their argument.Results: This study provides a time-scale for the evolution of the major clades of passerines using seven nuclearmarkers, five taxonomically well-determined passerine fossils, and an updated interpretation of the New Zealandsplit from Antarctica 85–52 Mya in a Bayesian relaxed-clock approach. We also assess how different interpretationsof the New Zealand–Antarctica vicariance event influence our age estimates. Our results suggest that thediversification of Passeriformes began in the late Cretaceous or early Cenozoic. Removing the root calibration forthe New Zealand–Antarctica vicariance event (85–52 Mya) dramatically increases the 95% credibility intervals andleads to unrealistically old age estimates. We assess the individual characteristics of the seven nuclear genesanalyzed in our study. Our analyses provide estimates of divergence times for the major groups of passerines,which can be used as secondary calibration points in future molecular studies.Conclusions: Our analysis takes recent paleontological and geological findings into account and provides the bestestimate of the passerine evolutionary time-scale currently available. This time-scale provides a temporalframework for further biogeographical, ecological, and co-evolutionary studies of the largest bird radiation, andadds to the growing support for a Cretaceous origin of Passeriformes.
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| 41. |
- Ericson, Per G P, et al.
(författare)
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Parallel Evolution of Bower-Building Behavior in Two Groups of Bowerbirds Suggested by Phylogenomics
- 2020
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Ingår i: Systematic Biology. - 1063-5157 .- 1076-836X. ; 69:5, s. 820-829
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The bowerbirds in New Guinea and Australia include species that build the largest and perhaps most elaborately decorated constructions outside of humans. The males use these courtship bowers, along with their displays, to attract females. In these species, the mating system is polygynous and the females alone incubate and feed the nestlings. The bowerbirds also include 10 species of the socially monogamous catbirds in which the male participates in most aspects of raising the young. How the bower-building behavior evolved has remained poorly understood, as no comprehensive phylogeny exists for the family. It has been assumed that the monogamous catbird clade is sister to all polygynous species. We here test this hypothesis using a newly developed pipeline for obtaining homologous alignments of thousands of exonic and intronic regions from genomic data to build a phylogeny. Our well-supported species tree shows that the polygynous, bower-building species are not monophyletic. The result suggests either that bower-building behavior is an ancestral condition in the family that was secondarily lost in the catbirds, or that it has arisen in parallel in two lineages of bowerbirds. We favor the latter hypothesis based on an ancestral character reconstruction showing that polygyny but not bower-building is ancestral in bowerbirds, and on the observation that Scenopoeetes dentirostris, the sister species to one of the bower-building clades, does not build a proper bower but constructs a court for male display. This species is also sexually monomorphic in plumage despite having a polygynous mating system. We argue that the relatively stable tropical and subtropical forest environment in combination with low predator pressure and rich food access (mostly fruit) facilitated the evolution of these unique life-history traits.
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| 42. |
-
Exhibition: Space Waves and a Tale : Hannes Alfvén (1908–1995). Nobel Prize laureate in physics 1970.
- 2022
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Konstnärligt arbeteabstract
- The exhibition Space Waves and a Tale presented parts of Alfvén's extensive research, his community engagement and last but not least, his fictional story The tale of the great computing machine from 1966. In 1970 KTH professor Hannes Alfvén (1908 – 1995) was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his discoveries and applications in plasma physics. The exhibition Space Waves and a Tale presented parts of Alfvén's extensive research, his community engagement and his fictional story The tale of the great computing machine from 1966.Alfvén's research allow us to explore all corners of the universe – from the auroras on earth to the auroras on other planets, from solar wind to stellar wind, from plasma phenomena in the laboratory to astrophysical plasma phenomena in ours and other galaxies.The tale of the great computing machine is a satirical tale that tells the story of a future society controlled by computers and is also the source of inspiration for an opera with the same name.As part of the exhibition Space Waves and a Tale visitors were invited to share their visions of how future technology will shape our lives and societies. Two students from the KTH School of Architecture have contributed to the exhibition by designing and building a flexible and sustainable exhibition module. Students from BOOMERANG REXUS participated with objects related to aerospace research.Space Waves and a Tale was produced by the project group for KTH 200 years anniversary celebration together with KTH Library, The Opera: The Tale of the Great Computing Machine, the Division of Space and Plasma Physics and the KTH School of Architecture.In connection with the exhibithion there was a book discussion, popular science lecture and a class visit.
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| 43. |
- Fazi, Andrea, 1992, et al.
(författare)
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Multiple growth of graphene from a pre-dissolved carbon source
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Nanotechnology. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6528 .- 0957-4484. ; 31:34, s. 345601-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mono- to few-layer graphene materials are successfully synthesized multiple times using Cu-Ni alloy as a catalyst after a single-chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. The multiple synthesis is realized by extracting carbon source pre-dissolved in the catalyst substrate. Firstly, graphene is grown by the CVD method on Cu-Ni catalyst substrates. Secondly, the same Cu-Nicatalyst foils are annealed, in absence of any external carbon precursor, to grow graphene using the carbon atoms pre-dissolved in the catalyst during the CVD process. This annealing process is repeated to synthesize graphene successfully until carbon is exhausted in the Cu-Ni foils. After the CVD growth and each annealing growth process, the as-grown graphene is removed using a bubbling transfer method. A wide range of characterizations are performed to examine the quality of the obtained graphene material and to monitor the carbon concentration in the catalyst substrates. Results show that graphene from each annealing growth process possesses a similar quality, which confirmed the good reproducibility of the method. This technique brings great freedom to graphene growth and applications, and it could be also used for other 2D material synthesis.
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| 44. |
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| 45. |
- Gharehbaghi, Arash, et al.
(författare)
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A hybrid model for diagnosing sever aortic stenosis in asymptomatic patients using phonocardiogram
- 2015
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Ingår i: IFMBE Proceedings. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319193878 - 9783319193861 ; , s. 1006-1009
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study presents a screening algorithm for severe aortic stenosis (AS), based on a processing method for phonocardiographic (PCG) signal. The processing method employs a hybrid model, constituted of a hidden Markov model and support vector machine. The method benefits from a preprocessing phase for an enhanced learning. The performance of the method is statistically evaluated using PCG signals recorded from 50 individuals who were referred to the echocardiography lab at Linköping University hospital. All the individuals were diagnosed as having a degree of AS, from mild to severe, according to the echocardiographic measurements. The patient group consists of 26 individuals with severe AS, and the rest of the 24 patients comprise the control group. Performance of the method is statistically evaluated using repeated random sub sampling. Results showed a 95% confidence interval of (80.5%-82.8%) /(77.8%- 80.8%) for the accuracy/sensitivity, exhibiting an acceptable performance to be used as decision support system in the primary healthcare center.
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| 46. |
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| 47. |
- Gharehbaghi, Arash, et al.
(författare)
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Severity assessments of aortic stenosis using intelligent phonocardiography
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Objectives: To study capabilities of the intelligent phonocardiography (IPCG) in automatic grading severity of the aortic stenosis (AS).Methods: Phonocardiogram signals were recorded from the patients with AS, as diagnosed by echocardiography. The patient group is comprised of signals, recorded from 5 patients (2 recordings from each), mostly elderly referrals (>60 years) with mild to severe AS. An advanced processing algorithm, consisted of the wavelet transform and the stepwise regression analysis, characterizes the systolic murmur caused by the AS in order to predict the 5 indicators; mean pressure gradient over the aortic valve (MPG), maximum jet velocity (MJV), aortic valve area (AVA), velocity time integral and the ejection period. The automatic assessment is performed by an artificial neural network using the predicted values of the indicators as the input data. Reliability of the IPCG is validated by applying repeated random sub-sampling (RRSS) with 70%/30% of the training/testing data, and calculating the accuracy. The RRSS is also employed to validate reproducibility of the IPCG by using 70% of the signals for training and the second recording of the same individuals for testing.Results: Accuracy of the IPCG is estimated to be and (95% confidence interval) for the reliability and the reproducibility, respectively. Linear correlation between the characterized systolic murmur and the MPG (r>0.81), the MJV (r>0.82) and the AVA (r>0.85) is observed.Conclusions: The IPCG has the potential to objectively serve as a clinical tool for grading severity of the aortic stenosis.
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| 48. |
- Giertsen, Hedda, et al.
(författare)
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Prisoners' experiences of drug treatment and punishment in four Nordic countries
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. - : De Gruyter Open. - 1455-0725 .- 1458-6126. ; 32:2, s. 145-164
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: This article describes and analyses prisoners’ experiences of drug treatment in prison in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The article examines how prisoners experience drug treatment, control and sanctions as related to three main topics, namely motivation; the content of the measure and relations to staff; and control and sanctions.METHODS & DATA: The article is based on data from twelve prisons, three in each of the four countries; 91 interviews with prisoners; and around six months of observation. The two main kinds of drug treatment measures are drug treatment units and day programmes.RESULTS: Prisoners described several motives to participate in drug treatment measures: to leave drugs and crime; to renew relations with family and friends; to solve health problems; and to improve their prison conditions. Prisoners found that drug treatment measures offered possibilities to acquire new ways of being. Staff behaviour seemed to be more important to prisoners than the methods used, and some prisoners seemed more positive to staff involved with the drug treatment than to other staff. A surprising finding was the prisoners’ limited critique of controls and sanctions. We see this as embedded in the situation of being a prisoner, and also in relation to contexts outside prison.CONCLUSION: In discussing their experiences in the treatment units, prisoners are not so concerned about the rehabilitative features or the controls and sanctions. They evaluate their present situation in light of a future, which is their real concern. This is in line with a main task for staff, which is to prepare prisoners for release.
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| 49. |
- Goransson, Gunnel, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the Risk of Contaminant Dispersion From Fibrous Sediments of Industrial Origin
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-7745. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Unregulated discharges of wastewater from pulp and paper factories resulted in the formation of relatively thick organic (cellulose) rich sediments in shallow waters along the Swedish coast. These deposits are known as fiberbanks and are contaminated by persistent organic pollutants (POPs), metals and methylmercury, which can be dispersed by diffusion and advective processes coupled to propeller wash, high river discharges, strong wind waves and submarine landslides. Based on a case study of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), one group of prevalent POPs in the fiberbanks, we present a probabilistic approach to estimate the potential risk of dispersion of fiberbank contaminants. The approach allows for estimation of the dispersal pathways that dominates the risk within a given time and provides more insight about the significance of various dispersion processes. We show that it is highly likely that chemical diffusion and advection triggered by ship-induced resuspension will disperse PCBs (sum of seven congeners; sigma 7PCB) above a threshold level for environmental impact, while the likelihood of river and wind-wave generated resuspension dispersion pathways are lower (similar to 20%, respectively). We further show that there is approximately 5% likelihood that a submarine landslide will disperse sigma 7PCB above the threshold level. The study implies that the governing parameters for risk assessment specifically should include reliable data on contaminant concentration, water depth above the fiberbank, estimation of concerned fiberbank areas, time duration of erosive fluid flows and measured diffusion. The approach provides insight into the importance of various dispersion processes. We suggest that it can be applied to support risk assessment, especially when there are limited available data and/or knowledge about the system under study.
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| 50. |
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