| 1. |
- Ahlin, Erik, et al.
(author)
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Anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies and rheumatoid factor in Sudanese patients with Leishmania donovani infection
- 2011
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In: REV BRAS REUMATOL. - 0482-5004. ; 51:6, s. 572-586
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The present study evaluated the presence of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides antibodies (anti-CCP), rheumatoid factor (RF), and circulating immune complexes (CIC) in Sudanese patients infected with the Leishmania donovani parasite. Patients and methods: Sera were collected from Leishmania infected patients (n = 116) and healthy Sudanese (n = 93). Nineteen Sudanese anti-CCP+RA patients were included as positive controls. Levels of CIC and anti-CCP were measured by ELISA. Control plate with cyclic control peptides containing arginine instead of citrulline was used to evaluate citrulline specific reactivity. Results: Among Leishmania-infected patients and anti-CCP+RA patients, most were RF positive (86%), while the frequency of CIC positivity was higher among visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients (VL 38%; anti-CCP+RA 24%). When anti-CCP reactivity was analysed, 12% of VL patients were found to be positive. The levels of anti-CCP among V L patients correlated well with the CIC levels found (r = 0.65, P < 0.0001). In RA group, no association was found between CIC and anti-CCP. The possibility that anti-CCP positivity was due to cross reactions with CIC was experimentally ruled out. Contrary to what was seen in Sudanese RA sera, the CCP reactivity was not restricted to citrulline but reacted equally well with the arginine control peptide. Conclusion: The finding that CCP reactivity was not restricted to citrulline argues that this is more an effect of extensive inflammation and immune activation than a sign of shared pathogenic characteristics with anti-CCP arthritis. Our findings stress the importance to interpret a positive CCP test carefully when evaluated in non-rheumatic conditions or in areas where such infections predominate.
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| 2. |
- Ahlin, Karin, 1963-
(author)
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Benefits of Digital Technical Information
- 2020
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In our daily work life, we use a wealth of information, including a category of information produced as a part of products and their life-cycle phases, named digital technical information (DTI). Manufacturing organizations focus more often on the product than on DTI, because DTI’s impact seems almost invisible, despite its crucial role to the product and its life-cycle phases, development, production, maintenance, and destruction. Hence, the aim of this thesis is to describe DTI’s benefits and the research questions: “What are the benefits of the DTI?” and “What are the perceptions of how to measure benefits of DTI?” The thesis contains five studies related to identifying and measuring DTI’s benefits. The empirical material is based on semi-structured interviews and group interviews within five organizations and a survey among manufacturing organizations in Sweden.I used three characteristics of the DTI and two pairs of previously known benefit categories to analyse the benefits. The analysis shows that the benefits are recognized in the particular product’s life cycle phase where the DTI is published. However, the DTI continues to offer benefits in the product’s other life cycle phases. In relationship to the product, the benefits evolve from supporting an individual product to supporting more general product lines or all products and a more complex product is said to increase DTI’s benefits. DTI’s structure adds benefits as synthesized or aggregated DTI, where the DTI is synthesized or aggregated automatically or manually. The categorization predetermined benefits related to the change are less numerous than the emerging benefits. The predetermined benefits are strategic by nature, and the emerging ones are mainly used to achieve operational goals. Measuring DTI’s benefits is of importance for a formal comparison of its development and is of special interest for managers. Perceptions from the initial stages on how to measure show that to establish common interpretations among the stakeholders of the measurement process is of importance, especially when it comes to what is viewed as a benefit. The benefits are viewed as intangible by the respondents, which creates difficulties when one is evaluating, using conventional measurement methods. The only perceived way to measure is when DTI reduces co-worker’s workload and efficiency is achieved. The thesis’s contribution to academia consists of the analysis of DTI’s benefits, showing details of the relationships between the DTI and its benefits. For practice, the contributions focus on the systematic evaluation process, which can be used for further development of the DTI and comparison of the evolvement of the DTI itself and relating to other resources. One proposal for future research is to use the analysed benefits and compare various approaches to digitizing DTI, e.g. Industry 4.0. Another proposal is to list, in detail, various ways on how to measure DTI’s benefits and their usefulness. The latter can positively impact on any intangible benefits due to the general approach we have established of how to measure those benefits.
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| 3. |
- Ahlin, Karin, 1963-, et al.
(author)
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IoT for Health and Well-being : A case study and call for action
- 2023
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In: PETRA '23: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments. - : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). - 9798400700699 ; , s. 465-467
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this short paper we describe the implementation of an IoT test-bed in an elementary school. We argue that by adding additional IoT senors to an existing IoT system it is possible to evolve an indoor climate control system into a indoor milieu control system aimed at improving the health and well-being for both pupils and staff who spend their days working in the school environment. Lastly, we call for multidisciplinary action as the domain IoT for health and well-being spans across several different knowledge domains.
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| 4. |
- Ahlin, Karin, 1963-, et al.
(author)
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IoT in Elementary School for Everyone – A Research Plan
- 2022
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In: Challenges of Trustable AI and Added-Value on Health. - : IOS Press. - 9781643682846 - 9781643682853 ; , s. 955-956
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We propose a tentative research plan to increase students’ mental healthin elementary schools by implementing Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Theresearch plan should answer how to support students’ mental health using IoTsolutions and the critical factors influencing testbeds for IoT solutions with thepreviously mentioned purpose. Our intended research method is Design Science,which we plan to use stepwise.
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