| 1. |
- Malinovschi, Andrei, 1978-, et al.
(author)
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Consequences of Using Post- or Prebronchodilator Reference Values in Interpreting Spirometry
- 2023
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In: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. - : American Thoracic Society. - 1073-449X .- 1535-4970. ; 208:4, s. 461-471
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- RATIONALE: Post-bronchodilator (BD) spirometry is used for diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, pre-BD reference values are used for spirometry interpretation.OBJECTIVES: To compare the resulting prevalence rates of abnormal spirometry and study the consequences of using pre- or post-BD reference values generated within the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) when interpreting post-BD spirometry in a general population.METHODS: SCAPIS reference values for post-BD and pre-BD spirometry were based on 10,156 and 1,498 never-smoking, healthy participants, respectively. We studied the associations of abnormal spirometry, defined by using pre- or post-BD reference values, with respiratory burden in the SCAPIS general population (28,851 individuals).MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Bronchodilation resulted in higher predicted median and lower limit of normal (LLN) for FEV1/FVC ratio. The prevalence of post-BD FEV1/FVC < pre-bronchodilator LLN was 4.8% and that of post-BD FEV1/FVC < post-bronchodilator LLN was 9.9% for the general population. An additional 5.1% was identified as having an abnormal post-BD FEV1/FVC ratio and this group had more respiratory symptoms, emphysema (13.5% vs. 4.1%, p<0.001) and self-reported physician-diagnosed COPD (2.8% vs. 0.5%, p<0.001) than subjects with post-BD FEV1/FVC ratio > LLN for both pre- and post-bronchodilation).CONCLUSIONS: Pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry reference values differ with regard to FEV1/FVC ratio. Use of post-bronchodilator reference values doubled the population prevalence of airflow obstruction; this was related to a higher respiratory burden. Using post-bronchodilator reference values when interpreting post-bronchodilator spirometry might enable identification of individuals with mild disease and be clinically relevant.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Torén, Kjell, 1952, et al.
(author)
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The ratio FEV1/FVC and its association to respiratory symptoms-A Swedish general population study
- 2021
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In: Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging. - : Wiley. - 1475-0961 .- 1475-097X. ; 41:2, s. 181-191
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Chronic airflow limitation (CAL) can be defined as fixed ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) any respiratory symptom. In a cross-sectional general population study, 15,128 adults (50-64 years of age), 7,120 never-smokers and 8,008 ever-smokers completed a respiratory questionnaire and performed FEV1 and FVC after bronchodilation. We calculated different ratios of FEV1/FVC from 0.40 to 1.0 using 0.70 as reference category. We analysed odds ratios (OR) between different ratios and any respiratory symptom using adjusted multivariable logistic regression. Among all subjects, regardless of smoking habits, the lowest odds for any respiratory symptom was at FEV1/FVC = 0.82, OR 0.48 (95% CI 0.41-0.56). Among never-smokers, the lowest odds for any respiratory symptom was at FEV1/FVC = 0.81, OR 0.53 (95% CI 0.41-0.70). Among ever-smokers, the odds for any respiratory symptom was lowest at FEV1/FVC = 0.81, OR 0.43 (95% CI 0.16-1.19), although the rate of inclining in odds was small in the upper part, that is FEV1/FVC = 0.85 showed similar odds, OR 0.45 (95% CI 0.38-0.55). We concluded that the odds for any respiratory symptoms continuously decreased with higher FEV1/FVC ratios and reached a minimum around 0.80-0.85, with similar results among never-smokers. These results indicate that the optimal threshold associated with respiratory symptoms may be higher than 0.70 and this should be further investigated in prospective longitudinal studies.
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| 5. |
- Adams, Robin, et al.
(author)
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What is the word for 'Engineering' in Swedish : Swedish students conceptions of their discipline
- 2007
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Engineering education in Sweden – as in the rest of the world – is experiencing a decline in student interest. There are concerns about the ways in which students think about engineering education, why they join an academic programme in engineering, and why they persist in their studies. In this context the aims of the Nationellt ämnesdidaktiskt Centrum för Teknikutbildning i Studenternas Sammanhang project (CeTUSS) is to investigate the student experience and to identify and support a continuing network of interested researchers, as well as in building capacity for disciplinary pedagogic investigation. The Stepping Stones project brings together these interests in a multi-researcher, multi-institutional study that investigates how tudents and academic staff perceive engineering in Sweden and in Swedish education. The first results of that project are reported here. As this study is situated uniquely in Swedish education, it allows for exploration of “a Swedish perspective” on conceptions of engineering. The Stepping Stones project was based on a model of research capacity-building previously instantiated in the USA and Australia (Fincher & Tenenberg, 2006).
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| 6. |
- Ahlström, Anders, et al.
(author)
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Improved accessibility modeling and its relation to poverty - A case study in Southern Sri Lanka
- 2011
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In: Habitat International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0197-3975. ; 35:2, s. 316-326
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many studies have found close relationships between accessibility and various socio-economic indicators. Yet, since accessibility tends to have differentiated effects, both socially and spatially, there is a need for a model which allows for a disaggregated analysis of accessibility. The model should be possible to use in areas where road network data is incomplete. In this paper such an accessibility model is developed, using a raster-based approach in a Geographical Information System (GIS). One important factor in accessibility modeling is to estimate the traveling speed on different landscape entities. This paper develops a method where local knowledge and physical geographical data are integrated in the GIS model. From the interview data the best door-to-door traveling speeds of three road classes were estimated. The results from these calculations have been used as frictions for a cost surface. The analysis shows strong relationships between poverty indicators and estimated spatial accessibility, stronger than the commonly used accessibility measure of Euclidian distance. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Ahlström, Christer, et al.
(author)
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Dangerous use of mobile phones and other communication devices while driving : A toolbox of counter-measures
- 2013
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In: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference Road Safety on Four Continents. - Linköping : Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The use of mobile phone and similar devices while driving has been a topic of discussion and research for several years. It is now an established fact that driving performance is deteriorated due to distraction but no clear conclusions can yet be drawn concerning influence on crash rates. Better studies on this relationship is needed. Most countries in Europe and many countries elsewhere have introduced different types of bans for handheld devices. Sweden has, however, no such bans. VTI was commissioned by the Swedish Government to outline possible means to reduce the dangerous usage of mobile phones and other communication devices while driving as alternatives to banning. This task was a result of a previous VTI-state-of-the-art review of research on mobile phone and other communication device usage while driving. One of the findings in the review was that bans on handheld phones did not appear to reduce the number of crashes.Eighteen different countermeasures in three main areas were suggested. (1) Technical solutions such as countermeasures directed towards the infrastructure, the vehicle and the communication device. (2) Education and information, describing different ways to increase knowledge and understanding among stakeholders and different driver categories. (3) Different possibilities for how society, industry and organisations can influence the behaviour of individuals, via policies, rules, recommendations and incentives. Our conclusion is that a combination of different countermeasures is needed – where education and information to the drivers are combined with support and incentives for a safe usage of different communication devices.
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| 8. |
- Ait Ali, Abderrahman, 1991-, et al.
(author)
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A disaggregate bundle method for train timetabling problems
- 2020
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In: Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 2210-9706 .- 2210-9714. ; 16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The train timetabling problem (TTP) consists of finding a feasible timetable for a number of trains which minimises some objective function, e.g., sum of running times or deviations from ideal departure times. One solution approach is to solve the dual problem of the TTP using so-called bundle methods. This paper presents a new bundle method that uses disaggregate data, as opposed to the standard bundle method which in a certain sense relies on aggregate data. We compare the disaggregate and aggregate methods on realistic train timetabling scenarios from the Iron Ore line in Northern Sweden. Numerical results indicate that the proposed disaggregate method reaches better solutions faster than the standard aggregate approach.
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| 9. |
- Ait Ali, Abderrahman, 1991-, et al.
(author)
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Disaggregation in Bundle Methods : Application to the Train Timetabling Problem
- 2017
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bundle methods are often used to solve dual problems that arise from Lagrangian relaxations of large scale optimization problems. An example of such problems is the train timetabling problem. This paper focuses on solving a dual problem that arises from Lagrangian relaxation of a train timetabling optimization program. The dual problem is solved using bundle methods. We formulate and compare the performances of two different bundle methods: the aggregate method, which is a standard method, and a new, disaggregate, method which is proposed here. The two methods were tested on realistic train timetabling scenarios from the Iron Ore railway line. The numerical results show that the new disaggregate approach generally yields faster convergence than the standard aggregate approach.
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