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Background: This case study estimates the risk of injuries causing death or at least one year’s sick leave due to fall from height among Swedish scaffolders.

Findings: Cases occurring in 2020 to 2023 were identified from national statistics of accidents at work and statistics from an insurance company. The number of scaffolders in Sweden were estimated through national statistics. Their risk was compared to what is considered an unacceptable risk for exposure to carcinogens. Between 2020 and 2023 there were 10 accidents due to fall from height causing death or at least one years’ sick leave among Swedish male scaffold workers. The average number of scaffolders at risk were estimated to around 3,100 per year indicating a risk of at least 3% for such an injury for a person working as a scaffolder from 20 to 65 years of age.

Conclusions: The estimated risk of very serious injuries in Swedish scaffolders is today around ten times higher than a prohibition risk level for exposure to direct-acting carcinogens according to a Dutch document used for setting maximum allowable concentrations due to occupationalr exposure.

Traditional Item Response Theory (IRT) parameters for item difficulty and discrimination often depend heavily on the specific assumptions and constraints of the chosen model. This study introduces and evaluates population difficulty and population discrimination as complementary metrics that generalize across dichotomous and polytomous item types and apply to both unidimensional and multidimensional models. These metrics can be used independently or as a complement to traditional parameters. They also readily extend to semiparametric or nonparametric modeling approaches. We compare the population-based metrics to traditional item parameters through a series of simulations and an empirical example. Our findings suggest that population-based metrics are robust metrics for evaluating item characteristics across a variety of different populations or IRT models.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Late-onset neutropenia (LON) is a rare, transient reduction in absolute neutrophil count (ANC) associated with anti-CD20 therapies. In multiple sclerosis (MS), data regarding severity, infectious outcomes, and predictors remain limited. We aimed to determine the incidence, characteristics, and predictors of LON in rituximab-treated people with MS (pwMS).

METHODS: We conducted a registry-based retrospective multicenter cohort study of pwMS in Sweden exposed to rituximab between 2008 and 2024. Any LON was defined as ANC <1,500 cells/μL occurring at least 30 days after rituximab initiation. Grades 3-4 LON was defined as ANC <1,000 cells/μL, recording infectious complications for these events. Incidence rates (IRs) were calculated per 1,000 person-years, and event times were summarized as medians (interquartile range [IQR]). Predictors of LON events were evaluated using Cox regression with time-varying covariates and binary logistic regression.

RESULTS: Among 2,686 rituximab-exposed pwMS, 6.2% (n = 165) experienced ≥1 LON event during a median follow-up of 7.8 years (IQR 5.7-9.8). The IR for any LON (grades 2-4) was 10.1/1,000 person-years (95% CI 8.6-11.8); the median time-to-first event was 360 days (IQR 112-1,017). Most events were mild, 5.3% (grade 2, n = 142). Grades 3-4 LON occurred for 1% (23 individuals; 36 events) and IR 2.1/1,000 person-years (95% CI 1.4-2.9). Ten infections occurred among LON grades 3-4 events, classifying 8 as severe. All individuals with infectious LON grades 3-4 events (48%) recovered after hospitalization, antibiotics/antivirals, and/or granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Rituximab was rechallenged in 89% (32/36) of grades 3-4 events: 14 recurred and 2 complicated by infections. In time-dependent Cox models, higher accumulated rituximab exposure (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.81-0.93) and prior injectable therapy (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.45-0.96) were associated with a lower hazard of any LON. Exploratory binary analyses of LON grades 3-4 showed associations with prior natalizumab (odds ratio [OR] 2.8) and higher body mass index (OR 0.87), not confirmed in time-to-event models.

DISCUSSION: In this large real-world cohort, high-grade LON (grades 3-4) events were rare and frequently complicated by infections. Mild (grade 2) LON events were often fluctuating and generally clinically uneventful. Rechallenge with rituximab was rarely complicated by serious adverse events. Prediction of LON remains challenging, highlighting the relevance of infection vigilance during anti-CD20 therapy.

This study examines how Swedish municipalities manage publicly owned forests with an emphasis on biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation. A survey was distributed to 82 randomly selected municipalities, of which 47 responded. Statistical analyses, including chi-square tests and correlation, were applied to examine relationships between forest holding size and geographic location in relation to key management practices. Results reveal that municipalities with larger forest holdings are significantly more likely to implement biodiversity strategies, adopt additional forest policies, and engage in climate adaptation measures. Geographic differences were also evident where municipalities in Götaland reported higher use of clear-cut-free methods and climate adaptation compared to those in Norrland, where such measures were least common. Despite these efforts, only 43% of municipalities have a formal biodiversity strategy, and many lack integrated planning for species diversity during reforestation. Approximately 60% of municipalities experienced increased climate-related forest damage over the past decade, primarily due to storms, drought, bark beetle infestations, and tree diseases. Among those affected, 64% reported active adaptation efforts. The findings suggest that forest size and location influence certain aspects of forest management, but other factors such as economic resources and political governance likely play a greater role. The study concludes that additional policy instruments and guidelines are needed to promote sustainable municipal forestry.

Remittances — money sent home by migrants working abroad — exceeded USD 600 billion to developing countries in 2022, yet their welfare impact remains deeply contested. This thesis investigates whether remittances act as lifelines — relaxing credit constraints and funding durable welfare improvements — or as consumption loops — sustaining current consumption without structural change — for household welfare across 30 developing countries over 1993 to 2022. Using a balanced panel of 900 observations drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, I estimate a suite of panel models that progressively address the three core identification challenges in this literature: cross-sectional dependence arising from shared migration destination economies, slope heterogeneity from pooling countries with structurally different remittance channels, and potential non-stationarity of the main series.

The pooled two-way fixed effects estimate — the standard benchmark in this literature — is precisely null: the remittance-to-GDP coefficient is -0.000179 (p = 0.953). However, this aggregate null is an artefact of pooling countries whose remittance channels work in opposite directions. The Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCE-MG) estimator, which simultaneously addresses cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity, reveals a bimodal distribution of country-specific conditional associations: South Asian countries cluster in positive territory and Latin American countries in negative territory. Regional two-way fixed effects estimates run separately by subsample confirm and quantify this heterogeneity: South Asian countries show a significant positive conditional association (beta = +0.00473, p < 0.001), implying a 0.47 per cent increase in household consumption per capita per percentage-point increase in the remittance-to-GDP ratio. Latin American countries show a significant negative conditional association (beta = -0.01513, p = 0.008), implying a 1.5 per cent decline. These opposing signals cancel in any pooled estimator, producing the aggregate null.

These findings are robust to first-difference specifications (which do not require cointegration), Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, a BVK dynamic panel, and the exclusion of GFC years. I conclude that remittances are neither universally beneficial nor universally harmful: context determines the answer. Policy responses should be regionspecific — reducing transfer costs and deepening formal channels in South Asian contexts, and managing exchange rate and macroeconomic effects in Latin American contexts.

Machine translation is commonly evaluated in terms of translation accuracy and fluency, while the preservation of writing style has received less attention. This thesis investigates writing style in Swedish-English machine translation with a focus on formality. The study examines the relationship between input length and formality and compares NMT and LLM systems in preserving source style. Furthermore, this study investigates the importance of stylistic harmony in translated text. The two corpora are used: the sentence-level FAME-MT dataset and a set of 100 four-sentence paragraphs from the formal legal JRC-Acquis corpus. Formality is evaluated using a RoBERTa-based ranker and a prompted Llama3.3-70B-Instruct detector. The results show that the relationship between input length and measured formality depends strongly on the detector, with the LLM-based detector showing stronger positive correlations. Both NMT- and LLM-based translation systems successfully preserved the formal register of the JRC-Acquis texts, with only small differences between systems. To study stylistic harmony, half of the sentences in each paragraph were rewritten from formal to informal English using text style transfer. The resulting mixed-style paragraphs received lower human ratings than the original stylistically harmonious paragraphs, while automatic translation metrics indicated that much of the source meaning was preserved. Overall, the results show that stylistic consistency contributes to the reading experience alongside translation accuracy.

This thesis examines how Selma Lagerlöf represents disability, bodily difference, vulnerability, and social exclusion, and how these representations can be understood in relation to the medical, social, and cultural ideas of her time. It also investigates whether Lagerlöf’s own experience of living with a lifelong hip impairment can contribute to an understanding of her literary treatment of the body, normality, and human worth.

The study employs qualitative intellectual-historical textual analysis and close reading. Literary works are read alongside Lagerlöf’s autobiographical writings and correspondence, while avoiding a reductive biographical interpretation. The theoretical framework draws primarily on Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s disability theory, Henri-Jacques Stiker’s historical analyses of disability, and Karin Johannisson’s history of medicine. These perspectives are used to situate Lagerlöf’s texts within a period shaped by medicalisation, ideals of productivity and bodily normality, national romanticism, and emerging eugenic thought.

The analysis shows that Lagerlöf both reflects and challenges contemporary ideas about bodily difference. Her characters are rarely defined solely by impairment, illness, or social marginality. Instead, they are repeatedly represented through moral agency, responsibility, emotional depth, and their capacity to influence others. Her works thereby question notions of human worth based on physical ability, independence, productivity, or conformity to social norms. The study also identifies significant parallels between Lagerlöf’s autobiographical accounts of being observed, excluded, and made conscious of her bodily difference and the sensitivity with which marginalised characters are portrayed in her fiction. No direct causal relationship between biography and literature can be established, but these parallels suggest that her experiences may have contributed to this perspective.

The thesis argues that a disability-historical approach offers a productive new interpretation of Lagerlöf’s authorship and reveals her literature as an arena in which contemporary norms of normality, usefulness, and human value are both reproduced and critically renegotiated.

Background: 

Severe maxillary atrophy remains one of the most challenging conditions in implant dentistry and maxillofacial surgery. Multiple rehabilitation strategies are currently available, including regenerative procedures, alternative implant-based approaches, and hybrid concepts. Although clinical outcomes have been widely reported, limited information exists regarding clinician-reported expectations associated with different rehabilitation strategies when evaluating the same clinical scenario. The aim of this study was to investigate clinician-reported expectations associated with different rehabilitation approaches for severe maxillary atrophy.

Materials and methods: 

An international cross-sectional survey was conducted using a standardized anonymized CBCT case classified as Cawood and Howell Class VI. The questionnaire was distributed through professional and academic networks between July and November 2025. Respondents with experience in at least five complex implant-prosthetic rehabilitations per year were included. After selecting their preferred rehabilitation strategy, participants completed a branching questionnaire exploring clinician-reported expectations regarding safety, predictability, immediate loading, implant survival, treatment duration, smile satisfaction, masticatory function, oral hygiene and maintainability, postoperative morbidity, annual maintenance costs, patient satisfaction, and quality-of-life improvement. Descriptive statistics were performed.

Results: 

A total of 155 eligible clinicians from 33 countries were included. Alternative implant-based strategies were selected by 83 respondents (53.5%), regenerative approaches by 45 (29.0%), and hybrid approaches by 27 (17.4%). Clinicians selecting alternative implant-based strategies more frequently anticipated immediate loading (81.9%), functional rehabilitation within 72 h (83.1%), and implant survival exceeding 95% at five years (57.8%). Respondents selecting regenerative approaches more commonly expected treatment durations of approximately one year (64.4%) and reported highly favorable expectations regarding smile satisfaction (86.7%), patient satisfaction (82.2%), and quality-of-life improvement (97.8%). Across all therapeutic preference groups, clinician-reported expectations regarding masticatory function, patient satisfaction, and quality-of-life improvement were generally favorable. Most respondents anticipated postoperative discomfort lasting between one and four weeks and treatment abandonment rates below 5%.

Conclusions: 

Clinicians selecting different rehabilitation strategies for severe maxillary atrophy reported distinct expectations regarding treatment timing, predictability, implant survival, aesthetics, maintenance requirements, morbidity, and patient-centered outcomes. Despite these differences, expectations were generally favorable across all therapeutic preference groups, suggesting that multiple rehabilitation pathways are currently perceived as viable treatment options. The findings should be interpreted as clinician-reported expectations rather than direct measurements of clinical or patient-reported outcomes.

The purpose of this study is to examine how choice, responsibility, and legitimate ways of acting in intimate relationships are represented in UMO’s editorial relationship advice for young people. It also investigates which normative and social conditions are foregrounded or backgrounded and how responsibility is distributed between the individual, other actors, and support institutions. The material consists of eleven webpages about relationship ideals, jealousy, harmful relationships, and break-ups, archived on 11 August 2026. An abductive thematic textual analysis was conducted through close reading, open coding, construction and review of themes, comparison, and theory-informed interpretation. Governmentality is the main theoretical perspective and responsibilisation the central analytical concept; pedagogical socialisation, naturalisation, and subjectification are used as complementary concepts. Five themes were identified. UMO legitimises variation in feelings and relationship forms while maintaining a normative core of safety, respect, reciprocity, and autonomy. In everyday emotional problems, the reader is positioned as a self-monitoring and emotion-managing subject. When control, threats, and violence become visible, responsibility and agency are redistributed and support is presented as practical infrastructure for action. The findings therefore challenge the assumption that relationship advice uniformly individualises responsibility. UMO’s pedagogy is instead interpreted as a differentiated pedagogy of responsibility: feelings are legitimised, actions regulated, blame separated from action responsibility, and attention to conditions increases with problem severity. Even advice that relieves blame, however, may leave substantial help-seeking work to the person exposed to harm.

This thesis investigates regional labour-market reorganisation under mining-induced industrial expansion within the spatially constrained municipality of Gällivare, Sweden. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the study integrates an industry-level sector-byyear panel dataset covering 2014–2024 with qualitative evidence drawn from employer interviews, municipal stakeholder engagement, and primary worker and HR surveys. The findings suggest patterns consistent with resource crowding-out, whereby industrial expansion is associated with uneven employment outcomes across sectors. Critical public-service sectors appear to face increasing recruitment pressures arising from wage competition and differences in non-wage job attractiveness. The study further indicates that housing-market pressures, intensified by the urban transformation associated with Malmberget, may constrain external labour inflows and limit local labour-supply adjustment. To address these constraints, employers increasingly rely on temporary agency personnel and long-distance commuting arrangements. While these mechanisms help alleviate labour shortages, qualitative evidence suggests that they may also create challenges related to workforce stability and employee retention. Overall, the findings are consistent with the interpretation that resource-led industrial expansion in constrained local economies may generate labour reallocation across sectors rather than the broad-based multiplier effects predicted by standard local labour-market theory.

Zooplankton play an important ecological role in freshwater food webs, where they contribute to the transfer of energy from primary producers to higher trophic levels. In humic boreal lakes bacteria can provide an additional pathway for carbon and energy to reach the zooplankton food web alongside phytoplankton production. This study investigated seasonal and interannual patterns in zooplankton abundance, biomass and community structure in a humic boreal lake in Västerbotten, Sweden. These variables were compared to seasonal patterns in primary and bacterial production. Relationships between zooplankton abundance, biomass and concurrent production were tested using Spearman’s rank correlations, while seasonal and interannual variation in community structure was examined with PERMANOVA and NMDS. Considerable seasonal and interannual variation was found in zooplankton abundance, biomass and community structure. Several zooplankton taxa also showed similar interannual shifts in the timing of their seasonal peaks, which could indicate common seasonal or environmental drivers. Month explained a larger proportion of the variation in community structure than year. Associations between zooplankton and primary- and bacterial production were limited. No associations were found between zooplankton abundance and production. However, primary production was positively associated with total zooplankton biomass while bacterial production was associated with biomass of Rotifera. Variation in community structure could not be explained by primary or bacterial production. These findings suggest that patterns of variation in zooplankton depend on other factors than just primary and bacterial production, which could not be determined in this study. 

This study is a mixed-methods investigation of emotional expressions in the biblical book of Psalms, with a particular focus on their possible application in therapeutic practice. To what extent do the linguistic and emotional structures in selected psalms of lament resemble the patterns described in the constructionist perspective on emotion, Kövecses’ theory of emotional metaphors and the therapeutic approach somatic experiencing? The study employed a mixed-methods design in which the Psalms were first scanned using NotebookLM to identify seven psalms of lament rich in emotional expression. In the second stage, a reflexive thematic analysis was conducted according to Braun and Clarke’s six-phase process, in which the psalms were coded, organized into themes and subthemes using a deductive approach. The results showed that emotions in the psalms of lament align with the constructionist perspective insofar as discrete emotion words were presented alongside symbolic expressions of emotion, as well as a description of specific contextual circumstances. In this way, the psalms provided a coherent and nuanced narrative demonstrating a high degree of emotional granularity. With regard to trauma-therapeutic approaches, the turning points in the psalms resembled patterns found in the method of somatic experiencing, in which it is important for the individual processing trauma to return to resources associated with safety and regulation. The turning points in the psalms contained both expressions of relational safety and processes of boundary-setting and reclaiming agency, which may resemble the completion of biological defensive responses within Somatic Experiencing. Furthermore, the physiological nature of emotions was reflected in the metaphors used in the psalms, representing an interesting finding from a somatic-therapeutic perspective. For future research, it would be valuable to investigate whether the structure of the psalms could function as a model for emotional processing through expressive writing.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur spelare i damernas högsta serie i handboll upplever tränarens pedagogiska ledarskap samt analysera hur dessa upplevelser samvarierar med deras lärande, utveckling, motivation och upplevda idrottsmiljö. Studien syftade även till att undersöka eventuella samband i upplevelser utifrån spelarnas ålder och erfarenhet. Studien genomfördes med en kvantitativ ansats genom en webbaserad enkätundersökning med 66 respondenter. Analysen utgick från deskriptiv analys, faktoranalys och korrelationsanalys. Det sociokulturella perspektivet användes som teoretisk utgångspunkt i Säljö, Jakobsson och Vygotskij och användes för att förstå hur tränarens pedagogiska ledarskap relaterar till spelares lärande, utveckling, motivation och upplevelser av idrottsmiljön. Resultaten visade att spelarna över lag upplevde tränarens pedagogiska ledarskap, sitt lärande, sin motivation och idrottsmiljö som positiva. Kommunikation, stöd, återkoppling och delaktighet framträdde som centrala faktorer, samtidigt som flera spelare uppgav att deras utveckling inte följdes upp individuellt av tränaren. Faktoranalysen identifierade fyra dimensioner kopplade till ledarskap, utveckling, motivation och idrottsmiljö. Korrelationsanalyserna visade även att yngre och mindre erfarna spelare tenderade att skatta det pedagogiska ledarskapet mindre positivt jämfört med äldre och mer erfarna spelare. Slutsatsen var att tränarens pedagogiska ledarskap hade betydelse för hur spelare upplevde sitt lärande, sin utveckling, motivation och idrottsmiljö. Studien bidrar därmed med ökad förståelse för pedagogiskt ledarskap inom damelitidrott.

In-game advertising (IGA) is a controversial practice. Whereas emphasize its potential to enhance player engagement, others highlight its disruptive nature. Addressing this tension, this qualitative study, based on netnography and in-depth interviews, explores how IGA influences players’ emotional engagement. The findings show that emotional engagement is the interpretive mechanism through which players construct the meaning of IGA, shaping whether advertising preserves immersion or is experienced as a commercial intrusion. These interpretations are shaped by players’ experiences of advertising attributes (content, format and style, frequency, and length), enabling us to distinguish between narrative plausibility and narrative interaction as complementary mechanisms through which advertising becomes integrated into—or disrupts—the gaming experience. Managerially, the findings suggest that brands should design IGA around players’ emotional experiences, creating interactive advertising that strengthens immersion rather than interrupts it.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine and compare the 1966 French crisis and the 2019 Danish crisis in NATO and examine how alliance theory contributes to understanding internal crises in NATO. This thesis uses alliance theory and process tracing to analyze these cases through alliance-theoretical factors. The method is a qualitative comparative case study of the two NATO cases. In these cases, we can see alignment issues in both the French and Danish examples, where important factors such as the security dilemma and commitment are important for understanding the crises. France sought stronger strategic and institutional autonomy in NATO, and in the Danish case, there was tension between Denmark and the United States over Greenland concerning territorial sovereignty and alliance relations. The comparison shows that differences in relative power and dependence influence how France and Denmark responded to tensions with the United States. The study contributes to previous research by showing how similar alliance-theoretical factors characterize internal NATO crises across different historical contexts.

Firms in developed economies have shifted much of their production to lower wage countries over the past three decades, a process known as offshoring. Existing theory explains this through the cost of coordinating tasks across borders, but does not consider how AI adoption at home might change this calculation. This paper shows that AI adoption can shift the point at which firms switch from offshoring to producing at home, using a calibrated partial-equilibrium model building on Grossman and Rossi-Hansberg (2008) and Chu et al. (2013). Two types of AI are compared. Basic AI mainly benefits routine, low complexity tasks, while sophisticated AI mainly benefits more complex tasks. The model is calibrated so that, without AI, approximately 25 percent of tasks are offshored. AI adoption is represented by a parameter α between 0 and 1, where α = 0.3 corresponds to a maximum productivity gain of 30 percent on the tasks AI affects most. At this level, basic AI reduces the offshored share to approximately 23 percent and sophisticated AI to just under 24 percent, a pattern that holds across the parameter values tested. Both scenarios are also associated with a modest, illustrative increase in home wages, based on a calculation that holds the wage ratio fixed rather than solving for it jointly with the rest of the model. Basic AI, which better reflects current tools, therefore appears more likely than more advanced future systems to affect offshoring decisions, particularly where wage gaps with major destinations have already narrowed.

This thesis investigates whether female-dominated occupations in Sweden are characterized by a “bad jobs paradox," combining relatively low wages with demanding working conditions. The study contrasts the compensating wage differentials theory with devaluation theory and uses occupation-level data from Statistics Sweden and the Swedish Work Environment Survey for 2017, 2019, and 2021. Wage disparities are analyzed using pooled and two-way fixedeffects regression models that incorporate the female share of the occupation, education, and physical and psychosocial working conditions.

The findings indicate that female-dominated care occupations pay lower wages and have notably more demanding working conditions than other occupations. A higher proportion of females within an occupation is strongly correlated with lower wages. However, this relationship diminishes and becomes statistically insignificant when occupation fixed effects are included. Furthermore, the results do not provide compelling evidence that adverse working conditions are offset by higher wages. Overall, the findings suggest that the observed wage disadvantage is predominantly linked to enduring occupational differences rather than shortterm fluctuations in occupational gender composition.

This paper’s goal is to explore which decision-making processes compose a Critical Friend (CF) role in the mental health context. The research questions were: “Which decision-making dimensions would characterize a CF role in the mental health context?”; “Which different dimensions would the assessment of humans psychologist professionals highlight in their reflections about their own supervision experiences?”; and “Which differences would the assessment of Large Language Models (LLM) bots simulating psychologist professionals highlight in their response about what they simulate as a supervision experience?”. This is an experimental study divided into two steps: the development of a CF framework through a systematic literature review followed by the adaptation of the subsequent framework to two distinct decision making theories – Dual Process Theory (DPT) and Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) –; and the exploration of that developed framework through the application of two sets of interviews, one with humans professionals (N=3, 1 male and 2 females) and another with LLMs – ChatGPT and Copilot. The systematic literature review resulted in 3 temporal CF decision making dimensions. The humans’ interviews allowed for the perception that there may be some overlap between the CF role and the supervision role in mental health. The LLMs’ interviews provided no significant difference, though their results allowed for useful and ethical reflections about their use in research. Furthermore, the findings may help with further similar studies as well as the discussion for the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems in the mental health context.

Orthorexia nervosa refers to a pathological preoccupation with healthy eating characterized by rigid dietary rules, excessive concern about food purity, and distress when these rules are violated. Despite growing clinical interest, validated instruments for assessing orthorexic tendencies in children and adolescents remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the ORTO-R Scale in a clinical sample of adolescents and to examine its associations with eating-related and anxiety symptoms. A total of 132 participants aged 12–17 years were recruited from a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic. Participants completed the ORTO-R Scale, the Eating Attitudes Test-26, the Orthorexia Nervosa Inventory, and the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale, and psychiatric diagnoses were assessed using a semi-structured clinical interview. The ORTO-R demonstrated good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s α and McDonald’s ω coefficients of 0.77. Confirmatory factor analysis identified a three-factor structure with favorable overall model fit. Total ORTO-R scores showed moderate positive correlations with orthorexic and eating disorder symptoms and low-to-moderate correlations with anxiety symptoms. The Turkish version of the ORTO-R showed promising preliminary psychometric properties in this psychiatric outpatient sample, including acceptable internal consistency and meaningful associations with related measures. Further studies in larger, more diverse, and community-based samples are needed to confirm its validity, reliability, and clinical utility.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur personal i fritidshem jobbar med inkludering under rasterna i skolan och hur elevernas sociala miljö kan påverka skolresultat. Tidigare forskning visar att det är skillnad på att vara kompisar och kamrater och att elever som har en god social miljö presterar bättre i skolan. Vad som erbjuds på raster och skolgårdar kan upprätthålla kulturer som innebär inkludering eller utanförskap, så rasten kan vara en social utmaning för eleverna. Den teoretiska utgångpunkten har varit Specialpedagogiska skolmyndighetens Tillgänglighetsmodell, den har använts för att förstå hur social miljö och skolprestationer har ett samband. Insamlandet av data har skett genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra personer, med varierande grad av utbildning och erfarenhet, anställda i fritidshem i små inlandskommuner i norra Sverige.Resultatet visar att personalen strävar efter att alla elever ska uppleva trygghet och inkludering på rasterna och att de kan skönja ett samband mellan elevernas sociala kompetens och hur de presterar i skolan. Resultatet av studien går i linje med vad tidigare forskning har påvisat gällande inkludering och vad som påverkar skolresultat.

Background: Hysterectomy means surgical removal of the uterus. There are different types of hysterectomies depending on indication for the surgery. The surgery is life changing and results in different experiences for each woman affected. 10 000 women in Sweden go through hysterectomy every year, 50% of them for medical reasons and the other half for benign symptomatic conditions. The operation can lead to physical, psycological and social consequenses. Therefore the nurses professionalism is important to promote health and well-being for this patient group. Aim: To illustrate women’s experiences after going through hysterectomy in different parts of the world. Method: The literature study is based on eight qualitative studies. Reasearch for the articles was done through two different databases; Pubmed and Cinahl. Friberg’s method for analysis was applied and implemented through five different steps. Results: The analysis of the eight chosen articles bought to light four main categories of experiences after a hysterectomy: “Bodily and reproductive changes”, ”psychological and existential experiences”, ”the importance of social relationships and support” and ”need for information and understanding” Conclusion: Women who have undergone a hysterectomy experience different physical, psychological and psychosocial strains. Support from the enviroment as well as the need for information and management strategies emerged as central themes through the analysis of the chosen articles. The literature study shows that the procedure affects women differently depending on indication as well as adaption after the operation.

While gender gaps persist in entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurs represent agrowing group of entrepreneurs globally.i Much policy and research attention hasbeen devoted to closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship; yet we have surprisinglyfew insights whether being an entrepreneur is actually ‘good’ for women, that is,does it support them feeling well and fulfilled. Societal expectations and conditionsmay amplify both entrepreneurship’s potential wellbeing benefits and risks forwomen. Despite their increasing visibility, we know little about the constraints andresources that women entrepreneurs navigate and how they may be well.In this report, we share key insights from our research project on how womenentrepreneurs experience wellbeing, what drives or undermines it, its consequencesfor the business and beyond, and the practices they use to sustain it. Our findingsdraw on a large-scale systematic review of 40 years of research, and an in-depthqualitative study of women entrepreneurs’ lived experiences.

Desmin, a major muscle-specific intermediate filament protein, is widely regarded as a ubiquitous component of mature skeletal muscle fibers. However, recent observations in human extraocular and palatal muscles indicate that a subset of fibers lack or show very weak desmin expression. The aim of the study was to investigate the presence of desmin in 21 different adult, two toddler, and one fetal human head and neck muscles. The samples were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, and, in one muscle group, also by in situ hybridization for desmin mRNA. Two limb muscles, the biceps brachii and the vastus lateralis, served as controls. In limb muscles, all fibers consistently exhibited desmin immunoreactivity. In contrast, fibers with absent or very weak desmin immunoreactivity were identified across all examined head and neck muscles, with substantial variation between muscle groups. These fibers were predominantly associated with the slow MyHC1 phenotype. A similar pattern was also observed in infant and fetal samples. In longitudinal sections, some fibers showed segmental absence of desmin along their length. In situ hybridization demonstrated absent or markedly reduced desmin mRNA in fibers with absent or reduced desmin immunoreactivity. Taken together, this study provides the first evidence that subsets of myofibers in most human head and neck muscles lack desmin immunoreactivity, indicating that desmin is not ubiquitous in all myofibers in these muscles. These findings reveal previously unrecognized cytoskeletal heterogeneity within human head and neck musculature. The functional significance of fibers lacking or showing very weak desmin immunoreactivity remains to be determined.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have gained considerable attention in tissue engineering due to their remarkable multilineage differentiation potential, recruitment of endogenous cells, and orchestration of a regenerative microenvironment via the secretion of trophic factors. Contemporary research increasingly underscores that, rather than direct differentiation into injured tissue cells, MSCs primarily facilitate tissue repair through the secretion of bioactive paracrine factors. Notably, the physical properties of scaffold materials have emerged as key regulators of MSC paracrine function. This review provides a comprehensive overview of how diverse physical characteristics of scaffold materials modulate the composition and concentration of MSC-derived paracrine factors, thereby shaping the cellular microenvironment to enhance tissue regeneration. By elucidating the mechanistic interplay between scaffold physicality and MSC paracrine function, we aim to inform the rational design of biomaterials for optimized regenerative therapies.

This systematic review examines how information and communication technologies (ICT) shape emotional, social, and cultural dynamics within transnational families (TNFs). Drawing on 113 articles identified through a Zotero bibliographic library developed by Working Group 1 of the COST Action Transnational Family Dynamics in Europe [TraFaDy], the study synthesizes research on ICT-mediated family practices within TNFs. Through descriptive coding and thematic analysis, we examined participant profiles, research designs, communication practices, origin and host countries, the drivers of ICT use, and emotional, social, and cultural consequences. Findings show that ICT enhances communication, facilitates co-presence across distance, and supports emotional bonds, while also generating complex ambivalences shaped by socioeconomic conditions, digital literacy, migration status, and intra-family power dynamics. Although digital tools strengthen family roles, caregiving arrangements, and transnational belonging, they may simultaneously reinforce inequalities, intensify surveillance, or create emotional strain. Cultural processes such as enculturation, acculturation, and cultural integration were shown to be deeply intertwined with ICT use, revealing how digital communication sustains cultural continuity while enabling hybrid cultural formations. The review concludes with recommendations for strengthening research and policy initiatives related to digital inclusion, family support, and integration, with the aim of enhancing the well-being of TNFs.

Purpose of review: The Health Effects Institute recently completed an extensive research initiative to investigate novel approaches to improve assessment of long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution for health studies in North America and Europe. This overview synthesizes the key results, strengths, and limitations, along with other key research and future research needs.

Recent findings: Exposures predicted from the various models, including those accounting for daily mobility patterns and outdoor-indoor infiltration rates, generally resulted in moderately to highly correlated exposure estimates (correlation > 0.7). Health effect estimates associated with the alternative exposures were similar, albeit with some notable differences in the magnitude – but not the direction — of the associations.

Summary: This research initiative can inform decisions about estimating air pollution exposure in epidemiological studies, as investigators balance concerns about bias, efficiency, and resource needs. Future work is needed to replicate findings in other studies and regions. Other areas of future work include generating representative validation data for long-term exposure estimates, propagating exposure measurement error more fully into health effect estimates and improving understanding of the influence of indoor environments.

Background: Diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (D_LCO) is a measure of gas exchange in the lungs. Reduced D_LCO with normal spirometry is a common finding that is incompletely understood.

Aim: To assess determinants of isolated, reduced D_LCO in an unselected population.

Methods: The Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) is a multicentre population-based study of adults aged 50–64 years. The 5th percentile of D_LCO in healthy never smokers was used as the lower limit of normal (LLN). Using multivariable analysis, we studied factors associated with D_LCO < LLN in 24 261 subjects with normal spirometry, defined as FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC > LLN. Emphysema and interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) were assessed through computed tomography, physical activity through accelerometry and other factors through questionnaires.

Results: Isolated D_LCO < LLN (n = 1 472) was independently associated with emphysema (odds ratio and 95% confidence interval: 2.6 (2.2, 3.2)), lung disease other than asthma or COPD (1.8 (1.2, 2.8)), exertional chest pain (1.6 (1.3, 2.1)), smoking (per-10-pack-years) (1.6 (1.4, 1.9)), ILA (1.4 (1.2, 1.7)), breathing problems (1.4 (1.1, 1.8)), male sex (1.3 (1.1, 1.6)) and coughing (1.2 (1.1, 1.5)). D_LCO < LLN was less likely if subjects were older, had asthma or had higher BMI, haemoglobin, FVC or physical activity.

Conclusion: Isolated, reduced D_LCO in a large middle-aged population cohort is associated with numerous previously known factors, including emphysema, ILA, smoking and self-reported lung disease. However, several symptoms, including exertional chest pain, breathing problems and coughing, are also independently associated with isolated reduced D_LCO.

Background: Pitt–Hopkins syndrome (PTHS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with pronounced impacts on physical health and everyday functioning, including severe intellectual disability, impaired communication, epilepsy, and breathing dysregulation. Despite significant clinical challenges, there is limited evidence to guide interventions for individuals with PTHS. This scoping review aimed to examine the available literature on interventions targeting challenges experienced by individuals with PTHS and to identify gaps in the current knowledge base.

Results: Sixteen peer-reviewed publications, published between 2012 and 2024, met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies focused on medical management, predominantly addressing epilepsy and breathing abnormalities, and were pharmacological in nature. Most studies employed case report or small case series designs, and systematic outcome measurement approaches were rare. Epilepsy interventions largely reflected clinical practices in broader epilepsy populations, with common use of conventional antiseizure medications and evidence of potential benefit from newer agents in treatment-resistant cases. Non-pharmacological treatments, including vagus nerve stimulation, corpus callosotomy, ketogenic diet, and a walking-based mobility intervention, were described in only a few studies, with heterogeneous outcomes. Interventions for respiratory dysfunction, gastrointestinal symptoms, pain management, immune dysfunction, psychiatric or behavioral difficulties were limited and typically reported in individual cases. Research addressing psychosocial, behavioral, and participation-focused interventions was notably scarce, despite the broad functional impairments associated with PTHS.

Conclusions: This scoping review shows that intervention research in PTHS remains at an early stage, with an evidence base dominated by descriptive case studies and few systematic evaluations. This limits the ability to formulate robust, evidence-based treatment recommendations. There is a need for more rigorous research designs in future research, that enable causal inference and systematic outcome measurement. Moreover, future studies should broaden the scope of intervention research to include communication, behavior, participation, physical activity and quality of life, alongside medical management, to better support the complex needs of individuals with PTHS. Increased focus on family impact and long-term outcomes may further enhance understanding and care strategies for this population.

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC × GC–MS) is a powerful tool for analysing complex mixtures, but its wide use is limited by the lack of robust and transparent inter-sample peak alignment workflows. Commercial solutions often rely on proprietary algorithms, while user-friendly open-source alternatives remain scarce. Here, we introduce jAligner4GCxGC, a new open-access Julia package for inter-sample GC × GC–MS peak alignment and benchmark its performance within practical GC × GC–MS data processing workflows against Guineu (open-source) and ChromaTOF Sync 2D (commercial). The package performs data preprocessing, alignment, and postprocessing including feature merging, library searching, and compound data retrieval. Three indoor dust samples, including certified reference material, were spiked with >150 reference compounds at concentrations of 0.5, 5.0, and 50 pg/μl and analysed using workflows optimized for each application. Performance was evaluated based on recovery of correctly aligned spiked compounds and workflow processing time. Because the software packages differ in peak detection and preprocessing, comparisons involving Sync 2D should be interpreted at workflow rather than alignment algorithm level. At 50 pg/μl, Guineu and jAligner4GCxGC detected 94% and 92% of compounds, respectively, outperforming Sync 2D (82%). At 5 and 0.5 pg/μl, Sync 2D detected the highest proportions (79% and 71%), whereas Guineu and jAligner4GCxGC performed identically (68% and 33%). Alignment-related processing required seconds for Guineu, 4 min for jAligner4GCxGC, and 9 min for Sync 2D. However, Sync 2D provided the quickest end-to-end workflow. These results highlight practical trade-offs between commercial and open-source workflows and demonstrate that jAligner4GCxGC provides a transparent and reproducible solution for GC × GC–MS peak alignment.

Aims: We evaluated overall and sex-specific performance of established diabetes risk models for predicting incident dysglycaemia in African and European populations.

Materials and Methods: We externally evaluated the African Diabetes Risk model, Finnish Diabetes Risk model, Epidemiological Study on the Insulin Resistance Syndrome model and the personal and clinical Framingham models. Evaluation was performed in three prospective cohorts: the Research on Obesity and Diabetes among African Migrants (RODAM-Pros; migrant and non-migrant Ghanaians; n = 1607), the Middle-aged Soweto cohort (MASC; urban Black South Africans; n = 515) and the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP; Sweden; n = 3044). Dysglycaemia was defined according to American Diabetes Association criteria. Discrimination (c-statistic) and calibration were assessed before and after recalibration.

Results: Dysglycaemia developed in 17.7% of RODAM-Pros participants, 35.0% of MASC participants and 27.5% of VIP participants, with median follow-up of 6.7, 6.7 and 9.9 years, respectively. All models demonstrated poor-to-modest discrimination (c-statistic < 0.7). Most models substantially underestimated risk. Recalibration eliminated systematic miscalibration and reduced calibration error to ≤ 2.3% in RODAM-Pros and VIP and ≤ 3.4% in MASC. Performance varied by sex and cohort.

onclusions: Existing diabetes risk prediction models can be applied to predict incident dysglycaemia in both Sub-Saharan African and European populations, but only after recalibration to local risk levels.

Denna magisteruppsats i konstvetenskap analyserar hur konstnären Hanna Hirsch Pauli (1864-1940) har framställts och producerats som konstnärligt subjekt i fjorton utställningskataloger mellan 1887 och 2025. Syftet är att genom en komparativ analys av utställningskataloger från olika tider synliggöra hur katalogernas texter, layout och bildurval inte enbart dokumenterar utan aktiv producerar och förändrar förståelsen av hennes konstnärskap över tid. Studien vilar på ett teoretiskt ramverk som kombinerar Judith Butlers teori om performativitet, där subjektet förstås som resultatet av diskursivt reglerade upprepningar, och Mieke Bals begrepp om materiell inramning, vilket belyser hur katalogens fysiska form och organisation styr produktionen av mening. Analysen görs i ett ramverk av feministisk teori. Den valda metoden är en kvalitativ, tolkande närläsning (textanalys) av katalogernas performativa utformning och texternas performativa framställan. Resultatet visar att utställningskataloger fungerar som aktiva handlingar snarare än passiva dokumentationer. Studien identifierar en tydlig utveckling i utställningskatalogernas performativa framställningar från tidig genuskodning på de internationella utställningarna som Salongen i Paris och Världsutställningar, via en postum marginalisering, till den retrospektiva intersektionella inramningen 2025. En central slutsats är att narrativen om Hirsch Paulis "bristande självförtroende" och "kvinnlig, borgerlig, priviligerad konstnär" har befäst genom performativa upprepningar snarare än matereilla belägg. Genom att kontrastera rådande kanon med empirisk data från instutitionella arkiv synligör uppsatsen en tidigare förminskad instutitionell marganalisering på den samtida konstscenen. Sammanfattningsvis framstår katalogernas förändringar till en arena där Hirsch Pauli idag har återupprättats som ett självständigt agerande konstnärligt subjekt.

Background: Despite extensive research on adherence in first-episode psychosis (FEP), reliance on self-report or clinician judgment has limited accuracy and obscured nuanced clinical associations

Objective: This longitudinal study examined the predictive value of psychopathology, insight, and functioning for objectively measured treatment adherence across a one-year follow-up using therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM).

Methods: Seventy-eight FEP patients were assessed at baseline, 2 months, and 12 months. Clinical measures included the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS), and the Schedule for the Assessment of Insight–Expanded version (SAI-E). Adherence was defined by comparing plasma antipsychotic concentrations to prescribed doses according to international consensus guidelines. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) were used to model time-dependent associations.

Results: While overall adherence declined, time alone was not a significant predictor. Instead, current positive symptom severity (approximately 4–5% lower odds of adherence per BPRS point) was associated with lower odds of adherence, while prior non-adherence predicted subsequent adherence. In contrast, insight, negative symptoms, and functioning showed no consistent association with adherence. A marginal association between improved functioning and better adherence was observed at 12 months.

Conclusions: Adherence in FEP appears to fluctuate in relation to current clinical state rather than follow a stable linear pattern. These findings highlight the value of objective TDM monitoring and early intervention, supporting predictive models that incorporate evolving symptom patterns rather than static baseline measures.

Trial registration: Clinical trial number: not applicable.

Biochar performance in applications like soil amendment depends on properties including porosity, surface area, and pore structure, which are influenced by both process conditions and feedstock characteristics such as wood anatomy. However, their effects across micro- and nanometre length scales remain poorly understood. This study therefore investigates how feedstock and process conditions affect properties of pine wood biochar produced in industrially relevant pilot-scale continuous reactor for torrefaction (291–315°C, 6–12 min) and pyrolysis (350–400°C, 25 min). High-resolution X-ray microtomography combined with AI-assisted image analysis was used to quantify earlywood–latewood distribution, porosity, pore size, cell wall thickness, and micrometre-scale surface area, while N₂ and CO₂ sorption probed nanometre-scale structure. The wood microstructure was largely preserved across treatments, resulting in highly anisotropic pore networks. Porosity remained high (33–77%), primarily influenced by earlywood–latewood variability rather than temperature. From torrefaction to pyrolysis, cell wall thickness and pore diameter decreased, while microporosity (<∼0.7 nm) and accessible surface area increased significantly above 350°C. Discrepancies between N₂ and CO₂ measurements indicate differences in pore accessibility, likely associated with ultramicroporosity, pore constrictions and/or partially inaccessible pores. Water holding capacity ranged from 1.7 to 5.3 times dry weight, with highest average at 350°C, although differences were not significant. Combined use of microtomography and gas sorption provides a multiscale framework for linking biochar structure across micro- and nanometre scales to performance-relevant properties. These findings demonstrate that wood anatomy dominates over process conditions under mild thermal treatment, highlighting new possibilities for tailoring process design through consideration of wood anatomy.

Background: There is limited evidence on how asthma manifestations and health-related factors influence sickness absence among patients with asthma.

Objective: We sought to investigate the impact of asthma control, lung function, allergy, and health-related factors (overweight/obesity, physical activity, and smoking) on sickness absence among adult patients with asthma. A secondary aim was to estimate productivity losses related to sickness absence for uncontrolled asthma.

Methods: The study included 69,548 patients with asthma 18 to 65 years old registered in the Swedish National Airway Register during 2021-2022. Data on asthma manifestations and health-related factors were obtained from the most recent health care visit. Sickness absence (>14 days) during 2022 was obtained from Statistics Sweden. Analyses were performed with logistic regression models using multiple imputations. Productivity losses were calculated using the human capital approach.

Results: Overall, 17.4% of patients had any sickness absence. Uncontrolled asthma was associated with increased odds of sickness absence compared with controlled asthma (adjusted odds ratio, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.37-1.56), whereas no association was observed for low lung function or allergy. Overweight, obesity, low physical activity, and smoking were independently associated with sickness absence. Individuals with uncontrolled asthma had more days of sickness absence (19.3 vs 11.2, P < .001) and excess productivity losses (estimated at €144 per individual after adjustment for age and sex) compared with individuals with controlled asthma.

Conclusions: Uncontrolled asthma and adverse health-related factors were independently associated with sickness absence and related productivity losses among working-age patients with asthma. Improving asthma control and modifiable health-related factors may reduce sickness absence and societal costs.

This essay studies space-filling curves and their connection to attractors of iterated function systems (IFS). We begin with the Hilbert curve, a continuous surjection from [0,1] onto [0,1]², and then turn to the Hahn–Mazurkiewicz theorem, which characterizes exactly which spaces arise as continuous images of [0,1]: those that are compact, connected, and locally connected. We then develop the theory of IFS attractors and present a theorem by Masayoshi Hata showing that every connected IFS attractor is the image of a space-filling curve. Finally, for a special class of IFS attractors, we make Hata's existence result explicit by giving a direct construction of a curve that fills them, where in Hata's original paper it existed only implicitly, as the solution to a functional equation.

This study explored the lived experiences of emotion regulation among humanitarian workers operating in conflict-affected areas and emergency settings. Using a qualitative design and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), semi-structured interviews were conducted with five humanitarian professionals. Three superordinate themes were developed: (1) the dilemma of a humanitarian identity; (2) finding emotional stability through the body, relationships, and meaning; and (3) negotiating emotional life within the humanitarian system. The findings showed that emotional strain emerged not only from exposure to suffering and trauma, but also from resource limitations, professional responsibility, uncertainty, and blurred personal and professional boundaries. Participants described regulating these experiences through bodily awareness, social support, acceptance, meaning-making, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. The findings suggest that emotion regulation in humanitarian work is an evolving process continuously shaped by individuals' coping strategies and the organizational environment. They also highlight the need for proactive organizational support for the psychological wellbeing of humanitarian workers.Keywords: Emotion regulation; humanitarian workers; Conflict-affected settings; Emergency settings; Psychological wellbeing; Coping strategies; Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)

Biophysics bridges the research questions of biology with the measurement techniques of physics and engineering. Through collaborations with industrial and academic researchers across multiple disciplines, the studies presented in this thesis address a wide range of biological phenomena, from the minute thermal motion of single-cell microorganisms to the flow conditions in industrial and natural environments. The ability of biophysics to operate across these scales enables applications including pathogen detection, biofilm prevention, and personalized medicine. However, advancing research in these areas requires sophisticated instruments that are often slow and costly to produce using conventional manufacturing techniques.

This thesis explores how recent advances in open-source electronics and consumer-grade additive manufacturing, known as 3D printing, can be used for rapid prototyping of custom scientific instruments in the lab. The thesis details a practical framework for designing instruments using additive manufacturing, computer simulations, and integrated measurement systems, including design principles for improved performance and reliability. The work covers instruments for single-cell detection, manipulation, and disruption using microscopy and microfluidics, with the aim of increasing measurement throughput. It also presents flow devices for enhanced biofilm incubation, fluid biomimicry, and clinical assessment of cerebral fluid dynamics. Throughout the development process, emphasis is placed on extending measurement capabilities beyond those offered by standardized methods and commercial systems, while also providing the analytical tools needed to interpret the measurement results.

Together, this work demonstrates that consumer-grade 3D printers can produce components with sufficient precision and accuracy for advanced biophysical instrumentation, enabling a more collaborative and demand-driven approach to instrument development within the research community.

The voices of preschool and school teachers have been largely absent from knowledge production, creating a gap between research and practice and limiting the potential of research to enhance education. While collaboration between researchers and teachers has been promoted to bridge the research-practice gap, its promise can be undermined by power imbalances, in which researchers’ higher status risks silencing teachers’ contributions to knowledge production. This is especially the case when collaboration unfolds in traditional research settings. Therefore, there is a need for research on attempts to collaborate in new ways. This study examines the possibilities of a collaborative book project to mitigate asymmetries in collaboration and amplify teachers’ voices in knowledge production. The model used in the project was intentionally designed to foreground practitioners’ perspectives while integrating both research and professional insights. Grounded in cultural-historical activity theory and based on observations and interviews conducted by an external researcher, the study shows that the collaboration process provoked tensions in relation to differences in practices, status and positionings. Yet its organisation enabled participants to address these tensions and develop agency. The collaboration model showed potential to amplify teachers’ voices, fostering a more democratic knowledge infrastructure by positioning teachers as active knowledge producers.

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health problems in athletes, yet the inclusion of athletes with clinical mental health problems in intervention studies remains limited. Furthermore, no studies to date have investigated the mechanisms of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on anxiety and positive affect in athletes. Hence, the aim of the current study was to examine the effect of CBT on moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and positive affect in athletes, as well as to investigate the mediated effects of CBT on anxiety symptoms and positive affect through rumination and acceptance. A randomized single-case multiple-baseline design was conducted with six athletes who experienced moderate to severe anxiety. Data was collected four times daily through ecological momentary assessment, and all participants received six weekly sessions of CBT. Intervention effects were analyzed using Tau and baseline-corrected Tau, and mediated effects were analyzed using a two-step approach with Tau and cross-lagged correlations. An intervention effect on anxiety was observed for two participants, while two participants showed an increase in anxiety. An intervention effect on positive affect was observed for three participants. In terms of mediation, only one participant showed evidence consistent with a mediated process in the expected direction through rumination on anxiety. These findings highlight individual variability in treatment effects and the underlying mechanisms that may help explain how interventions exert their effects. The current study underscores the complementary role of idiographic approaches alongside group-based designs in advancing evidence on individual treatment effects and underlying mechanisms.

Mutations in superoxide dismutase−1 (SOD1) are a common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Inheritance is as a rule dominant, but in carriers of the most prevalent mutation, D90A, disease primarily develops in homozygotes. Increasing evidence suggests that prion-like propagation of SOD1 aggregation is the central pathogenic mechanism. Two structurally different strains of aggregates have been found to arise in human SOD1 (hSOD1) transgenic (Tg) mouse models of ALS. Strain A is formed by most mutants including hSOD1^G85R and homozygous hSOD1^WT Tg mice, whereas homozygous hSOD1^D90A Tg mice form a distinct strain B, but also A. Inoculation of strain A and B seed preparations from Tg mice into lumbar spinal cord of adult hSOD1^G85R mice induced templated spreading hSOD1 aggregation and premature ALS-like disease. Seeds from an ALS patient carrying the hSOD1^G127X truncation mutation likewise transmitted strain A aggregation and disease. In the present study, we investigated whether seeds prepared from spinal ventral horns from six patients homozygous for the hSOD1^D90A mutation could transmit aggregation and disease to adult hSOD1^G85R Tg mice. Despite the extensive degeneration and loss of motor neurons in the long-lived D90A patients, two of the seeds significantly shortened the survival of the Tg mice, one transmitting A and the other B-pattern hSOD1 aggregation. Nine different preparations from four human controls lacked effects. The results demonstrate that two distinct aggregate strains can arise and propagate in homozygous hSOD1^D90A ALS patients, further supporting the hypothesis that prion-like transmission of hSOD1 aggregation is the primary pathogenic mechanism in SOD1-linked ALS.

Studien undersöker hur 1882 års folkskolestadga formulerade och legitimerade folkskolan som ett projekt för ordning och disciplin. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ textanalys och kontextualiserar folkskolestadgan med normativa texter. Foucaults disciplinbegrepp utgör det teoretiska ramverket. I analysen identifieras fem teman: tid, närvaro och skolplikt; kropp, uppförande och sanktioner; moral, kristen fostran och lärarideal; familj, hushåll och ansvarsfördelning; och samhällsnytta, arbetsmoral och medborgarformering. Resultatet visar att idéer om fostran och undervisning är nära sammanflätade och att disciplinering riktades mot elever, lärare, familjer, hushåll och arbetsgivare. Disciplin framträder genom föreställningar om moral, ansvar, flit och självreglering. Studiens slutsats är att folkskolan kan förstås som ett discplinärt ordningsprojekt där disciplineringen legitimeras via föreställningar om kristen moral, samhällsnytta, arbetsmoral och formandet av självdisciplinerade samhällsmedborgare.

Near-zero-refractive index materials display unique optical properties such as perfect transmission through distorted waveguides, cloaking, and inhibited diffraction. Compared to conventional media, they can fundamentally behave differently to light impinging from air owing to the phenomenon of total external reflection, which excites evanescent waves. Here, we introduce a strategy for generating circularly polarized light using evanescent wave-based linear-to-circular polarization conversion. Practically realizable device designs are presented using hybrid structures of near-zero index and high index materials in a flat-optics geometry without the need for prism coupling or sub-wavelength air gaps. Our results predict generation of circularly polarized light in both reflection and transmission configurations based on naturally available epsilon-near-zero materials and illustrate the role of loss in limiting performance. Although the operation wavelength is limited to the epsilon-near-zero region, the concept can be implemented from the terahertz to optical domains using tunable epsilon-near-zero materials.

Solid-state nanopores offer a powerful platform for nanoscale analysis of individual analytes, including biomolecules and functionalized nanoparticles, by confining them within a precisely defined sensing region. However, their inherently passive operation restricts practical applications, as they cannot precisely control particle position or dynamics inside the pore. Here, we introduce magnetic nanopore architectures that integrate a ferromagnetic layer into the nanopore system. Acting as a magnetic discontinuity within an otherwise uniformly magnetized film, the nanopore generates localized stray magnetic fields that enable magnetic tweezing of magnetic nanoparticles, which can be functionalized with fluorescent biomolecules. Importantly, the nanopore geometry is designed to reversibly switch between a nearly uniform magnetization state and a magnetic flux-closure state through the application of momentary magnetic fields of predetermined amplitude. This capability allows the magnetic tweezing effect to be selectively activated or deactivated, enabling controlled capture and release of tagged biomolecules on demand. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the selective magnetic trapping of fluorescent magnetic particles. Our work establishes a robust and controllable approach for reconfigurable, on-chip magnetic nanopore platforms capable of selective trapping and high-throughput single-particle detection.

In this thesis a stochastic optimal control framework is developed to analyse the impact of transaction costs on hedging strategies in illiquid markets. The optimal trading strategy is derived by minimising the expected squared hedging error subject to transaction costs. The problem is solved using the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation, and the resulting cost function is analysed to understand how the cost parameter influences the trade-off between tracking error and trading cost. The findings provide insights intothe implications of using different tracking targets and cost structures in markets withtransaction costs. Using both the frictionless Black-Scholes delta hedge and the deltahedge with transaction costs as tracking processes, the performance of the optimal track-ing strategy is evaluated under various scenarios of costs. Three numerical methods are implemented to solve the HJB equation, including a finite difference method, a finite element method and a physics-informed neural network approach. Validation of the numerical methods showed that the classical methods of the finite difference and the finite element approaches are effective in solving the HJB equation, while the neural network approach struggled with convergence. The results demonstrate that transaction costs significantly affect hedging strategies, reducing trading frequency and increasing tracking error. When transaction costs are present, the agent trades more conservatively, sacrificing perfect tracking to avoid the costs, resulting in increased risk exposure but lower trading fees.

The point of this essay is to analyze how alienation and loneliness is depicted in Franz Kafka’s novel Amerika. Furthermore, another one of Franz Kafka’s novels, Förvandlingen will be used as a comparison to analyse the differences and similarities in its depiction of alienation and loneliness to that of Amerika. The essay uses the written perspectives and thoughts from philosophers, theorists and scholars G.W.F Hegel, Karl Marx, Erich Fromm and Todd McGowan to further analyze and explain the themes of alienation in the novel. The essay demonstrates how alienation and loneliness takes form in the world and in the characters of the novel Amerika and how this influences the story and the story’s protagonist. The essay concludes that the alienation and loneliness depicted in Frans Kafka’s Amerika is varied from how it is portrayed in his other written works as it is depicted as a natural and indifferent phenomenon for the protagonist. 

Zinc is essential for life yet toxic in excess, rendering homeostatic control vital for all organisms. Transition metal transporting P-type (PIB-) ATPase proteins are critical for this balance but remain poorly understood at the molecular level. Here, we present the inward-open structure of a dimeric zinc-transporting PIB-type ATPase, resolved at 3.6 Å resolution. Biochemical analyses and molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the N-terminal tail, harboring two so-called metal binding domains (MBDs), auto-inhibits the ATPase core and serves as a metal-sensitive sensor, releasing inhibition when intracellular metal levels rise. Contrary to the prevailing uptake models, the structure reveals an electronegatively charged uptake region that directly exposes a metal-binding cysteine of the invariant CPC-motif. We propose that a histidine-rich segment, positioned after the MBD closest to the core, donates ions to the CPC site. Consequently, an intricate interplay between the regulatory and ion-providing N-terminus and the ATPase core is present, safeguarding against zinc toxicity. Collectively, our findings shed light on the regulation and transport mechanism of PIB-ATPases, with implications for fundamental biology and the potential to inform future biotechnological and translational applications.

Indexator Rotator Systems AB manufactures and develops hydraulic motors, known as rotators. Indexator has installed a new CNC machine with robot automation, which requires the component to be positioned differently compared to the current solution. Therefore, new pallets have been developed where the component is positioned to optimize the robot operation, but a lifting aid for this setup is currently lacking. The purpose of this work is to design, manufacture, and validate a lifting aid for Indexator’s production line to improve the working environment. Before the lifting aid can be put into service in the operations, the equipment must be CE-marked in accordance with the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EG.

The project was executed by developing concepts and 3D models, which were validated using strength of materials calculations. Subsequently, manufacturing drawings were created to produce the lifting aid. The physical product was subsequently verified through static load testing, a risk assessment, and an internal review conducted alongside operators, safety representatives, and the operator’s closest supervisor. Technical documentation for the lifting aid was compiled in consultation with a mentor from Indexator. This documentation includes an instruction manual, manufacturing drawings, test protocol, a risk assessment, a control report, and an EU Declaration of Conformity.

The work resulted in a lifting aid that eliminates manual lifting and successfully fulfilled the requirements of the CE marking process. The results also include the technical documentation required to enhance the CE mark. The lifting aid is somewhat oversized and thus unnecessarily heavy, which is an area Indexator can further develop and optimize in the future using the finite element method, as this was not a part of this project.

Examensarbetet behandlar färdigställande och driftsättning av en befintlig prototyp av en kantskyddsautomat i testmiljö. Bakgrunden till arbetet är att idag placeras kantskydd manuellt på varje limträpaket på Holmen i Bygdsiljum. Momentet är repetitivt, kräver att en operatör är på stationen och kan innebära ergonomiska belastningar. Särskilt vid mindre paket, och vid större paket då operatören inte kan nå paketets bortre sida av paketet.

Arbetet omfattade mekanisk montering, elektrisk inkoppling, PLC-programmering, I/O-verifiering och en funktionsvalidering. PLC-programmet byggdes upp som en sekvensstyrning där maskinen först matar upp kantskydd i ett magasin, plockar dem med vakuum och förflyttar samt placerar dem på ett paket. Validering genomfördes stegvis i testmiljö för att identifiera fel i mekanik, givarsignaler, vakuumfunktion och programlogik.

Resultatet visar att prototypen kunde monteras ihop, kopplas in och köras som ett sammanhängande system i testmiljö. Maskinen kunde utföra det centrala rörelserna i arbetssekvensen och PLC-programmet kunde styra sekvensen från uppmatning till placering. Tekniska begränsningar identifierades också i testmiljön, bland annat kopplade till svagt vakuum vid plockning av fler än ett kantskydd, begränsad strömförsörjning och att ställdonets interna inställningar inte kunde optimeras med tillhörande mjukvara.

Slutsatsen är att prototypen visade grundläggande funktion i testmiljö, men att den inte är färdig för produktionsdrift. Innan fortsatt implementering behöver framför allt vakuumfunktionen och strömförsörjningen säkerställas och verifieras genom längre tester.