Publikationer från Linköpings universitet
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Working memory capacity moderates the effect of hearing aid experience on phonological processing performance
No full textPurpose Individuals with acquired hearing impairment often experience declines in phonological processing abilities, a phenomenon thought to be mediated by working memory capacity (WMC). However, the role of hearing aid use in this context remains underexplored. Therefore, in the current study, we aimed (1) to tease apart the effect of hearing impairment and hearing aid use on phonological processing performance, and (2) to investigate the effect of hearing aid use on phonological processing in more detail, while considering the involvement of WMC.Method Using mixed effect models, we investigated rhyme judgment performance and its reliance on WMC among three groups of participants: a group of hearing aid users (n = 202), a group of hearing-impaired individuals without hearing aid (n = 54), and a group of normal hearing controls (n = 201). We also examined how years of hearing aid use was associated with rhyme judgment performance and its reliance on WMC in hearing aid users.Results We found that hearing impairment was associated with increased dependence of rhyme judgment performance on WMC regardless of the use of hearing aids. Furthermore, hearing aid use was overall positively associated with rhyme judgment performance, with this relationship influenced by variations in WMC.Conclusion WMC influences the effectiveness of hearing aids for phonological processing. This role may result from working memory's involvement in the processing of output signals from hearing aids, as well as in the strategies hearing aid users implement to deal with phonological processing tasks.Funding Agencies|William Demant Foundation [21-1640]; Swedish Research Council [2017-06092, 349-2007-8654]; FORTE [2012-1693]</p
A wicked problem: Systemic issues surrounding Canadian equestrian dressage and dressage horse welfare
No full textCompetitive dressage's social licence to operate is in jeopardy due to ethical concerns surrounding the use of horses for dressage. There is limited research that contributes to our understanding of Canadian equestrian perspectives on the use of horses in dressage. The objectives of this study were to: (1) explore the cultural context of the Canadian dressage industry, including how horse well-being is integrated within the culture; and (2) investigate coaches' and riders' perceptions and experiences with the use of horses for dressage. An ethnographic case study approach was employed, where MR spent 2-6 weeks with each of the four participating Equestrian Canada Certified dressage coaches and their riders (at least four riders per coach for a total of 19 riders). Data collection included direct observation, recording field notes and conducting at least one in-depth interview with each coach and rider. Interviews and field notes were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis leading to the development of three themes: (1) the systems that participants operate within; (2) how these systems foster a culture of contradiction in the industry; and (3) the 'equestrian dilemma' highlighting how participants navigate their love for horses with their horses' well-being amid the sport's demands. The three themes portray that the issues faced by the dressage industry may be rooted in systemic problems and could be described as a 'wicked problem'. These results aim to inform future research initiatives that promote a holistic understanding of the challenges faced by the dressage industry and promote systems thinking solutions.Funding Agencies|Canada Research Chairs; Atlantic Veterinary College; Canada Research Chair programme</p
Gendered associations of situational and dispositional factors with exclusion from social relations and loneliness in older age
No full textBackground States of exclusion from social relations (ESR) refers to severe social isolation in older age that is not always typified by increased loneliness. Relevant deficiencies in the social network of older persons may be gendered and associated with personality and socioeconomic barriers, with direct implications for older persons' welfare. Although the contribution of personality traits and socioeconomic barriers in shaping ESR states in older age are often debated, empirical evidence that addresses their unique contribution is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the gender-stratified associations of situational (e.g., marital status, socioeconomic conditions) and dispositional factors (i.e., personality traits) with ESR states and loneliness in older age.Methods A cross-sectional and gender-stratified secondary analysis of a sample (N = 36,814) from the Survey on Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe was conducted using logistic regression models.Results The probability of ESR was higher among older men. Certain situational factors (e.g., widowed, never married) significantly increased the probabilities of ESR for both genders, while other (e.g., divorce) had a gender-specific significance. Less extraversion among older women and less conscientiousness among older men was associated with an increased probability of ESR in later life. Within ESR states, older men living alone and older women who are less extraverted were more at-risk of loneliness.Conclusion Situational factors are more predictive of ESR states than personality traits, yet a gendered perspective is needed when assessing the risk factors of ESR and loneliness in later life.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life, and Welfare [2020-00039]</p
Decompressive craniectomy following subarachnoid hemorrhage: A prospective Swedish multicenter study
No full textIntroduction: Decompressive craniectomy (DC) in patients with severe aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) can be a life-saving procedure. The aim of this nationwide prospective study was to investigate the use of DC in aSAH patients in Sweden. Research question: To explore the risk factors and functional outcome associated with DC in patients with aSAH. Material and methods: Patients treated for aSAH at all neurosurgical centers in Sweden during a 3.5-year period (2014-2018) were prospectively registered. Clinical, radiological and treatment-related factors with regard to DC were analyzed using Chi-Square and logistic regression analysis. Functional outcome was assessed by the extended Glasgow outcome scale one year after the bleeding. Results: During the study period, 1037 patients were treated for aSAH. Thirty-five patients (3.4%) underwent DC. At one year follow-up, 25 of these (71%) had unfavorable functional outcome. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that poor clinical grade before aneurysm treatment, middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm, edema on the initial computed tomography (CT), and adverse events during aneurysm occlusion were independent and significant risk factors for performing DC. Discussion and conclusion: DC is relatively uncommon in aSAH patients and is related to increased risk of unfavorable outcome. However, favorable functional outcome was seen in 29% of patients with DC. Adverse events during aneurysm occlusion were significant risk factors for DC
Protein-Peptide Docking with ESMFold Language Model
No full textDesigning peptide therapeutics requires precise peptide docking, which remains a challenge. We assessed the ESMFold language model, originally designed for protein structure prediction, for its effectiveness in protein-peptide docking. Various docking strategies, including polyglycine linkers and sampling-enhancing modifications, were explored. The number of acceptable-quality models among top-ranking results is comparable to traditional methods and generally lower than AlphaFold-Multimer or Alphafold 3, though ESMFold surpasses it in some cases. The combination of result quality and computational efficiency underscores ESMFold's potential value as a component in a consensus approach for high-throughput peptide design.Funding Agencies|Narodowe Centrum Nauki [OPUS 2020/39/B/NZ2/01301]; National Science Centre, Poland</p
Reconceptualizing rehabilitation research via an enactive framework and a radically interdisciplinary cross-analysis: a study protocol on fatigue in post COVID-19 condition (PCC)
No full textSeveral of the most debilitating symptoms in medi-cine, such as fatigue and pain, are highly non-specific and both difficult for the patient to describe and for the caregiver to interpret. The underlying factors con-tributing to such symptoms are often complex and multiple. Our purpose is to develop a cross-analysis methodology, developed from within an enactive in-terpretation of the biopsychosocial model that allows for a focus on neuroscientific, physiological, and expe-riential aspects of the person as a living being in their sociocultural world, and to do so in order to achieve a more holistic and clinically clarifying way of understan-ding complex conditions, such as post-COVID fatigue. Traditionally conceived, the biopsychosocial model of disease acknowledges this complexity, but does not as such suggest how to capture it for clinical or re-search purposes. In this paper, we propose a radically interdisciplinary approach, where experts from basic medical science, clinical medicine, psychology, pheno-menology, and ethics collaborate, each with their spe-cific perspectives and methods. We then combine and enrich the obtained results through a cross-analysis. We suggest that an enactively modernized biopsycho-social framework is especially suitable for this collabo-ration, as it acknowledges the close interrelation bet-ween mind, body, and environment, and can facilitate cross-analyses of data in this project.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsradet) [2021-01245]; Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine</p
Improving Circularity via Chemical Recycling to all Rings
No full textAliphatic polyesters synthesized via ring-opening polymerization (ROP) have properties competitive to incumbent plastic (PE, PP), while simultaneously opening up for chemical recycling to monomer (CRM). However, not all aliphatic polyesters are prone to undergo CRM, and the ability to shift the equilibrium between polymer and monomer is tightly associated with the initial monomer structure. The standard strategy to measure CRM is to evaluate the change in free energy during polymerization (triangle GROP). However, triangle GROP is only one-dimensional by assessing the equilibrium between initial monomer and polymer. But under active catalytic conditions, the depolymerization of polymers can lead to formation of larger rings, such as dimers, trimers, tetramers, and so on, via the ring-chain equilibrium (RCE), meaning that the real thermodynamic recycling landscape is multi-dimensional. This work introduces a multi-dimensional chemical recycling to all rings (CRR) via a highly active catalytic system to reach RCE. Thermodynamically triangle GRCE is completely different from triangle GROP. Using triangle GRCE instead of triangle GROP allows us to achieve CRR for polymers notoriously difficult to achieve CRM for, as exemplified within by CRR for poly(epsilon-caprolactone), poly(pentadecalactone), and mixed polymer systems. Overall, this work provides a new general concept of closing the material loop.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation through the Wallenberg Wood Science Center; [2020-03455]</p
Exclusionary states in older age and their temporary effects on cognitive decline
No full textBackgroundExclusion from social relations (ESR) describes severe states of social isolation in older age that may be associated with poorer cognitive outcomes. Previous studies on cognitive aging provide mixed evidence for the effects of social isolation and loneliness in shaping cognitive outcomes among older adults. In addition, the joint consideration of social isolation and loneliness remains rarely used in the empirical examination of cognitive aging, whereas an exclusionary perspective is missing.MethodsUsing a sample (N = 7,830) from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), this study examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of three ESR states in older age (ESR and lonely, ESR but not lonely, not ESR but lonely) on episodic memory. Living alone or without a partner, being active in the labor market, and social participation were also included as exclusionary states in linear mixed models with health, demographics, and socioeconomic factors as covariates.ResultsCross-sectionally, ESR states in older age are associated with worse episodic memory independent of loneliness. There was no evidence for longitudinal effects between ESR states at baseline and episodic memory slopes over time.ConclusionsIt was concluded that the negative effects of loneliness-typified ESR states on cognitive aging may be temporary and reversible, as a function of older adults' transition in-and-out of these exclusionary states.Funding Agencies|Karlstad University</p
”Det är inte så roligt när inte Alice är här” : Hur aktiviteter och relationer bidrar till och hindrar att barn trivs i fritidshem
No full text Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om barns trivsel i relation till deltagande i fritidshemmet, med särskilt fokus på hur fritidshemmets organisering möjliggör och hindrar detta. I studien används belonging (tillhörighet) som teoretiskt begrepp för att analysera barnens beskrivningar av trivsel i fritidshemmet. Data producerades genom semistrukturerade gruppintervjuer med barn där de fick rita och berätta om sin vardag i fritidshemmet. Den analyserades med fokus på barnens huvudangelägenhet. Möjligheten att få ta del av ”roliga” aktiviteter och att få vara del av relationer lyfts genomgående fram av barnen, både i deras bilder och i deras berättelser om vardagen i fritidshemmet. Motsatsen, att inte kunna vara del av detta, beskrivs som störande i förhållande att känna tillhörighet. Resultatet visar hur barnen ”gör” trivsel genom olika gränsdragningsprocesser utifrån fritidshemmets organisering av tillhörighet i grupper och den egna individuella identifikationen och anknytningen. “It’s Not As Fun When Alice Isn’t Here”: How Activities and Relationships Contribute to and Hinder Children’s Well-Being in School-Age Educare The aim of this study is to contribute to our understanding of children’s well-being in the context of school-age educare (SAEC). Specifically, we focus on how the organization of SAEC either facilitates or hinders their well-being. To explore this, we employ the theoretical concept of ”belonging” and analyze children’s descriptions of their well-being within SAEC. We collected data through semi-structured group interviews with children who attend SAEC. During these interviews, the children were asked to both draw and discuss their everyday experiences in the SAEC. Our analysis centered on identifying the children’s ”main-concerns”. The children consistently emphasized the importance of participating in “fun” activities and forming relationships. This emphasis was evident in their drawings and narratives about daily life in the SAEC. Conversely, the inability to participate was identified as disruptive to their sense of belonging. Overall, our results highlight how children actively construct their well-being using boundary work based on the organization of belonging within the SAEC and their individual identification and attachment
Dynamic networks connect the USP14 active site region with the proteasome interaction surface
No full textUbiquitin-specific protease 14 (USP14) is a member of the USP family responsible for the catalytic removal of ubiquitin (Ub) from proteins directed to the proteasome, implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration and cancer. Crystallography and cryo-EM analysis have identified loop regions crucial for the deubiquitinase activity of USP14, specifically those involved in Ub and proteasome binding. However, the structural changes in USP14 upon ligand binding to these regions are minimal, indicating significant yet uncharacterized dynamic contributions to its function. In this study, through structural and dynamical NMR experiments and functional evaluation, we demonstrate that small mutations designed to impact Ub binding and catalytic activity without disturbing the USP structure display both local and long-range effects. The affected residues connect the catalytic site and the Ub binding region with the proteasome interaction surface through a network of loops, which show varied dynamics on the ps-ms time scale. Collectively, our findings experimentally reveal different aspects of dynamic connections within USP14, suggesting the presence of allosteric networks that link enzyme activity with regulatory function. The identification of coupled clusters of possible allostery participants in the free USP domain provides new insights into the dynamic regulation of USP14, with potential implications for understanding its role in cellular processes.Funding Agencies|Barncancerfonden; Cancerfonden; Vetenskapsradet; Linkoping University</p