Publikationer från Linköpings universitet
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Parental Imprisonment and Children's Right Not to be Separated from Their Parents
No full textIt is widely known that criminal punishment, especially imprisonment, has negative effects for innocent persons, most notably the families of prisoners. This is an issue attracting increasing attention from penal theorists and philosophers. Adding to this literature, this article examines the extent to which incarceration of a parent is consistent with fundamental rights that are often ascribed to children. In particular, we focus on children's rights against being separated from their parents. To this end, we begin with a discussion of the philosophical basis for children's rights against being separated from their parents against their will. Drawing from recent work by Kimberley Brownlee and Matthew Liao, we argue that children have such a right and that it is grounded in children's welfare interest and the importance of parent-child relationships for children to develop adequately into autonomous agents. We then examine three arguments why imprisoning a parent is justified despite the fact that children have a right against being separated from their parents. For each of these arguments, we argue that while they may show the imprisonment of a particular parent to be sometimes compatible with respecting the right against parent-child separation, an extensive use of imprisonment as punishment of the sort that persists in many states is not
Use of point-of-care tests in pharyngotonsillitis - a registry-based study in primary health care
No full textBackground Point-of-care (POC) tests, including C-reactive protein (CRP) tests and rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) for group A streptococci (GAS), are widely used in Swedish primary health care (PHC). This study quantifies their use in pharyngotonsillitis and explore their association with antibiotic prescribing. Material and methodsRetrospective data from 2012-2016 in Region Kronoberg, Sweden, included all PHC visits with a pharyngotonsillitis diagnosis. Patient characteristics, test usage and antibiotic prescriptions were linked by visit date and personal identification number. Descriptive statistics were used for POC test analysis. Logistic regression assessed the association between CRP levels and antibiotic prescribing. ResultsOf 24,237 visits, 68% included RADT and 36% included a CRP test, with 89% of CRP tests performed alongside RADT. CRP testing was more frequent in patients with negative (56%) than positive RADTs (42%) (p &lt; .001). Overall, 66% of RADTs were positive. Median CRP levels were 23 mg/l for positive RADT and 31 mg/l for negative RADT (p &lt; .001). Antibiotics were prescribed for 95% of positive RADTs and 43% of negative RADTs (p &lt; .001). In patients with negative RADTs, CRP testing was associated with higher antibiotic prescribing (57%) compared to no CRP testing (26%) (p &lt; .001). Among these patients, CRP levels were associated with prescribing (aOR 1.032; 95% CI 1.029-1.035; p &lt; .001), with 50% of prescriptions occuring at CRP levels &lt;= 20 mg/l. ConclusionThe use of RADTs and the proportion of positive test were higher than expected, indicating inappropriate use and diagnostic bias. CRP testing, contrary to guidelines, was common and associated with increased antibiotic prescribing.Funding Agencies|Region Kronoberg, sweden</p
Trends in heart failure mortality in Sweden between 1997 and 2022
No full textAims Data from US have shown a reversal in the improvement of heart failure (HF)-related mortality over the last similar to 10 years. It is unknown whether these trends generalize to European universal healthcare systems. We assessed temporal trends in (i) HF-related mortality in the overall national population; and (ii) all-cause mortality following an incident HF diagnosis, overall and stratified by ejection fraction (EF), in Sweden between 1997 and 2022. Methods and results Annual mortality rates with a HF diagnosis as underlying cause were extracted from the Cause of Death Register. All-cause mortality following incident HF was assessed in two HF cohorts derived from the National Patient Register (NPR) and the Swedish HF Registry (SwedeHF). Temporal trends were presented as average annual percentage change (AAPC). Between 1997 and 2022, age-adjusted HF-related mortality in the general population declined from 33.4 to 23.8 per 100 000 individuals (AAPC -2.15%, p &lt; 0.001). In the HF cohort from NPR (n = 423 092), all-cause mortality at 1, 3, and 5 years following a first diagnosis of HF was 25%, 46%, and 58%, respectively, in 2022; 1-year mortality declined (AAPC -1.10%, p &lt; 0.001) over time regardless of age or sex. In SwedeHF (n = 63 753), the decline in 1-year mortality was less steep with increasing EF (AAPC -2.64%, p &lt; 0.001; -2.30%, p = 0.062; and -2.16%, p = 0.032 in EF &lt;40%, 40-49%, and &gt;= 50%, respectively). Conclusions Heart failure-related mortality has declined over the last similar to 25 years in Sweden. All-cause mortality in patients with HF has also declined, more in HF with reduced than preserved EF, mirroring the different availability of life-saving treatments across the EF spectrum.Funding Agencies|HjrtLung Uppsala, Lnsfreningen</p
Device Performance of Emerging Photovoltaic Materials (Version 5)
No full textThis 5th annual "Emerging PV Report" highlights the latest advancements in the performance of emerging photovoltaic (e-PV) devices across various e-PV research areas, as documented in peer-reviewed articles published since August 2023. Updated graphs, tables, and analyses are provided, showcasing several key performance parameters, including the power conversion efficiency, open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, fill factor, light utilization efficiency, and stability test energy yield. These parameters are presented as functions of the photovoltaic bandgap energy and average visible transmittance for each technology and application and are contextualized using benchmarks such as the detailed balance efficiency limit.Funding Agencies|Juan de la Cierva Fellowship - MICIU/AEI [FJC2021-046887-I]; European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR; Aufbruch Bayern initiative of the state of Bavaria (EnCN); Bavarian Initiative "Solar Technologies go Hybrid" (SolTech); National Science Foundation [CBET-1702591]; Vector Foundation; European Union's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon Europe (2021-2027) under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant [101068387]; Helmholtz Association; Projekt DEAL; Aufbruch Bayern initiative of the state of Bavaria (SFF); DFG [SFB953, 182849149, INST 90/917-1 FUGG]</p
AI-Enabled Predictive Analytics in Smart Grids: The Case of Sweden
No full textSmart grids (SGs) revolutionize existing power grids by using a wide range of developing disruptive technologies to generate clean, efficient, and predictable energy. Our study uses an action research method and focuses solely on the first two stages of the action research process, diagnosis and action planning, to evaluate ways to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) applications in SGs for predictive analytics in practice. The diagnosis stage of the study entails conducting a systematic literature review on AI applications in SGs, highlighting four areas of potential for predictive analytics: power outage prediction, demand response, control and coordination, and AI-enabled security to optimize decision-making, diagnose faults, and improve grid stability and security. The action planning step included a document analysis to devise methods to enable the practical implementation of AI in smart grids for predictive analytics. Finally, we address practical ways for implementing transparent AI for predictive analytics, followed by a conclusion and future research direction. The study’s key conclusion is that more research is needed to complete the action taking (implementing the solution), evaluation (assessing the results), and learning (reflecting on lessons learned) phases of the action research cycle
Omforming i friktion : Om transinkluderande jämställdhetsarbete
No full textHow and why do inequalities become reproduced in interventions that aim to combat them? In my thesis, this question about recursive dynamics is explored with a focus on the complexity of, and ambiguity in, practical labor that is carried out around aims to change how work for change is enacted. I consider these dynamics both around the organization of labor of addressing and intervening in inequalities, and around various modes of framing gendersexed inequalities (what they are, what they do, and how they are most efficiently combated). Drawing on accounts from gender equality practitioners about their practical labor around Trans-inclusive enactment of gender equality aims, I follow their situated criticality and articulations about promises and fears around what interventions to combat gendersexed inequalities do. At sites of complication, as formal aims are to be translated into transformed organizational practice and actions, I study how practitioners experience friction both as resistance to, and as traction for, their re-framing efforts. I argue that it is through attending to such sites of dense texture that insights can be gained into the recursive dynamics through which inequalities persist despite contestation. Through an interdisciplinary inquiry, I want to speak both to institutionalization of gender equality work and aims in public organizations in Sweden, and to how some ideas of Trans-inclusive enactment become possible, desirable, and hopeful, while others become impossible, undesirable, and fearsome.Hur och varför reproduceras ojämlikheter i interventioner som syftar till att bekämpa dem? I min avhandling undersöks denna fråga om rekursiv dynamik med fokus på komplexitet och tvetydighet i det praktiska arbete som utförs för att förändra hur förändringsarbete genomförs. Jag beaktar sådan dynamik både när det gäller organiseringen av arbetet med att addressera och ingripa i ojämlikheter och när det gäller olika sätt att rama in könsbaserade ojämlikheter (vad de är, vad de gör och hur de mest effektivt kan bekämpas). Med utgångspunkt i berättelser från jämställdhetspraktiker om deras praktiska arbete för och med transinkluderande jämställdhetsarbete, följer jag deras situerade kritik och artikulationer om löften och farhågor av vad insatser för att bekämpa könsbaserade ojämlikheter gör. När formella mål ska översättas till förändrad organisatorisk praxis och handlingar studerar jag hur praktiker upplever friktion både som motstånd mot, och som draghjälp för, sina omformningsinsatser. Jag hävdar att det är genom att uppmärksamma sådana platser med tät textur som en kan nå insikter i den rekursiva dynamik genom vilken ojämlikheter kvarstår trots ifrågasättande. Genom en tvärvetenskaplig studie vill jag undersöka både institutionalisering av jämställdhetsarbete och jämställdhetsmål i offentliga organisationer i Sverige, och hur vissa idéer om transinkluderande genomförande blir möjliga, önskvärda och hoppfulla, medan andra blir omöjliga, oönskade och skrämmande
Effect of substrate misorientation angle on the structural properties of N-polar GaN grown by hot-wall MOCVD on 4H-SiC(000(1)over-bar)
No full textThe effects of substrate misorientation angle direction and degree on the structural properties of N-polar GaN grown by a novel multi-step temperature epitaxial approach using hot-wall metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on 4H-SiC (000 (1) over bar) substrates is investigated. The surface morphology and X-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking curves (RCs) for both symmetric and asymmetric Bragg peaks of the multi-step temperature N-polar GaN are compared to a material obtained in a two-step temperature process. In the latter the temperature in the second step was varied so that it corresponds to the growth temperatures in each of the steps of the multi-step process. Different step-flow patterns are obtained on the substrates with a misorientation angle of 4 degrees depending on whether its direction is towards the a-plane or the m-plane. In contrast, fora misorientation angle of 1 degrees towards the m-plane, the surface morphology of N-polar GaN is dominated by hexagonal hillocks when using the 2-step temperature process and a step meandering growth mode is observed when employing the multi-step temperature process. These results are discussed and explained in terms of kinetic and thermodynamic considerations. As the growth temperature of the GaN layer in the 2-step temperature process increases from 950 degrees C to 1100 degrees C, the surface roughness and RCs widths decrease for the three types of substrates indicating improved crystal quality at higher temperature. The multi-step epitaxial approach is shown to be beneficial for achieving smooth surface morphology and low defect density of N-polar GaN layers grown on C-face SiC substrates with a misorientation angle of 4 degrees and an RMS value of 1.5 nm over an area of 20 mu m x 20 mu m is attained when the substrate mis-cut is towards the m-plane.Funding Agencies|Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA); Lund University; Linkoeping University; Chalmers University of technology; Ericsson; FMV; Gotmic; Hexagem; Hitachi Energy; Region Skane; Saab; SweGaN; Veeco; Volvo Cars; UMS; Swedish Research Council VR [2022-04812]; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research [EM16-0024, STP19-0008]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Areas NanoLund and Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoeping University [2009-00971]; [2022-03139]</p
Influence of different hydrocarbons on impurities and minority carrier lifetime in 4H-SiC epitaxial layers
No full textThis study explores the influence of different hydrocarbons, methane and propane, on the properties of 4H-SiC epitaxial layers grown by chloride-based chemical vapor deposition. By systematically varying the C/Si and N/C ratios during epitaxial growth, and employing a comprehensive suite of characterization techniques, a better understanding of how growth conditions influence material properties is gained. We show that the n-type dopant incorporation strongly depends on the choice of hydrocarbon especially at lower doping levels. Furthermore, we have observed that methane contributes to a relatively longer carrier lifetime value compared to propane, though a similar lifetime limiting carbon vacancy defect concentration has been observed for both hydrocarbons in as-grown epitaxial layers. Moreover, additional defect levels are also suggested by deep-level transient spectroscopy, potentially related to chlorine complexes, with varying concentrations depending on the choice of hydrocarbon and C/Si ratio. These observations offer insights into the complicated interplay of factors influencing doping, minority carrier lifetime, and defect formation in 4H-SiC epitaxial layers during the epitaxial growth process, and contribute to the optimization of growth parameters depending on the application in question.Funding Agencies|Vetenskapsrdethttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004359 [43611-1]; Swedish Energy Agency Energimyndigheten [2020-05444]; Swedish Research Council VR [101135699]; European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program; Research Council of Norway [325573]; University of Oslo [295864]; Norwegian Micro- and Nano-Fabrication Facility, NorFab</p
Design, Modulation, and Control of Battery-Integrated Modular Multilevel Converters for Automotive Applications
No full textA critical component of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) is the battery pack, which has many series- and parallel-connected electrochemical cells. The total power, energy delivered, and lifetime of the battery pack are limited by the weakest cell in the pack. Battery-integrated modular multilevel converters (BI-MMC) can overcome this limitation by increasing cell-level control. BI-MMCs have several series-connected DC-to-AC converters with a battery module having a few series- and parallel-connected cells called submodules (SM). The research in this thesis focuses on the design, modulation, and control of BI-MMCs. The efficiency and adaptability of five basic BI-MMC topologies with half-bridge and full-bridge SMs across three main system configurations are presented. Full-bridge topologies offer high efficiency, some even higher than the state-of- the-art SiC two-level inverter. However, adapting them to BEVs requires significant architectural modifications to the BEV’s electrical system. The half-bridge topologies require fewer architectural modifications for adaption into the BEVs. However, they have lower efficiency and require a larger number of SMs, which increases the cost. The efficiency is increased with six-phase system configurations but at the cost of more SMs than three-phase system configurations. Another aspect of adaptability is the DC charging capabilities of BI-MMCs. The maximum DC charging power of the BI-MMCs with the same SM semiconductor losses as during traction is derived, and results show that most BI-MMCs have a maximum DC charging power of about 1MW. Key design parameters that affect the efficiency and cost of BI-MMCs are identified. They are the number of series-connected cells in an SM, SM DC-link capacitor energy, and MOSFET switching frequency. BI-MMCs with five to seven series-connected cells per SM have the highest efficiency, at an average power of 100 kW and considering phase-shifted carrier-based modulation. Selecting the MOSFET switching frequency close to the resonant frequency of the SM DC-link capacitors and the SM battery modules decreases the total efficiency. Increasing or decreasing the MOSFET switching frequency increases the efficiency but affects the loss distribution between the SM DC-link capacitors and the SM battery modules. BI-MMCs with nearest level modulation (NLM) have higher efficiencies than phase-shifted carrier-based modulation and the SiC two-level inverter. However, using NLM with low-frequency sort-and-select inter-SM balancing methods (sNLM) results in an uneven distribution of battery losses among the SMs, which may impact the thermal design. Using NLM with cyclic submodule duty cycle rotation at the fundamental frequency gives higher efficiencies than sNLM and an even distribution of battery losses among the SMs. Reconstruction of converter reference signals with a higher sample frequency at the submodule level can be used to adapt distributed control architecture to BI-MMCs. The advantage is the low communication burden between the central and the SM control units. Furthermore, the accuracy of the SM battery currents (over one fundamental period) is improved, and the output distortion is low
Circulating secretory component-containing anti-citrullinated protein antibodies prior to symptom onset in rheumatoid arthritis
No full textObjectives: To investigate the occurrence and dynamics of secretory component-containing antibodies towards citrullinated proteins (SC ACPA) in plasma from pre-symptomatic individuals subsequently developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: We studied 319 individuals who had donated plasma prior to RA onset (median predating time 4.7 years), whereof 181 also donated samples after diagnosis. One hundred individuals were randomly selected from the same biobank cohorts to serve as controls. SC ACPA, total secretory IgA (TSIgA) and IgG ACPA were analysed in plasma by enzyme-linked immunoassays. Results: Circulating SC ACPA levels in pre-symptomatic individuals and RA patients were significantly increased compared with controls [median (interquartile range) 108 (108), 179 (248) and 12.5 (537) AU/ml, respectively; P &lt; 0.001], and SC ACPA levels in RA patients were significantly increased compared with pre-symptomatic individuals (P &lt; 0.001). SC ACPA increased, in terms of both levels and proportion of positive samples, closer to symptom onset and diagnosis. TSIgA was not elevated compared with controls either during the pre-dating time or after diagnosis. The earliest detected SC ACPA positive sample was 9 years before symptom onset, as compared with 11 years for IgG ACPA. Only two pre-dating samples were positive for SC ACPA and negative for IgG ACPA. Conclusions: Circulating SC ACPA responses arise and magnify during the asymptomatic phase of disease development in a subgroup of RA patients. This suggests mucosal involvement prior to both symptom onset and subsequent arthritis. As mirrored in the circulation, however, SC ACPA does not seem to precede the IgG ACPA response.Funding Agencies|Swedish Rheumatism Association; King Gustav V 80-year Foundation; Research Council of Southeast Sweden (FORSS); Region Ostergotland and Vasterbotten; Umea University</p