Lund University Publications
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Beyond the Narratives of Experience and Money: The Formation of Teenage Students as Labor in Sweden
No full textThis article examines the formation of teenage students as workers through their participation in low-status service jobs, building on Weeks’ theorization of the contemporary work ethic. Based on 40 interviews with working teenagers in Sweden, the analysis explores how they use narratives of working to ‘gain experience’ and ‘earn extra money’ in response to the cultural imperative of constructing a self that holds value for employers. It highlights how these shared narratives, while enabling teenagers to make sense of their work experiences, also reflect embodied inequalities, with classed, racialized, and neighborhood-based social differences shaping their understanding of the working self. The article contributes to theorizing the ideological and practical role of paid work in shaping youth subjectivities and expands our understanding of how differently situated teenagers become part of the low-wage service labor force
Element Design for Active Learning : A Design Thinking Approach to Assignment Development for Political Science, Media, and Communication Education
No full textHundreds of active learning assignments are reported in the political education literature. However, the adaptability of these assignments to new courses can be limited by different learning outcomes, course themes, or institutional contexts. To assist educators in developing assignments that align with their teaching needs, this study introduces the concept of element design. Element design refers to isolating and combining elements of active learning techniques to create a single assignment. After first conceptualizing active learning as a process, the study argues that element design can stimulate pedagogical innovation, increase the adaptability of existing assignments, and aid empirical assessments of learning. Then, the study details how elements from eight active learning techniques were combined to create the counterfactual case study, an assignment targeting causal thinking, process tracing, and the analysis of complex relationships. Student evaluations from two cohorts of postgraduate students (N = 72) help evaluate the assignment in a Master’s-level political communication course. Using feedback from the first cohort, a dedicated debriefing seminar was added that improved students’ self-reported learning and achievement of the learning outcomes. Overall, the article works as a proof of concept that a modular approach to assignment development can generate novel and effective assignments that stimulate active learning
EDGE : A new model for nuclear star cluster formation in dwarf galaxies
No full textNuclear star clusters (NSCs) are among the densest stellar systems in the Universe and are found at the centres of many spiral and elliptical galaxies, and up to 40 percent of dwarf galaxies. However, their formation mechanisms, and possible links to globular clusters (GCs), remain debated. This paper uses cosmological simulations of dwarf galaxies at a spatial resolution of pc to present a new formation mechanism for NSCs, showing they naturally emerge in a subset dwarfs with present-day halo masses of. The mechanism proceeds following reionization quenching that stops the supply of cold star-forming gas. Next, a major merger causes a central dense gas reservoir to form, eventually exciting rapid cooling, leading to a significant starburst. An NSC forms in this starburst that quenches star formation thereafter. The result is a nucleated dwarf that has two stellar populations with distinct age: pre-and post-reionization. Our mechanism is unique because of the low mass of the host dwarf, and because it naturally leads to NSCs that contain two stellar populations with a 1 billion year age separation. The former means that NSCs, formed in this way, can accrete on to galaxies of almost all masses. If these accreted NSCs fall to the centre of their host galaxy, they could then seed the formation of NSCs everywhere. The latter yields a predicted colour-magnitude diagram that has two distinct main sequence turn-offs. Several GCs orbiting the Milky Way, including Omega Centauri and M54, show similar behaviour, suggesting that they may be accreted NSCs
Unraveling the influence of astrocytes on endothelial cell transcription : Towards understanding blood-brain barrier in vitro models’ dynamics
No full textIn recent years, considerable advancements have been made in developing in vitro models to better understand the complex dynamics of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and its critical role in neurological health and disease. Incorporating astrocytes into these models introduces an essential layer of complexity, allowing for a more comprehensive investigation of the cellular interactions and regulatory mechanisms that maintain BBB integrity and functionality. Despite these advances, the specific influence of astrocytes on endothelial cells in in vitro systems remains inadequately explored. This study addresses this gap by examining the transcriptional changes in primary human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) cocultured with human astrocytes (HAs). Our findings demonstrate that astrocytes profoundly modulate endothelial pathways involved in cell cycle regulation and division while upregulating genes associated with BBB integrity, protective mechanisms, and transporter activity. Furthermore, astrocytes significantly enhanced transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) and reduced permeability to tracer Cascade Blue dye, confirming their functional impact on BBB models. By providing a comprehensive human primary cell dataset, this research underscores the pivotal role astrocytes play in shaping endothelial cell gene expression and function in contact coculture systems. These results emphasize the necessity of incorporating astrocytes into in vitro BBB models to accurately replicate neurovascular interactions. Ultimately, this study advances our understanding of BBB physiology and highlights the importance of refining in vitro models to better reflect the complexity of the human neurovascular environment, with potential implications for studying neurological disorders and drug delivery strategies
Streptococcus bovis-Streptococcus equinus complex and gastrointestinal cancer: Epidemiology, etiology and diagnostics
No full textMechanical properties of transmutation-induced precipitates in tungsten : An ab initio study
No full textAdapting the Crohn’s disease exclusion diet to a Nordic framework : a theoretical approach to cultural and nutritional customization
No full textEmerging evidence from diverse populations highlights the therapeutic benefits of the Crohn’s Disease Exclusion Diet (CDED) in managing Crohn’s Disease. To improve the efficacy of the CDED, there is a need to focus on cultural adaptation and individualization to support dietary adherence to this advanced nutritional therapy. This paper provides a theoretical framework for modifying the CDED to align with a Nordic diet (Nordic-CDED), while retaining the core principles and nutritional characteristics of the original protocol. Through a comprehensive literature review and expert consensus, we propose a Nordic-CDED that incorporates European regulations on food additives, the 2023 Nordic Nutritional Recommendations, and Nordic food culture. We present a theoretical foundation for an inclusion of whole foods and discuss the selection of enteral formulas. The adaptation also emphasizes the importance of dietitian-led guidance to tailor the Nordic-CDED to the patient’s age, lifestyle, and personal preferences. Further research is required to assess the clinical effectiveness and adherence to the Nordic-CDED
Boundary crossing and elite attributes in European civil societies
No full textA debated feature of civil society leadership is the (lack of) diversity among leaders. Another concern is the recruitment of leaders from the public and private sector. In this study we link these debates, analysing how civil society elite boundary crossing – that is, leaders from public and private sectors moving into elite positions in civil society – contributes to making the group of civil society leaders more elitist. First, we analyse the frequency of elite boundary crossing across different civil society regimes. Second, we explore what attributes boundary crossers bring to civil society and how this influences the composition of the civil society elite. Drawing on unique survey data from four European countries and the EU level, we show that civil society elite boundary crossing is rather common, but with significant variation across civil society regimes. We also find that boundary crossing tends to make the group of civil society leaders more elitist
Low-dimensional dynamics of globally coupled complex Riccati equations : Exact firing-rate equations for spiking neurons with clustered substructure
No full textWe report on an exact theory for ensembles of globally coupled, heterogeneous complex Riccati equations. A drastic dimensionality reduction to a few ordinary differential equations is achieved for Lorentzian heterogeneity. By applying this technique, we obtain low-dimensional firing-rate equations for populations of spiking neurons with a clustered substructure