Publikationer från Uppsala Universitet
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Parents experience of having their child in a sportspreschool : An interview study
No full textBakgrund: Idrottsförskolor är ett relativt nytt begrepp och koncept i Sverige. Förskolorna integrerar mer idrott och rörelse i barnens dagliga aktiviteter under förskoletid. Idrottsförskolor har samarbeten med olika idrottsföreningar vilket bidrar till att barnen bland annat får testa på en rad olika sporter såsom fotboll, tennis, hockey och innebandy. Detta utifrån ett syfte att uppmuntra ett förhoppningsvis livslångt intresse för idrott och rörelse. I nuläget finns det begränsad forskning på idrottsförskolor och vad förskolans inriktning kan bidra med. Syfte: Undersöka föräldrars erfarenheter och upplevelser av att deras barn går i en idrottsförskola. Metod: En kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med sex deltagare utifrån ett bekvämlighetsval. Databearbetningen genomfördes med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Efter den kvalitativa innehållsanalysen identifierades 5 kategorier samt 19 subkategorier. Studien visar att valet av idrottsförskola ofta grundades på praktiska faktorer, men att idrottsinriktningen sågs som ett värdefullt komplement som främjade rörelseglädje och ett fysiskt aktivitetsbeteende. Det uttrycktes en viss oro kring organisatoriska utmaningar samt att bibehålla balansen mellan lekfullhet och idrott. Konklusion: Fördelar med idrottsförskola som lyfts var ökad rörelseglädje, möjligheter att prova flera idrotter och ett lugnare klimat, men även organisatoriska hinder och oro för att idrott skulle ta över rörelseglädjen. Studien understryker vikten av att sprida kunskap om idrottsförskolor och behovet av fortsatt forskning kring långsiktiga konsekvenser/effekter av att gå i idrottsförskola.Background: Sports preschools are a relatively new term and concept in Sweden. These preschools integrate more sport and movement into children's daily activities during preschool hours. Sports preschools have partnerships with various sports clubs, which means that children can try a range of different sports such as soccer, tennis, hockey and floorball. The aim is to encourage an interest in sport and exercise. However, there is limited research on sports preschools and what the preschool's focus can contribute with. Objective: To investigate parents' experiences and perceptions of their child attending a sports preschool. Method: A qualitative study including semi-structured interviews was conducted with six participants based on convenience selection. Data analysis was performed using qualitative content analysis. Results: After the qualitative content analysis, five categories and 19 subcategories were identified. The study shows that the choice of a sports preschool was often based on practical factors, but that the sports focus was seen as a valuable complement that promoted playfulness and physical activity behavior. Some concerns were expressed about organizational challenges and maintaining the balance between playfulness and sport. Conclusion: Advantages of sport preschools highlighted were increased physical activity, opportunities to try different sports and a calmer climate, but also organizational barriers and concerns that sports would take over the playfulness. The study emphasizes the importance of spreading knowledge about sports preschools and the need for further research
Return to sport after ACL-injury : A qualitative study of non-professional athletes experiences
No full textBackground: Injuries to the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) is a common injury amongst a big part of athletes performing some kind of non-professional sport. An injury of this extent has a lot of negative effects on injured individual. There is a lack of knowledge and research to determine why non-professional athletes return or quit their sport after an injury to the ACL. Objective: This study focuses on investigating what kind of experiences that actually lead to the continuing or quitting of non-professional athletes' sports after an ACL-injury. Method: A qualitative design was used to interview 6 participants in the study. All the interviews were semi-structured and qualitative content analysis was used to process the data. Results: Return to sport is influenced by both internal factors such as passion for the sport, personal ambition, fear of reinjury and trust in the knee, as well as external factors such as social support and changes in life circumstances. Psychological strain following an ACL injury was evident in all interviews and affected the rehabilitation process, but was not always decisive in the decision to return to sport. Conclusion: The decision to return to sport after an ACL injury is complex and highly individual among non-professional athletes. It is influenced by a combination of physical, psychological, and social factors, where trust in the knee and changes in life circumstances play crucial roles. The study highlights the need for a holistic perspective throughout the entire rehabilitation process.Bakgrund: Skador på ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) är en vanlig skada som en stor mängd atleter som håller på med ideell idrott någon gång drabbas av. En sådan skada kräver mycket av en enskild individ som exempelvis tid och psykiskt mående. Det finns bristande kunskap och forskning om varför amatöridrottare återgår eller slutar med sin idrott efter en sådan här skada. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad för upplevelser och erfarenheter som leder till att icke-professionella idrottsutövare återgår eller inte återgår till sin idrott efter ACL-skada. Metod: Studien är av en kvalitativ design och det har utförts 6 stycken intervjuer på ett semi-strukturerat upplägg. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes sedan för att utföra databearbetningen. Resultat: Återgång till idrott påverkas av både inre faktorer som passion för sporten, personlig ambition, rädsla för ny skada och tillit till knäet, och yttre faktorer som socialt stöd och förändrade livsomständigheter. En psykisk påfrestning efter en ACL-skada visade sig i alla intervjuer och påverkade rehabiliteringsprocessen, men var inte alltid avgörande för återgångsbeslutet. Konklusion: Beslutet att återgå till idrott efter en ACL-skada är komplext och starkt individuellt hos amatöridrottare. Det påverkas av en kombination av fysiska, psykologiska och sociala faktorer, där tillit till knäet och livsomständigheter spelar avgörande roller. Studien understryker behovet av ett helhetsperspektiv under hela rehabiliteringen
Revisiting the SSRI vs. placebo debate in the treatment of social anxiety disorder : the role of expectancy effects, neural responsivity, and monoamine transporters
No full textSelective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), widely used for anxiety and depression, are often criticized for their perceived similarity in efficacy to placebo treatments and the unclear connection between brain serotonin levels, on one hand, and the symptomatology of these disorders, on the other. In this perspective paper we discuss the complex mechanisms behind SSRI and placebo treatments in managing social anxiety disorder (SAD), focusing on both pharmacological and expectancy effects. Through a series of neuroimaging studies using positron emission tomography (PET), we investigated the neural, neurochemical and behavioral changes associated with SSRI and placebo responses in SAD patients. Results from one study revealed that both SSRI and placebo responders showed equal reductions in amygdala activity, a region central to fear processing, as well as comparable improvements in social anxiety symptoms. These findings suggest shared neural pathways between SSRIs and placebos, possibly related to response expectancies. In another study, we manipulated patient expectations using a deception design, showing that overt SSRI treatment yielded greater symptom reduction than covert administration. PET results further underscored the influence of expectation on dopamine signaling. Furthermore, PET data on serotonin transporters indicated that serotonin reuptake inhibition alone does not fully account for SSRIs' clinical efficacy, as serotonin transporter occupancy was not correlated with symptom improvement. In yet another study, combining SSRIs with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) led to more robust and longer-lasting outcomes than placebo combined with CBT, with distinct effects on brain monoamine transporters. Overall, these findings emphasize the intricate interplay between pharmacology, brain mechanisms, and psychological expectations in the treatment of SAD
Human Papillomavirus Type 16: U2AF65b and U2AF35b Act as Negative Regulators of Oncogene Transcripts.
No full textHuman papillomavirus (HPV) infections account for approximately 5% of all cancer world-wide. There are more than 200 HPV types in the human population. The vast majority of those infect skin, but approximately 40 HPV types prefer mucosal epithelium and are sexually transmitted. By far, the most important and most common cancer-associated HPV is HPV type 16 (HPV16). A prophylactic vaccine to 9 of the high-risks HPV types is available, Gardasil 9, but antiviral drugs specific to HPVs are not. Therefore, research on the molecular biology of high-risk HPV types and HPV16 is warranted. HPV16 shares with many other HPV a very unusual feature. Its pre-mRNAs get subjected to the alternative splicing to maximize translation efficiency of each viral ORF by the ribosome but these pre-mRNA lack an essential consensus sequence for them to be spliced: the polypyrimidine tract at 3’ splice sites (splice acceptors). Indeed, eukaryotic RNA needs to be spliced to make them usable by the cells, as these pre-mRNA must harbor consensus sequences of nucleotides for splicing factors (small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins and proteins) to recognize them and splice them. This polypyrimidine tract is mainly recognized by a specific splicing factor, the U2AF splicing factor, composed of its 65 kDa and 35 kDa subunits. U2AF65 binds to the polypyrimidine tract, and U2AF35 to the AG-branch point (another consensus di-nucleotide next to the polypyrimidine tract). But here comes the question about this discrepancy. How can HPV16 splice its pre-mRNA into mature mRNA given this weak polypyrimidine tract? To address this question, we decided to transfect cells with HPV16 subgenomic plasmid and U2AF65- and U2AF35-expressing plasmids and see how is the HPV16 splicing influenced by U2AFs. We decided to firstly focus on the splicing of HPV16 E6 and E7 RNA, which are the two viral oncoproteins that interact with the cell cycle and thus can lead to cancer development. Overexpressing U2AF65b and U2AF35b downregulated the splicing of E6 into E6*I, the main E7-encoding mRNA, while U2AF35a had no effect, as RNA expression levels remained steady regardless of its overexpression. To confirm these results, we used various HPV16-encoding plasmids. Additionally, to explore the mechanisms behind this inhibition, we plan to generate U2AF65b deletion mutants to identify which protein domains contribute to its role as a negative splicing regulator, which remains poorly understood. By such molecular tools, we will have the opportunity to truly elucidate the precise mechanisms by which HPV16 overcomes its suboptimal splicing signals, shedding light on its unique molecular strategies and paving the way for potential therapeutic interventions
The politics of power and persecution : evangelical nationalism in Sweden
No full textIn this article, I aim to contribute to the expanding field of research on Christian nationalism by exploring the intersection of political thought and evangelicalism in Sweden. The study is based on a quantitative and qualitative textual analysis of 18,614 articles published between 2016 and 2022 in the newspaper Världen idag (The World Today), an important voice within the Swedish evangelical revival movement. The results show that Världen idag’s evangelicalism places considerable emphasis on the idea of the nation. However, its ideological core also includes concepts related to 1) ideas about how the church should gain political influence and control, 2) perspectives of evangelical Christian faith impacting geopolitical conditions, 3) a view that children outside the confines of Christian heterosexual families face numerous risks, and 4) warnings of persecution of evangelical Christian faith. I conclude that the Swedish variant of evangelical nationalism shares key conceptual themes with its North American counterpart while also invoking memories of nationalism within Sweden’s revivalist history – with power and persecution emerging as central motifs
Chinese Propaganda movies of the 21st century and their popularization: “The battle at Lake Changjin” and “1921”
No full textAbstract Chinese Propaganda movies have been an integral part of Chinese civilization since the introduction of cinema in China. In the 21st century the Chinese government has made great efforts to popularize the Chinese Propaganda movies, leading to spectacular made up productions, such as “The Battle at Lake Changjin” (2021) and “1921” (2021). The aim of the research is to investigate the above movies, to compare Chinese Propaganda movies of the 21st century to former Chinese Propaganda movies and to Hollywood productions, to examine how they were popularized, as well as to analyze their characters. The former has been selected, because it has attracted the greatest sum of funds a Chinese movie has ever attracted for its production. As for the latter, the Chinese government has paid great attention to its promotion in domestic audiences, making it even mandatory for some employees to watch. The suggested method for this research is qualitative method and, specifically, case study, because it can focus on representative examples of people, systems, events or structures. According to the findings, national Chinese heroes in the selected films choose their superego’s superior principles instead of their id’s basic desires and dedicate themselves to the common benefit. Through the scope of “mirror theory” the characters are reflected to the viewers that sometimes can mirror their better selves upon them and identify with them. “The Battle at Lake Changjin” addresses to both domestic and international audiences by promoting the image of China as a hero who makes sacrifices for the common benefit, while “1921” promotes a domestic propaganda aiming to inspire to young audiences a sense of patriotism. This is achieved through advanced technology, high-quality montage, scattered panoramic views, popular celebrities’ casts, and the meticulous idealization of key characters, like Mao Zedong, who, in the first movie, does not hesitate to sacrifice his own son for the sake of the many, and in the second movie puts aside the love of his wife to fight for his ideals. 摘要 自电影传入中国以来，中国宣传电影一直是中国文化不可分割的一部分。进入21世纪，中国政府大力推广中国宣传片，并涌现出《长津湖》（2021年）和 《1921》（2021年）等精彩的宣传片。本研究的目的是调查上述电影，将21世 纪的中国宣传电影与以前的中国宣传片和好莱坞制作进行比较，研究它们是如何普及的，并分析它们的人物。选择前者，是因为该片是中国电影史上吸引到的最大制作资金。而对于后者，中国政府非常重视在国内观众中的推广，甚至强制要求一些员工观看。本研究建议采用定性方法，特别是案例研究，因为它可以关注人物、系统、事件或结构的代表性例子。研究结果显示，所选影片中的中国民族英雄选择以超我的优越原则取代本我的根本欲望，为共同利益奉献自己。通过“镜像理论”，剧中的人物形象会反映在观众身上，有时观众可以在他们身上看到更好的自己，并认同他们。《长津湖》面向国内外观众，宣传中国为共同利益牺牲的英雄形象；《1921》则 面向国内宣传，旨在激发年轻观众的爱国主义情感。这是通过先进的技术、高质量的蒙太奇、分散的全景视图、受欢迎的明星阵容以及对关键人物的细致理想化来实现的，比如毛泽东，在第一部电影中，他为了大多数人的利益毫不犹豫地牺牲了自己的儿子，而在第二部电影中，他则抛开妻子的爱，为自己的理想而奋斗。
Implementing Generative AI as First-Line Support : Evaluating Fine-Tuning, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, and Prompt Engineering for Domain-Specific Chatbots
No full textThis thesis explores how generative AI can be implemented as first-line support in a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), focusing on practical strategies for adapting large language models (LLMs) to company-specific needs. Conducted in collaboration with BM System, the study evaluates three adaptation methods: fine-tuning, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and prompt engineering, using open-source models, with benchmarking against the closed-source GPT-4o-mini. Through a combination of automatic metrics (ROUGE), LLM-based assessments, and manual user surveys, the study finds that RAG, especially when paired with prompt engineering, provides the most scalable and effective solution for SMEs with limited technical resources. Fine-tuning enables domain adaptation but is constrained by data quality and hardware demands, while closed-source models outperform open-source alternatives but raise issues regarding cost, privacy, and control. The results lead to three implementation strategies, tailored to different organizational requirements. Importantly, the study emphasizes that creating value with AI in customer support is not only a technical challenge but also requires a critical understanding of the technology’s role and limitations, acknowledging that human expertise remains central to effective support. With a carefully chosen approach and critical reflection, generative AI can serve as a valuable complement to customer support in SMEs
Evaluation of a method for analysis of Blastocystis as well as it prevalence in Uppsala
No full textBlastocystis is a common single-celled parasite that abides in humans- and other animals' gastrointestinal tract, though its pathogenicity is still discussed. This study aimed at examining methods for analyzing Blastocystis in a clinical environment as well as to screen patients suffering from diarrhea for an infection. The methods in question were a Real-time PCR used together with Nanopore-sequencing. The results show that 12 out of 113 samples were positive for Blastocystis, which corresponds to a prevalence of about 11% and that they most likely belonged to subtypes 3 or 4. The methods proved useful in regard to analyzing Blastocystis, but they still need to go through further examination and optimization.
Skyfall och stigande vatten - En klimatrisk- och sårbathersanalys av urbana parkeringar i Uppsala
No full textDe pågående klimatförändringarna ökar förekomsten av extremväder, vilket medför större risk för översvämningar till följd av skyfall och höga flöden. Urbana samhällen behöver utveckla metoder för att infrastrukturen ska kunna hantera detta. Ett nytt EU-direktiv har tagits fram som ställer krav på hållbarhetsrapportering, vilket inkluderar en klimatrisk- och sårbarhetsanalys. Denna studie fokuserar på översvämningar på markparkeringar och parkeringsgarage i centrala Uppsala som ägs av Uppsala Parkering AB, med syftet att öka beredskapen samt minimera risken för skador på människor och egendom. Studien består av två delar: en GIS-baserad kartläggning av markparkeringar i riskzonen att översvämmas vid skyfall eller höga flöden i Fyrisån, samt en fallstudie av ett underjordiskt parkeringsgarage baserat på en intervju och mätdata från ett kraftigt skyfall i Uppsala 2018. Kartläggningen använder QGIS och översvämningskarteringar med olika återkomsttider. Gränsvärden för farliga vattennivåer och flöden har tagits fram baserat på tidigare forskning. Resultatet visar att ett flertal markparkeringar befinner sig i högriskzoner vid en översvämning. Underjordiska parkeringsgarage riskerar också att översvämmas; att förutse omfattningen av dessa översvämningar är desto svårare, och fortsatt utredning skulle krävas. Fungerande pumpar, tydliga krisplaner samt varningssystem för att stänga av parkeringar i riskzon kan bidra till att mildra konsekvenserna av översvämningar på markparkeringar. För att göra en fullskalig klimatrisk- och sårbarhetsanalys behöver även faror med andra extrema väderfenomen kartläggas, samt fler åtgärder för att hantera dessa risker tas fram