185 research outputs found
Prevalence of syphilis infection in Mozambican women with second trimester miscarriage and women attending antenatal care in second trimester
No full textOBJECTIVES--To elucidate whether recent syphilis infection is significantly more prevalent among women with mid-trimester miscarriage than among antenatal care attenders in midtrimester pregnancy. DESIGN--Two categories of pregnant women were compared regarding serological signs of syphilis. Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) analyses were done in Mozambique and Veneral Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) tests in Sweden. In case of RPR and/or VDRL positivity, Treponema pallidum haemagglutination (TPHA) and Captia Syphilis-M were performed. SETTING--A suburban antenatal care clinic and the emergency ward at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Central Hospital in Maputo, Mozambique, were studied June-August 1991. SUBJECTS--Randomly selected women seeking antenatal care in midtrimester pregnancy (N = 202) were compared with 114 women consecutively entering with clinical signs of midtrimester miscarriage. RESULTS--Among antenatal care attenders, 37/202 (18.3%), and among women with midtrimester miscarriage, 37/114 (32.5%), had syphilis confirmed with the Treponema pallidum haemagglutination test (p < 0.01). Significant titres of IgM antibodies tended to be more prevalent among women with miscarriage (7.0%) than among women attending antenatal care (4.5%), though the difference only approached statistical significance. CONCLUSION--The findings suggest a potential association between syphilis seropositivity and midtrimester miscarriage. Present findings justify more extensive studies to establish whether or not recent syphilis infection is a risk factor for midtrimester miscarriage
Unemployment at a young age and sickness absence, disability pen- sion, death and future unemployment -A register-based study of native Swedish and immigrant young adults
No full textAbstract Helgesson, M. 2014. Unemployment at a young age and sickness absence, disability pension, death and future unemployment -A register-based study of native Swedish and immigrant young adults. 32pp. Youth unemployment is an increasing burden on societies around the world. This prospective, register-based cohort study examined the relationship between unemployment and sickness absence, disability pension, death and future unemployment among youth in Sweden. A comparison was also made between immigrants and native Swedes. Another aim was to see if Active Labour Market Programs (ALMPs) and attained education moderated the outcomes. The baseline year was 1992, a year of severe economic downturn. The follow-up period was from 1993 to 2007, divided into three 5-year periods. The study group of 199,623 individuals comprised all immigrants born between 1968 and 1972 who immigrated before 1990 (25,607) and a random sample of native Swedes in the same age range (174,016). Individuals with unemployment benefit in 1990-1991, disability pension in 1990-1992 or severe disorders leading to hospitalization in 1990-1992 were excluded in order to minimize selection bias. Those who were unemployed in 1992 had elevated risk, measured as odds ratios, of ≥60 days of sickness absence, disability pension, ≥100 days of unemployment and all, except native Swedish women, had elevated risk of death during follow-up. The risk of future unemployment declined until the last follow-up period, while the elevated risk of future sickness absence was about the same in all three follow-up periods. Higher level of education at baseline decreased the risk of future unemployment. Individuals participating in ALMPs had an increased risk of future unemployment, and immigrant women had an increased risk of sickness absence, compared to non-participating individuals. Attained education between 1993 and 1997 decreased the risk of future unemployment and decreased the risk of sickness absence among immigrants. The risk of both future unemployment and future sickness absence increased with the length of unemployment in 1992. Immigrants had higher risk of unemployment both at baseline and follow-up compared with native Swedes, but followed the pattern of native Swedes when unemployed. The conclusion are that exposure to unemployment are associated with elevated risk of future unemployment, sickness absence, disability pension and death fifteen years after exposure. To a society this will mean substantial costs in the form of increased welfare payments and loss of productivity and tax income. Selection to unemployment by individuals already sick, may explain part of the association between unemployment and the studied outcomes
A Tale of Two Laureates : Nadine Gordimer, J. M. Coetzee and the Swedish Press
No full textFocusing on the reception of the two Nobel laureates Nadine Gordimer and J.M. Coetzee,this article investigates the literature prize as a national, and indeed Stockholmbased,phenomenon in Sweden. It makes two general claims. The first is that the press exercises a co-consecrating authority that both rivals and depends on the authority of the Swedish Academy. This becomes evident not least in occasional attempts by critics to deconsecrate a laureate. The second claim is that the dramaturgy of the literatureprize, beginning with the announcement in October and ending with the award ceremony in December, culminates shortly before the ceremony with the Nobel lecture,when the laureate is heard in their own voice. In an analysis of Gordimer’s and Coetzee’s lectures, the article concludes that they present sharply different attempts at performatively resolving the tension between literary autonomy and heteronomy
Reducing A Priori 239Pu Nuclear Data Uncertainty In The Keff Using A Set Of Criticality Benchmarks With Different Nuclear Data Libraries
No full textIn the Total Monte Carlo (TMC) method [1] developed at the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group for nuclear data uncertainty propagation, model calculations are compared with differential experimental data and a specific a priori uncertainty is assigned to each model parameter. By varying the model parameters all together within model parameter uncertainties, a full covariance matrix is obtained with its off diagonal elements if desired [1]. In this way, differential experimental data serve as a constraint for the model parameters used in the TALYS nuclear reactions code for the production of random nuclear data files. These files are processed into usable formats and used in transport codes for reactor calculations and for uncertainty propagation to reactor macroscopic parameters of interest. Even though differential experimental data together with their uncertainties are included (implicitly) in the production of these random nuclear data files in the TMC method, wide spreads in parameter distributions have been observed, leading to large uncertainties in reactor parameters for some nuclides for the European Lead cooled Training Reactor [2]. Due to safety concerns and the development of GEN-IV reactors with their challenging technological goals, the present uncertainties should be reduced significantly if the benefits from advances in modelling and simulations are to be utilized fully [3]. In Ref.[4], a binary accept/reject approach and a more rigorous method of assigning file weights based on the likelihood function were proposed and presented for reducing nuclear data uncertainties using a set of integral benchmarks obtained from the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments (ICSBEP). These methods are depended on the reference nuclear data library used, the combined benchmark uncertainty and the relevance of each benchmark for reducing nuclear data uncertainties for a particular reactor system. Since each nuclear data library normally comes with its own nominal values and covariance matrices, reactor calculations and uncertainties computed with these libraries differ from library to library. In this work, we apply the binary accept/reject approach and the method of assigning file weights based on the likelihood function for reducing a priori 239Pu nuclear data uncertainties for the European Lead Cooled Training Reactor (ELECTRA) using a set of criticality benchmarks. Prior and posterior uncertainties computed for ELECTRA using ENDF/B-VII.1, JEFF-3.2 and JENDL-4.0 are compared after including experimental information from over 10 benchmarks.[1] A.J. Koning and D. Rochman, Modern Nuclear Data Evaluation with the TALYS Code System. Nuclear Data Sheets 113 (2012) 2841-2934. [2] E. Alhassan, H. Sjöstrand, P. Helgesson, A. J. Koning, M. Österlund, S. Pomp, D. Rochman, Uncertainty and correlation analysis of lead nuclear data on reactor parameters for the European Lead Cooled Training reactor (ELECTRA). Annals of Nuclear Energy 75 (2015) 26-37. [3] G. Palmiotti, M. Salvatores, G. Aliberti, H. Hiruta, R. McKnight, P. Oblozinsky, W. Yang, A global approach to the physics validation of simulation codes for future nuclear systems, Annals of Nuclear Energy 36 (3) (2009) 355-361. [4] E. Alhassan, H. Sjöstrand, J. Duan, P. Helgesson, S. Pomp, M. Österlund, D. Rochman, A.J. Koning, Selecting benchmarks for reactor calculations: In proc. PHYSOR 2014 - The Role of Reactor Physics toward a Sustainable Future, kyoto, Japan, Sep. 28 - 3 Oct. (2014).</p
Characterization of nuclear sources from neutron-neutron, proton-proton and neutron-proton correlation functions
No full textOptical properties, durability, and system aspects of a new aluminium-polymer-laminated steel reflector for solar concentrators
No full textA newly developed aluminium-polymer-laminated steel reflector for use in solar concentrators was evaluated with respect to its optical properties, durability, and reflector performance in solar thermal and photovoltaic systems. The optical properties of the reflector material were investigated using spectrophotometer and scatterometry. The durability of the reflector was tested in a climatic test chamber as well as outdoors in Alvkarleby (60.5degreesN, 17.4degreesE), Sweden. Before ageing, the solar weighted total and specular reflectance values were 82% and 77%, respectively, and the reflector scattered light isotropically. After I year's outdoor exposure, the total and specular solar reflectance had decreased by less than 11%. However, after 2000 h in damp heat and 1000 W/m(2) simulated solar radiation, the optical properties had changed significantly: The light scattering was anisotropic and the total and specular solar reflectance values had decreased to 75% and 42%, respectively. The decrease was found to be due to degradation of the protective polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer, caused by UV radiation and high temperature. The conclusions are that the degradation is climate dependent and that PET is not suitable as a protective coating under extreme conditions, such as those in the climatic test chamber. However, the results from outdoor testing indicate that the material withstands exposure in a normal Swedish climate
Personality and performance within bowling : A quantitative study on Swedish bowling players
No full textMed den ökande konkurrensen bland idrottare får mentala skillnader en allt större betydelse. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka om personlighet kan ha samband till prestation inom sporten bowling. För att undersöka detta fick svenska bowlingspelare besvara en enkät som inkluderade frågor om olika prestationsmått inom bowling samt personlighesformulär. Totalt inkom 121 svar vilka inkluderades i analyserna. Deltagarna hade ett åldersspann på 18 till 74 år (M = 41,89, SD = 14,24), samt en könsfördelning på 39 kvinnor (≈ 32,2 %) och 82 män (≈ 67,8 %). Personlighet har i denna studie utgått från The five-factor model of personality, även kallad femfaktormodellen, samt Grit. Resultaten från korrelations- och regressionsanalyser visade att spelare med höga värden på Grit generellt spelade i högre divisioner, medan personer med låga värden på neuroticism generellt sett hade högre snitt, vilket är ett mått på hur många poäng/serie spelaren har i genomsnitt. Resultaten visar därmed att vissa personlighetsdrag kan spela en roll för prestation inom bowling. Dock var resultaten inte helt entydiga då dessa personlighetsfaktorer endast var relaterade till specifika prestationsmått. Övriga personlighetsfaktorer kunde inte signifikant associeras med prestation inom bowling. Framtida studier bör undersöka om andra personlighetsfaktorer än de som inkluderades i denna studie, såväl som kognitiva aspekter som perception och beslutsfattande, kan relateras till prestation inom bowling.With the intensifying competition among athletes', individual differences in mental attributes have a greater impact. This study aimed to investigate if personality traits have a relationship with performance in the sport of bowling. To investigate this, Swedish bowlers responded to a questionnaire that included questions about their their history as bowlers and as well questions about their personality. In total, 121 responses were received and included in the analyses. The participants had an age range of 18 to 74 years (M = 41,89, SD = 14,24), and a gender distribution of 39 women (≈32,2 %) and 82 men (≈ 67,8 %). In this study, personality was conceptualized accordning to The five-factor model of personality and Grit. Results from the correlation- and regression analysis overall showed that players with high levels of Grit played in higher divisions, while individuals with low levels of neuroticism generally had a higher series average, which is a measure on how many points the player has as an average taking all games into account. The results thus show that personality can have an impact on performance in bowling. However, the results were unequivocal because these personality traits were only related to specific performance outcomes.No other personality traits were significantly associated with performance within bowling. Future studies should investigate if other personality factors than those included in the present study, and as well as cognitive aspects such as perception and decision making, can be related to performance in bowling.
Personality and performance within bowling : A quantitative study on Swedish bowling players
No full textMed den ökande konkurrensen bland idrottare får mentala skillnader en allt större betydelse. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka om personlighet kan ha samband till prestation inom sporten bowling. För att undersöka detta fick svenska bowlingspelare besvara en enkät som inkluderade frågor om olika prestationsmått inom bowling samt personlighesformulär. Totalt inkom 121 svar vilka inkluderades i analyserna. Deltagarna hade ett åldersspann på 18 till 74 år (M = 41,89, SD = 14,24), samt en könsfördelning på 39 kvinnor (≈ 32,2 %) och 82 män (≈ 67,8 %). Personlighet har i denna studie utgått från The five-factor model of personality, även kallad femfaktormodellen, samt Grit. Resultaten från korrelations- och regressionsanalyser visade att spelare med höga värden på Grit generellt spelade i högre divisioner, medan personer med låga värden på neuroticism generellt sett hade högre snitt, vilket är ett mått på hur många poäng/serie spelaren har i genomsnitt. Resultaten visar därmed att vissa personlighetsdrag kan spela en roll för prestation inom bowling. Dock var resultaten inte helt entydiga då dessa personlighetsfaktorer endast var relaterade till specifika prestationsmått. Övriga personlighetsfaktorer kunde inte signifikant associeras med prestation inom bowling. Framtida studier bör undersöka om andra personlighetsfaktorer än de som inkluderades i denna studie, såväl som kognitiva aspekter som perception och beslutsfattande, kan relateras till prestation inom bowling.With the intensifying competition among athletes', individual differences in mental attributes have a greater impact. This study aimed to investigate if personality traits have a relationship with performance in the sport of bowling. To investigate this, Swedish bowlers responded to a questionnaire that included questions about their their history as bowlers and as well questions about their personality. In total, 121 responses were received and included in the analyses. The participants had an age range of 18 to 74 years (M = 41,89, SD = 14,24), and a gender distribution of 39 women (≈32,2 %) and 82 men (≈ 67,8 %). In this study, personality was conceptualized accordning to The five-factor model of personality and Grit. Results from the correlation- and regression analysis overall showed that players with high levels of Grit played in higher divisions, while individuals with low levels of neuroticism generally had a higher series average, which is a measure on how many points the player has as an average taking all games into account. The results thus show that personality can have an impact on performance in bowling. However, the results were unequivocal because these personality traits were only related to specific performance outcomes.No other personality traits were significantly associated with performance within bowling. Future studies should investigate if other personality factors than those included in the present study, and as well as cognitive aspects such as perception and decision making, can be related to performance in bowling.
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