Domicile Preferences in Employment: The Case of Alaska Hire

Background. Regional variations in mortality and morbidity have been shown in Europe and USA. Longitudinal studies have found increased mortality, dissimilarities in mortality pattern, and differences in utilization of healthcare between foreign- and native-born Swedes. No study has been found comparing mortality among foreign-born and native-born Swedes in relation to catchment areas/counties. Methods. The aim was to describe and compare mortality among foreign-born persons and native Swedes during 1970–1999 in 24 counties in Sweden. Data from the Statistics Sweden and the National Board of Health and Welfare was used, and the database consisted of 723,948 persons, 361,974 foreign-born living in Sweden in 1970 and aged 16 years and above and 361,974 matched Swedish controls. Results. Latest county of residence independently explained higher mortality among foreign-born persons in all but four counties; OR varied from 1.01 to 1.29. Counties with a more rural structure showed the highest differences between foreign-born persons and native controls. Foreign-born persons had a lower mean age (1.0–4.3 years) at time of death. Conclusion. County of residence influences mortality; higher mortality is indicated among migrants than native Swedes in counties with a more rural structure. Further studies are needed to explore possible explanations

On-farm slaughter and emergency slaughter in Sweden

Although consumers are responsible for much food waste, recent studies have shown significant losses on farm-level. A recent report published by the Swedish Board of Agriculture presented that 3% and 8% of pigs and cattle are lost respectively, requesting further research regarding the potential in salvaging meat through on-farm slaughter (OFS) and on-farm emergency slaughter (OFES). Thus, the aim of this study was set to investigate the attitudes and interests of abattoirs and key industry actors to initiate or increase the use of OFS and OFES. A qualitative study was conducted by interviewing six abattoirs, one veterinary consultant, one meat industry trade group, the Swedish National Food Agency, and 11 game-handling establishments (GHE). The results showed overall concerns regarding economic and technical limitations of performing OFES and OFS, as well as limitations due to official veterinary controls. GHE was observed as having potential in a system of OFES or OFS, due to their current ability to receive carcasses of wild game. Future recommendations include investigating the potential of expanding the regulatory framework for official veterinary controls, to use OFS as a tool for non-acute injuries and to include GHE in a functioning system of OFS and OFES.Trots att konsumenter är ansvariga för en stor del av det totala matsvinnet, har nya studier visat betydande livsmedelsförluster sker redan på gårdsnivå. En ny rapport från Jordbruksverket presenterar att 3 % respektive 8 % av allt nötdjur och grisar förloras på gårdsnivå, och rekommenderar att utreda potentialen att minska köttförluster genom slakt på jordbruksanläggning och nödslakt. På grund av detta syftade denna studie att utreda attityder och intressen hos slakterier och andra nyckelaktörer att påbörja, eller utöka, användandet av slakt på jordbruksanläggning och nödslakt. En kvalitativ studie genomfördes, där intervjuer gjordes med sex slakterier, en veterinärkonsult, Livsmedelsverket samt 11 vilthanteringsanläggningar. Resultatet vidare en övergripande oro gällande ekonomiska och tekniska möjligheter för slakt på jordbruksanläggning och nödslakt, samt begränsningar kopplat till de officiella veterinärkontrollerna. Vilthanteringsanläggningar ansågs som potentiella mottagare av djurkroppar genom slakt på jordbruksanläggning och nödslakt, tack vare sin nuvarande förmåga att ta emot djurkroppar av vilt. Förslag till framtida studier inkluderar att utreda potentialen av att utöka regelverket för officiella veterinärkontroller, att använda slakt på jordbruksanläggning som ett verktyg för icke-akuta skador samt att använda vilthanteringsanläggningar i ett fungerande system för slakt på jordbruksanläggning och nödslakt

Residential mobility among foreign-born persons living in Sweden is associated with lower mortality

There have been few longitudinal studies on the effect of within-country mobility on patterns of mortality in deceased foreign-born individuals. The results have varied; some studies have found that individuals who move around within the same country have better health status than those who do not change their place of residence. Other studies have shown that changing one’s place of residence leads to more self-reported health problems and diseases. Our aim was to analyze the pattern of mortality in deceased foreign-born persons living in Sweden during the years 1970–1999 in relation to distance mobility. Data from Statistics Sweden and the National Board of Health and Welfare was used, and the study population consisted of 281,412 foreign-born persons aged 16 years and over who were registered as living in Sweden in 1970. Distance mobility did not have a negative effect on health. Total mortality was lower (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.69–0.73) in foreign-born persons in Sweden who had changed their county of residence during the period 1970–1990. Higher death rates were observed, after adjustment for age, in three ICD diagnosis groups “Injury and poisoning”, “External causes of injury and poisoning”, and “Diseases of the digestive system” among persons who had changed county of residence

Analysis of the technical biases of meteor video cameras used in the CILBO system

In this paper, we analyse the technical biases of two intensified video cameras, ICC7 and ICC9, of the double-station meteor camera system CILBO (Canary Island Long-Baseline Observatory). This is done to thoroughly understand the effects of the camera systems on the scientific data analysis. We expect a number of errors or biases that come from the system: instrumental errors, algorithmic errors and statistical errors. We analyse different observational properties, in particular the detected meteor magnitudes, apparent velocities, estimated goodness-of-fit of the astrometric measurements with respect to a great circle and the distortion of the camera. We find that, due to a loss of sensitivity towards the edges, the cameras detect only about 55 % of the meteors it could detect if it had a constant sensitivity. This detection efficiency is a function of the apparent meteor velocity. We analyse the optical distortion of the system and the "goodness-of-fit" of individual meteor position measurements relative to a fitted great circle. The astrometric error is dominated by uncertainties in the measurement of the meteor attributed to blooming, distortion of the meteor image and the development of a wake for some meteors. The distortion of the video images can be neglected. We compare the results of the two identical camera systems and find systematic differences. For example, the peak magnitude distribution for ICC9 is shifted by about 0.2–0.4 mag towards fainter magnitudes. This can be explained by the different pointing directions of the cameras. Since both cameras monitor the same volume in the atmosphere roughly between the two islands of Tenerife and La Palma, one camera (ICC7) points towards the west, the other one (ICC9) to the east. In particular, in the morning hours the apex source is close to the field-of-view of ICC9. Thus, these meteors appear slower, increasing the dwell time on a pixel. This is favourable for the detection of a meteor of a given magnitude

Driftmodellering av saltvattenbatteri för kapning av effekttoppar

There is a power deficit in Uppsala's power grid. Municipal companies have an obligation to contribute with solutions to the power deficit. Skolfastigheter AB have therefore installed an environmentally friendly salt water battery in one of their properties. The goal of this project is to create an algorithm for controlling the battery so that it cuts power peaks at a preschool in Uppsala. The algorithm is created based on economical, environmental, and political aspects. A model of the battery is constructed in which technical specifications for the real battery are used. The model is tested using historical power usage data from one of Skolfastigheter AB's preschool properties. The resulting model successfully cuts the facility's power peaks as intended. The model succeeds even when the input data are varied. The algorithm is also applied in reality and controls the battery via a programmable logic controller (PLC). The goal of cutting power peaks is also met with the PLC. Simulation of the battery cuts power peaks more optimally than when the algorithm is implemented in reality. To improve the model, data from more preschools as well as possibilities to perform more experiments are required. The usage of programmable power storage is today not economically profitable. Batteries do however contribute to reaching Uppsala municipality's environmental and climate goals. Batteries also contribute to a more robust energy system where fossil power reserves can be avoided

Partitioning of discrete proton arcs into interlaced subplans can bring proton arc advances to existing proton facilities

Background: Proton arcs have shown potential to reduce the dose to organs at risks (OARs) by delivering the protons from many different directions. While most previous studies have been focused on dynamic arcs (delivery during rotation), an alternative approach is discrete arcs, where step-and-shoot delivery is used over a large number of beam directions. The major advantage of discrete arcs is that they can be delivered at existing proton facilities. However, this advantage comes at the expense of longer treatment times.Purpose: To exploit the dosimetric advantages of proton arcs, while achieving reasonable delivery times, we propose a partitioning approach where discrete arc plans are split into subplans to be delivered over different fractions in the treatment course.Methods: For three oropharyngeal cancer patients, four different arc plans have been created and compared to the corresponding clinical IMPT plan. The treatment plans are all planned to be delivered in 35 fractions, but with different delivery approaches over the fractions. The first arc plan (1×30) has 30 directions to be delivered every fraction, while the others are partitioned into subplans with 10 and 6 beam directions, each to be delivered every third (3×10), fifth fraction (5×6), or seventh fraction (7×10). All plans are assessed with respect to delivery time, target robustness over the treatment course, doses to OARs and NTCP for dysphagia and xerostomia.Results: The delivery time (including an additional delay of 30 s between the discrete directions to simulate manual interaction with the treatment control system) is reduced from on average 25.2 min for the 1×30 plan to 9.2 min for the 3×10 and 7×10 plans and 5.7 min for the 5×6 plans. The delivery time for the IMPT plan is 7.9 min. When accounting for the combination of delivery time, target robustness, OAR sparing, and NTCP reduction, the plans with 10 directions in each fraction are the preferred choice. Both the 3×10 and 7×10 plans show improved target robustness compared to the 1×30 plans, while keeping OAR doses and NTCP values at almost as low levels as for the 1×30 plans. For all patients the NTCP values for dysphagia are lower for the partitioned plans with 10 directions compared to the IMPT plans. NTCP reduction for xerostomia compared to IMPT is seen in two of the three patients. The best results are seen for the first patient, where the NTCP reductions for the 7×10 plan are 1.6 p.p. (grade 2 xerostomia) and 1.5 p.p. (grade 2 dysphagia). The corresponding NTCP reductions for the 1×30 plan are 2.7 p.p. (xerostomia, grade 2) and 2.0 p.p. (dysphagia, grade 2).Conclusions: Discrete proton arcs can be implemented at any proton facility with reasonable treatment times using a partitioning approach. The technique also makes the proton arc treatments more robust to changes in the patient anatomy.</p

Partitioning of discrete proton arcs into interlaced subplans can bring proton arc advances to existing proton facilities

Background: Proton arcs have shown potential to reduce the dose to organs at risks (OARs) by delivering the protons from many different directions. While most previous studies have been focused on dynamic arcs (delivery during rotation), an alternative approach is discrete arcs, where step-and-shoot delivery is used over a large number of beam directions. The major advantage of discrete arcs is that they can be delivered at existing proton facilities. However, this advantage comes at the expense of longer treatment times.Purpose: To exploit the dosimetric advantages of proton arcs, while achieving reasonable delivery times, we propose a partitioning approach where discrete arc plans are split into subplans to be delivered over different fractions in the treatment course.Methods: For three oropharyngeal cancer patients, four different arc plans have been created and compared to the corresponding clinical IMPT plan. The treatment plans are all planned to be delivered in 35 fractions, but with different delivery approaches over the fractions. The first arc plan (1×30) has 30 directions to be delivered every fraction, while the others are partitioned into subplans with 10 and 6 beam directions, each to be delivered every third (3×10), fifth fraction (5×6), or seventh fraction (7×10). All plans are assessed with respect to delivery time, target robustness over the treatment course, doses to OARs and NTCP for dysphagia and xerostomia.Results: The delivery time (including an additional delay of 30 s between the discrete directions to simulate manual interaction with the treatment control system) is reduced from on average 25.2 min for the 1×30 plan to 9.2 min for the 3×10 and 7×10 plans and 5.7 min for the 5×6 plans. The delivery time for the IMPT plan is 7.9 min. When accounting for the combination of delivery time, target robustness, OAR sparing, and NTCP reduction, the plans with 10 directions in each fraction are the preferred choice. Both the 3×10 and 7×10 plans show improved target robustness compared to the 1×30 plans, while keeping OAR doses and NTCP values at almost as low levels as for the 1×30 plans. For all patients the NTCP values for dysphagia are lower for the partitioned plans with 10 directions compared to the IMPT plans. NTCP reduction for xerostomia compared to IMPT is seen in two of the three patients. The best results are seen for the first patient, where the NTCP reductions for the 7×10 plan are 1.6 p.p. (grade 2 xerostomia) and 1.5 p.p. (grade 2 dysphagia). The corresponding NTCP reductions for the 1×30 plan are 2.7 p.p. (xerostomia, grade 2) and 2.0 p.p. (dysphagia, grade 2).Conclusions: Discrete proton arcs can be implemented at any proton facility with reasonable treatment times using a partitioning approach. The technique also makes the proton arc treatments more robust to changes in the patient anatomy.</p