Lawyer\u27s Role in Resistance

De svenska bostadspriserna har fortsatt att stiga och tillsammans med det låga ränteläget har även hushållens skuldsättning stigit. Utöver detta har hushållens amorteringsvilja minskat vilket lett till en oro över att hushållen inte kommer klara av framtida svängningar i ekonomin. Denna oro visar sig i införandet av bolånetak och nya amorteringsrekommendationer. Hur svenska hushåll beslutar kring amortering och sparande är en outforskad fråga. Studier tyder på att individer inte alltid agerar rationellt, alltså samlar in och hanterar all tillgänglig information och därefter agerar för att maximera nyttan. Forskare menar att i vissa fall är bostadsägande ett avsteg från rationellt beteende. Behavioral finance menar att individer påverkas av psykologiska faktorer vilket inkluderar känslor, mentala genvägar och sociala influenser. Generellt sett har individer tre alternativ: Amortera som ett sorts sparande och därmed minska risken vid sjunkande bostadspriser och stigande räntor. Likviditeten för andra investeringar och konsumtion minskar. Amortera inte och öka därmed likviditeten och möjligheten att konsumera eller investera i andra former som ger högre avkastning. Risken vid sjunkande bostadspriser och stigande räntor ökar. Varken amortera eller spara. Detta leder till forskningsfrågan: Hur påverkar psykologiska faktorer svenska hushålls amorterings- och sparbeteende? För att få en djupare förståelse för detta beteende krävs ett kvalitativt angreppssätt i form av intervjuer. De semistrukturerade intervjuerna bygger på psykologiska faktorer kategoriserade överensstämmandes med tidigare forskning. Kategoriseringen innefattar känslor och känslomässiga influenser, informationsprocessens strategier och uppfattningar samt psykologiska och sociala motiv, vilka i sin tur innehåller psykologiska faktorer. Vi fördjupar Sahi et al.s (2013) studie vilken vi adderat relevanta teorier till. Detta bildar den teori- och analysmodell analysen utgår ifrån. Urvalet består av fem individer bosatta i Umeå och Stockholm med varierande ålder, utbildning etcetera. Deras gemensamma nämnare är att de är bosatta i Sverige, innehar en bostad och ett bolån. Studien fann att de svenska hushållen ser amortering som en form av sparande. Hushållen minskar inte amorteringen för att kunna investera i andra former med högre avkastning. Amorterings- och sparbeteendet påverkas av psykologiska faktorer men på olika sätt. En gemensam faktor är att alla intervjupersoner förlitar sig på trender vad gäller pris på bostadsmarknaden. Vidare indikerar resultatet att individer inte agerar enligt den traditionella ekonomiska teorin om rationella beslutsfattare. Till skillnad från normativa teorier så som den traditionella ekonomiska teorin, bidrar vi med denna studie en förståelse för hur svenska hushålls faktiska beteende.

Engagerade ungdomar

The consumption and energy use in today's society contributes to the on-going climate change that creates a debt of life quality for future generations (www, DN, 2007, a). The resources that are used by humans exceed by far what is sustainable (www, Regeringen, 2007, a). The purpose of this paper is to examine how a message about energy conservation should be designed to reach youths. This will be attempted by showing their thoughts on energy and environmental issues and also what it would take for them to get more involved in these issues. The views of the youths are gained by a number of focus group-interviews, which where carried out in the fall of 2007, with kids in the ages 12 to 19. Apart from these interviews, interviews where also conducted with representatives from different youth organisations in Sweden, which gave their views on how to get a message across to kids. Some further views were gained by interviews with academic researchers in the fields of communication and pedagogic. By using theories from the fields of marketing, communication and psychology, information was gained to determine which factors are key to get an intrest from the youths in changing their behaviour. The conclusions drawn in this paper, on how to design a project aiming towards youths addressing energy issues, are that it should be adapted to suit the needs and abilities of the target group. Five key factors influence the success of reaching the kids. The first factor is the content of the message conveyed, which is the basis for creating a dialog with the kids. The information must be perceived as meaningful and put in relation to something concrete and fun, in order for the kids to be interested in the issue. The second factor is that the message should be delivered through the channels that kids use. The third factor is to use role models. The great amount of information, often contradictory, in today's society makes the kids confused on how to act. Role models can by their good example lead the way and show the kids that it is possible to be energy conscious. The fourth factor is to have a supportive social environment around the kids, so that they can use what they learn. For this reason a project should aim their resources at reaching the kids in school. In school they have a possibility to get continuous support and opportunities to use what they have learned. The fifth factor is giving the kids incentives to act. The fundamental objective for a project must be to convey the message in a way so that the kids feel that they are able to influence and that there is an environment around them that listens and takes their opinions seriously.Dagens konsumtion och energiframställning bidrar till klimatförändringen och skapar en miljöskuld som dagens ungdomar och framtida generationer kommer att ta över i framtiden (www, DN, 2007, a). De resurser som människan tar i anspråk i dagens samhälle överstiger vad som är långsiktigt hållbart (www, Regeringen, 2007, a). Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka hur ett budskap om energibesparing ska utformas för att nå ut och uppfattas av ungdomar. Detta görs dels genom att belysa hur ungdomar själva tänker angående energi- och miljöfrågor samt vad de skulle behöva för att bli mer engagerade i dessa frågor. Ungdomarnas synpunkter samlas in med hjälp av ett antal fokusgruppsintervjuer som genomförts med ungdomar i åldrarna 12 till 19 år, under hösten 2007. Förutom intervjuerna med ungdomarna genomfördes ett antal intervjuer med representanter för olika ungdomsprojekt, som gav sin syn på hur information kan förmedlas till ungdomar. I arbetet har även intervjuer gjorts med akademiker för att få deras syn på hur information kan förmedlas till ungdomar för att nå fram. Genom att använda teorier inom marknadsföring, kommunikation och psykologi togs information in om vilka faktorer som behövs för att väcka ett intresse hos ungdomar för att förändra sitt beteende. De slutsatser som vi har kommit fram till i denna studie i frågan om hur ett projekt som riktar sig till ungdomar angående energifrågor bör utformas, är att det måste anpassas till ungdomarnas förutsättningar. Det har framkommit att fem centrala nyckelfaktorer påverkar när det gäller att nå ut och engagera ungdomar. Den första faktorn är utformningen av budskapet som är grunden för att skapa en dialog med ungdomarna. Informationen måste uppfattas som meningsfull, den information som ungdomarna tycker väcker störst intresse är om energifrågorna sätts i relation till något konkret och roligt. Den andra faktorn är att budskapet måste anpassas efter vilka kanaler ungdomarna använder. Den tredje faktorn är att förebilder har en avgörande roll när det gäller att nå ut och engagera ungdomar. En stor mängd av informationen som finns att tillgå är ofta motstridig. Detta bidrar till att de känner sig osäkra på hur de ska agera. Förebilder kan genom att vara goda exempel visa vägen för ungdomarna till att leva energimedvetet. Den fjärde faktorn är att det runt ungdomarna måste finnas en omgivning som stöttar dem så att de kan använda det de lär sig. Detta gör att ett projekt bör rikta sina resurser till skolan först och främst, för att ungdomarna där kan få möjlighet samt kontinuerligt stöd för att utföra beteendet. Den femte faktorn är att ungdomarna behöver få olika incitament för att de ska agera. Det centrala i projektet måste vara att förmedla budskapet på ett sådant sätt till ungdomarna att de får en känsla av att de kan påverka och samtidigt att det finns en omgivning som lyssnar och tar dem på allvar

Appetite regulating neuropeptides in alcohol addiction : focus on melanin concentrating hormone and its mch1-receptor

Current treatment options for alcohol use disorders are limited in number and have limited efficacy. It is therefore important to find new, more effective medications. In this thesis, the work focused on the involvement of the hypothalamic neuropeptide Melanin Concentrating Hormone (MCH) and its MCH-1 receptor (MCH1-R) in alcohol related behaviors in rodents. In the initial study, the selective MCH1-R antagonist GW803430 was evaluated in animal models of motivation to obtain alcohol and relapse to alcohol-seeking in rats using operant self-administration. GW803430 potently attenuated alcohol self-administration and cue-induced reinstatement while reinstatement induced by a foot-shock stressor was unaffected. To extend these findings, GW803430 was assessed in states of escalated alcohol consumption. In rats consuming high amounts of alcohol during intermittent access GW803430 treatment significantly reduced intake of both alcohol and feed while in low drinking rats only food intake was decreased. Following protracted abstinence induced by intermittent access, alcohol self-administration was significantly attenuated by GW803430. In contrast, GW803430 had no effect on escalated alcohol self-administration induced by vapor exposure. These studies provide evidence for a combined effect of the MCH1-R antagonist on consumption of alcohol through effects both on appetite for calories, and rewarding alcohol actions. In order to evaluate effects on sugar, which also has addiction-like properties and activate pathways in the brain overlapping those for drugs of abuse, we assessed GW803430 on sucrose and saccharin self-administration. While sucrose consumption was significantly decreased by GW803430, no effect was seen on saccharin intake, suggesting that MCH1-R blockade primarily regulates calorie intake. However, GW803430 also reduced cue-induced seeking and enhanced motivation to obtain sucrose under a progressive ratio schedule. Reward from palatable food and drugs of abuse can activate overlapping neurobiological mechanisms, and the findings further indicate that the MCH1-R may have a dual role on appetite for calories and reward. Based on the findings that the MCH1-R regulates the rewarding properties of both alcohol and sucrose, alcohol reward was investigated in mice in the conditioned place preference (CPP) model to avoid calorie intake as a confounding variable. Genetic deletion of the MCH1-R prevented alcohol induced CPP and this finding was replicated in wildtype C57BL/6 mice treated with GW803430. Downstream signaling mechanisms of the MCH1-R after acute alcohol administration were further investigated. Immunohistochemistry showed that acute alcohol administration induced phosphorylation of the dopamine and cAMP regulated phospho protein 32 (p-DARPP-32) downstream of the MCH1-R. In conclusion, our results suggest a role of MCH and its MCH1-R both in calorie intake and in regulation of alcohol reward

Experiences of spirituality of in- and out-patients in mental health facilities: A thematic synthesis of qualitative studies

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.Recent decades have seen a significant rise in interest in spirituality in different mental health contexts. A comprehensive systematic review by Milner, Crawford, Edgley, Hare-Duke, and Slade (2019) shows that a gap exists between professionals and service users in the value they place on spirituality. The aim of this article is to synthesize existing literature on how people with mental health issues experience spirituality as a resource. A systematic literature search was performed in four international databases between January 2019 and October 2022. Nine studies were selected. This synthesis resulted in three themes, longing for connection, the need for vital relationships, and searching for a new meaning.publishedVersio

Carcass characteristics and meat quality attributes in lambs reared indoors, on cultivated pasture, or on semi-natural pasture

This study evaluated the effects of different lamb production systems on live weight gain (LWG), carcass quality and meat quality. Four production systems for weaned intact male lambs were examined: indoor feeding with grass silage and concentrate (group 1), grazing on cultivated pasture with (group 2) or without (group 3) concentrate, and grazing on semi-natural pasture (group 4). Live weight, carcass weight, dressing percentage, carcass conformation, fatness and pH decline were recorded at slaughter, and M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum was analysed for colour, thawing and cooking loss, pH after 24 hours and 6 days, and Warner-Bratzler shear force. LWG was strongly affected by production system, being highest for group 1 and lowest for group 4 (p<0.001). Group 4 had the lowest conformation (p=0.002) and fat scores (p<0.001). Hence, production system affected age at slaughter, live weight gain, weight at slaughter, carcass conformation and fatness scores, but caused no differences in meat quality attributes in intact male lambs

Enhanced oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugate stability using thioctic acid modified oligonucleotides

Metallic nanoparticles of gold functionalized with oligonucleotides conventionally use a terminal thiol modification and have been used in a wide range of applications. Although readily available, the oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugates prepared in this way suffer from a lack of stability when exposed to a variety of small molecules or elevated temperatures. If silver is used in place of gold then this lack of stability is even more pronounced. In this study we report the synthesis of highly stabilized oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugates using a simple oligonucleotide modification. A modified solid support was used to generate 3′-thioctic acid modified oligonucleotides by treatment with an N-hydroxysuccimidyl ester of thioctic acid. Unusually, both gold and silver nanoparticles have been investigated in this study and show that these disulphide-modified oligonucleotide probes offer significant improvements in nanoparticle stability when treated with dithiothreitol (DTT) compared with monothiol analogues. This is a significant advance in oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugate stability and for the first time allows silver nanoparticles to be prepared that are more stable than standard gold-thiol functionalized nanoparticles. This opens up the possibility of using silver nanoparticles functionalized with oligonucleotides as an alternative to gold

Enhanced oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugate stability using thioctic acid modified oligonucleotides

Metallic nanoparticles of gold functionalized with oligonucleotides conventionally use a terminal thiol modification and have been used in a wide range of applications. Although readily available, the oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugates prepared in this way suffer from a lack of stability when exposed to a variety of small molecules or elevated temperatures. If silver is used in place of gold then this lack of stability is even more pronounced. In this study we report the synthesis of highly stabilized oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugates using a simple oligonucleotide modification. A modified solid support was used to generate 3′-thioctic acid modified oligonucleotides by treatment with an N-hydroxysuccimidyl ester of thioctic acid. Unusually, both gold and silver nanoparticles have been investigated in this study and show that these disulphide-modified oligonucleotide probes offer significant improvements in nanoparticle stability when treated with dithiothreitol (DTT) compared with monothiol analogues. This is a significant advance in oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugate stability and for the first time allows silver nanoparticles to be prepared that are more stable than standard gold-thiol functionalized nanoparticles. This opens up the possibility of using silver nanoparticles functionalized with oligonucleotides as an alternative to gold