A Five-year Follow-up of Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer in Anthroposophic and Conventional Care

Complementary and alternative medicine is used by many cancer patients in most parts of the world, and its use is increasing. The aim of the present study was to examine, over 5 years, the perceived quality of life/life satisfaction in two samples of women with breast cancer who were treated with anthroposophic care or conventional medical treatment only. Data from admission, after 1 year and after 5 years are used for the comparisons. On admission to the study the women in anthroposophic care perceived their quality of life to be lower than that of the women in the conventional treatment group, especially for emotional, cognitive and social functioning and overall quality of life. Sixty women who actively chose treatment with anthroposophic medicine and 60 individually matched women treated with conventional medicine participated. Quality of life was measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire. Twenty-six women within anthroposophic care and 31 women within conventional medicine survived the 5 years. Effect size (ES) estimation favored the anthroposophic group in seven of the subscales mostly measuring emotional functioning. The ES for four of the subscales favored the conventional treatment group, mostly concerning physical functioning. After 5 years there were improvements in overall quality of life and in emotional and social functioning compared to admission for the women in anthroposophic care. The improvements took place between admission and 1 year, but not further on. Only minor improvements were found in the matching group

Mars’ plasma system. Scientific potential of coordinated multipoint missions: “The next generation”

The objective of this White Paper, submitted to ESA’s Voyage 2050 call, is to get a more holistic knowledge of the dynamics of the Martian plasma system, from its surface up to the undisturbed solar wind outside of the induced magnetosphere. This can only be achieved with coordinated multi-point observations with high temporal resolution as they have the scientific potential to track the whole dynamics of the system (from small to large scales), and they constitute the next generation of the exploration of Mars analogous to what happened at Earth a few decades ago. This White Paper discusses the key science questions that are still open at Mars and how they could be addressed with coordinated multipoint missions. The main science questions are: (i) How does solar wind driving impact the dynamics of the magnetosphere and ionosphere? (ii) What is the structure and nature of the tail of Mars’ magnetosphere at all scales? (iii) How does the lower atmosphere couple to the upper atmosphere? (iv) Why should we have a permanent in-situ Space Weather monitor at Mars? Each science question is devoted to a specific plasma region, and includes several specific scientific objectives to study in the coming decades. In addition, two mission concepts are also proposed based on coordinated multi-point science from a constellation of orbiting and ground-based platforms, which focus on understanding and solving the current science gaps

Etiska Fonder : - Ett steg mot en mer hållbar värld?

Today, there is no uniform definition of what an ethical fund is. Fund management companies choose themselves what they believe is ethical and not. The lack of the definition makes it difficult for consumers to understand why these funds are special compared to other funds. The purpose of this study is to examine three Swedish companies; KPA Pension, Swedbank Robur and Folksam, to obtain a clearer picture of the concept ethical funds and its definition. The study describes each company's view of Ethics and how they may affect other companies to work for a more sustainable world. The paper will also discuss how fund companies make a good balance between ethics and profit. The study is based on interviews with people involved in Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Investments. The results suggest that companies themselves have difficulties to define what an ethical fund is, but they all believe they have a good chance to influence the various companies. Research on ethical funds and their returns have shown different results. This makes it difficult to determine if ethics and returns go hand in hand or if ethical funds instead leads to a lower risk, with a smaller yield.I dagsläget finns det ingen enhetlig definition för vad en etisk fond är. Fondbolagen väljer själva vad de anser är etiskt och inte. Den uteblivna definitionen gör det svårt för konsumenter att förstå vad som utmärker just de här fonderna, gentemot andra. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka tre svenska företag, KPA Pension, Swedbank Robur och Folksam, för att på så sätt få en klarare bild av etiska fonder och dess definition. Studien beskriver vad de olika företagen har för syn på etik och hur de kan påverka de företag de är delägare i. Uppsatsen kommer även att diskutera hur fondbolagen kan få en bra balans mellan etik och avkastning. Studien bygger på intervjuer med personer som arbetar med Corporate Social Responsibility och ansvarsfulla investeringar. Resultatet tyder på att företagen själva har svårt att definiera vad en etisk fond är, men att de alla anser att de har en bra chans att påverka de olika företagen. Forskningen angående etiska fonder och dess avkastning har visat olika resultat. Vilket gör det svårt att bestämma om etik och avkastning går hand i hand eller om etiska fonder istället medför en mindre risk, med en mindre avkastning

Dust dynamic pressure and magnetopause displacement : reasons for non-detection

In a recent paper, Treumann and Baumjohann (2011) propose that the contribution of dust particles to the solar wind dynamic pressure can cause large compressions of the Earth's magnetopause and suggest that this occurs when Earth encounters meteoroid streams. In this paper we estimate the contribution from charged dust particles to the solar wind dynamical pressure, and we exclude that the dust associated to meteoroid streams can influence the extension of the magnetopause according to the proposed model. A sufficient coupling to the solar wind is only expected for so-called nanodust. However, the dynamic pressure of the nanodust is orders of magnitudes below that of the solar wind, making it unlikely that its variation can be observed in displacements of the magnetopause. We also discuss the equation that the authors use for estimating the extension of the Earth's magnetopause, and conclude that this is not applicable due to the large gyroradius of the nanodust. We finally note that an influence of dust on the extension of a magnetosphere might be quite possible in other astrophysical systems and based on other processes

Etiska dilemman inom demensvården : utifrån ett sjuksköterskeperspektiv

I omvårdnaden av dementa uppstår ofta etiska överväganden där hänsyn skall tas till den demenssjuke, närstående, medboende samt lagar och riktlinjer. Sjuksköterskan ställs ofta inför svåra etiska situationer där beslut ska tas om eventuella tvångsåtgärder oberoende av vilket sorts stöd, moraliskt och/eller juridiskt, sjuksköterskan eventuellt har i sina beslut. Syftet med studien var att belysa sjuksköterskors upplevelser av etiska dilemman i demensvården i samband med olika tvångsåtgärder. Data samlades in via fokusgruppsintervjuer med sjuksköterskor (n=12) som ansvarade för personer med demenssjukdom inom särskilda boenden i en kommun i Norrland. En fallbeskrivning utgjorde grunden i fokusgruppsintervjuerna. Materialet analyserades via en kvalitativ manifest innehållsanalys. I resultatet framkom fyra kategorier. Etiska dilemman, etiskt förhållningssätt, rättsnormer och verklighet samt behov av stöd.  Sjuksköterskorna upplevde att de är ensamma i beslutsfattandet och behövde stöd i de svåra besluten kring åtgärder i olika etiska dilemman . Sjuksköterskorna upplevde närståendes delaktighet i vården av de dementa som ett bra och viktigt stöd och dialogen med närstående betonades. Det beskrevs också en känsla av stress då sjuksköterskan kommer i kläm mellan vårdpersonalens och de närståendes motstridiga krav som kan kännas svåra att tillmötesgå. En medvetenhet om de olika lagarna beskrevs men sjuksköterskorna upplevde det inte som ett etiskt dilemma att ibland behöva kringgå dem för att skydda den demente från skada eller lidande. Det skulle dock kännas bättre om de hade möjlighet att få stöd i lagen i sitt handlande. Den slutsats som vi drar är att sjuksköterskorna inte upplever några svårigheter att besluta om en tvångsåtgärd men behovet av stöd och handledning är stort.Within the care of people with dementia ethical considerations often occurs and considerations has to be taken to the person with dementia, relatives, cohabitants and to laws and guidelines. Ethical dilemmas often occurs when the registered nurses (RNs) have to decide  whether or not to use constraints in the care, regardless of what kind of support these actions have in a moral or legal sense. The aim of this study was to describe the RNs experience of ethical dilemmas in relation to constraints in care of people with dementia. Data were collected in focus groups, with RNs (n=12) who worked in a municipal residential care for people with dementia in the north of Sweden. A case report initiated the interviews. Data were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Four categories emerged. Ethical dilemmas, ethical approach, legal norms and reality, the need of support.  The RNs experienced loneliness in their decision making of interventions in different ethical difficult care situations and felt the need of support. They experienced that relatives are an important and a fine support in the care and the dialogue are pointed out as important. The RNs described feelings of stress when they were caught between conflicting demands from nursing staff and relatives. The RNs were aware of the laws related to health care, but they didn`t think of it as an ethical dilemma if they had to take sidestep from the law to protect the person with dementia from harm or misery. However they would feel better if they were supported by the law. Conclusion: The RNs didn´t feel any difficulties if they had to decide to use constraints in the care of a person with dementia, but they are in need of support and coaching

Etiska Fonder : - Ett steg mot en mer hållbar värld?

Today, there is no uniform definition of what an ethical fund is. Fund management companies choose themselves what they believe is ethical and not. The lack of the definition makes it difficult for consumers to understand why these funds are special compared to other funds. The purpose of this study is to examine three Swedish companies; KPA Pension, Swedbank Robur and Folksam, to obtain a clearer picture of the concept ethical funds and its definition. The study describes each company's view of Ethics and how they may affect other companies to work for a more sustainable world. The paper will also discuss how fund companies make a good balance between ethics and profit. The study is based on interviews with people involved in Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Investments. The results suggest that companies themselves have difficulties to define what an ethical fund is, but they all believe they have a good chance to influence the various companies. Research on ethical funds and their returns have shown different results. This makes it difficult to determine if ethics and returns go hand in hand or if ethical funds instead leads to a lower risk, with a smaller yield.I dagsläget finns det ingen enhetlig definition för vad en etisk fond är. Fondbolagen väljer själva vad de anser är etiskt och inte. Den uteblivna definitionen gör det svårt för konsumenter att förstå vad som utmärker just de här fonderna, gentemot andra. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka tre svenska företag, KPA Pension, Swedbank Robur och Folksam, för att på så sätt få en klarare bild av etiska fonder och dess definition. Studien beskriver vad de olika företagen har för syn på etik och hur de kan påverka de företag de är delägare i. Uppsatsen kommer även att diskutera hur fondbolagen kan få en bra balans mellan etik och avkastning. Studien bygger på intervjuer med personer som arbetar med Corporate Social Responsibility och ansvarsfulla investeringar. Resultatet tyder på att företagen själva har svårt att definiera vad en etisk fond är, men att de alla anser att de har en bra chans att påverka de olika företagen. Forskningen angående etiska fonder och dess avkastning har visat olika resultat. Vilket gör det svårt att bestämma om etik och avkastning går hand i hand eller om etiska fonder istället medför en mindre risk, med en mindre avkastning

Teaching Information Literacy for Engineering Students in a Rapidly Changing Information Landscape

The KTH Library has a long tradition of teaching information searching to technology students. Over the last years teaching information searching has become teaching information literacy, including more evaluation and source criticism. Traditionally, there have been three forms of teaching: independent credit-giving courses, integrated shorter modules in subject-specific courses and support via individual face-to-face supervision.Although evaluation and source criticism are now important parts of our teaching, much focus is still on search methodology. During this spring we, and our teaching colleagues at the KTH library, will revise and develop the content and pedagogical methodology for the courses and integrated modules in information literacy. In doing so, we need to address important questions on how to face the changing information landscape.Should the teaching be adapted to the search behaviour observed in our students or should we keep trying to change that behaviour? Do we put our effort into directing students to traditional scientific subject databases or should we put more emphasis on the importance of critically evaluating the search results, regardless of their source? How do we find the balance between these alternatives?Recently published studies have already covered these questions to some extent. The findings from a systematic literature search, together with insights collected from our development work during Spring 2016, will be used in an analysis of these questions in the context of teaching information literacy for engineering students

The importance of solar illumination for discrete and diffuse aurora

We present a comprehensive overview of the occurrence of discrete and diffuse aurora in the nightside Northern Hemisphere at invariant latitudes 55°-75°. Twenty-one months of Freja observations (1 January 1993 to 30 September 1994) from the Northern Hemisphere, obtained at altitude, are included in this investigation. We investigate the importance of seasonal effects, solar illumination and geomagnetic activity for the auroral precipitation. The seasonal variations in the occurrence of discrete aurora are separated from the dependence on solar illumination of the ionosphere. When the effects of sunlight are eliminated, aurora is found to be more common during the summer. The occurrence of diffuse, as well as discrete aurora, is suppressed by solar illumination of the ionosphere. This dependence of diffuse auroral precipitation on ionospheric conditions is not predicted by theories that attribute diffuse aurora to equatorial pitch-angle diffusion of hot magnetospheric electrons

A case study in support of closure of bow shock current through the ionosphere utilizing multi-point observations and simulation

On the bow shock in front of Earth's magnetosphere flows a current due to the curl of the interplanetary magnetic field across the shock. The closure of this current remains uncertain; it is unknown whether the bow shock current closes with the Chapman-Ferraro current system on the magnetopause, along magnetic field lines into the ionosphere, through the magnetosheath, or some combination thereof. We present simultaneous observations from Magnetosphere Multiscale (MMS), AMPERE, and Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) during a period of strong By, weakly negative Bz, and very small Bx. This IMF orientation should lead to a bow shock current flowing mostly south to north on the shock. AMPERE shows a current poleward of the Region 1 and Region 2 Birkeland currents flowing into the northern polar cap and out of the south, the correct polarity for bow shock current to be closing along open field lines. A southern Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F18 flyover confirms that this current is poleward of the convection reversal boundary. Additionally, we investigate the bow shock current closure for the above-mentioned solar wind conditions using an MHD simulation of the event. We compare the magnitude of the modeled bow shock current due to the IMF By component to the magnitude of the modeled high-latitude current that corresponds to the real current observed in AMPERE and by Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. In the simulation, the current poleward of the Region 1 currents is about 37% as large as the bow shock Iz in the northern ionosphere and 60% in the south. We conclude that the evidence points to at least a partial closure of the bow shock current through the ionosphere