Risk factors for autism and Asperger syndrome Perinatal factors and migration

Using the Swedish Medical Birth Registry (MBR), obstetrical and demographic information was retrieved for 250 children with autism or Asperger syndrome who were born in Malmoe, Sweden, and enrolled at the local Child and Youth Habilitation Center. The reference group consisted of all children born in Malmoe during 1980-2005. Obstetric sub-optimality (prematurity, low Apgar scores, growth restriction, or macrosomia) was positively associated with autism but not with Asperger syndrome. Maternal birth outside the Nordic countries was positively associated with autism (adjusted OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.6-3.1) and negatively associated with Asperger syndrome (OR: 0.6; 95% CI: 0.3-0.97). The highest risk estimate for autism was found among children to women who were born in sub-Saharan Africa (OR: 7.3), or in East Asia (OR: 3.4)

Eldrimner Mathantverk

Although mass production of undifferentiated commodities dominates the market for food products, a shift has turned consumers’ interests towards alternative food chains with a focus on quality attributes, origin and a stronger control and guarantee. But as the variety of food products expands, consumers require more information in their purchase situations. Several of the attributes of food items, such as origin, quality or socially constructed concepts as authentic and traditional, are difficult for the customers to identify before consumption. The brand’s function to transfer such quality attributes is one way to decrease the customer’s informational problems and to raise the producers’ differentiability. According to the Swedish food strategy small-scale food producers are important in several aspects. Artisan food producers create job opportunities with geographical divergence, offer a variety of products and produce food with high quality and local origin. The certification Eldrimner Mathantverk was introduced by the Swedish national resource centre, Eldrimner, with the aim to promote artisan food products and prevent the concept of artisan food from dilution. To assure the products quality, certified producers are obligated to follow criteria covering several aspects of the production such as production processes, origin of raw materials and additives. The problem of this study concerns the impact that Eldrimner Mathantverk has for the artisan food producers. This problem initially concerns their producers’ view of the collective brand as a tool bearing marketing advantages, but also governance of the collective asset that this jointly used brand constitutes. The aim of this study is to from the producers’ perspective, discover the strengths and weaknesses of the collective brand Eldrimner Mathantverk. These strengths and weaknesses concerns the producers’ perception of Eldrimner Mathantverk as a brand and quality signal, but also the collective behaviour among the producers. To nurture cooperation and prevent deceptive behaviour among the users, coordination mechanisms are essential. This study emphases the informal mechanisms provided by social capital. This study is a quantitative study performed through a survey with 422 artisan food producers registered at Eldrimner’s website Mathantverk.com. The results show that the producers have a high belief in the functions provided by Eldrimner Mathantverk, such as the brands’ ability to promote artisan food items and to facilitate the customers’ purchase of artisan food items. The producers perceive Eldrimner Mathantverk as a signal of the qualities of artisan food production and as a reliable quality signal to the customers. The risks of opportunistic behaviour among the producers is perceived as low and even though the producers believe that formal coordination mechanisms to regulate the users of the brand is important, there are indications of social capital among the group of producers that might be positive for the government of the collective brand. The producers’ knowledge about Eldrimner Mathantverk is fairly high, but the customers’ awareness of the brand is seen to be limited. Further marketing efforts are important, as the low awareness and reputation might limit the producers’ perceived value of the brand. Significant differences were found between subgroups of respondents. Females have a more positive belief in and appreciation for the brand’s function as a marketing tool and seemed to experience a higher amount of social capital among artisan food producers. Certified producers seemed to have a significantly higher overall belief in the functions provided by the brand, while producers with more employees experience a lower need for the functions provided by Eldrimner Mathantverk.Som en reaktion på den storskaliga och anonyma produktion som idag dominerar livsmedelsmarknaden, ökar konsumenternas intresse för alternativa livsmedelskedjor med fokus på kvalité, ursprung och en starkare kontroll och garanti. Samtidigt som utbudet av livsmedelsprodukter ökar kräver konsumenternas mer information för att fatta välgrundade inköpsbeslut. Många attribut hos livsmedelsprodukter, så som ursprung, kvalité och socialt konstruerade attribut som genuinitet och tradition, är svåra för konsumenten att identifiera innan konsumtion. Att använda ett varumärke för att signalera dessa attribut kan underlätta konsumenternas inköpsbeslut och öka producenternas differentieringsförmåga. Sveriges nationella livsmedelsstrategi anger småskaliga livsmedelsproducenter som viktiga utifrån flera aspekter. Producenter av mathantverk skapar arbetstillfällen med en geografisk spridning, erbjuder en stor variation av produkter och producerar livsmedel med hög kvalité och lokalt ursprung. Certifieringen Eldrimner Mathantverk introducerades av Sveriges nationella resurscentrum för mathantverk, Eldrimner, med syfte att marknadsföra hantverksproducerade livsmedel och bevara konceptet mathantverk. För att försäkra produkternas kvalité är certifierade producenterna skyldiga att följa specifika kriterier som omfattar bland annat tillverkningsprocesser, råvarornas ursprung och tillsatser. Problemet som adresseras i denna studie berör den påverkan som Eldrimner Mathantverk har för mathantverksproducenterna. Detta problem berör initialt producenternas syn på det kollektiva varumärket som ett marknadsföringsverktyg, men även styrningen av den kollektiva tillgång som varumärket utgör. Syftet med studien är att från producenternas perspektiv finna styrkor och svagheter med det kollektiva varumärket Eldrimner Mathantverk. Dessa styrkor och svagheter handlar dels om producenternas uppfattning av Eldrimner Mathantverk som varumärke och en kvalitetssignal, men även det kollektiva beteendet hos och samarbetet emellan producenterna. För att uppmuntra samarbete och förhindra bedrägligt beteende hos användarna av varumärket krävs koordineringsmekanismer. Denna studie lägger vikten på de informella mekanismer som tillhandahålls av socialt kapital. I denna studie har kvantitativ metod tillämpats genom en enkätundersökning med 422 mathantverksproducenter registrerade på Eldrimner’s hemsida Mathantverk.com. Resultatet visar att producenterna har en hög tilltro till Eldrimner Mathantverks funktioner, så som varumärkets förmåga att marknadsföra hantverksproducerade livsmedel i syfte att förenkla konsumenternas inköp. Producenterna upplever Eldrimner Mathantverk som representativt för de mathantverkets kvalitéer och som en tillförlitlig kvalitetssignal. Risken för opportunism bland mathantverksproducenter upplevs som låg och även om producenterna ser formell kontroll som viktig, finns det tydliga indikationer på social kapital. Detta kan ses som positivt för styrningen av varumärket som en kollektiv tillgång. Producenternas kunskap om Eldrimner Mathantverk är relativt hög, till skillnad från konsumenternas kännedom som av producenterna anses vara begränsad. Fortsatta marknadsföringsåtgärder från Eldrimners sida är viktigt för att öka varumärkets rykte och kännedom hos konsumenternas Signifikanta skillnader finns mellan undergrupper av respondenter. Kvinnor visade sig ha en högre tilltro till och uppskattning för Eldrimner Mathantverk som marknadsföringsverktyg. Kvinnor visade sig också uppleva en högre tillgång till socialt kapital hos producenterna. Certifierade producenter har en signifikant högre tilltro på de funktioner som ett kollektivt varumärke erbjuder, medan producenter med fler anställda upplevde ett mindre behov av de funktioner som Eldrimner Mathantverk erbjuder

The oldest sports library in the world celebrates 200 years

The article relates the 200 year history of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, from its founder, Pehr Henrik Ling to its present status as the oldest sports library in the world. The authors describe the library’s humble beginnings to its important role nowadays as an integral part of the School’s sport education curriculum

Faktorer och hinder för tillväxt i landsbygdens dagligvaruhandel

Dagligvaruhandeln på landsbygden har en betydelsefull roll för landbygdens utveckling genom att bland annat bidra med grundläggande service och skapa arbetstillfällen. Landsbygdens särskildheter som dess gleshet, minskade tillgång till servicetjänster och negativa befolkningsutveckling leder till att dagligvaruhandel på landsbygden verkar under speciella förutsättningar. För att underlätta företagandet är det därför viktigt att identifiera vad som kan förhindra eller begränsa dagligvaruhandelns tillväxt och utveckling. Att lokala bankkontor upphör med att hantera kontanta betalningsmedel förväntas leda till handelssektorn i högre utsträckning förväntas bistå samhället med kontanter. Med en ökad hantering av kontanta betalningsmedel följer även kostnader som kan härledas till kontanthanteringen, något som kan påverka dagligvaruhandlarens lönsamhet. Samtidigt som den ökade kontanthanteringen även kan påverka dagligvaruhandlarens tillväxt i positiv bemärkelse, genom bland annat ett utökat utbud av efterfrågade tjänster. Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera faktorer och hinder för tillväxt hos landsbygdens dagligvaruhandlare, samt att identifiera hur kontanthanteringen upplevs påverka dagligvaruhandelns tillväxt. Semistrukturerade direktintervjuer med tre dagligvaruhandlare på landsbygden används som undersökningsmetod i uppsatsen. Samtliga butiker som medverkar i studien bedrivs som ICA Nära-butiker inom Norrtälje kommun. Studiens resultat visar att det finns faktorer för tillväxt och utveckling hos de studerade dagligvaruhandlarna. Samtliga dagligvaruhandlare har en vilja att växa och utvecklas samt strategier för att uppnå tillväxt. De önskar främst att växa i lönsamhet, men det finns även andra icke-monetära värden som är viktiga för handlarna. Att det fortsatt finns en dagligvaruhandel på orten, att landsbygden behålls levande och att tillgodose människor med service är några faktorer som påverkar företagarna till fortsatt bedriva verksamheterna. I studien identifieras 13 olika upplevda tillväxthinder. Kontanthantering anses inte utgöra ett tillväxthinder hos de studerade företagarna, utan i vissa fall kan kontanthanteringen utgöra en tillväxtfaktor som upplevs som en konkurrensfördel. En stor del av de upplevda hindren överensstämmer med resultat av tidigare studier, men i studien framkommer även andra hinder. Utifrån de tillväxthinder som identifierats i studien har ett flertal policyimplikationer framställts.The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector has an important role in rural development, for instance by contributing with basic services to the local rural area. In order to facilitate entrepreneurship in rural areas, it is essential to identify what may prevent or limit growth and development in the rural FMCGs. When the local bank offices reduce their managing of cash payments, it is predicted that the FMCGs will be obliged to provide cash services to the rural area. With an increased handling of cash payment follows expenses derived for cash management, expenses the rural retailer is likely to be responsible for. An increased cash flow may therefore affect the retailer’s profitability and be a possible barrier towards growth and development. At the same time, an increased cash-management can affect the food retailer’s growth in a positive sense by supplying an expanded range of services. This study aims to identify driving forces and barriers towards growth in the rural FMCG-sector, and examine how cash-management is perceived to affect food retailer’s growth. To investigate this, three interviews with food retailers in rural areas have been made. The limitation of the study is “ICA Nära”-stores geographically confined to Norrtälje municipality. The results of the study identify multiple driving forces in FMCG-sector for growth and development. All three food retailers mainly want to grow in terms of profitability, but there are also other non-monetary values that are important for them. The study also identifies 13 different perceived barriers to growth. Cash management is not considered as a barrier to growth, on the contrary it is reported to provide a competitive advantage for the retailer. From the identified barriers to growth several policy implications is presented

The Relationship between the Tissue Expression of TLR2, TLR4, TLR5, and TLR7 and Systemic Inflammatory Responses in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed malignancy globally. CRC patients with elevated plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels exhibit compromised prognoses. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), activating the innate and adaptive immune systems, may contribute to pro- and antitumorigenic inflammatory responses. We aimed to identify a possible link between local and systemic inflammatory responses in CRC patients by investigating the association between tissue TLRs and plasma CRP. Methods: Tissue expressions of TLR2, TLR4, TLR5, and TLR7 were assessed using immunohistochemistry of tissue microarray slides from 549 CRC patients surgically treated between 1998 and 2005. Blood samples were drawn preoperatively, centrifuged, aliquoted, and stored at -80 degrees C until analysis. Plasma CRP was determined through high-sensitivity time-resolved immunofluorometric assay. We investigated the association of TLRs to clinicopathologic variables, plasma CRP, and survival. Results: High TLR2 expression (hazard ratio [HR] 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.41-0.85; p = 0.005), high TLR5 expression (HR 0.60; 95% CI 0.45-0.83; p = 0.002), positive TLR7 expression (HR 0.49; 95% CI 0.33-0.72; p < 0.001), and low CRP (HR 1.48; 95% CI 1.08-2.11; p = 0.017) were associated with a better prognosis. A high TLR2 immunoexpression was associated with a better prognosis among low-CRP patients (HR 0.53; 95% CI 0.35-0.80; p = 0.002), high TLR4 expression among high-CRP patients (HR 2.04; 95% CI 1.04-4.00; p = 0.038), high TLR5 expression among low-CRP patients (HR 0.059; 95% CI 0.37-0.92; p = 0.021), and positive TLR7 expression among low-CRP patients (HR 0.53; 95% CI 0.28-1.00; p = 0.049). In multivariate analyses, no biomarkers emerged as significant independent variables. Conclusions: High tissue TLR2, TLR5, and TLR7 levels were associated with a better prognosis. Among low-CRP patients, those with high TLR2, TLR5, and TLR7 immunoexpressions exhibited a better prognosis. Among high CRP patients, a high TLR4 immunoexpression was associated with a better prognosis.Peer reviewe

Association between local immune cell infiltration, mismatch repair status and systemic inflammatory response in colorectal cancer

Systemic inflammatory response in colorectal cancer (CRC) has been established as a prognostic factor for impaired cancer-specific survival, predominantly in patients with right-sided tumors. On the other hand, defective mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors, primarily located in the right colon, are known to have favorable survival and dense local immune infiltration. The aim of this study was to see if there is any form of relationship between these seemingly diverse entities.Peer reviewe

The Prognostic Importance of CD20(+) B lymphocytes in Colorectal Cancer and the Relation to Other Immune Cell subsets

The anti-tumour immune response is critical to patient prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of this study was to investigate infiltration of B lymphocytes into CRC tumours, and their clinical relevance, prognostic value and relation to other immune cell subsets. We used multiplexed immunohistochemistry and multispectral imaging to assay the amount of infiltrating CD20(+) B lymphocytes along with infiltration of CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells, FOXP3(+) T regulatory cells, CD68(+) macrophages and CD66b(+) neutrophils, in 316 archival CRC tissue specimens. A higher density of infiltrating CD20(+) B lymphocytes was associated with tumours of the right colon (P = 0.025) and of lower stages (P = 0.009). Furthermore, patients whose tumours were highly infiltrated by CD20(+) B lymphocytes had a significantly improved disease-specific survival (HR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.28-0.73, P = 0.001), which remained significant in multivariable analysis. CD20(+) B lymphocytes were highly and positively associated with CD8(+) T lymphocytes (P <0.001), and part of the prognostic role was found to be a cooperative effect between these lymphocyte subsets. Our results support a favourable prognostic value of tumour-infiltrating CD20(+) B lymphocytes in CRC. Furthermore, a cooperative prognostic effect between CD20(+) B lymphocytes and CD8(+) T lymphocytes is suggested.Peer reviewe

Additive clinical impact of epidermal growth factor receptor and podocalyxin-like protein expression in pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinomas

The outcome of periampullary adenocarcinomas remains poor with few treatment options. Podocalyxin-like protein (PODXL) is an anti-adhesive protein, the high expression of which has been shown to confer a poor prognosis in numerous malignancies. A correlation and adverse prognostic synergy between PODXL and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been observed in colorectal cancer. Here, we investigated whether this also applies to periampullary adenocarcinomas. We analyzed the immunohistochemical expression of PODXL and EGFR in tissue microarrays with tumors from two patient cohorts; (Cohort 1, n=175) and (Cohort 2, n=189). The effect of TGF-beta -induced expression and siRNA-mediated knockdown of PODXL and EGFR, were investigated in pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1) in vitro. We found a correlation between PODXL and EGFR in these cancers, and a synergistic adverse effect on survival. Furthermore, silencing PODXL in pancreatic cancer cells resulted in the down-regulation of EGFR, but not vice versa. Consequently, these findings suggest a functional link between PODXL and EGFR, and the potential combined utility as biomarkers possibly improving patient stratification. Further studies examining the mechanistic basis underlying these observations may open new avenues of targeted treatment options for subsets of patients affected by these particularly aggressive cancers.Peer reviewe