The hospital environment of the cat

Denna rapport syftar till att belysa på vilka sätt vistelsen på stationärvårdsavdelningen kan påverka katten. Den berör på vilka sätt hanteringen av och miljön kring den hospitaliserade katten kan främja eller ha en negativ inverkan på patienten. En katt som drabbas av stark stress och vantrivsel får inte bara ett försämrat fysiskt tillfrisknande från den åkomma som är orsaken till dess vistelse på stallavdelningen utan belastas även mentalt. Detta kan ge upphov till en rad komplikationer och beteendestörningar. Det är också enklare och säkrare för personalen på stallavdelningen att hantera en katt som känner sig trygg än en som på grund av stress befinner sig i ett slags beredskapstillstånd. För att underlätta förståelsen för katten som djur och patient inleds rapporten med en översiktlig genomgång av kattens sinnen och dess naturliga beteende. Med detta som utgångspunkt gås sedan stationärvårdsavdelningens utformning, utrustning samt förekom-mande problem och tänkbara lösningar igenom. Naturligt beteende är dock ett så stort område att det i denna rapport bara presenteras en summarisk genomgång av några av de beteenden som har betydelse för kattens vistelse på stationärvårdsavdelningen

Women’s Education, Empowerment, and Contraceptive Use in sub-Saharan Africa: Findings from Recent Demographic and Health Surveys

Fertility remains higher and contraceptive levels are substantially lower in Sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere in the developing world. In this paper we use information on individuals and couples provided in recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS, fifth wave) undertaken in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, and Zambia. We use bivariate and multivariate techniques to examine the determinants of contraceptive use among married women (aged 15-49), focusing on the impacts of women’s education and empowerment. Our results show that education was an important determinant of contraceptive use, but mattered less in choice of method effectiveness. The impact of education was similar in all the countries studied with the exception of Kenya, where it was non-existent. Empowerment was less important in determining contraceptive use. Efforts to increase contraceptive use in general and the use of modern methods more specifically need to focus on providing basic education for all women and on changing gender roles.

Temperament assessment at young horse test of horses bred for jumping or dressage : an evaluation of a temperament protocol of Swedish Warmblood horses

Evaluation of temperament protocol at SWB’s young horse test Equestrian sport is considered one of the largest sports in Sweden with approximately 500 000 active participants. The three major disciplines are show jumping, dressage and eventing and the Swedish Warmblood is the most common breed. The goal of the Swedish Warmblood Association (SWB) is to produce horses that are internationally competitive. One of the main factors that determines a horse’s potential to perform on a high level is its temperament. Depending on the horse’s area of use, the temperament also must be suitable. For example, an inexperienced rider may need a less reactive horse in order to be able to handle upcoming situations caused by the horse’s escape instincts. The temperament of SWB horses was not described until recently. In year 2019, SWB developed a temperament protocol in order to do a linear description of the temperament of young horses during the voluntary riding test at young horse test. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the temperament protocols collected in the year 2019. The primary aim was to investigate if differences exist in temperament traits between horses bred for show jumping and horses bred for dressage. The secondary aim was to see how the judges used the protocol scale The temperament protocols were received from the SWB and included 16 traits described on a nine-point linear scale from A to I between two extremes, and two traits assessed in three classes. Protocols of 603 horses assessed by twelve judges were used in the study. The horses were manually divided into disciplines, there were a total of 306 horses bred for show jumping and 297 horses bred for dressage. The description scale A – I was translated from to 1 – 9 in order to perform quantitative statistics. The statistics analyses, Chi-square test, F- and T-test, were made in Excel. The results showed significant differences between horses bred for show jumping and for dressage. Horses bred for showjumping were described as more calm and less reactive before mounting than horses bred for dressage. On the other hand, horses bred for dressage were described to show higher acceptance for the bit, more willingness to perform and they were more self-confident under rider. The judges had used the scale differently, from only using three grades to using eight grades on the nine-point scale. However, the majority of the judges had used letter E the most, that should represent the normal horse. In conclusion, this study showed that there were differences in temperament traits between horses bred for show jumping and horses bred for dressage with dressage horses being more tense in the start of assessment. The difference in the use of scale between judges suggest that the traits need to be better defined and that judges should be more harmonized in their assessments. Further research needs to be done in order to determine whether the linear description of temperament traits can be used in selection of breeding animals

Model Checking Upgrades in Ethereum Smart Contracts

In this master’s thesis, the model-checking tool StraTegic Verifier has been extended to verify upgrades in Smart Contracts. It has been shown how to model Smart Contracts as Concurrent Game Models, enabling them to be verified by the model checker. By implementing Dictatorial Dynamic Coalition Logic, upgrades of Smart Contracts can be expressed, and the models can be changed before verification. The implementation of DDCL is a step in the direction of being able to use formal verification when there are upgrades in Smart Contracts.Masteroppgave i informasjonsvitenskapINFO390MASV-INF

The match between everyday technology in public space and the ability of working-aged people with ABI to use it.

Introduction: In today’s society, the access to and use of everyday technology (ET), such as cell phones and Internet-based services, can be claimed as conditions for participation in many tasks in everyday life. This study aims to determine and compare levels of perceived access to and perceived difficulties in the use of common ETs in the public space among people with acquired brain injury (ABI) compared with controls. Methods: The perceived access to and difficulty in the use of 14 ETs were investigated in a sample with ABI (n=59, returned to work (RTW, n=28)/not returned to work (NRTW, n =31) and matched controls (n=52) using the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire. Findings: Perceived access to the ETs was generally high. The potential to use each of the ETs independently or with minor difficulties significantly differed between controls and persons with ABI in eight of the fourteen ETs. Particularly, difficulties were found among those with ABI-NRTW. Conclusion: People with ABI perceive access to ETs commonly used in public space, but the ET difficulty is not always satisfactory matched to their ability to use ET. To enable participation in society, it is important to consider both the accessibility and usability of ET.Luleå University of TechnologyPromobilia FoundationStrategic Research Health Care Programme of Umeå UniversityManuscrip

Effects of the McKenzie method in patients with neck pain - a literature review

Background: Neck pain affects up to 50% of the population at some time during a year according to international data and is a common reason to visit a physiotherapist in an outpatient setting. It represents a common cause of sickness absence in Sweden and is associated with large social costs. Additionally, neck pain often causes reduced functional ability and reduced quality of life. Effective treatment is therefore important to identify. A common treatment is the McKenzie method, also known as Mechanical diagnosis and therapy (MDT). Purpose: The aim of this study was to elucidate the documented effects of the McKenzie method on neck pain. Method: A literature review was conducted with searches in several databases along with secondary searches through the McKenzie Institute’s website and course binder. Seven articles published between years 2000-2007 were included. Results: The McKenzie method seems mainly to have a beneficial effect on pain and it also appears to be cost effective. Fewer sick days have been reported and the treatment method can also prevent fear of movement. In patients with whiplash it seems better to obtain McKenzie therapy compared with careful rehabilitation and neck collar. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that there is some evidence that the McKenzie method has a beneficial effect on neck pain, but few studies have evaluated this. Positive effects have been documented on pain, work ability and cost-effectiveness. Pain was the variable which in most cases showed to have statistically significant effect. More studies are needed to confirm the effects of the McKenzie method on neck pain.Bakgrund: Nacksmärta drabbar upp till 50 % av befolkningen någon gång under ett år enligt internationella data och är en vanlig sökorsak hos sjukgymnaster inom öppenvården. Den utgör en vanlig orsak till sjukfrånvaro i Sverige, vilket bidrar till stora samhällskostnader. Dessutom orsakar nacksmärta ofta nedsatt funktionsförmåga och livskvalitet. Effektiva behandlingsmetoder är därför viktiga att identifiera. En vanligt förekommande behandling är McKenziemetoden, även kallad Mekanisk diagnostik och terapi (MDT). Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att belysa dokumenterade effekter av McKenziemetoden vid nacksmärta. Metod: En litteraturstudie genomfördes med sökningar i ett flertal databaser samt sekundärsökning via McKenzieinstitutets hemsida och kurspärm. Sju artiklar som var publicerade mellan 2000-2007 inkluderades. Resultat: McKenziemetoden verkar huvudsakligen ha gynnsam effekt på smärta och den förefaller också vara kostnadseffektiv. Färre antal sjukdagar har rapporterats och behandlingsmetoden kan även motverka rörelserädsla. Hos patienter med whiplash verkar det bättre att erhålla McKenzieterapi jämfört med försiktig rehabilitering och nackkrage. Konklusion: Resultatet av denna litteraturstudie visar att det finns visst stöd för att McKenziemetoden har gynnsam effekt vid nacksmärta, men få studier har utvärderat detta. Positiva effekter har dokumenterats avseende smärta, arbetsförmåga och kostnadseffektivitet. Smärta var den variabel som i flest fall visades ha statistiskt signifikant effekt. Fler studier behövs för att bekräfta McKenziemetodens effekter på nacksmärta

The association between perceived and observed ability to use everyday technology in working age people with ABI

Everyday technology (ET), including computers and automated telephone services, is increasingly required for everyday functioning. However, people with acquired brain injury (ABI) may have difficulty with ET use. To design interventions to support ET use, further knowledge of how to assess dimensions of such use is needed. This study investigated the relationship between the perceived difficulty of ET use (self-reported using the Short version of the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire, S-ETUQ) and observed ability to use ET (observed using the Management of Everyday Technology Assessment, META) in a sample of people with ABI (n=81). Data were analysed using a Rasch measurement model, and person measures of perceived difficulty and observed ability to use ET were identified and correlated. The person measures had a correlation of .49 (p ˂.001). In groups of different severity levels after ABI, significant associations were found in the moderate (.36) and severe (.47) disability groups. In the good recovery group, only a non-significant correlation was found (.21). This indicates that the S-ETUQ and the META measures different but complementary dimensions of ET use. Hence, the assessments are proposed to be used together in clinical practice to more fully understand the ability of people with ABI to use ET.Promobilia FoundationStrategic Research Health Care Programme of Umeå UniversityLuleå University of TechnologyAccepte

Structure Casts Light on mtDNA Replication

In this issue, Lee et al. (2009) present a crystal structure of the human mitochondrial DNA polymerase (POLγ). The structure of this heterotrimeric enzyme lays a foundation for understanding how POLγ mutations cause human mitochondrial disease and why some antiviral nucleoside analogs cause cellular toxicity

Healthcare professionals’ perceptions of palliative care quality in a combined acute oncology-palliative care unit: A cross-sectional study

It is a challenge to ensure high-quality palliative care. The aim was to investigate the perceptions of health care professionals (HCPs) working in a combined acute oncology-palliative care unit regarding the quality of the palliative care received by the patients and how important the care was to the patients. A Swedish total-survey cross-sectional study including 41 HCPs (54% response rate) was conducted with the 52 items Quality from the Patient’s Perspective – Palliative Care instrument, answered in two different ways: as actual care received and subjective importance. The STROBE-checklist was used. The areas for improvements were related to symptom relief, spiritual and existential needs, information, patient participation, continuity of care, care planning, cooperation and coordination of care, as subjective importance scores were higher than corresponding scores for care received (p ≤ .025). Providing high-quality palliative care alongside curative treatments for cancer patients is known to be challenging and could explain the results in this study. Implementation of a person-centred palliative care model based on the hospice philosophy could be a solution.publishedVersio

Relatives’ participation in everyday care in special care units for persons with dementia

Background: Research concerning relatives’ participation in the everyday care related to persons living in special care units for persons with dementia is limited. Research questions: To examine relatives’ participation in their near one’s everyday care, the level of burden experienced and important factors for participation, in this special context. Design: The study had a cross-sectional design, and data collection was carried out by means of a study-specific questionnaire. Participants and context: A total of 233 relatives from 23 different special care units participated. Ethical consideration: The study was approved by the Norwegian Social Science Data Services. Results: A great majority of relatives reported that they visited weekly and were the resident’s spokesperson, but seldom really participated in decisions concerning their everyday care. Participation was seldom reported as a burden. Discussion: This study indicated that relatives were able to make a difference to their near one’s everyday life and ensure quality of care based on their biographical expertise, intimate knowledge about and emotional bond with the resident. Since knowing the resident is a prerequisite for providing individualised care that is in line with the resident’s preferences, information concerning these issues is of utmost importance. Conclusion: This study prompts reflection about what it is to be a spokesperson and whether everyday care is neglected in this role. Even though relatives were satisfied with the care provided, half of them perceived their participation as crucial for the resident’s well-being. This indicated that relatives were able to offer important extras due to their biographical expertise, intimate knowledge about and emotional bond with the resident. Good routines securing that written information about the residents’ life history and preferences is available and used should be implemented in practice