Associations of Vascular Risk Factors and APOE Genotype With Perivascular Spaces Among Community‐Dwelling Older Adults

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Energy monitoring and controlling of smart homes

Energimätning och övervakning kan bidra till minskad energiförbrukning genom att hjälpa en användare att ta beslut över energianvändandet. Valet av examensarbete gjordes p.g.a. behovet att ge användarna möjlighet att påverka sin energiförbrukning och övervaka sina elprodukter. Ett koncept togs fram där toppvärden på spänning och ström, effektfaktor, spänning-ens vågform, aktiv, reaktiv och skenbar effekt mättes. Samtliga värden skickades till en server som lagrade informationen och innehöll en hem-sida för presentation. Användaren kunde därefter ta beslut om att stänga av eller på produkterna via hemsidan. Systemet kompletterades även med möjligheten att öka övervakningen med hjälp av externa sensorer. Ett re-sultat av arbetet blev en prototyp som demonstrerar konceptet, ett annat resultat var flertalet möjliga förbättringar som kan göras för vidareutveckl-ing av konceptet.Energy monitoring can lead to lowering energy consumption. This infor-mation would help the user to make decisions in regards to the power us-age. The measurements can also give the user the possibility to study the power quality to find bad loads and minimize the effects on the power grid. The choice of thesis was done to give the users the possibility to affect and monitor their environmental effect in a way that is otherwise not possible. A concept was developed that measure the voltage and current peak, the voltage and current RMS, power factor and the voltage waveform. The measurements are then sent to a server that is also containing a website. With the website the user can monitor their power usage and turn on or off the power consumers on the website. Added to the system is also the pos-sibility to add external sensors to increase the monitoring. The result of the project is a functioning concept to demonstrate. Another big result is the amount of improvements discovered to make it a really good base to con-tinue developing on

Experiences of A Level Geography Fieldwork

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Cerebral small vessel disease, cardiovascular risk factors, and future walking speed in old age : a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between combined and individual cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) markers on future walking speed over 9 years; and to explore whether these associations varied by the presence of cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs). METHODS: This population-based cohort study included 331 adults, aged ≥60 years, without limitation in walking speed (≥0.8 m/s). At baseline, cSVD markers, including white matter hyperintensities (WMH), lacunes, and perivascular spaces (PVS), were assessed on magnetic resonance imaging. The modifiable CRFs (physical inactivity, heavy alcohol consumption, smoking, hypertension, high total cholesterol, diabetes, and overweight/obese) were combined into a score. The association between baseline cSVD markers and the decline in walking speed was examined using linear mixed-effects models, whereas Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the association with walking speed limitation (defined as < 0.8 m/s) over the follow-up. RESULTS: Over the follow-up period, 76 (23.0%) persons developed walking speed limitation. Participants in the highest tertile of the combined cSVD marker score had a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.78 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.70-8.45) for walking speed limitation compared with people in the lowest score tertile, even after adjusting for socio-demographics, CRFs, cognitive function, and chronic conditions. When investigating the cSVD markers individually, having the highest burden of WMH was associated with a significantly faster decline in walking speed (β coefficient - 0.020; 95% CI -0.035-0.004) and a greater HR of walking speed limitation (HR 2.78; 95% CI 1.31-5.89) compared with having the lowest WMH burden. Similar results were obtained for the highest tertile of PVS (HR 2.13; 95% CI 1.04-4.36). Lacunes were associated with walking speed limitation, but only in men. Having ≥4 CRFs and high WMH volume simultaneously, showed a greater risk of walking speed limitation compared with having ≥4 CRFs and low WMH burden. CRFs did not modify the associations between lacunes or PVS and walking speed. CONCLUSIONS: Combined cSVD markers strongly predict walking speed limitation in healthy older adults, independent of cognitive function, with WMH and PVS being the strongest contributors. Improving cardiovascular health may help to mitigate the negative effects of WMH on future walking speed