The impact of information and communication technology on family carers of older people and professionals in Sweden

Government policy in Sweden, as in other developed countries, pays increasing attention as to how best to support the family carers of older people. New and innovative means of support, such as information and communication technology, are emerging. This paper explores the perceived benefits of, and barriers to, information technology as a means of supporting family carers of older people. Following a brief overview of the care-giving literature, with particular reference to the Swedish context, interview and questionnaire data collected from 34 families who took part in the Swedish ACTION project are used to explore the role of user-friendly information and communication technology to inform and enable family carers of older people to exercise choice, to care more effectively and to work in partnership with professionals. Interview data from two groups of professionals that utilised ACTION are also examined to throw light on its potential benefits for both carers and professionals. Consideration is given to the barriers to using information technology, and to identifying those carers most likely to benefit. Areas for further development are the need for practitioners' education and a wider range of programmes to address carers' diverse needs. Clearly, lessons learned from the Swedish project have wider relevance, given that new forms of support are being developed in most technically advanced countries

From Freedom to Equality: Thinking Politics and Education with Jacques Ranciere

Is there such a thing as an emancipatory education? If so, what does an emancipatory education look like? This is the question that motivates this dissertation. It is also a question that has motivated many other political reflections on education. In part, it is the prevalence of this common concern with the emancipatory capacity of education that inspired the first major claim of this dissertation: a general problematic of freedom and authority seems to frame much of our political thinking about education and this problematic has troubling consequences for our thinking and practice of education, and how we imagine education’s relationship to politics. In fact, our way of imagining emancipatory education often seems neither freeing nor radical, and certainly not democratic. Given this, is it possible to reimagine emancipatory education beyond the problematic of freedom and authority? I will argue that it possible, to a certain degree. Turning to the writings of Jacques Rancière, I will argue that his own rethinking of emancipation and politics translates or shifts us from an emphasis on freedom to an emphasis on equality. Although such a shift may not seem novel, it introduces a new problematic of equality and inequality which is extremely helpful for thinking politically about education. In fact, it allows us to think emancipatory education as a practice of equality—a practice that is doable, democratic, radical, and, perhaps, already in existence. The first three chapters of the dissertation explore different manifestations of the problematic of freedom and authority and its consequences. The first chapter explores how a problematic of freedom and authority frames the reflections on education of three exemplary modern political thinkers: Max Weber, Hannah Arendt and Theodor Adorno. The second chapter turns to a few important critiques in the writings of Jacques Rancière which help to flesh out our understanding of this problematic, in particular the consequences of its Platonic lineage. The third chapter investigates common trends in political thinking and practice of education here in North America, and the particular ways the problematic of freedom and authority is mobilized in each case. With this account of the problematic freedom and authority complete, the final two chapters of the dissertation turn to an exploration of a problematic of equality and inequality. The fourth chapter details how a problematic of equality and inequality emerges in Rancière’s writings through his rethinking of emancipation and politics. The fifth chapter outlines the consequences of this problematic of equality and inequality and how it helps us to think emancipatory education differently

Osteoarthrosis of the Antebrachiocarpal Joint of 7 Riding Horses

Osteoarthrosis (OA) of the antebrachiocarpal joint from 7 riding horses is described. The horses were old mares and developed severe OA, with ankylosis in some of the joints. The lesions were bilateral, and the owners noticed the lameness in a late event. The cause of severe OA in these mares is not clear. The fact that OA was bilateral indicates that a single traumatic injury is unlikely as an etiologic factor. Considering the severe joint lesions it took long time before the horse-owners noticed the lameness. It is discussed if the threshold of pain is higher in the antebrachiocarpal joint compared with the middle carpal joint

Carrier-mediated transport of monocarboxylic acids in BeWo cell monolayers as a model of the human trophoblast

The monolayer-forming, human choriocarcinoma cell line, BeWo, was used to study the mechanisms of monocarboxylic acid transport across the human trophoblast. Benzoic acid, acetic acid, and lactic acid were used as markers for monocarboxylic acid carrier-mediated transport. The uptake of benzoic acid by BeWo cells was saturable (Kt = 0.6 ± 0.3 mM) at higher concentrations and significantly inhibited by typical metabolic inhibitors, sodium azide and 2,4-dinitrophenol. A selection of different monocarboxylic acids, including a natural substrate lactic acid, also substantially inhibited the uptake of benzoic acid and acetic acid by BeWo cells, whereas dicarboxylic acids did not affect the uptake of either marker. Monocarboxylic acid uptake was pH-dependent and inhibited by carbonylcyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP), a protonophore. Kinetic analysis using Lineweaver-Burk plots revealed that monocarboxylic acids competitively inhibited the uptake of benzoic, lactic, and acetic acid by BeWo cells. In transport experiments, the permeation of benzoic acid from apical-to-basolateral side was greater than the permeation from the basolateral-to-apical side, and the transport of benzoic acid from apical-to-basolateral side was inhibited by monocarboxylic acids. The findings obtained in the present study confirm the existence of an asymmetric, carrier-mediated transport system for monocarboxylic acids across the BeWo cell, a representative of the human trophoblast

Flat Dielectric Grating Reflectors with High Focusing Power

Sub-wavelength dielectric gratings (SWG) have emerged recently as a promising alternative to distributed-Bragg-reflection (DBR) dielectric stacks for broadband, high-reflectivity filtering applications. A SWG structure composed of a single dielectric layer with the appropriate patterning can sometimes perform as well as thirty or forty dielectric DBR layers, while providing new functionalities such as polarization control and near-field amplification. In this paper, we introduce a remarkable property of grating mirrors that cannot be realized by their DBR counterpart: we show that a non-periodic patterning of the grating surface can give full control over the phase front of reflected light while maintaining a high reflectivity. This new feature of dielectric gratings could have a substantial impact on a number of applications that depend on low-cost, compact optical components, from laser cavities to CD/DVD read/write heads.Comment: submitted to Nature Photonic

Experimental study of time-dependent properties of a low-pH concrete for deposition tunnels

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company developed a method for the final disposal of canisters for spent nuclear fuel in tunnels at depths of about 500 meters. The concept for closure of the deposition tunnels is based on a bentonite seal supported by a spherical concrete dome structure. In order to fulfil the requirements specific to the repository concept, a special mix of low-pH self-compacting concrete was developed. A series of large-scale castings and laboratory tests were conducted to gain experience on this low-pH concrete mix, in conjunction with the full-scale demonstration test of an unreinforced concrete dome plug in the underground hard rock laboratory in \uc4sp\uf6, Sweden. The laboratory tests aimed at studying the creep properties under high sustained compressive stresses of the low-pH concrete mix, its shrinkage properties and the properties of the rock-concrete interface. This paper provides an overview of these tests and analyses the latest results of the recently completed creep tests, which include 6 years of measurements. These results allow to improve understanding of the structural behaviour of the concrete plug and to assess the effects of the very high pressure acting on the plug on its deformations, cracking and water tightness

Experimental study of time-dependent properties of a low-pH concrete for deposition tunnels

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company developed a method for the final disposal of canisters for spent nuclear fuel in tunnels at depths of about 500 meters. The concept for closure of the deposition tunnels is based on a bentonite seal supported by a spherical concrete dome structure. In order to fulfil the requirements specific to the repository concept, a special mix of low-pH self-compacting concrete was developed. A series of large-scale castings and laboratory tests were conducted to gain experience on this low-pH concrete mix, in conjunction with the full-scale demonstration test of an unreinforced concrete dome plug in the underground hard rock laboratory in \uc4sp\uf6, Sweden. The laboratory tests aimed at studying the creep properties under high sustained compressive stresses of the low-pH concrete mix, its shrinkage properties and the properties of the rock-concrete interface. This paper provides an overview of these tests and analyses the latest results of the recently completed creep tests, which include 6 years of measurements. These results allow to improve understanding of the structural behaviour of the concrete plug and to assess the effects of the very high pressure acting on the plug on its deformations, cracking and water tightness

Selective Vulnerabilities of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) Receptors During Brain Aging

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are present in high density within the cerebral cortex and hippocampus and play an important role in learning and memory. NMDA receptors are negatively affected by aging, but these effects are not uniform in many different ways. This review discusses the selective age-related vulnerabilities of different binding sites of the NMDA receptor complex, different subunits that comprise the complex, and the expression and functions of the receptor within different brain regions. Spatial reference, passive avoidance, and working memory, as well as place field stability and expansion all involve NMDA receptors. Aged animals show deficiencies in these functions, as compared to young, and some studies have identified an association between age-associated changes in the expression of NMDA receptors and poor memory performance. A number of diet and drug interventions have shown potential for reversing or slowing the effects of aging on the NMDA receptor. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that the NMDA receptors that remain within aged individuals are not always associated with good cognitive functioning. This may be due to a compensatory response of neurons to the decline in NMDA receptor expression or a change in the subunit composition of the remaining receptors. These studies suggest that developing treatments that are aimed at preventing or reversing the effects of aging on the NMDA receptor may aid in ameliorating the memory declines that are associated with aging. However, we need to be mindful of the possibility that there may also be negative consequences in aged individuals

Age at first intercourse and subsequent sexual partnering among adult women in the United States, a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Concurrency and serial monogamy may increase risk for STIs when gaps fall within the infectious period. This study examined the association between early sexual debut and concurrent or serial sexual partnering among heterosexual adult women. METHODS: We identified 6,791 heterosexually active women, ages 21-44, from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth, a multi-stage probability sample of women in the United States. Self-reported age at first intercourse was categorized as \u3c 15, 15-17 and \u3e /=18 years (referent). Sexual partnering was defined as concurrency (within the same month), serial monogamy with either a 1-3 month, or \u3e /=4 month gap between partners, or monogamy (referent) in the year prior to interview. Polytomous logistic models provided adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Concurrent partnerships in the year prior to interview were reported by 5.2% of women. Serial monogamy with a 1-3 month gap was reported by 2.5% of women. Compared with women whose sexual debut was \u3e /=18 years, those \u3c 15 years at sexual initiation had 3.7 times the odds of reporting concurrent partnerships (aOR: 3.72; 95% CI: 2.46-5.62). Women \u3c 15 years of age at sexual debut had twice the odds of serial monogamy with gap lengths of 1-3 months between partners (aOR1-3 months: 2.13; 95% CI 1.15-3.94) as compared to women \u3e /=18 years at sexual debut. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual debut at \u3c 15 years is associated with both concurrency and serial monogamy with 1-3 month gaps between partners in U.S. women aged 21-44