An opportunity to go "here and there" on the empowering vehicle of education -A minor field study of women’s empowerment through education in Gerupuk, Indonesia

By utilizing the concept of empowerment and how education can serve as an empowering tool for women, this bachelor thesis aims to examine women’s empowerment through education in the village of Gerupuk in south Lombok, Indonesia. The thesis is based on empirical material consisting of interviews with women from Gerupuk and representatives from Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), United Nation (UN) agencies, and the Indonesian government. In line with Jo Rowlands’ theory of women’s empowerment, this study accounts for core values, inhibiting and encouraging factors, and changes arising due to the interactions within the empowerment process through education. The field study indicates that women from Gerupuk who have completed nine years or more of education have become empowered by developing core values in their personal life, in relation to others and collectively. Empowerment showed not only to be equated with core values but also what happens as a result of developing them. Factors contributing favorably to the empowerment process and overriding the inhibiting factors include an increased ability to act in one’s own interest and to acquire a wider array of opportunities for life choices

Successful spruce regenerations - impact of site preparation and the use of variables from digital elevation models in decision-making?

Various site preparation methods are used in Swedish forestry. However, some methods can lead to unnecessary disturbance, which could be avoided by using variables from digital elevation models in management decisions. The current study aimed to investigate how different site preparation methods, and their intensities, affect Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) regeneration. Additional aims were to clarify how these methods affect soil disturbance and vegetation development, along with how variables from digital elevation models could be used in silvicultural decision-making. Experimental sites were established in southern Sweden to assess five different site preparation treatments with different planting densities: (1) conventional disc trenching 2500 seedlings/ha (DT2500); (2) low intensity disc trenching 1250 seedlings/ha (LDT1250); (3) low intensity disc trenching 2500 seedlings/ha (LDT2500); (4) low-intensity patch-wise 1250 seedlings/ha (PW1250); and (5) patch-wise 2500 seedlings/ha (PW2500). Site preparation intensity had no effect on seedling growth and, survival or vegetation development; the tested treatments differed in terms of soil disturbance. Planting spot properties and weather conditions influenced the seedling performance. DTW and slope could not substantially explain either seedling growth or survival. The results indicate that the choice of site preparation method should consider flexibility when planting while adapting the level of disturbance accordingly

Bensylpenicillinnatrium intramuskulärt till häst som alternativ till bensylpenicillinprokain

Bensylpenicillin är den mest använda antibiotikan till häst i Sverige idag. Den beredning som skrivs ut till djurägare är framförallt bensylpenicillinprokain, men många hästar får kraftiga biverkningar av preparatet. Biverkningarna kan vara milda så som skakningar eller nervositet, men kan också bli livshotande. Forskning visar att prokain kan vara orsaken till majoriteten av biverkningar, vilket gör att bensylpenicillin utan prokain kan bli aktuellt att använda för att minska risken för biverkningar och öka djurvälfärden. Att byta antibiotika till trimetoprim i kombination med sulfonamid är ej önskvärt då det antibakteriella spektrat då vidgas. Bensylpenicillinnatrium är det alternativ som finns i Sverige idag, som till nötkreatur får ges både intravenöst och intramuskulärt, men bara intravenöst till häst. Detta arbete syftade till att undersöka farmakokinetiska parametrar hos häst efter intramuskulär injektion av bensylpenicillinnatrium. Resultatet visade att halveringstiden för bensylpenicillin förlängs från ca 50 min efter intravenös giva till 2 h efter intramuskulär injektion, att maxkoncentrationen var 14 600 ng bensylpenicillin/ml serum och att maxkoncentrationen uppnåddes efter i medel 23,0 ± 12,1 min. Hästarna i studien injicerades var tolfte timme med bensylpenicillinnatrium och de hade innan ny injektion i medel 281,1 ng bensylpenicillin/ml serum. Det är den icke-proteinbundna delen av bensylpenicillin i serum som anses bäst representerar koncentrationen av bensylpenicillin i extracellulär vävnad. Proteininbindningsgraden av bensylpenicillin fastställdes i studien till 62,8 ± 1,8 %. För bensylpenicillin är det tiden som den fria koncentrationen i serum håller sig över en avdödande koncentration som är mest avgörande för den antibakteriella effektiviteten. Streptococcus equi subsp. equi, Streptococcus zooepidemicus och Staphylococcus aureus är känsliga för penicillin och vanliga hästpatogener i Sverige och valdes därav ut som representativa bakterier. Den minsta hämmande koncentration (minimal inhibitory concentration; MIC) av penicillin som krävs för avdödande av vardera bakterieart togs fram. Det är önskvärt att den fria penicillinkoncentrationen ligger över MIC till 50-80 % av dosintervallet. Samtliga hästar låg över MIC 50 % av dosintervallet för alla tre patogenerna, men endast för Streptococcus equi subsp. equi låg alla hästar över MIC i 80 % av dosintervallet. De farmakokinetiska resultaten i detta arbete indikerar att bensylpenicillinnatrium kan ges intramuskulärt till häst var tolfte timme och har då teoretisk god effekt på penicillinkänsliga bakterier. Dock bör resultaten för biverkningar presenteras innan vidare slutsatser kan dras om bensylpenicillin intramuskulärt till häst kan användas kliniskt

Immunopathological aspects of equine inflammatory bowel disease

Intestinal inflammation is a major welfare issue for horses causing colic, diarrhoea and an inability to thrive. One of the diagnoses with poor prognosis is inflammatory bowel disease (eqIBD). Equine IBD comprises different entities of chronic idiopathic enteropathies, namely eosinophilic gastroenteritis, granulomatous enteritis and lymphoplasmacytic enterocolitis. An exaggerated immune reactivity towards still unidentified antigens is suggested in the disease. The aim of this thesis was therefore to elaborate methods to characterize cellular infiltrations and to determine cytokine profiles associated with various forms of eqIBD. Jejunal tissues were used to describe the immune cell populations in situ in healthy horses and in well characterised IBD-afflicted horses. T cells, regulatory T cells, B cells, IgM- IgG- and IgA-secreting plasma cells and MHC II-expressing cells were labelled by immunohistochemistry and quantified by image analysis. The inflammation in IBD horses was dominated by T cells and MHC II-expressing cells, whereas B cells and plasma cells were decreased compared with healthy horses. These features were most prominent in granulomatous IBD. The regulatory T cells followed the infiltration pattern of T cells, but were not significantly increased in diseased horses. Thus the histopathology in the studied forms of eqIBD shows similarities with a delayed hypersensitivity reaction. Seven reference genes were evaluated and their optimal combination determined for seven equine intestinal segments (the duodenum, mid-jejunum, ileum, caecum, right ventral and dorsal colon and rectum). Segments from healthy horses expressed IL-12, IL-17A, IL-23, TLR4, but not IFN-α. The relative expression of the three interleukins and TLR4 was analysed using quantitative PCR in rectal biopsies showing chronic or chronic active simple proctitis from horses with clinical signs of eqIBD. Horses with chronic active proctitis had increased expression of IL-17A and TLR4 compared with healthy horses, whereas horses with chronic proctitis had decreased expression of IL-12, indicating a TH17 involvement in chronic active disease. Taken together, techniques were established to discern patterns of immune reactions and could demonstrate differences between entities when applied to eqIBD material

Effects on fetal and maternal temperatures of paracetamol administration during labour: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of paracetamol (acetaminophen) on maternal and fetal temperatures in labour. STUDY DESIGN: From a cohort of 185 women with continuous maternal axillary and fetal scalp temperature recordings in labour, 18 women treated with 1000mg paracetamol orally for pyrexia and 36 untreated controls matched for parity, cervical dilatation, and epidural analgesia were selected. Electronically stored temperature data were analysed offline post hoc. The dual temperatures recorded every 30min from 60min before (T-60) paracetamol administration (T0) until delivery, were noted. Longitudinal data were compared with Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test and cross-sectional data with Mann-Whitney U test. Shapes of the temperature curves were compared with mixed-effect models statistics for repeated measurements. The main outcome measures were temperature changes after paracetamol. A two-tailed P<0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Prior to T0 maternal and fetal temperatures increased in the paracetamol group, but after T0 no significant changes (P≥0.1) were seen when compared with Wilcoxon signed-ranks test. In the control group, both temperatures increased from T-60 and onwards. Delta-temperatures (fetal minus maternal temperature) remained unchanged in both groups. Analyses of the mixed-effect models showed a significant difference (P=0.01) in the shape of fetal temperature curves between the paracetamol and control groups, but no significant difference (P=0.4) in maternal temperature curve shapes. CONCLUSION: In febrile parturients, neither maternal nor fetal temperatures dropped after paracetamol, but paracetamol halted an increasing trend and stabilised the fetal temperature. The effect of paracetamol on maternal temperature was inconclusive

In Search of the Key to a Well-Used Research Information System: Use Design Challenges for a Research Library.

In this presentation we describe the development of a Current Research Information System (CRIS). The service is named research.chalmers.se and is developed by a cross-functional team at the Chalmers University of Technology Library. The team has utilized different user experience (UX) methods to meet user needs and support user behavior. Due to the fact that the data within the CRIS system is maintained and updated by its users, i.e., researchers, this has been a crucial approach. One challenge remains though - how to design the use of the system after the launch. Without constant updated data the system would likely become less and less relevant to its intended users. This is an urgent design challenge

Nätverka går (NG)O så bra! En fallstudie av samarbete under de humanitära insatserna efter jordbävningen i Pakistan 2005

Under vilka förutsättningar kan ett effektivt samarbete komma till stånd vid humanitära insatser? Den omfattande jordbävningen i Pakistan 2005 kallade till sig ett stort antal aktörer, däribland Röda Korset, Oxfam och CARE, alla NGOs inriktade på humanitära insatser, samt FN och den pakistanska staten. Vi framlägger i vår studie teorin att ett effektivt samarbete främst kan komma till stånd om de inblandade aktörerna delar ett gemensamt mål, gemensamma värderingar samt utbyter information och resurser. Vår metod är teorianvändande när vi applicerar Margaret E. Keck och Kathryn Sikkinks teorier angående nätverk av påtryckar NGOs på vår studie av service NGOs. Studiens resultat visar att förutsättningar för effektiva samarbeten lättare kom till stånd mellan aktörerna när ovannämnda antagande uppfylldes. Därmed bekräftades teorin, även om andra förklaringsfaktorer hade betydelse för huruvida ett effektivt samarbete kunde komma till stånd under de humanitära insatserna efter jordbävningen i Pakistan 2005

Temporal escape-adaptation to eutrophication by Skeletonema marinoi

Diatoms commonly set off the spring-bloom in temperate coastal environments. However, their temporal offset may change in regions subject to nutrient enrichment, and by peaking earlier, such populations can maintain their position in the vernal plankton succession. We tested whether the marine keystone diatom Skeletonema marinoi can accomplish this through thermal evolutionary adaptation. Eight geographically separated subpopulations, representing hydromorphologically and climatologically similar inlets displaying a range of trophic states, were compared in a common-garden experiment. At early-spring temperatures, both doubling times and variation coefficients thereof, correlated negatively with the trophic state of the environment of origin, indicating selection for fast growth due to eutrophication. At mid-spring temperatures, the relationships were reversed, indicating selection in the opposite direction. At late-spring temperatures, no significant relationships were detected, suggesting relaxed selection. Subsequent field observations reflected these findings, where blooming temperatures decreased with trophic state. Natural selection thus moves along with eutrophication towards colder temperatures earlier in the spring, favouring genotypes with the capacity to grow fast. The thermal niche shift demonstrated herein may be an evolutionary mechanism essentially leading to trophic changes in the local ecosystem.Peer reviewe

Temporal escape-adaptation to eutrophication by Skeletonema marinoi

Diatoms commonly set off the spring-bloom in temperate coastal environments. However, their temporal offset may change in regions subject to nutrient enrichment, and by peaking earlier, such populations can maintain their position in the vernal plankton succession. We tested whether the marine keystone diatom Skeletonema marinoi can accomplish this through thermal evolutionary adaptation. Eight geographically separated subpopulations, representing hydromorphologically and climatologically similar inlets displaying a range of trophic states, were compared in a common-garden experiment. At early-spring temperatures, both doubling times and variation coefficients thereof, correlated negatively with the trophic state of the environment of origin, indicating selection for fast growth due to eutrophication. At mid-spring temperatures, the relationships were reversed, indicating selection in the opposite direction. At late-spring temperatures, no significant relationships were detected, suggesting relaxed selection. Subsequent field observations reflected these findings, where blooming temperatures decreased with trophic state. Natural selection thus moves along with eutrophication towards colder temperatures earlier in the spring, favouring genotypes with the capacity to grow fast. The thermal niche shift demonstrated herein may be an evolutionary mechanism essentially leading to trophic changes in the local ecosystem.Peer reviewe