The Trade Effects Associated with U.S. Antidumping in the Steel Industry - Evidence from Three Case Studies

In this thesis I investigate the potential trade effects associated with three antidumping cases filed by the U.S. steel industry during the first decade of the 21st century. The analysis consists of a detailed case study, covering everything from the establishment of dumping margins to the final effects. The empirical results are consistent with expected effects, i.e. decreasing imports from targeted subject countries, increasing imports from non-subject countries and increasing prices in the domestic country. Since the results point towards trade diversion, I discuss what the benefits of filing AD measures are from a petitioner’s perspective. The conclusion is that the mere imposition of AD measures has significant intimidating effects on foreign firms. This situation is indirectly stimulated by the non-transparent practices used by the authorities to establish the presence of dumping

Scener ur ett narrativ: en semiologisk analys av högerpopulistisk narration av nation

Runt om i Europa växer högerpopulistiska partier stadigt. Inom vetenskapen behandlas detta fenomen flitigt. Oftast utifrån ett perspektiv där man behandlar samhälleliga förutsättningar för dessa partier att växa eller utifrån ett kognitivt/psykologiskt perspektiv där man fokuserar på hur det i individen formas ett ”vi” och ett ”dem”. I denna uppsats anlägger jag ett annat perspektiv. Jag utgår ifrån språket med antagandet att partierna genom sina yttringar formar narrativ – ett narrativ om nationen. Syftet med denna uppsats är att visa på, och försöka förstå, hur de högerpopulistiska partierna Sverigedemokraterna (SD) och Dansk folkeparti (DF) genom sina yttringar formar ett narrativ kring nationen och på så sätt ger den, en viss, mening. Jag gör inte anspråk på någon heltäckande kartläggning utan erbjuder endast utdrag, eller scener, ur detta narrativ. Jag kommer utifrån ett visst material, som främst utgörs av partiets egna texter, genomföra en semiologis analys utifrån Roland Barthes teori om myter som jag kombinerar med Bernhard Giesens teori om att framföra det sakrala. Framförallt kan man se hur SD och DF formar sitt narrativ kring en särskild period i historien, nämligen 1800-talet och dess nationalromantiska anda. En andra slutsats är hur religionen snarare blir ett sätt att stärka, och berätta om, nationen än att vara viktig som religion i faktisk mening. En tredje slutsats, och den punkten på vilken partierna skiljer sig å mest tydligt, är idén om ”folket” och dess temperament som en viktig del av nationen. Här talar DF i termer som frihet och livsglädje i kontrast till SD som ser det kollektiv folket utgör som särskilt viktig, termer som solidaritet ligger nära till hands

Health-related quality of life across all stages of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Background. A limited number of studies have assessed health related quality of life (HRQoL) in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Results to date have been conflicting and studies have generally focused on patients with later stages of the disease. This study aimed to assess HRQoL in ADPKD across all stages of the disease, from patients with early chronic kidney disease (CKD) to patients with end-stage renal disease. Methods. A study involving cross-sectional patient-reported outcomes and retrospective clinical data was undertaken April December 2014 in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Patients were enrolled into four mutually exclusive stages of the disease: CKD stages 1-3; CKD stages 4-5; transplant recipients; and dialysis patients. Results. Overall HRQoL was generally highest in patients with CKD stages 1-3, followed by transplant recipients, patients with CKD stages 4-5 and patients on dialysis. Progressive disease predominately had an impact on physical health, whereas mental health showed less variation between stages of the disease. A substantial loss in quality of life was observed as patients progressed to CKD stages 4-5. Conclusions. Later stages of ADPKD are associated with reduced physical health. The value of early treatment interventions that can delay progression of the disease should be considered.Peer reviewe

Real-world costs of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease in the Nordics

Background: There is limited real-world data on the economic burden of patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The objective of this study was to estimate the annual direct and indirect costs of patients with ADPKD by severity of the disease: chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 1-3; CKD stages 4-5; transplant recipients; and maintenance dialysis patients. Methods: A retrospective study of ADPKD patients was undertaken April-December 2014 in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Data on medical resource utilisation were extracted from medical charts and patients were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Results: A total of 266 patients were contacted, 243 (91%) of whom provided consent to participate in the study. Results showed that the economic burden of ADPKD was substantial at all levels of the disease. Lost wages due to reduced productivity were large in absolute terms across all disease strata. Mean total annual costs were highest in dialysis patients, driven by maintenance dialysis care, while the use of immunosuppressants was the main cost component for transplant care. Costs were twice as high in patients with CKD stages 4-5 compared to CKD stages 1-3. Conclusions: Costs associated with ADPKD are significant and the progression of the disease is associated with an increased frequency and intensity of medical resource utilisation. Interventions that can slow the progression of the disease have the potential to lead to substantial reductions in costs for the treatment of ADPKD.Peer reviewe

High Temperature Triggers Latent Variation among Individuals: Oviposition Rate and Probability for Outbreaks

It is anticipated that extreme population events, such as extinctions and outbreaks, will become more frequent as a consequence of climate change. To evaluate the increased probability of such events, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms involved. Variation between individuals in their response to climatic factors is an important consideration, especially if microevolution is expected to change the composition of populations.Here we present data of a willow leaf beetle species, showing high variation among individuals in oviposition rate at a high temperature (20 °C). It is particularly noteworthy that not all individuals responded to changes in temperature; individuals laying few eggs at 20 °C continued to do so when transferred to 12 °C, whereas individuals that laid many eggs at 20 °C reduced their oviposition and laid the same number of eggs as the others when transferred to 12 °C. When transferred back to 20 °C most individuals reverted to their original oviposition rate. Thus, high variation among individuals was only observed at the higher temperature. Using a simple population model and based on regional climate change scenarios we show that the probability of outbreaks increases if there is a realistic increase in the number of warm summers. The probability of outbreaks also increased with increasing heritability of the ability to respond to increased temperature.If climate becomes warmer and there is latent variation among individuals in their temperature response, the probability for outbreaks may increase. However, the likelihood for microevolution to play a role may be low. This conclusion is based on the fact that it has been difficult to show that microevolution affect the probability for extinctions. Our results highlight the urge for cautiousness when predicting the future concerning probabilities for extreme population events

Polygenic prediction of educational attainment within and between families from genome-wide association analyses in 3 million individuals

We conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment (EA) in a sample of ~3 million individuals and identify 3,952 approximately uncorrelated genome-wide-significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A genome-wide polygenic predictor, or polygenic index (PGI), explains 12-16% of EA variance and contributes to risk prediction for ten diseases. Direct effects (i.e., controlling for parental PGIs) explain roughly half the PGI's magnitude of association with EA and other phenotypes. The correlation between mate-pair PGIs is far too large to be consistent with phenotypic assortment alone, implying additional assortment on PGI-associated factors. In an additional GWAS of dominance deviations from the additive model, we identify no genome-wide-significant SNPs, and a separate X-chromosome additive GWAS identifies 57

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment

Educational attainment is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals1. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for educational attainment that extends our earlier discovery sample1,2 of 101,069 individuals to 293,723 individuals, and a replication study in an independent sample of 111,349 individuals from the UK Biobank. We identify 74 genome-wide significant loci associated with the number of years of schooling completed. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with educational attainment are disproportionately found in genomic regions regulating gene expression in the fetal brain. Candidate genes are preferentially expressed in neural tissue, especially during the prenatal period, and enriched for biological pathways involved in neural development. Our findings demonstrate that, even for a behavioural phenotype that is mostly environmentally determined, a well-powered GWAS identifies replicable associated genetic variants that suggest biologically relevant pathways. Because educational attainment is measured in large numbers of individuals, it will continue to be useful as a proxy phenotype in efforts to characterize the genetic influences of related phenotypes, including cognition and neuropsychiatric diseases

Unveiling structural heterogeneities in aqueous solutions using dynamic light scattering

To investigate the existence  of  molecular heterogeneties in mixtures of DMSO-water, the dynamics were measured with the method of dynamic light scattering (DLS). Three different compositions (20 mol %, 33 mol% and 60 mol%) were included in the study and measured at room temperature (295 K) and for one composition (33 mol %) also a temperature dependence (from 295 K down to 263 K) was measured. Measurements were done on samples both with and without nanoparticles acting as tracers for the DLS. The diffusion coefficients of DMSO in water was extracted from the analysis and the results from samples without nanoparticles are consistent with diffusion of DMSO molecules reported previously, except for the highest concentration,  and showed a clear Arrhenius behaviour with an activation energy of 26±1kJ/mol. The viscosity was extracted from the diffusioncoefficient of the nanoparticles in the solutions and followed an expected trend regarding the concentration as well as for the higher temperatures, but deviated for lower temperatures due to an unexpected drastic change in the diffusion coefficient around the temperature T= 273 K. The reason for the drastic change could be connected to a possible liquid-liquid phase separation in the DMSO-water  mixture. The hydrodynamical radii was estimated using Stokes-Einsteins equation and had a small but unsure concentration dependence so the size could only be confirmed to be around 0.43 nm at T= 295 K and increased with temperature up to 1.6 nm atT= 263 K, indicating clustering effects and supporting the theory of molecular heterogeneity in DMSO-water mixtures. This was a pilot study to aproposed x-ray experiment at NanoMax at MaxIV to capture the nanoscale fluctuations present in binary solutions

Henkilöstöresurssien hallinta talotekniikan projektissa

Työn tavoitteena oli selvittää massiivisen LV-urakan suurien henkilöstöresurssimäärien ohjaamisessa havaitut ongelmat ja saada ne hallintaan. Opinnäytetyössä tarkkailtiin työmaan henkilöstöresurssien hallintaa valvomalla ja seuraamalla työnsuorittamista usean kuukauden ajan. Tietoa kerättiin ongelmakohdista SWOT-analyysia käyttäen sekä asiantuntijahaastatteluin. Ongelmakohtia lähdettiin selvittämään SWOT-analyysia hyödyntäen. Analyysissa havaittuja kohtia ratkaistiin kirjallisuudesta löytyvillä tiedoilla sekä haastattelemalla eri osapuolia kysymällä ongelmakohdiksi havaituista asioista. Opinnäytetyön lopputulokseksi syntyivät työmaan projektiorganisaatioon tehtävät muutokset, jotka lievensivät työssä havaittuja ongelmia ja paransivat työn kulkua. Henkilöstöresurssien hallintaan löytyi toimivampia toimintatapoja, jotka otettiin käyttöön. Opinnäytetyön tuloksista voimme todeta nykyajan työmaiden henkilöstöresurssien haasteellisuuden ja hallinnan vaikeudet. Työ havainnollistaa resurssisuunnittelun tärkeyden ja kuinka se vaikuttaa työn kulkuun ja hallintaan.The purpose of this final year project was to find out the problems encountered in managing human resources of a massive HVAC contract and to solve them. The methods used in this thesis were observing the human resource management for several months and collecting information about the causes of problems. A SWOT analysis was the first step in searching a way to solve problems in the human resource management. The points found in the analysis were solved with information from literature and by interviewing various parties and asking questions about the issues identified. The final result of the final year project was that changes were made to the project organization, which mitigated the problems found at work and improved the workflow. There were also more effective ways of managing human resources that were introduced. The thesis offers information about the difficulties of managing the human resources at modern construction sites. It shows the importance of resource planning andits effects on workflow and work management