DEFEND MY CASTLE: IS THE UK IN VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 8 OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS?

Since the 1990s approximately 700 000 properties have been repossessed in the UK by mortgagees. While encouraging its citizens to access mortgage finance, the UK government has failed to provide corresponding legal protection and an effective regulatory framework to curtail unscrupulous lenders. What, if any, is the UK government’s responsibility in protecting its mortgagors from losing their homes? By utilising the relatively newfound doctrine of positive obligations, this article elaborates on the extent to which the UK may be held accountable under Art 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. By rebutting the relevance of the private and contractual nature of the mortgage relationship, arguing for the ability to enforce socio-economic rights and upgrading the concept of home in legal discourse, this article contends that the UK is in breach of Art 8 of the ECHR. This contention is a crucial step towards reformulating states’ role and responsibility under the ECHR and, if elaborated on by the judiciary, will potentially prompt political action to reform the law of mortgages in the UK

Improvement in Fatigue, Sleepiness, and Health-Related Quality of Life with Bright Light Treatment in Persons with Seasonal Affective Disorder and Subsyndromal SAD

Objective. To investigate the effects of bright light treatment for secondary outcome measures and to explore and validate empirically derived subgroups and treatment effects in subgroups. Methods. A descriptive design. A sample of forty-nine persons (mean age of 45.8) with clinically assessed seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or subsyndromal SAD (S-SAD) participated in a two-group clinical trial evaluating the effects of treatment with bright light therapy. A person-oriented cluster analysis was applied to study treatment effects in subgroups. Results. For the merged group, sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), fatigue (fatigue questionnaire), and health-related quality of life (SF-36) were improved at posttreatment, and results were maintained at the one-month followup. Three distinct subgroups had a high level of fatigue in common, while the level of excessive daytime sleepiness and depressed mood differed between the subgroups. Over time, all subgroups improved following ten days treatment in a light room. Conclusion. Fatigue, excessive daytime sleepiness, and health-related quality of life improve in a similar way as depressed mood following treatment with bright light. The treatment was effective irrespective of the severity of the disorder, that is, for persons with SAD and subsyndromal SAD

Externally heated protostellar cores in the Ophiuchus star-forming region

We present APEX 218 GHz observations of molecular emission in a complete sample of embedded protostars in the Ophiuchus star-forming region. To study the physical properties of the cores, we calculate H$_2$CO and c-C$_3$H$_2$ rotational temperatures, both of which are good tracers of the kinetic temperature of the molecular gas. We find that the H$_2$CO temperatures range between 16 K and 124 K, with the highest H$_2$CO temperatures toward the hot corino source IRAS 16293-2422 (69-124 K) and the sources in the $\rho$ Oph A cloud (23-49 K) located close to the luminous Herbig Be star S 1, which externally irradiates the $\rho$ Oph A cores. On the other hand, the c-C$_3$H$_2$ rotational temperature is consistently low (7-17 K) in all sources. Our results indicate that the c-C$_3$H$_2$ emission is primarily tracing more shielded parts of the envelope whereas the H$_2$CO emission (at the angular scale of the APEX beam; 3600 au in Ophiuchus) mainly traces the outer irradiated envelopes, apart from in IRAS 16293-2422, where the hot corino emission dominates. In some sources, a secondary velocity component is also seen, possibly tracing the molecular outflow.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Increase in peak oxygen uptake and Andersen test performance in children from age six to ten: The Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP)

The increased prevalence of non-communicable disease risk factors among children because of lack of physical activity is concerning. The Health Oriented Pedagogical Project was set up to combine learning activities and physical activity, thus reducing sedentariness during school time. The current study aimed to measure and describe the longitudinal and cross-sectional development of oxygen uptake and running performance in children at ages six and ten. The validity of the Andersen Test in predicting V̇O2peak in these age groups was also evaluated. Eighty-six children (53 boys, 33 girls) with complete datasets at ages 6 and 10 years were included in the longitudinal study, while 192 children (106 boys, 86 girls) were included in the cross-sectional analysis because they missed data from 1 year. Oxygen uptake was measured using a metabolic analyser and maximal treadmill running, while the distance covered during the AT determined running performance. Body mass, height, and waist-to-height ratios were recorded. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the association between oxygen uptake and running performance. The cross-sectional results did not differ from the longitudinal data for anthropometrical data, oxygen uptake and running performance. Height, body mass and waist-to-height ratio did not differ between the sexes at ages six or ten. Boys had significantly higher peak oxygen uptake than girls at 6 years of age, irrespective of how oxygen uptake was expressed. Allometric scaling of oxygen uptake revealed differences between sexes at both ages. Longitudinal running performance increased in both sexes from 6 to 10 years. Boys ran significantly longer only at age ten. The association between oxygen uptake and running performance varied according to how the oxygen uptake was expressed and with sex and age. Ten-year-old girls had the highest correlations in the longitudinal investigation, from r 2 = 0.48 (fV̇O2peak) to 0.65 (rV̇O2peak) between AT and V̇O2peak. The AT was found to be as valid as the 20-m shuttle run test in estimating peak oxygen uptake, with a random measurement error of approximately 11% of mean values.publishedVersio

Increase in peak oxygen uptake and Andersen test performance in children from age six to ten: The Health Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP)

The increased prevalence of non-communicable disease risk factors among children because of lack of physical activity is concerning. The Health Oriented Pedagogical Project was set up to combine learning activities and physical activity, thus reducing sedentariness during school time. The current study aimed to measure and describe the longitudinal and cross-sectional development of oxygen uptake and running performance in children at ages six and ten. The validity of the Andersen Test in predicting V̇O2peak in these age groups was also evaluated. Eighty-six children (53 boys, 33 girls) with complete datasets at ages 6 and 10 years were included in the longitudinal study, while 192 children (106 boys, 86 girls) were included in the cross-sectional analysis because they missed data from 1 year. Oxygen uptake was measured using a metabolic analyser and maximal treadmill running, while the distance covered during the AT determined running performance. Body mass, height, and waist-to-height ratios were recorded. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the association between oxygen uptake and running performance. The cross-sectional results did not differ from the longitudinal data for anthropometrical data, oxygen uptake and running performance. Height, body mass and waist-to-height ratio did not differ between the sexes at ages six or ten. Boys had significantly higher peak oxygen uptake than girls at 6 years of age, irrespective of how oxygen uptake was expressed. Allometric scaling of oxygen uptake revealed differences between sexes at both ages. Longitudinal running performance increased in both sexes from 6 to 10 years. Boys ran significantly longer only at age ten. The association between oxygen uptake and running performance varied according to how the oxygen uptake was expressed and with sex and age. Ten-year-old girls had the highest correlations in the longitudinal investigation, from r 2 = 0.48 (fV̇O2peak) to 0.65 (rV̇O2peak) between AT and V̇O2peak. The AT was found to be as valid as the 20-m shuttle run test in estimating peak oxygen uptake, with a random measurement error of approximately 11% of mean values.publishedVersio

Hematology reference intervals in 6-12-year-old children: the health-oriented pedagogical project (HOPP)

Reference intervals are essential for correct interpretation of laboratory test results, supporting clinicians in distinguishing between healthy and sick individuals. The present study aims to establish pediatric reference intervals for hematological parameters based on a large population of healthy schoolchildren. Blood samples were obtained from 1351 children 6–12 years of age participating in the Health-Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP). Reference intervals for hematological parameters were estimated by the nonparametric method following the CLSI C28-A3 guidelines. Reference intervals were estimated as 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles with corresponding 90% confidence intervals. While hematocrit and MCV required age and sex partitioning, hemoglobin and erythrocytes were partitioned for age. The remaining parameters, MCH, MCHC, platelets and white blood cell counts did not require partitioning. While red blood cell parameters exhibited an increasing trend with age, there was a slight decrease in leukocytes, lymphocytes, basophils and platelets with age. The remaining parameters were stable across our age span.publishedVersio

Hematology reference intervals in 6-12-year-old children: the health-oriented pedagogical project (HOPP)

Reference intervals are essential for correct interpretation of laboratory test results, supporting clinicians in distinguishing between healthy and sick individuals. The present study aims to establish pediatric reference intervals for hematological parameters based on a large population of healthy schoolchildren. Blood samples were obtained from 1351 children 6–12 years of age participating in the Health-Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP). Reference intervals for hematological parameters were estimated by the nonparametric method following the CLSI C28-A3 guidelines. Reference intervals were estimated as 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles with corresponding 90% confidence intervals. While hematocrit and MCV required age and sex partitioning, hemoglobin and erythrocytes were partitioned for age. The remaining parameters, MCH, MCHC, platelets and white blood cell counts did not require partitioning. While red blood cell parameters exhibited an increasing trend with age, there was a slight decrease in leukocytes, lymphocytes, basophils and platelets with age. The remaining parameters were stable across our age span.publishedVersio

Vad behöver eleverna undervisning i för att utveckla sitt skrivande? Förväntningsnormer och didaktiska beslut i svensklärares bedömningssamtal

I studien samtalar tre lärargrupper om elevers skrivande och skrivundervisning i ämnet svenska på gymnasiet. Det teoretiska perspektiv som läggs på dessa samtal är didaktiskt och inriktas på hur lärare formulerar och använder bedömningsinformation om elevers skrivande för beslut om skrivundervisningens innehåll. Resultatet visar att lärares bedömningar av elevers skrivande behandlar fler och delvis andra aspekter av skrivförmåga än vad deras didaktiska beslut sedan omfattar. De kvalitetsuppfattningar och förväntningsnormer som lärarna uttrycker i sina bedömningar av elevers skrivande inriktas huvudsakligen på texters kommunikativa kvaliteter, den stilistiska utformningen och textuppbyggnaden, följt av ämnesinnehåll och källanvändning. De didaktiska beslut som fattas utifrån bedömningen av elevers texter inriktas däremot i stort sett enbart på att eleverna behöver skrivundervisning i att disponera text och att använda källor. Detta gör att överensstämmelsen är låg mellan lärarnas beslut om skrivundervisningens inriktning och deras förväntningar på vad eleverna ska kunna. De didaktiska besluten omfattar i begränsad utsträckning den bedömningsinformation som lärarna själva har formulera