Information Collection Platform for Smart Nudging. A Microservice-Based Approach.

This thesis aims to explore the problem of integrating heterogeneous data sources into the Smart Nudge system. The Smart Nudge system is a system that produces personalised nudges that are contextually relevant to each user. The system relies on access to live data that could be constructed and presented in specific ways to influence users behaviour towards an agreed-upon goal. The goal is to ascertain the suitability of a microservice-based approach to designing the component that is responsible for integrating various data sources. A small prototype of two microservices provided a practical look at integrating real-world sources, namely a Norwegian weather service and a bus tracking service in Chicago. The proposed architecture is analysed using a set of requirements derived from a theoretical examination of the Smart Nudge system and a general theoretical look at decomposition techniques used to evaluate microservice architectures. Evaluating the prototype revealed that the Smart Nudge system is highly dependant on augmenting data sources with additional meta-data to produce personalised nudges. The analysis indicates that a data-driven microservice-based architecture seems well suited to resolving some of the problems and requirements that are somewhat unique to the Smart Nudge system setting

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Mediation and the Best Interests of the Child from the Child Law Perspective

What is the best interests of the child in family mediation and is mediation in the best interests of the child? In this article, I use child law and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child combined with mediation theory to discuss these questions. Both mediation and the best interests of the child are open for multiple interpretations. Using facilitative and evaluative mediation theory and the legal concept ‘the best interests of the child’, I explore and compare the understandings of these concepts as they apply to family mediation. This includes a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of facilitative as well as evaluative mediation orientations in terms of protecting the best interests of the child. Finnish court-connected family mediation is a combination of both mediation orientations, and the mediator is obliged to secure the best interests of the child. From a theoretical point of view, this seems to be a challenging combination.Peer reviewe

The role of pulmonary arterial stiffness in COPD

AbstractCOPD is the second most common cause of pulmonary hypertension, and is a common complication of severe COPD with significant implications for both quality of life and mortality. However, the use of a rigid diagnostic threshold of a mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) of ≥25mHg when considering the impact of the pulmonary vasculature on symptoms and disease is misleading. Even minimal exertion causes oxygen desaturation and elevations in mPAP, with right ventricular hypertrophy and dilatation present in patients with mild to moderate COPD with pressures below the threshold for diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. This has significant implications, with right ventricular dysfunction associated with poorer exercise capability and increased mortality independent of pulmonary function tests.The compliance of the pulmonary artery (PA) is a key component in decoupling the right ventricle from the pulmonary bed, allowing the right ventricle to work at maximum efficiency and protecting the microcirculation from large pressure gradients. PA stiffness increases with the severity of COPD, and correlates well with the presence of exercise induced pulmonary hypertension. A curvilinear relationship exists between PA distensibility and mPAP and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) with marked loss of distensibility before a rapid rise in mPAP and PVR occurs with resultant right ventricular failure. This combination of features suggests PA stiffness as a promising biomarker for early detection of pulmonary vascular disease, and to play a role in right ventricular failure in COPD. Early detection would open this up as a potential therapeutic target before end stage arterial remodelling occurs

Problemer ved bruk av legalstrategi mot vold og seksuelle overgrep i familien

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