Molecular Cloud Structure in the Magellanic Clouds: Effect of Metallicity

The chemical structure of neutral clouds in low metallicity environments is examined with particular emphasis on the H to H_2 and C+ to CO transitions. We observed near-IR H_2 lines and the CO J=1-0 line from 30 Doradus and N159/N160 in the Large Magellanic Cloud and from DEM S 16, DEM S 37, and LI-SMC 36 in the Small Magellanic Cloud. We find that the H_2 emission is UV-excited and that (weak) CO emission always exists (in our surveyed regions) toward positions where H_2 and [CII] emission have been detected. Using a PDR code and a radiative transfer code, we simulate the emission of line radiation from spherical clouds and from large planar clouds. Because the [CII] emission and H_2 emission arise on the surface of the cloud and the lines are optically thin, these lines are not affected by changes in the relative sizes of the neutral cloud and the CO bearing core, while the optically thick CO emission can be strongly affected. The sizes of clouds are estimated by measuring the deviation of CO emission strength from that predicted by a planar cloud model of a given size. The average cloud column density and therefore size increases as the metallicity decreases. Our result agrees with the photoionization regulated star formation theory by Mc Kee (1989).Comment: 45 Pages including 15 figures. To be published in the ApJ May 10, 1998 issue, Vol. 49

Obesity prevalence in a cohort of women in early pregnancy from a neighbourhood perspective

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The evidence of an association between neighbourhood deprivation and overweight is established for different populations. However no previous studies on neighbourhood variations in obesity in pregnant women were found. In this study we aimed to determine whether obesity during early pregnancy varied by neighbourhood economic status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A register based study on 94,323 primiparous pregnant women in 586 Swedish neighbourhoods during the years 19922001. Multilevel technique was used to regress obesity prevalence on socioeconomic individual-level variables and the neighbourhood economic status. Five hundred and eighty-six neighbourhoods in the three major cities of Sweden, Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö, during 19922001, were included. The majority of neighbourhoods had a population of 4 00010 000 inhabitants.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven per cent of the variation in obesity prevalence was at the neighbourhood level and the odds of being obese were almost doubled in poor areas.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings supports a community approach in the prevention of obesity in general and thus also in pregnant women.</p

Experiences of dementia in a foreign country: qualitative content analysis of interviews with people with dementia

Background: Dementia is a worldwide health concern of epidemic proportions. Research in the field of subjective experience of dementia suffers from a lack of diversity of their participants including immigrants. Different portraits of life with dementia could help us understand how people with dementia conceptualise their experiences of dementia and how they live. Our study aimed to explore the subjective experiences of living with dementia among Iranian immigrants in Sweden. Methods: Qualitative content analysis of interviews with fifteen people with dementia from Iranian immigrant backgrounds were conducted (8 females and 7 males). Results: Three themes and seven associated sub-themes were revealed. The themes included: Being a person with dementia means living with forgetfulness (personal sphere), living with forgetfulness in the private sphere means feeling incompetent but still loved, living with forgetfulness in the public sphere means feeling confident and secure but also isolated. Conclusions: Living with dementia for the participants meant living with forgetfulness. They experienced feeling incompetent but still loved within their families and feeling confident and secure but also isolated in the society. Educating people with dementia and their families about the course and process of dementia may help them understand the changes better and adjust their expectations. Our study can provide a basis for healthcare workers to understand the experiences of living with dementia from this specific perspective

Assessing the effect of the time since transition to organic farming on plants and butterflies

1.Environmental changes may not always result in rapid changes in species distributions, abundances or diversity. In order to estimate the effects of, for example, land-use changes caused by agri-environment schemes (AES) on biodiversity and ecosystem services, information on the time-lag between the application of the scheme and the responses of organisms is essential

The compound machinery of government: The case of seconded officials in the European commission

This article explores the compound machinery of government. Attention is directed toward decision making within the core executive of the European Union - the European Commission. The article studies seconded national civil servants (SNEs) hired on short-term contracts. The analysis benefits from an original and rich body of surveys and interview data derived from current and former SNEs. The decision-making dynamics of SNEs are shown to contain a compound mix of departmental, epistemic, and supranational dynamics. This study clearly demonstrates that the socializing power of the Commission is conditional and only partly sustained when SNEs exit the Commission. Any long-lasting effect of socialization within European Union's executive machinery of government is largely absent. The compound decision-making dynamics of SNEs are explained by (1) the organizational affiliations of SNEs, (2) the formal organization of the Commission apparatus, and (3) only partly by processes of resocialization of SNEs within the Commission

Colorectal Cancer Prognosis Following Obesity Surgery in a Population-Based Cohort Study

Background: Obesity surgery involves mechanical and physiological changes of the gastrointestinal tract that might promote colorectal cancer progression. Thus, we hypothesised that obesity surgery is associated with poorer prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer. Methods: This nationwide population-based cohort study included all patients with an obesity diagnosis who subsequently developed colorectal cancer in Sweden from 1980 to 2012. The exposure was obesity surgery, and the main and secondary outcomes were disease-specific mortality and all-cause mortality, respectively. Cox proportional hazard survival models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for sex, age, calendar year and education level. Results: The exposed and unexposed cohort included 131 obesity surgery and 1332 non-obesity surgery patients with colorectal cancer. There was a statistically significant increased rate of colorectal cancer deaths following obesity surgery (disease-specific HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.00–2.19). When analysed separately, the mortality rate was more than threefold increased in rectal cancer patients with prior obesity surgery (disease-specific HR 3.70, 95% CI 2.00–6.90), while no increased mortality rate was found in colon cancer patients (disease-specific HR 1.10, 85% CI 0.67–1.70). Conclusion: This population-based study among obese individuals found a poorer prognosis in colorectal cancer following obesity surgery, which was primarily driven by the higher mortality rate in rectal cancer

Interactional justice at work is related to sickness absence: a study using repeated measures in the Swedish working population

Background: Research has shown that perceived unfairness contributes to higher rates of sickness absence. While shorter, but more frequent periods of sickness absence might be a possibility for the individual to get relief from high strain, long-term sickness absence might be a sign of more serious health problems. The Uncertainty Management Model suggests that justice is particularly important in times of uncertainty, e.g. perceived job insecurity. The present study investigated the association between interpersonal and informational justice at work with long and frequent sickness absence respectively, under conditions of job insecurity. Methods: Data were derived from the 2010, 2012, and 2014 biennial waves of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). The final analytic sample consisted of 19,493 individuals. We applied repeated measures regression analyses through generalized estimating equations (GEE), a method for longitudinal data that simultaneously analyses variables at different time points. We calculated risk of long and frequent sickness absence, respectively in relation to interpersonal and informational justice taking perceptions of job insecurity into account. Results: We found informational and interpersonal justice to be associated with risk of long and frequent sickness absence independently of job insecurity and demographic variables. Results from autoregressive GEE provided some support for a causal relationship between justice perceptions and sickness absence. Contrary to expectations, we found no interaction between justice and job insecurity. Conclusions: Our results underline the need for fair and just treatment of employees irrespective of perceived job insecurity in order to keep the workforce healthy and to minimize lost work days due to sickness absence