Experiences of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, is a chronic, slowly progressive disease of the respiratory system. It is most often caused by smoking or pollution. It can generate both physical and psychological symptoms, as dyspnea, fatigue and feelings of anxiety. Purpose: To describe experiences of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Method: Through a general literature study experiences of people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were studied. Ten articles were chosen from the databases Cinhal and Pubmed. Results: The results show that the physical changes that comes with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease changes the person´s lifeworld dramatically, which requires both physical and emotional coping strategies. Some of the results indicate that this patient-group is not help-seeking to any larger extent so it might be imperative for health care professionals to take a more active role in need- satisfaction of these persons. Keywords: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, experience, meaning, lifeworldBakgrund: Kronisk obstruktiv lungsjukdom, KOL, är en kronisk långsamt progressiv luftvägssjukdom oftast orsakad av rökning eller luftföroreningar. Sjukdomen kan ge både fysiska och psykiska symptom som andnöd, minskad ork och känslor av oro och ångest. Syfte: Att beskriva upplevelser av att leva med kronisk obstruktiv lungsjukdom. Metod: Genom en allmän litteraturstudie studerades upplevelser hos personer som lever med kronisk obstruktiv lungsjukdom. Tio artiklar från databaserna Cinhal och Pubmed granskades. Resultat: Resultaten visar att de fysiska förändringarna som kronisk obstruktiv lungsjukdom innebar förändrade personens livsvärld dramatiskt och krävde både fysiska och emotionella copingstrategier. En del av resultaten indikerar att denna patientgrupp inte är hjälpsökande i någon större utsträckning varför vården kan behöva ta en mer aktiv roll i att fylla dessa personers omvårdnadsrelaterade behov. Nyckelord: Kronisk obstruktiv lungsjukdom, upplevelse, mening, livsvärl

Social Media – Do You See the Whole Picture?

Purpose: The thesis aims to create an understanding to set the foundation of the social media landscape covering its historical evolution, driving mechanisms and business models. Methodology: The thesis has a qualitative character and an explorative art of discovering the social media landscape. A theoretical framing of the thesis is inspired by Christensen and Raynor. Theoretical perspective: Theories used concern business models more specifically “Free”, Swarm business principles, Value network, Relational capital, Innovation economy, Wikinomics and Opportunity cost. Empirical foundation: The primary data is gathered through interviews and the secondary data is gathered through articles and international press. Conclusions: The result of this study is that six different phases of the growth of social media can be distinguished as well as specific driving mechanisms more precisely Technological evolution, Globalization, Knowledge sharing, Famousness, Optimal Value Efficiency, Networking, Community feeling and Corporations. Regarding the business models seven different combinations has been found in terms of economic value; Ad-supported, Freemium, Ads (Plus), Freemium Plus, Freemium & ads, Freemium, ads & plus, Gift economy. The hidden values are recognized as the value of: free, change, trust, socializing, collaboration, content, access and the value of opportunity

Prediction of plant available copper, zinc and phosphorus in arable soils

Nutrient deficiencies in crop production are today a worldwide problem. To maximize fertilizer efficiency and crop yields it is important to be able to assess the accurate amount of available nutrients in the soil (Mason et al., 2005). There are different methods to assess plant available nutrients in the soil and asses the risk of nutrient deficiency. Soil extraction analyses like Aqua regia (HNO3 + HCl), HNO3, EDTA, DTPA, CaCl2 and P-AL are often used in purpose to assess available nutrients (Tandy et al., 2011). Copper, zinc and phosphorus are all essential nutrients which the plant requires. Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) is a fairly new method, a gel tech-nique which accumulates metals and phosphates in soil (Zhang, 2003). This study was carried out in the middle to Southern part of Sweden, fourteen different soils from agricultural fields were chosen with cultivated wheat (Triticum aestivum). All the laboratory work was done at Swedish universi-ty of agriculture sciences (SLU) in Uppsala. The objective with this study was to investigate and compare the DGT technique with three conventional extraction methods: HNO3, CaCl2 and P-AL. The concentration of copper (Cu), phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn) was measured by all methods and was then compared with the plant Cu, P and Zn concentration, to see which method that correlated best with the plant uptake. All methods predicted Cu concentration significantly but DGT technique was the most accurate meth-od (R2=0.64). Extracted Zn and P were not significantly correlated to the Zn or P concentration in the plant, or of DGT or any other extraction method. Copper and phosphorus concentration measured by the DGT technique showed significant correlation between the extracted Cu and P by P-AL, HNO3 and CaCl2. Zinc measured by DGT did neither prove significant cor-relations to the Zn plant concentration or to extracted Zn concentrations by HNO3 and CaCl2. It was concluded that DGT was found to be the most accurate method for predicting plant available Cu but not for P or Zn. Further research has to be done before DGT can become one of the conventional trustworthy methods

Cooking banana farming system in rural Uganda

The demand for food, feed, fibre and fuel has increased in Uganda over the past 50 years due to population growth. Recurring extreme climate events such as drought and flooding, in combination with large-scale land degradation, have led to declining crop yields. Lack of equipment, money and socio-economic issues has contributed to low yields. However, the soils in Uganda have the potential to produce much higher yields than they do today. This study, which was carried out in April-June 2013 in Kkingo District, south-east Uganda, examined the effects of agroforestry on yield of cooking bananas in small-holder farming systems. Six farms practising agroforestry and six farms with no agroforestry, which were chosen in cooperation with the NGO Vi Agroforestry, were compared. On each farm, semi-structured interviews and seasonal interviews were held and the crops cultivated were recorded, particularly cooking bananas in mixed cropping systems. This study was run in parallel and in cooperation with two other studies, one on soil carbon stocks and one on macrofauna, and farms and sampling sites were chosen to fit all three studies. The results showed significantly increased yield of cooking bananas in the agroforestry systems. The farms which used organic manure (i.e. the agroforestry farms) also had significantly higher yields of cooking bananas. Agroforestry gave a more diverse cropping system than the non-agroforestry system, which resulted in a higher standard of living and more self-sufficient households on agroforestry farms. Agroforestry was no more time-consuming than the non-agroforestry system. In fact, in the long run agroforestry involved less heavy work. One of the most important factors for success in agroforestry was the farmer’s knowledge and dedication to managing the farm and taking advantage of all available resources.Efterfrågan på mat, foder och ved har ökat under de 50 senaste åren i Uganda, på grund av en snabbt växande befolkning. Samtidigt som småskaliga lantbrukare i Uganda lider av produktionsnedgång i jordbruket. Det finns studier som visar på att agroforestry ger en ökning i skörd av kokbanan samt andra grödor som majs och kaffe. Agroforestry kan även ge jorden en bättre vattenhållande kapacitet och öka mullhalten i marken vilket kan bidra till en ökning i skörd. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka effekten agroforestry har på skörden av kokbanan i småskaliga lantbruk i Uganda. Sex gårdar med agroforestry principer jämfördes med sex gårdar som inte praktiserade agroforestry, gårdarna valdes ut i ett samarbete med den svenska biståndsorganisationen Vi Skogen. Hypotesen var att agroforestry metoden leder till högre skörd av kokbanan än icke-agroforestry. Samt att agroforestry är mer tidskrävande och hårdare arbete och att användning av organisk gödsel skulle ge högre skörd än utan gödsel. Fältarbetet utfördes i Kkingo region, sydväst om Masaka, Uganda. På varje gård valdes sex provrutor ut for att undersöka vegetationen. På varje gård gjordes även intervjuer med varje bonde (kunde ske parvis) samt gruppintervjuer med ca 10 bönder åt gången. Resultaten visar på signifikant högre skörd av kokbanan med agroforestry jämfört med icke-agroforestry. Användningen och användningsmetoden av organisk gödsel, hade stor betydelse och gav högre skörd av kokbanan om gödsel användes. Dock så var inte agroforestry mer tidskrävande än icke-agroforestry och långsiktigt krävde det mindre tungt jobb. Slutligen resulterade agroforestry i att ge småskaliga bönder i Uganda en högre levnadsstandard och ett mer självständigt hushåll med mer komplext odlingssystem med större mångfald

Slå ett slag för familjen ‐ en utredning om hur barnets bästa beaktas vid vårdnads‐ och umgängesfrågor när uppgifter om våld/skyddade personuppgifter föreligger

Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda och analysera på vilket sätt barnets bästa beaktas när frågor om vårdnad och umgänge ska prövas av domstolen och det föreligger uppgifter om våld och/eller skyddade personuppgifter. Våld i nära relationer är en utbredd problematik. Under 2012 var det ca 7 % av den svenska befolkningen som utsattes för våld i en nära relation. Vidare uppskattas att ca 150 000 barn lever i en familj där våld på något sätt förekommit. Vad gäller skyddade personuppgifter framkommer att användningen av sådana nästintill tredubblats under en tjugoårsperiod. När uppgifter om våld föreligger i vårdnadsmål finns vissa riktlinjer utarbetade. Exempelvis ska domstolen göra en riskbedömning för huruvida våldet kan komma att upprepas. Dock finns ingen särskild hanteringen av vårdnadsmål där skyddade personuppgifter föreligger. Utgången i där våld och/eller skyddade personuppgifter föreligger blir, efter granskande av rättsfall att det normalt anses föreligga sådana samarbetssvårigheter att en gemensam vårdnad inte är förenlig med barnets bästa. Vid våldsamheter löses umgängesfrågan med den våldsamme föräldern med hjälp av umgängesstöd och vid skyddade personuppgifter förordnas många gånger inte om något umgänge alls. Vidare kan det konstateras att barnets bästa alltid utgör ett kriterium vid domstolarnas bedömning av vårdnadsfrågor när våld eller skyddade personuppgifter föreligger. Men mot bakgrund av att det saknas gällande rätt vid skyddade personuppgifter beaktas barnets bästa inte i dessa situationer. Dock behandlas den frågan på ett adekvat sätt av rättstillämparen, vilket framgår av intervjuer med domare samt rättsfall. I de fall där våldsamheter förekommer tycks barnets bästa beaktas på ett tillfredsställande sätt, det finns vissa riktlinjer från lagstiftaren och regeringen, vilka rättstillämparen använder sig av. Dock anas en risk att schablonmässiga bedömningar av barnets bästa sker i och med regeringens uttalande om att en våldsam förälder i princip inte ska ha del i vårdnaden.The purpose of this essay is to investigate and analyze in which manner the child’s best interests are taken into account by the Court considering custody and visitation when information concerning abuse and/or protected personal data exists. Domestic violence is a widespread problem. In 2012, approximately 7% of Sweden’s population suffered abuse from a close relative. Additionally, it is estimated that about 150,000 children are currently living in household afflicted with some form of domestic abuse. Regarding protected personal data, it has been found that the use of such data has almost tripled in the past twenty years. When evidence of abuse has been found in a custody case, the Court must make a risk assessment on the likelihood of further abuse. In principle, there are no regulations on how questions of custody and visitation should be treated when protected personal data is present. However, there is normally considered to be such a lack of cooperation between the parties that joint custody is not in the child’s best interests where abuse has occurred or protected personal information exists. Questions of visitation are generally solved with the aid of social services. It can be concluded that the best interests of the child are always one of the criteria used by the Court in determining cases of custody where abuse or protected personal information exists. But in the absence of detailed regulation concerning the handling of protected personal information, it is my assessment that the child’s best interests in such situations are not being taken into account by Parliament as they have not yet even addressed the issue. However, the issue appears to be handled in an adequate way by the judiciary, as evidenced by interviews with judges and court opinions. In cases of abuse, it appears that the best interests of the child are accounted for in a satisfactory manner as there are guidelines from Parliament and the Government, which are applied by the judiciary. However, based upon the Government’s statement that abusive parents should not share in the custody of the child, there does seem to be some risk of the courts applying the statement as an absolute in their decisions rather than on a case by case basis

Konfliktlösning på Elfenbenkusten - Ett kosmopolitiskt angreppssätt?

Afrika har sedan 90-talet blivit en synonym för kaos. Omvärldens bild av den afrikanska kontinenten präglas av inbördeskrig, svält, etnisk rensning och anarki. Elfenbenskusten var en kontrast till detta fram tills 1999 då ett inbördeskrig bröt ut som delade landet. Uppsatsen gör en ansats till att karakterisera konflikten enligt Mary Kaldors teori om nya krig för att sedan studera det internationella systemets agerande i jämförelse med den kosmopolitik som Kaldor förespråkar som den systembild som krävs för att kunna lösa konflikter av det nya krigets slag. Fokus befinner sig på externa aktörers agerande enligt kosmopolitik. Aktörer och dess roll - som FN och ECOWAS, samt Frankrike och Sydafrika diskuteras. Konflikten i Elfenbenskusten kan identifieras med Kaldors teori om nya krig. Det internationella systemet har varit under ständig utveckling och man kan se att systemet mer och mer börjat anamma metoder som liknar kosmopolitik

An intronic copy number variation in Syntaxin 17 determines speed of greying and melanoma incidence in Grey horses.

The Greying with age phenotype in horses involves loss of hair pigmentation whereas skin pigmentation is not reduced, and a predisposition to melanoma. The causal mutation was initially reported as a duplication of a 4.6 kb intronic sequence in Syntaxin 17. The speed of greying varies considerably among Grey horses. Here we demonstrate the presence of two different Grey alleles, G2 carrying two tandem copies of the duplicated sequence and G3 carrying three. The latter is by far the most common allele, probably due to strong selection for the striking white phenotype. Our results reveal a remarkable dosage effect where the G3 allele is associated with fast greying and high incidence of melanoma whereas G2 is associated with slow greying and low incidence of melanoma. The copy number expansion transforms a weak enhancer to a strong melanocyte-specific enhancer that underlies hair greying (G2 and G3) and a drastically elevated risk of melanoma (G3 only). Our direct pedigree-based observation of the origin of a G2 allele from a G3 allele by copy number contraction demonstrates the dynamic evolution of this locus and provides the ultimate evidence for causality of the copy number variation of the 4.6 kb intronic sequence

Driftmodellering av saltvattenbatteri för kapning av effekttoppar

There is a power deficit in Uppsala's power grid. Municipal companies have an obligation to contribute with solutions to the power deficit. Skolfastigheter AB have therefore installed an environmentally friendly salt water battery in one of their properties. The goal of this project is to create an algorithm for controlling the battery so that it cuts power peaks at a preschool in Uppsala. The algorithm is created based on economical, environmental, and political aspects. A model of the battery is constructed in which technical specifications for the real battery are used. The model is tested using historical power usage data from one of Skolfastigheter AB's preschool properties. The resulting model successfully cuts the facility's power peaks as intended. The model succeeds even when the input data are varied. The algorithm is also applied in reality and controls the battery via a programmable logic controller (PLC). The goal of cutting power peaks is also met with the PLC. Simulation of the battery cuts power peaks more optimally than when the algorithm is implemented in reality. To improve the model, data from more preschools as well as possibilities to perform more experiments are required. The usage of programmable power storage is today not economically profitable. Batteries do however contribute to reaching Uppsala municipality's environmental and climate goals. Batteries also contribute to a more robust energy system where fossil power reserves can be avoided