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Through the influence of neoliberal ideas, many critical infrastructures that used to be under public ownership have been opened up for market competition. Using the Swedish railway system as a case, this paper empirically explores whether such reforms have given rise to common-pool resource problems, and discusses possible implications. The results show that institutional restructuring has create

Heart-hand syndrome (HHS) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by the co-occurrence of a congenital cardiac disease and an upper limb malformation. This study revealed the clinical and epidemiological features of HHS in China. The study was based on patients with congenital upper limb malformation treated in Beijing Ji Shui Tan hospital from October 1st, 2013 to Oct

Background: Although chronic breathlessness is common in life-limiting illnesses, validated feasible instruments to measure functional impact of the symptom in this population are scarce. We aimed to validate the Dyspnea Exertion Scale (DES) compared with the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) breathlessness scale for test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and responsiveness in people

Sexual activity is important to older adults (65 +). Breathlessness affects about 25% of older adults but impact on sexual activity is unknown. We evaluated the relationships between breathlessness and sexual inactivity and self-reported health among older community-dwelling adults in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Associations between self-reported breathlessness (hurrying on level

We use rich longitudinal survey and register data on Swedish individuals to examine the relationship between financial strain and mental health. Specifically, we consider the longitudinal relationships between payment difficulties and subjective (self-reported anxiety) as well as objective (psychiatric drug use) measures of mental ill-health. Among previously healthy individuals, payment difficult

Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) ≥ 15 h/day improves survival in hypoxemic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). LTOT 24 h/day is often recommended but may pose an unnecessary burden with no clear survival benefit compared with LTOT 15 h/day. The aim was to test the hypothesis that LTOT 24 h/day decreases all-cause, respiratory, and cardiovascular mortality compared to LTOT 15 h/day in hypo

The rapidly growing interest in photocatalytic systems for direct solar fuel production such as hydrogen generation from water splitting is grounded in the unique opportunity to achieve charge separation in molecular systems provided by electron transfer processes. In general, both photoinduced and catalytic processes involve complicated dynamics that depend on both structural and electronic effec

Background: The effect of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) on invasive pneumococcal disease is frequently reported, but the impact on upper respiratory tract infections in a clinical setting is less documented. Our aim in this 5-year observational study was to investigate serotype changes in a large number of Streptococcus pneumoniae upper respiratory tract isolates following sequential intro

Soot emissions from diesel internal combustion engines are strictly regulated nowadays. Laser extinction measurement (LEM) and natural luminosity (NL) of sooty flames are commonly applied to study soot. LEM measures soot along the laser beam path and it can probe soot regardless of temperature. NL integrates the whole field of view and relies on soot temperature. In this work, a comparison of simu

Objective: To determine the prevalence, change in breathlessness status over time, and risk factors for disabling and persistent disabling breathlessness in relation to treatments in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Materials and methods: Longitudinal analysis of data from the Swedish National Register of COPD with breathlessness measured using modified Medical Research Council (mMRC)

Incisional hernia is one of the most common complications (5–20%) after abdominal surgery. Surgery is the only option to cure a hernia. Symptoms of an incisional hernia depend on the size of the abdominal wall defect and the protruding tissue. About 30% of the patients with an incisional hernia will have an operation performed. Traditional surgical sutured techniques have very high recurrence rateIncisional hernia is one of the most common complications (5–20%) after abdominal surgery. Surgery is the only option to cure a hernia. Symptoms of an incisional hernia depend on the size of the abdominal wall defect and the protruding tissue. About 30% of the patients with an incisional hernia will have an operation performed. Traditional surgical sutured techniques have very high recurrence rate

During memory formation, structural rearrangements of dendritic spines provide a mean to durably modulate synaptic connectivity within neuronal networks. New neurons generated throughout the adult life in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus contribute to learning and memory. As these neurons become incorporated into the network, they generate huge numbers of new connections that modify hippocampa

Quantum chemical calculations for two TiO2 nanoparticle cluster models (rutile–(TiO2)n with n = 20, and anatase–(TiO2)n with n = 92), selected to represent different nanoparticle size regimes, are used to elucidate structural influences on the electronic properties. Structural and electronic properties were obtained using a variety of computational methods and structure optimisation schemes, inclu

Background: Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) increases life expectancy in patients with COPD and severe hypoxemia. Smoking is the main cause of burn injury during LTOT. Policy regarding smoking while on LTOT varies between countries. In this study, we compare the incidence of burn injury that required contact with a health care specialist, between Sweden (a country with a strict policy regarding sm

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to offer a thematic analysis of global sourcing and international purchasing issues in international retail firms.Design/methodology/approach– We review literature that addresses purchasing/sourcing activities of retail firms in foreign markets. We categorize this literature into different themes and analyse how these themes are conceptually or empirically linPurpose– The purpose of this paper is to offer a thematic analysis of global sourcing and international purchasing issues in international retail firms.Design/methodology/approach– We review literature that addresses purchasing/sourcing activities of retail firms in foreign markets. We categorize this literature into different themes and analyse how these themes are conceptually or empirically lin

In this paper, we correlate the growth of InAs nanowires with the detailed interface trap density (Dit) profile of the vertical wrap-gated InAs/high-k nanowire semiconductor-dielectric gate stack. We also perform the first detailed characterization and optimization of the influence of the in situ doping supplied during the nanowire epitaxial growth on the sequential transistor gate stack quality.

Guided by complexity theory, in this article, we argue that a complex understanding of disaster response management can be achieved by making multiple, transparent and modest interpretations. We suggest an analytical framework in which multiple system interpretations are constructed, all based on explicit analytical choices according to three aspects: (1) system dimension, (2) system scope and (3)