It is our impression that Gordon Pask’s writings cover fundamentals for large parts of the widely expanding fields of Cybernetics and Systems Theory. Thereby, and by his lecturing activities, he has become a unique figure in maintaining a kind of unity of the field of Cybernetics, well in accord with Wiener’s view (“control and communication in the animal and the machine”; cf[26]). And that, with

We prove the existence of the old and metal-rich moving group HR 1614. This is done using the new Hipparcos parallaxes in combination with metallicities derived from Strömgren photometry, supported by dynamical simulations of the evolution of old moving groups in the galactic potential. A new selection criterion for this moving group is presented as well as a new, extended sample of probable membe

Two approaches based on alkaline hydrolysis, in combination with either stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) or sonication, were developed for the determination of banned azo dyes in bovine leather. All dyes were determined indirectly by measuring their corresponding harmful amines, formed after chemical reduction. Quantification was performed by employing standard addition methodology to compensat

Aims: To investigate whether a high level of commonly experienced physical and mental symptoms could predict long spells of sickness absence in Swedish women and, further, to investigate the causal pattern of socioeconomic and psychosocial factors in relation to long spells of sickness absence. Methods: A questionnaire containing items on socioeconomic and psychosocial variables was sent to a rand

The objective of this thesis is to propose a way to introduce social and cultural aspects of environmental degradation to the sustainable development debate. This is done by a reflexive and critical examination of environmental research as it has been applied to different spatial levels (and thus levels of social complexity). The spatial categories discussed are the city, the household and the lan

Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) is a separation process in water and wastewater treatment. The removal function is based on reducing the density of the particle by producing aggregates of the particles and added micro-bubbles of air, thus lifting the aggregates to the water surface, where they can be removed as sludge. One parameter that is believed to be of crucial importance is fluid dynamics. The

Popular Abstract in Swedish I avhandlingen presenteras nya teoretiska och experimentella metoder för att analysera spridning av elektromagnetiska vågor, framförallt med fokus på antenner och trådlös kommunikation. Oavsett det handlar om radio- och TV-sändningar, mobiltelefoni, trådlösa datornätverk, eller radar, så är antenner oumbärliga; de är nämligen länken mellan de elektromagnetiska vågorna oSum rules and physical limitations within electromagnetic theory and antenna theory have received significant attention in the last few years. However, the derivations are often relying on application specific and sometimes unsupported assumptions, and therefore a mathematically rigorous and generally applicable approach seems timely. Such an approach is presented in this thesis, along with exampl

Background: National guidelines recommend that healthy pregnant women take 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise a day. Most women reduce the level of physical activity during pregnancy but only a few studies of women's experiences of physical activity during pregnancy exist. The aim of the present study was to elucidate experiences and views of leisure time physical activity during pregnancy in

A number of measures have been taken by the society to ensure gender equality in higher education. Nevertheless, women still face great difficulties when pursuing an academic career. Our aim is to increase the understanding of how the society, conceptualised as the organisational field, interacts with organisational factors and personal actions as women try to establish themselves within academia.

High-spin states have been studied in Pr-135(59), populated through the Cd-116(Na-23,4n) reaction at 115 MeV, using the Gammasphere gamma-ray spectrometer. The negative-parity yrast band has been significantly extended to spin similar to 45 (h) over bar and excitation energy 21.5 MeV, showing evidence for several rotational alignments. The positive-parity yrast band of Ce-135(58), populated throug

The complexity status of the minimum r-star cover problem for orthogonal polygons had been open for many years, until 2004 when Ch. Worman and J. M. Keil proved it to be polynomially tractable (Polygon decomposition and the orthogonal art gallery problem, IJCGA 17(2) (2007), 105-138). However, since their algorithm has (O) over tilde (n(17))-time complexity, where (O) over tilde (.) hides a polylo

Diabetes is a common metabolic disorder in patients with Friedreich ataxia. In this Supplement article, we review the clinical data on diabetes in Friedreich ataxia, and the experimental data from rodent and in vitro models of the disease. Increased body adiposity and insulin resistance are frequently present in Friedreich ataxia, but pancreatic cell dysfunction and death are a conditio sine qua n

Det senaste årtiondet har varit omvälvande för skorpdagglaven; den har råkat ut för almsjuka, askskottsjuka, transplanteringar och noggrann övervakning. För bara fem år sedan såg det mycket mörkt ut för laven, men nu ser det betydligt ljusare ut då flera nyfynd gjorts för arten i helt nya landskap.

The aims of this work were to evaluate objective and subjective signs of autonomic dysfunction (AD) in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) and to evaluate its clinical associations. In study I, 46 pSS patients and 56/80/238 autonomic nervous function test (ANT) controls participated. Objective signs of AD were evaluated using three different cardiovascular ANTs and exocrine function in

There is still controversy as to how body mass index (BMI) affects male reproduction. We investigated how BMI is associated with semen quality and reproductive hormones in 166 men, including 38 severely obese men. Standard semen analysis and sperm DNA integrity analysis were performed, and blood samples were analysed for reproductive hormones. Adjusted for age and time of abstinence, BMI was negat