Filetype
By the end of the eighteenth century, Leiden was a very unhealthy city where life was characterised by disease and untimely death – in particular young children – mainly because of high population density and unhygienic conditions. Morbidity and a high mortality rate gave city life a specific dynamic: many children grew up without one or both parents present, while many elderly men and women had t
Although rising inequality in sub-Saharan Africa has revived debates on the distributional effects of government tax and expenditure policies, there are relatively few long-term empirical studies on this issue. This chapter examines how government fiscal policies—both taxation and public spending—have evolved and shaped inequality trends in colonial and postcolonial Ghana. It finds that fiscal pol
Recent studies have challenged earlier narratives of Africa as historically stagnant and impoverished, instead revealing patterns of booms and busts. While this has advanced understanding of long-term growth, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of historical poverty, especially among self-employed rural populations. This chapter uses published social tables to examine rural poverty in six Afr
Within-sex phenotypic variation can arise through co-option of sexual differentiation mechanisms. Recently, several such cross-sexual-transfer traits have been identified, but we lack a mechanistic understanding of their geographic variation, environmental influences, and phenotypic integration with other traits. Male Polyommatus icarus butterflies are blue, whereas female wing coloration varies f
The incidence of cutaneous melanoma (CM) has risen sharply over the past 30 years, coinciding with the rapidly growing tattoo trend. In Sweden, 20% of the population is tattooed. Repeated reports of the presence of carcinogenic chemicals, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic amines and heavy metals in tattoo ink justifies the investigation of CM risk in relation to tattooing. We aimed to in
Solvers’ participation is essential for successful implementation of crowdsourcing contests for problem solving (CCPS). Many efforts have been made to investigate solvers’ various participation behaviours in CCPS. Whether or not a solver will conduct a behaviour is the result of decision making. However, to our knowledge, few studies concentrated on solvers’ participation from a decision process p
Objectives The aim of this study was to analyse associations between crowded housing and children’s indoor living environment, respiratory and allergic disorders and general health. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting Sweden, using data from the Swedish National Environmental Health Survey 2019. Participants The study sample included 48 512 children (aged 6–10 months, 4 years and 12 years). We
Developing standardized bioengineered constructs that accurately replicate human skin is a largely sought-after goal. Pathways initiated at the nurturing interface with the dermal compartment have the potential to modulate the developing epidermal architecture. Here, we identified ascorbic acid, a dermis-donated metabolite, as key in modulating the phenotypical identity of immortalized keratinocyt
Time- or frequency-dependent (“restricted”) diffusion potentially provides useful information about cellular-scale structures in the brain but is challenging to interpret because of intravoxel tissue heterogeneity. Multidimensional diffusion–relaxation correlation MRI with tensor-valued diffusion encoding enables characterization of intravoxel heterogeneity in terms of nonparametric distributions
single-channel video. 6 min 30 secOften focusing on stories of the supernatural, the transcendent, and the psychedelic, Joachim Koester’s deeply researched work explores the real and imagined limits ofthe human body and mind. Through documentary films, photographic series, and books, he reintroduces repressed histories into the collective memory.Tarantism is a condition resulting from the bite of
The Hunga Tonga eruption on 15 January 2022 (HT-22) induced vigorous volcano–sea interaction. Here we study the stratospheric aerosol and water vapor resulting from the eruption using satellite-based instruments: the CALIOP lidar and the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). We investigate the stratospheric relative humidity following the record-breaking water vapor injections from the HT-22 eruption and
This study examines farmers' willingness to sell straw for energy and material applications in Scania, Sweden. Using interviews and surveys, we tested three empirical consequences derived from the premise that missing data on farmers' willingness to sell straw for energy may misrepresent the biomass supply in potential assessments. Findings reveal willingness to sell straw depends on end use, with
Forest wind damage models are typically based on the assumption that windstorm damage results from the interaction between horizontal wind forces and forest stand properties. In complex terrain, mountain waves caused by stably stratified air flowing over mountains can generate standing waves and severe downslope windstorms on the leeward side. Using the windstorm of 19 November 2021 in a mountain
Turning sustainable is one of the largest challenges facing the aviation sector. Switching to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) instead of fossil fuels is a large piece of the sustainability puzzle, but there is no current SAF that is approved as a stand alone fuel. The road to a stand alone SAF is long and requires more diverse biofuels as well as more research on how biofuels combust. This thesis
BackgroundDepression in older adults poses significant health challenges, yet the protective role of positive affect remains understudied. This research examined the complex network of positive affect and depression in older adults using advanced network analysis techniques to identify potential targets for intervention.MethodsBayesian Gaussian Graphical Models and Directed Acyclic Graph modelling
Background There is limited knowledge on whether prior knee surgery impacts the clinical profile and treatment outcomes for individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Objectives The study aimed to (i) compare individual and clinical characteristics, and (ii) evaluate whether outcomes of first-line treatment differ between individuals with prior knee surgery and those without. Methods This study us
BackgroundObsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) often emerge during childhood and adolescence, and two aetiological models have been proposed. According to the first model, maladaptive cognitive beliefs facilitate the transformation of transient intrusive thoughts into OCS. The second model suggests that dysfunctional cognitive beliefs develop in response to increased levels of OCS. Few studies have
Medical, neurological, and substance use disorders constitute a major disease burden worldwide, but especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where more than 80% of affected persons are unable to receive evidence-supported treatments despite these being widely available in theory. This persistent mental health treatment gap in LMICs is traceable to the very nature of such nations: low
Global health is a multidisciplinary field focused on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic left a profound and lasting impact on global mental health, triggering a surge in anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders across all age groups and regions. As the world transitions into the post-COVID period, mental health has emerged as a
