bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Farm systems - Impact of stocking rate on dairy farm efficiency
Authors: Macdonald K.A. , Penno J.W. , Nicholas P.K. , Lile J.A. , Coulter M. , Lancaster J.A.S.
Published: July 2020

Two years of results from a 10 farmlet, farm systems trial (ending May 2001) are presented. The trial was designed to determine the efficiency and profitability of milksolids production when annual drymatter intake/cow and subsequent milksolids production/cow is increased within a whole farm system. Operating within the trial were five levels of feed intake and two farm management systems. The data presented show that with increasing kg liveweight/tonne of drymatter/ha, there was an increase in efficiency of pasture utilisation but a decrease in per cow efficiency. Extremes in increasing kg liveweight/tonne of drymatter were inclined to decrease the Economic Farm Surplus. Keywords: allowance, dairying, efficiency, milksolids, model
Experiences with evaluating two farming systems in a split herd comparison on a commercial Waikato dairy farm
Authors: Glassey C.B. , Blackwell M.B. , Macdonald K.A. , Lawrey P.C. , George P. , George J.
Published: July 2020

An on-farm demonstration of the effects of a higher stocking rate (expressed as cows per hectare), supported by purchased maize silage, was conducted on a commercial Waikato dairy farm that was split into two farmlets. Milk from each farmlet was collected into separate vats. This paper reports on two seasons of comparison between: 1. A 57-ha farmlet with 185 Friesian cows stocked at 3.25 cows per ha, representing the farm's previous management (Control -LS) and; 2. A 51-ha farmlet with 185 Friesian cows stocked at 3.6 cows per ha, supported by the purchase of 430 kg DM per cow of maize silage (Treatment -HS) The comparison aimed to demonstrate that higher stocking rates, supported by purchased maize silage, would increase total pasture utilisation and increase profit per hectare. Milksolids production for the HS farmlet was 105 and 99 kg per ha higher than LS in years one and two with Economic Farm Surplus per ha increasing by $113-$375 per ha (depending on payout). The comparison highlighted the difficulty of determining stocking rate on a cows-per-ha basis for a farm with unknown pasture production. In effect, the comparison was between two herds stocked at a similar level relative to total feed supply, with both herds being limited by total feed supply. This study also demonstrated practical management issues involved for farmers who are adding purchased feed into their systems. Being a commercial dairy farm meant this split herd demonstration could not be subjected to strict scientific protocols, as the commercial objectives of the farmers had to be met. The limitations and advantages of this type of on-farm demonstration are discussed. Keywords: economic farm surplus, maize silage, milksolids production per ha, on-farm demonstration, split-herd comparison, stocking rate
Searching for clover root weevil (Sitona lepidus) resistance/tolerance - A progress report
Authors: Eerens J.P.J. , Cooper B.M. , Willoughby B.E. , Woodfield D.R.
Published: July 2020

The decimation of white clover in Waikato and Bay of Plenty pastures owing to the invasion clover root weevil (CRW) initiated an extensive screening of legume germplasm to identify plant material that could survive and remain productive under high CRW pressure. A total of 50 000 plants from 275 lines and six species, were planted on seven commercial farms and evaluated for tolerance/ resistance to CRW under conventional farming practices. Plant productivity and level of CRW damage were both highest on white clover. Significant CRW damage was also observed on red clover and caucasian clover, but not on birdsfoot trefoil, lotus major or lucerne. However, the productivity under stock grazing of the latter three species was not sufficient to consider them suitable alternatives to white clover. Within the white clover lines there was encouraging variability in the level of CRW damage, and in the ratio of damage to shoot production. While root damage is of greater importance than shoot damage, the latter reflects CRW activity and egg deposition and is a good indicator of likely larval development and root damage. Factors such as farm type (dairy farms versus dry stock farms) had some influence on shoot production, but very little influence on CRW damage. Climatic conditions appeared to have strong influences on clover shoot production and CRW damage, with dry conditions from late spring to early autumn having a particularly suppressive effect on CRW damage and CRW population growth. Top performing lines have been selected from this screening and are currently being evaluated in more detail under high CRW pressure. Keywords: clover, clover root weevil, plant screening, Sitona lepidus, tolerance, Trifolium repens
Fertiliser requirements for peat soils in the Waikato region
Authors: O'Connor M.B. , Longhurst R.D. , Johnston T.J.M. , Portegys F.N.
Published: July 2020

Peat soils cover approximately 94 000 ha of productive land in the Waikato and are an important soil resource for the region. Much of the research on peats in the 1950s-60s concentrated on the development of raw peats and later in the 1970s on nutrient deficiencies such as copper and selenium. Little to no work was undertaken on soil fertility/soil nutrient relationships of developed peat soils. In 1996, a series of eight field trials was established across a range of developed peat soils in the Waikato to investigate such relationships. The trials continued for 3 years. Results showed that the optimum Olsen P soil test for sustaining near maximum pasture production was 35-45, that K soil tests were of limited use on well developed peats and that winter leaching of S was likely to be important. The Anion Storage Capacity (ASC) test was found to be a valuable tool in indicating the degree of development of peat and in turn allowing interpretation of fertiliser responses. From these introductory investigations of nutrient requirements on peat soils some guidelines and recommendations are presented. Keywords: anion storage capacity (ASC), Olsen P, pasture production, peat, soil test
EFEK EDUKASI MELALUI BROSUR TERHADAP KONTROL TEKANAN DARAH DAN KEPATUHAN PASIEN HIPERTENSI
Authors: Oktaviani Emy , Zunnita Oktaviana , Handayani Marlia
Published: July 2020

Kepatuhan merupakan salah satu faktor pendukung utama ketercapaian efek terapi pengobatan hipertensi. Ketidakpatuhan pasien hipertensi dalam minum obat dapat meningkatkan morbiditas, mortalitas, dan biaya perawatan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk  mengetahui pengaruh edukasi melalui brosur terhadap kontrol tekanan darah, kepatuhan minum obat dan faktor-faktor lain yang berhubungan pada pasien hipertensi. Rancangan penelitian ini adalah quasi experimental one group pretest and posttest design secara prospektif. Penelitian ini dilakukan menggunakan responden pasien hipertensi di Puskesmas Babakan Madang yang memenuhi kriteria inklusi. Pengambilan data pretest dan posttest menggunakan kuesioner MMAS-8 dan catatan medis pasien. Responden yang bersedia untuk mengikuti penelitian ditandai dengan adanya informed consent. Penelitian dilakukan dengan melakukan pengisian kuesioner MMAS-8 dengan wawancara, pengukuran tekanan darah, dan dilanjutkan dengan intervensi berupa edukasi melalui brosur. Satu bulan kemudian dilakukan pengisian kuesioner MMAS-8 dengan wawancara kembali dan pengukuran tekanan darah. Hasil penelitian dari 50 responden menunjukkan bahwa edukasi melalui brosur memberikan efek terhadap kontrol tekanan darah dan kepatuhan responden dengan hasil uji statistik menggunakan Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test dengan tingkat kepercayaan 0.0001 (p<0,05)
PENGARUH BERBAGAI METODE EKSTRAKSI PADA PENENTUAN KADAR FLAVONOID EKSTRAK ETANOL DAUN ILER (Plectranthus scutellarioides)
Authors: Suhendar Usep , Utami Novi Fajar , Sutanto Dr. , Nurdayanty Sely Meidi
Published: July 2020

Tanaman iler merupakan tanaman yang berfungsi sebagai tanaman obat tradisional. Senyawa flavonoid pada tanaman iler memiliki aktivitas sebagai antioksidan. Kadar flavonoid pada ekstrak salah satunya dipengaruhi oleh metode ekstraksi yang digunakan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan metode ekstraksi yang terbaik untuk menghasilkan kadar flavonoid tertinggi dalam ekstrak etanol 70% daun iler. Metode ekstraksi yang digunakan meliputi Maserasi, Refluks, Microwave Assisted Extraction (MAE), dan Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE). Penetapan kadar flavonoid ekstrak etanol 70% daun iler dilakukan secara spektrofotometri UV-Vis menggunakan pereaksi AlCl3. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa metode ekstraksi yang terbaik untuk menghasilkan kadar flavonoid tertinggi dalam ekstrak etanol 70% daun iler yaitu metode Microwave Assisted Extraction. Kadar flavonoid dengan metode maserasi, refluks, Microwave Assisted Extraction dan Ultrasound Assisted Extraction berturut-turut sebesar 0,41%, 0,45%, 0,75%, dan 0,62%.
Correlation of Depressive Illness with Academic Performance Among Medical Students at the University of Port Harcourt
Authors: Asuquo Emen , Kennedy Nkporbu A , Chibuike Okechukwu , Nneka T Okafor , Ifeanyinwa Onoh
Published: July 2020

Background: The rising prevalence and burden of Depression among all age groups including medical students have continued to constitute enormous concern worldwide. Depression has been associated with cognitive impairment and may impair academic performance. Aim: To determine the relationship between depression and academic performance among medical students at the University of Port Harcourt. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study gained ethical approval . Stratified random sampling method was used to select the subjects. A well-structured open ended self-administered socio-demographic questionnaire was administered to the students. The Zung Self Rated Depression Scale was used to assess the depression status of each respondent in conjunction with the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, Version Five (DSM V). The data were analysed using descriptive and analytical methods. Results: The prevalence of depression among the medical students was 5.3%. Fourteen students (4.6%) were mildly depressed while only two respondents had moderate depression. Academic performance was generally poor among the medical students with depressive illness compared to those without depression and was worse with increasing severity of depression(p=0.004). Conclusion: Depression does occur among medical students at the University of Port Harcourt and significantly affects academic performance.
Measurement of Ministry/Institution Budget Performance Efficiency Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)
Authors: Irawan Shiddiq Ardhi
Published: July 2020

Efficiency is one of the tools used by the Government to measure the success of an activity. Based on PMK Number 214/ PMK.02/2017 it is regulated regarding the measurement and Evaluation of Budget Performance for the implementation of Work Plans and Ministries/Institutions Budgets. To measure budget performance achievement based on aspects of implementation 4 (four) variables i.e. budget absorption, output achievements, efficiency, and consistency of budget absorption towards planning, are used. This study aims to measure the efficiency level of Ministries/Institutions budget performance using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). However, the variables used are not only based on measurement aspects of implementation according to PMK Number 214/PMK.02/2017 but also the number of satker (satuan Kerja). The approach used in the DEA model is Constant Return to Scale (CRS) model and Variable Return to Scale (VRS) model. This study uses the DEA model approach by comparing the results of the CRS model with VRS model. Based on DEA results, the number of Ministries/Institutions that have efficient scores is less than the number of Ministries/Institutions with inefficient scores. In addition, based on the value of slacks in each Ministries/Institutions, the variables that need to be improved are the coordination among satkers in when they are recording their performance achievements in the SMART application. Other variables that also require improvements are the ministry/agency’s willingness to revise their Disbursement Plan (RPD) after each budget revision and the speed at which they spend their budget once DIPA is stipulated.
Effectiveness of Allowance of Auditor Travel Cost
Authors: Mahfudin Mahfudin , Febrianto Andrie Mulya
Published: July 2020

This study is lifted from the specific characteristics of official travel for the auditor compared to other official travel, so there is a need to determine the specificity of input cost standards. The purpose of this study is to look at the effectiveness of the policy of official travel costs especially allowance for auditors on the quality of performance and finance. The study was conducted with a qualitative approach. Respondents in this study were auditors from 4 inspectorate general units and 10 work units which were audited by the auditors (auditees). The results of this study indicate that the policy of official travel costs is still quite effective in supporting the implementation of supervision/ inspection. Supervision/inspection of auditors is also recognized to improve the quality of performance and financial auditees. It should be noted that the provision of an examination allowance in the same office location contrasts with the provision of performance allowances for auditors, although the allowance is one of the motivations for auditors to conduct audits at the head office.
Den goda familjen och den goda familjerätten. Debatter om lag och moral i det mångkulturella Europa
Authors: Rabo Annika
Published: July 2020

En central föreställning om den moderna nationalstaten är att den är juridiskt suverän inom det egna territoriet. De senaste decenniernas stora politiska och sociala förändringar har dock gjort gränserna porösare mellan olika territoriella enheter. Överstatliga organisationer som EU och FN har bidragit till att transformera staternas oavhängighet i frågor som har att göra med lag och rätt. Men även migration och framväxten av mångkulturella samhällen sätter självklara rättsliga och moraliska uppfattningar om »rätt« och »fel« på spel. I artikeln diskuterar jag, ur socialantropologisk synvinkel, hur religiöst partikulära synsätt kring centrala sociala institutioner som familj och äktenskap utmanar statens universella anspråk på oavhängighet i frågor om moral och juridik.
Diasporans dialektik: Om konsten att vara judisk i den svenska moderniteten
Authors: Dencik Lars
Published: July 2020

Judarna i Sverige utgör en etnisk och kulturell minoritet som har bevarat och utvecklat ett särskilt »judiskt« förhållningssätt till tillvaron. I denna artikel perspektiveras vad »ett judiskt förhållingssätt« bygger på och innebär. Utifrån det frågas hur den specifika judiska tanketraditionen, dess uppfattning av begreppen religion och folktillhörighet, och i synnerhet predikamentet att leva som minoritet i diasporan samverkat till att den judiska gruppen i dag på en och samma gång kan vara en distinkt nationell minoritet i Sverige och väl integrerade i det moderna samhället.
Utanförskapelsen. En diskursanalys av hur begreppet utanförskap artikulerades i den svenska riksdagsdebatten 2003-2006.
Authors: Davidsson Tobias
Published: July 2020

Begreppet utanförskap lanserades inför riksdagsvalet 2006 som en arbetsmarknadspolitisk indikator för att påvisa en spricka i det svenska samhället. Den borgerliga alliansen beräknade att upp till en och en halv miljon människor befann sig i utanförskap. Begreppet har därefter kritiserats utifrån hur det beräknades. I denna artikel analyseras hur »utanförskap« diskursivt artikulerades i debatten samt hur det relaterar till besläktade begrepp. Särskilt fokus läggs på hur »utanförskap« kopplades till »bidragsberoende«, invandrarskap och kriminalitet.
Arbetslinjen – social trygghet eller risk?
Authors: Piippola Saila
Published: July 2020

Arbetslinjen ska uppmuntra till rörlighet på arbetsmarknaden för att säkra den sociala tryggheten och för att individen inte ska riskera utanförskap. I denna artikel analyseras kvinnors och mäns arbetslöshet i en social och regional kontext. Social trygghet, risk och vikten av sociala nätverk är centrala för analysen.
Brottsoffer i indikatorland – Öppna jämförelser inom socialtjänstens brottsofferstödjande arbete
Authors: Agevall Gross Lotta , Denvall Verner , Kjellgren Cecilia , Skillmark Mikael
Published: July 2020

Crime victims in Indicatorland – Open comparisons in the social services’ work with victim supportSince the 90s there have been extensive changes in the public sector, such as rationalization and increasing demands for documentation and review. The changes have also affected the social services’ victim support work that has increasingly been subject to various forms of regulation, such as requirements for monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance. This article aims to examine one of the monitoring systems applied in the victim support work: the instrument of open comparisons. This article is based on an exploratory study of the local organization of crime prevention in two municipalities and analyses how the processes of open comparisons are organized at local, regional and central levels. The empirical data consists of documents such as legal sources and handbooks from e.g. the National Board of Health and Welfare and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, as well as documents obtained locally in the two municipalities. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with professionals working on different organizational levels. Analytically the study has been inspired by programme theory, which made it possible to concentrate on clarifying the operational idea in which open comparisons are based and capturing the consequences in the two cases. The study shows that open comparisons have been implemented without support from existing research. However, strong normative support for open comparisons exists within governmental agencies and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. They are included as one of many elements of New Public Management and result in changes in the victim support work. In contrast to present visions, the performance is not affected to any significant extent. In contrast, a comprehensive administration is created, where employees of municipalities are supposed to collect data, register information and analyse the results generated by the open comparisons.
Att vara kommunikativt låst – professionellas berättande om (vanskliga) vårdrelationer
Authors: Blomberg Helena , Stier Jonas
Published: July 2020

Trapped in communication – professionals’ testimonies about communicative breakdowns in healthcare worker–patient interactionsThe aim of the article is to shed light on the social dynamic that characterizes communicative breakdowns. As a first stage, this has been explored through individual and group interviews with 34 healthcare professionals about situations where they claim there has been a communication breakdown. Based on the professionals’ testimonies, the research question was: how do professionals illustrate their experiences of communicative breakdowns? In terms of theory, the study draws upon an integrated approach to language and social interaction dynamics – for example how actors mediate positions and roles, but also present, negotiate and determine the course of action in patient cases. Findings show: (1) different degrees of severity in communicative breakdowns, and (2) that the professionals have developed and use both explicit and implicit strategies to handle ”delicate relationships” in this kind of interactions.
Att bygga en tillfällig allians – metodologiska frågor vid intervjuer med ensamkommande barn och unga
Authors: Söderqvist Åsa , Bülow Pia H. , Sjöblom Yvonne
Published: July 2020

Building a temporary alliance – methodological issues in interviews with unaccompa­ nied minors Many people come to Europe in the hope of nding a safe haven. Global challenges are converted into local issues. e minority backgrounds of these people are often mentioned as an important component in the understanding of those coming to Sweden. e aim of this study is to discuss methodological challenges in research about vulnerable groups, with speci c focus on unaccom- panied children and adolescents. What challenges become visible in the research process when the researcher aims to focus on the unaccompanied minors’ perspective during their initial time in Sweden? What di erent positions and roles become evident in the encounter between unaccom- panied minors and the researcher during interviews? What di erent implications may that have in relation to the research process? In the discussion, we highlight the importance of constantly re ecting on the role of the researcher as a person and the in uence it may have on the relation to the respondent, as well as the opportunities and limitations of these di erent roles in the research process and for the results.
Föräldraledig nu eller senare? Invandrade kvinnors användning av föräldrapenning
Authors: Duvander Ann-Zofie , Mussino Eleonora
Published: July 2020

Parental leave now or later? Immigrant women’s use of parental leave bene t Sweden is a welfare state with a family policy that strongly emphasizes equality without distinction according to place of birth or gender. In this study, we investigate the di erences in uptake of parental leave between native and immigrant women, and the connection to labour-market attachment. Sweden represents a unique case study, not only because of the strong e ort to combine work and family for all women and men, the high level of fertility and the large presence of immigrants in the country; it also enables a detailed and sophisticated analysis based on the high-quality data derived from its population registers. We nd that immigrant mothers use more parental leave bene t the rst year after their child’s birth, but then fewer in the second year compared to native women. e di erences diminish when labour-market status is controlled for. Additionally, after some time in Sweden, immigrant mothers use leave more similarly to how native mothers do. We conclude that labour-market status is the most decisive factor for parental leave use and we point out the relationship between labour market and family policy.
(O)bekväm (o)vetskap Om bekvämlighetszoner under de guidade visningarna av en moské
Authors: Gunnarsson David
Published: July 2020

(Un)comfortable (un)knowing. On comfort zones in the guided tours of a mosque is article, proceeding from the study I did for my thesis on the guided tours of the great mosque in Stockholm, discusses the situations that were characterized by a struggle for having the right knowledge and interpretative prerogative. e concept of comfort zone (Ahmed 2008), and how that is related to ideas of societal happiness, is central. It is a concept that opens up for analysis of how the exercise of power depends on the position of the speaker. During the tours there has been a rhetorical struggle to establish a comfort zone. e article explores the interlinking of know- ledge and social positioning, and how positions decide the credibility of what is said. Acknowledging that there are regimes of truth surrounding Muslims in Sweden, the main focus lies on the production of knowledge regarding Muslims in the context of the guided tours of a mosque in Stockholm. Special attention is given to how regimes of truth regarding Muslims inform the conversations during the visits, how they are debated in this particular arena and how that is dependent on positionality. It is a situation in which a Muslim, in the position of the guide, has an opportunity to present alternative storylines, or stories, about who Muslims are and what they do. During the visits there was a tendency for the guests to feel comfortable. In spite of being guests they managed the discomfort by recreating a comfort zone brought about by the alternative sto- rylines. Seemingly objective and established knowledge on Muslims has had such an impact that it made the Muslim guides less trustworthy, even when they talk about personal experiences and their private lives, giving the guides a position of discomfort.
Positiva förändringsprocesser bland unga vuxna i öppenvård
Authors: Skogens Lisa , Von Greiff Ninive , Ekström Jasmine Esch
Published: July 2020

Positive processes of change among young adults in out-patient care In contemporary society, the transition phase from adolescence to adulthood is often described as a period of moving back and forth between youthful dependency and independent adulthood in what is called ”yo-yo transitions”. However, studies of young people in need of out-of-home care, or other child welfare, for psychosocial problems, show that this vulnerable group have limited possibilities to make these transition movements. e present study investigates positive change processes during this particular part of life in out-patient care clients. e research questions are: (1) How do young adult clients describe important factors for a positive process of change? and (2) How are important factors related to the treatment described by clients and by treatment sta? Data consists of seven personnel interviews and twenty interviews with young adults who have completed out-patient care. e results suggest that the relation between an individual treatment staand the young adult is central for the positive change process. In the discussion it is suggested that the preconditions for this relation are: (1) A genuine engagement and dedication from the professional. (2) With this rst point as a foundation, the mastering of a spectrum of professional methods and the ability to choose when to use them are necessary means for positive change processes to come about. (3) A supportive organisation and leadership are crucial for setting the frames that make the rst two points possible to establish.
Akademiskt och professionellt skrivande inom socionomutbildningen
Authors: Lundberg Susanna
Published: July 2020

Jag kommer i artikeln att diskutera socionomstudenters skrivande ur ett textteoretiskt perspektiv, och mer specifikt se på utredningar av barn i fara, en process och texttyp som är vanlig inom socialtjänsten och ställer specifika krav på både interaktion och skrivande. Jag menar att relationerna mellan det akademiska skrivandet och det professionella borde uppmärksammas mer för att tydliggöra de akademiska färdigheternas roll inom professionen.
”Vi möter de ofrivilliga” – socialsekreterare om äldre personer med missbruksproblem
Authors: Gunnarsson Evy , Karlsson Lis-Bodil
Published: July 2020

”We meet the involuntary” – social workers talk about older people with alcohol problemsSocial workers working in addiction teams in the municipalities rarely have documented collaboration with elder care managers despite the fact that older people with alcohol problems have become more common within elder care, especially home care services. There are few studies of older people with alcohol problems, and knowledge on the subject is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate how social workers within addiction treatment talk about older people with alcohol problems. Six group interviews and three individual interviews have taken place including a total of 18 social workers. The social workers came from seven different municipalities. Social workers usually meet older people with a long history of abuse and several institutional stays behind them. Many are reluctant to have further contact with social services. In the case of older persons with alcohol problems it is seldom considered appropriate to initiate treatment interventions. Older persons could however sometimes get a place at an abuse institution to get in better shape. In the interviews elder care is often looked upon as a way to get a better situation around an older person with alcohol problems. There are few treatment programmes aimed at older people with alcohol abuse problems. According to the social workers there is a lack of adequate institutional care and various social activities. Nor do older people with alcohol problems fit into activities organized by elder care. One conclusion is the need to develop different treatment interventions targeted at older people with alcohol problems as well as to develop cooperation between elder care and addiction teams.
”Jag kunde bara slåss” Förklaringar och vändningar i tidigare kriminella kvinnors personliga berättelser
Authors: Wästerfors David , Edgren Hanna , Grigoriadis André
Published: July 2020

”Fighting was the only thing I was good at”– Accounts and biographical turns in previously criminal women’s personal storiesToday’s narrative criminology offers a more nuanced approach to understanding crime than many previous approaches. In this article we draw on personal stories from four middle-aged women with criminal experiences to explore some analytic tracks in this area. First, we show how recognizable sad tales, employed by the women to account for previous crimes and drug use, are supplemented by incorporated aspects of happy tales, as well as reflexive markers of storytelling and ”accounts of accounts”. The women identify their formerly active neutralizations, and they account for why they used them. Second, we refine an analysis of biographical turning points by focusing details that complicate the points at issue. Life changes are narrated as more uncertain, oscillating, long lasting and educational than might be expected. ”Doing motherhood” and a Meadian story of taking the role of the other are conspicuous; the narrators try to depict their lives from their children’s point of view. Having a child and, eventually, caring for it is attributed a life changing significance.
Höga förväntningar på kontaktpersoner?
Authors: Franséhn Mona , Johansson Helena , Wissö Therése
Published: July 2020

High expectations of contact persons? A study of parental practices and the contact person intervention for young people in social servicesA contact person for teenagers, an intervention offered by the social services, is discussed in this article on the basis of a qualitative study accomplished in 2010–2014. It is based on focus groups, documents and interviews with teenagers, parents, contact persons and social workers. Research dealing with the contact person intervention takes partly contradictory views. In qualitative studies the contact person system has been described as a positive intervention of all categories involved. During the last few years it has been questioned, especially in a comprehensive quantitative study, indicating that the intervention even seemed to increase the risk of being placed in out-of-home care in the future. In this article we present a deepened picture of the teenagers in the study with a focus on their backgrounds and life situations. The background factors we have discovered, often invisible in a register study, point to the very complex situations the social services have to handle. Another part deals with how the intervention can be understood in relation to parenting and specifically which dimensions of parenting the social services judge as inadequate. In the analysis of the contact persons’ assignments it is obvious that the social services plan the intervention based on the parents inabilities to guide and support their teenagers. The contact person is often supposed to act as a ”compensating” parent.
Bokrecension
Authors: Lundälv Jörgen
Published: July 2020

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Samhällsvårdens Svarte Petter
Authors: Levander Ulrika , Sturfelt Lina
Published: July 2020

Drawing the short straw. Contemporary and historical categorizations of children in foster and residential care with mental health disordersAbout 67 per cent of children placed in residential care in Sweden suffer from mental health disorders. Although the problem has been recognized for decades, the group’s access to sufficient mental healthcare is still lagging. In this article we examine contemporary and historical categorizations of mental health issues among children in foster and residential care. The study examines Swedish commission reports, government bills, and Children’s Acts published between 1902 and 2016 where the issue is discussed. Hereby, ”the history of the present”, and its implications for the targeted group, is analysed and problematized. Our findings show that continuous talk of preventive actions in the name of the all-embracing welfare state repeatedly has downplayed the group’s access to mental health interventions. Ever since the establishment of the child psychiatric field in the 1940s, a discursive battle about the public responsibility for the group is also raging. In the 1970s, coordination is articulated as the grand solution, but the problem still persists. Neither the contemporary child rights perspective nor the latest law regulations of forced coordination for children in care have changed the group’s underprivileged position. Whether the legal turn will finally lead to recognition of the group’s right to adequate mental health care remains an open question.
På olika villkor?
Authors: Stranz Hugo , Bergmark Åke , Lundström Tommy
Published: July 2020

On different terms? External collaboration in personal social servicesThe Swedish personal social services (PSS) are often considered as a part of the public sector where the need for collaboration with other local agencies or municipalities is particularly strong. The significance of collaboration is articulated not only in legislation and in policy documents, but is also reflected in the organization of services. This article focuses on collaboration in the PSS and is based on survey data from a cross-sectional sample of second-tier managers in mid-sized Swedish municipalities (n=119). Our aim is to analyse (i) to what extent, and with whom, PSS’s core domains – social assistance (SA), child welfare services (CWS) and substance abuse treatment (SAT) – are collaborating, (ii) the general opinions about collaboration among the respondents, and (iii) whether there are any differences with respect to (i) and (ii) between the core domains. The results show that collaboration, as expected, is an extensive feature in the PSS, particularly collaborative activities that are carried out with individual partners. Further, there are significant differences between the core domains, with collaboration intensity being notably high in CWS. The respondents in CWS also show less enthusiasm for collaboration than those representing SAT and SA.
Utveckling av svensk välfärd under ett kvartssekel 1994–2019
Authors: Wadensjö Eskil
Published: July 2020

The development of welfare and welfare policy in Sweden 1994–2019Sweden is a country with a high standard of living, relatively small income differentials and a well-developed welfare system. However, that does not mean that there are no problems. The development of the economy, labour market and welfare in Sweden has been dramatic in several respects over the last quarter of a century. The variations in economic development have been considerable during this period, which has had an impact on the labour market, not least for groups such as young people who have not completed high school studies and newly arrived refugees. Also important is the increase of immigration because of the expansion of the EU but also of refugees. The economic development has affected various individuals and groups in different ways. Economic development has also had an influence on the development of the different parts of the welfare system. There have been several changes in the social policy programmes. Privatization of parts of the sector is one important change. This chapter outlines the main features of this development in different areas of the economy, the labour market and the welfare system in Sweden.
Utifrån ålder eller behov?
Authors: Harnett Tove
Published: July 2020

According to age or according to needs? Age as an organizing principle for support to older peopleMoral economy studies have investigated public opinion as to who should get what and why, and concluded that older people constitute a group that is perceived to deserve and be in need of support from society. A weakness of the approach is that the category of older people is taken for granted and specific age-limits are left unproblematized. The present study investigates views among municipal needs assessors on the use of chronological age for the approval of supportive services, where persons over a particular age may be entitled to eldercare regardless of needs, and persons above the age of 65 are denied the right to personal assistance. Are these age-limits regarded as justified? The study is based on interviews with a total of 36 needs assessors; seven interviews were conducted with groups/pairs and one individually. Three main positions were identified, where age-limits were commented on as (1) a political reality, (2) unjustified with reference to the heterogeneity in health and needs, and (3) partly reasonable given the correlation between age and needs. One finding was that the use of chronological age was questioned to a greater extent in relation to eldercare and to a lesser extent in relation to the exclusion of persons above the age of 65 from personal assistance. The article shows that needs assessors do not have one, but several conceptions of the relevance of chronological age, and it highlights the importance of adding a contextual understanding to the general images of older people as a deserving group that have been presented in studies on moral economy.
Från redaktionen
Authors: Redaktionen
Published: July 2020

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Hepatitis C Virus Infection: A Brief Review
Authors: Kamili Saleem , Qadri Hisham
Published: July 2020

Hepatitis C, caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) was originally described as parenterally transmitted non-A non-B hepatitis. Since its discovery in 1989, the field of HCV research has become a shining example of successful translation of basic research wherein in a short of span of just 30 years the virus was discovered, highly sensitive and specific diagnostic assays were developed, epidemiology and clinical characteristics of the disease were well defined and now with the availability of highly efficacious antiviral therapies many countries are already on their way to achieving World Health Organization’s (WHO) elimination targets of hepatitis C by 2030.  However, much work needs to be done to eliminate hepatitis C especially in resource poor countries. Most recent data show an estimated 71 million people are currently infected with HCV worldwide and approximately 400,000 people die each year from causes related to HCV. Of these estimates, more than 13 million HCV infected persons are in India and Pakistan (Figure 1). Despite the availability of a cure for hepatitis C, only 20% of those infected patients have been diagnosed (1). In order to achieve the WHO targets of hepatitis C elimination, concerted efforts will have to made to make affordable and reliable diagnostics available worldwide.
Text Semantic Annotation: A Distributed Methodology Based on Community Coherence
Authors: Makris Christos , Pispirigos Georgios , Simos Michael Angelos
Published: July 2020

Text annotation is the process of identifying the sense of a textual segment within a given context to a corresponding entity on a concept ontology. As the bag of words paradigm’s limitations become increasingly discernible in modern applications, several information retrieval and artificial intelligence tasks are shifting to semantic representations for addressing the inherent natural language polysemy and homonymy challenges. With extensive application in a broad range of scientific fields, such as digital marketing, bioinformatics, chemical engineering, neuroscience, and social sciences, community detection has attracted great scientific interest. Focusing on linguistics, by aiming to identify groups of densely interconnected subgroups of semantic ontologies, community detection application has proven beneficial in terms of disambiguation improvement and ontology enhancement. In this paper we introduce a novel distributed supervised knowledge-based methodology employing community detection algorithms for text annotation with Wikipedia Entities, establishing the unprecedented concept of community Coherence as a metric for local contextual coherence compatibility. Our experimental evaluation revealed that deeper inference of relatedness and local entity community coherence in the Wikipedia graph bears substantial improvements overall via a focus on accuracy amelioration of less common annotations. The proposed methodology is propitious for wider adoption, attaining robust disambiguation performance.
Prospects of Improving Agricultural and Water Productivity through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Nhamo Luxon , Magidi James , Nyamugama Adolph , Clulow Alistair D. , Sibanda Mbulisi , Chimonyo Vimbayi G. P. , Mabhaudhi Tafadzwanashe
Published: July 2020

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are an alternative to costly and time-consuming traditional methods to improve agricultural water management and crop productivity through the acquisition, processing, and analyses of high-resolution spatial and temporal crop data at field scale. UAVs mounted with multispectral and thermal cameras facilitate the monitoring of crops throughout the crop growing cycle, allowing for timely detection and intervention in case of any anomalies. The use of UAVs in smallholder agriculture is poised to ensure food security at household level and improve agricultural water management in developing countries. This review synthesises the use of UAVs in smallholder agriculture in the smallholder agriculture sector in developing countries. The review highlights the role of UAV derived normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) in assessing crop health, evapotranspiration, water stress and disaster risk reduction. The focus is to provide more accurate statistics on irrigated areas, crop water requirements and to improve water productivity and crop yield. UAVs facilitate access to agro-meteorological information at field scale and in near real-time, important information for irrigation scheduling and other on-field decision-making. The technology improves smallholder agriculture by facilitating access to information on crop biophysical parameters in near real-time for improved preparedness and operational decision-making. Coupled with accurate meteorological data, the technology allows for precise estimations of crop water requirements and crop evapotranspiration at high spatial resolution. Timely access to crop health information helps inform operational decisions at the farm level, and thus, enhancing rural livelihoods and wellbeing.
Physiological Responses of Tomato and Cucumber Seedlings under Different Light–Dark Cycles
Authors: García-Caparrós Pedro , Sabio Francisco , Barbero Francisco Javier , Chica Rosa María , Lao María Teresa
Published: July 2020

Tomato and cucumber seedlings were grown in a growth chamber to evaluate the effects of different cycles of light–dark exposure conditions (T0 (control treatment) (1 cycle of 24 h distributed in 18 h of light exposure and six hours of dark), T1 (two cycles of 12 h distributed in nine hours of light exposure and three hours of dark) and T2 (three cycles of eight hours distributed in six hours of light exposure and two hours of dark) on growth, nutrient status, pigment concentration and physiological changes. Total dry weight showed different behaviors in both species, since in tomato the total dry weight remained unchanged under varying light–dark cycles, whereas in cucumber seedlings there was a clear decrease compared to the control treatment. In both species, plants grown under T2 showed the best water content. Nitrogen, P and K content—as well as partitioning in the different organs of the plants—displayed different patterns under varying cycles of light–dark conditions in both species. Chlorophyll (b and a + b) concentration decreased significantly in both species in T1 and T2 compared to the control treatment (T0). At physiological level, the concentration of total soluble sugars and proline in leaf showed the highest value in the control treatment with 18 h of light and six hours of dark.
In Vitro Regeneration, Ex Vitro Rooting and Foliar Stoma Studies of Pseudostellaria heterophylla (Miq.) Pax
Authors: Wang Fengyun , Xin Xiaowei , Wei Hao , Qiu Xiaohui , Liu Boling
Published: July 2020

Pseudostellaria heterophylla, in the family Caryophyllaceae, is an important Chinese medicinal plant commonly used to treat various diseases in children and valued for its ornamental properties. In this study, nodal segments were obtained from wild plants and used as explants to develop an efficient micropropagation protocol for this species. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.5 mg·L−1 6-benzyladenine (6-BA) was the most suitable medium for inducing axillary buds and enhancing their growth, and MS medium containing 0.1 mg·L−1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) was the most effective for inducing in vitro rooting. To reduce labor, time, and cost, microshoots were rooted under ex vitro conditions. Pretreatments of the shoots with 100 mg·L−1 naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) for 1 min ensured successful rooting in 86.7% of shoots. Comparison of the leaf microstructure between in vitro- and ex vitro-rooted plantlets revealed abnormal stomatal apparatus in the former. The stomatal apparatus of ex vitro plantlets were normal, although the stomatal density was reduced, which indicated that these plantlets were more likely to be able to adapt to environmental conditions in the field. We identified the optimal medium for P. heterophylla multiplication with respect to increased rooting efficiency of micropropagated shoots under ex vitro conditions. This results presented here will be helpful for agricultural cultivation of P. heterophylla.
3-(5-Nitrofuran-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one Derivatives, with Potent Antituberculosis Activity, Inhibit A Novel Therapeutic Target, Arylamine N-acetyltransferase, in Mycobacteria
Authors: Agre Neha , Tawari Nilesh , Maitra Arundhati , Gupta Antima , Munshi Tulika , Degani Mariam , Bhakta Sanjib
Published: July 2020

In this study, the inhibitory potential of 3-(5-nitrofuran-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one derivatives was evaluated against a panel of bacteria, as well as mammalian cell lines to determine their therapeutic index. In addition, we investigated the mechanism of antibiotic action of the derivatives to identify their therapeutic target. We discovered compound 2 to be an extremely potent inhibitor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv growth (MIC: 0.031 mg/L) in vitro, performing better than the currently used first-line antituberculosis drugs such as isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pretomanid in vitro. Furthermore, compound 3 was equipotent to pretomanid against a multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis clinical isolate. The derivatives were selective and bactericidal towards slow-growing mycobacteria. They showed low cytotoxicity towards murine RAW 264.7 and human THP-1 cell lines, with high selectivity indices. Compound 1 effectively eliminated the intracellular mycobacteria in a mycobacteria-infected macrophage model. The derivatives were assessed for their potential to inhibit mycobacterial arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) and were identified as good inhibitors of recombinant mycobacterial NAT, a novel target essential for the intracellular survival of M. tuberculosis. This study provided hits for designing new potent and selective antituberculosis leads, having mycobacterial NAT inhibition as their possible endogenous mechanisms of action.