Socioeconomic inequalities in the quality of life of older Europeans in different welfare regimes

Background: Whether socioeconomic inequalities in health and well-being persist into old age and are narrower in more generous welfare states is debated. We investigated the magnitude of socioeconomic inequality in the quality of life of Europeans in early old age and the influence of the welfare regime type on these relationships.<p></p> Methods: Data from individuals aged 50–75 years (n = 16 074) residing in 13 European countries were derived from Waves 2 and 3 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Slope indices of inequality (SIIs) were calculated for the association between socioeconomic position and CASP-12, a measure of positive quality of life. Multilevel linear regression was used to assess the overall relationship between socioeconomic position and quality of life, using interaction terms to investigate the influence of the type of welfare regime (Southern, Scandinavian, Post-communist or Bismarckian).<p></p> Results: Socioeconomic inequalities in quality of life were narrowest in the Scandinavian and Bismarckian regimes, and were largest by measures of current wealth. Compared with the Scandinavian welfare regime, where narrow inequalities in quality of life by education level were found in both men (SII = 0.02, 95% CI: −1.09 to 1.13) and women (SII = 1.11, 95% CI: 0.05–2.17), the difference in quality of life between the least and most educated was particularly wide in Southern and Post-communist regimes.<p></p> Conclusion: Individuals in more generous welfare regimes experienced higher levels of quality of life, as well as narrower socioeconomic inequalities in quality of life.<p></p&gt

Været i vekstsesongen 2015

Sommeren 2015 vil bli husket som kald og våt, med store nedbørmengder i enkelte perioder. Regnet på Østlandet fra midten av august vil bli husket spesielt godt. Til tross for dette ser kornavlingene ut til å bli like høye i 2015 som i 2014

Variations in relative health inequalities: are they a mathematical artefact?

Background: Substantial research has documented variations in the magnitude of relative socioeconomic differences in health across European countries, and within countries, across different age groups. The aim of this paper is to examine to what extent these variations are determined by differences in the overall rate or prevalence of a health outcome across countries and age-groups in the total population. Methods: Three surveys (European Social Survey, and two different population census-mortality registry linked longitudinal data) were used. We plotted rates of mortality and prevalence of poor self-rated health against ratios of mortality and morbidity prevalence associated with educational level. We calculated Pearson coefficients to examine the magnitude of correlations. Results: We found a significant negative correlation between total mortality rates and associated rate ratios of mortality by education in the SEDHA study (r = -0.40, p = 0.04), but not in the HUNT study (r = -0.37, p = 0.06). There was a weaker but significant negative correlation between the prevalence of poor health and associated prevalence ratios by education in the European social survey (r = -0.22, p = 0.00). Correlations increased as underlying prevalence and rates increased, while they were weaker or null at low prevalence or rates. Conclusion: We found some evidence that the magnitude of relative inequalities in mortality and morbidity is negatively correlated with underlying morbidity prevalence and mortality rates. Although correlations are moderate, underlying morbidity prevalence and mortality rates should be taken into account in the interpretation of variations in relative health inequalities among populations

Class-related health inequalities are not larger in the East

Background: The article investigates whether people in Eastern Europe have larger health inequalities than their counterparts in three West European regions (North, Central and the South). Methods: Data were obtained for 63 754 individuals in 23 countries from the first (2002) and second (2004) waves of the European Social Survey. The health outcomes were self-reported limiting longstanding illness and fair/poor general health. Occupational class was defined according to the European Socioeconomic Classification (ESeC). The magnitude of absolute and relative inequalities according to nine occupational classes for men and women separately were identified, analysed and compared in all four regions of Europe. Results: For both sexes and within all European regions, the higher and lower professionals, self-employed and higher service wo

Ascospore release by Venturia inaequalis during periods of extended daylight and low temperature at Nordic latitudes

Darkness suppresses ascospore release in Venturia inaequalis, but the impact of light levels during the extended twilight and dusk that typify Nordic spring conditions is poorly understood. Volumetric spore traps were operated at two different locations in Norway over several years. During the season of asocspore release (approximately 1 April to 30 June), on 25 occasions when rain started during night (after 23:00h and before 04:00h) and leaves remained wet until at least midnight the following day, the cumulative percentage of spores trapped at sunrise did not exceed 1%, irrespective of temperature. Three hours after sunrise, cumulative ascospore release reached 0.8%, 3.0%, and 8.1% at temperatures of 0 to 5°C, 5 to 10°C, and >10°C, respectively, and 50% release occurred at 11, 9, and 8h after sunrise. Additional field and laboratory studies indicated that the protracted dawn and dusk of Nordic latitudes, either alone or in combination with low temperatures, does not substantially alter previously reported patterns of ascospore releas

Why does Spain have smaller inequalities in mortality?

Background: While educational inequalities in mortality are substantial in most European countries, they are relatively small in Spain. A better understanding of the causes of these smaller inequalities in Spain may help to develop policies to reduce inequalities in mortality elsewhere. The aim of the present study was therefore to identify the specific causes of death and determinants contributing to these smaller inequalities. Methods: Data on mortality by education were obtained from longitudinal mortality studies in three Spanish populations (Barcelona, Madrid, the Basque Country), and six other Western European populations. Data on determinants by education were obtained from health interview surveys. Results: The Spanish populations have considerably smaller absolute inequalities in mortality than other Western European populations. This is due mainly to smaller inequalities in mortality from cardiovascular disease (men) and cancer (women). Inequalities in mortality from most other causes are not smaller in Spain than elsewhere. Spain also has smaller inequalities in smoking and sedentary lifestyle and this is due to more smoking and physical inactivity in higher educated groups. Conclusion: Overall, the situation with regard to health inequalities does not appear to be more favourable in Spain than in other Western European populations. Smaller inequalities in mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer in Spain are likely to be related to its later socio-economic modernization. Although these smaller inequalities in mortality seem to be a historical coincidence rather than the outcome of deliberate policies, the Spanish example does suggest that large inequalities in total mortality are

Synthesis and Photodecomposition Studies of Photodegradable Antibiotics and Chitin Synthase Inhibitors

The release of bioactive compounds to the biosphere, such as chitin synthase inhibitors that are causing negative effects in non-target organisms, or antibiotic agents that contribute to increasing antimicrobial resistance, has become a major problem in recent years. To try to circumvent this, the goal of this project has been to design active compounds that degrade when exposed to light. Four photodegradable scaffolds based on the core structure 1-(arylamino)-3-arylpropan-2-ol with a nitro group in different positions on the two aromatic rings were designed, and the decomposition products were investigated. The scaffolds were functionalised to give 12 target compounds that resemble commonly used chitin synthase inhibitors, and some of them displayed promising anti-lice activity (0.001-0.1 ppt). The compounds were also tested for their antimicrobial activity (6.3-50 μM), which resulted in the discovery of four active compounds. Following decomposition, all antimicrobial activity was lost and no cytotoxicity was observed, and they represent lead compounds for further development. Synthetic attempts towards several analogues of chloramphenicol were dictated by side reactions and reactivity issues, and ended up in two analogues with no antimicrobial activity. Synthesis of an analogue of the penicillin class of antibiotics was attempted and despite great efforts, problems associated with a final deprotection step was not resolved

Statistical Shape Analysis of Caudate Nucleus in Parkinson's Disease

A major challenge in the research field of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is identification and diagnosis of patients with early PD. In this thesis, we represent the caudate nucleus of patients with early PD (PG) and of healthy controls (CG) using shape models. For instance, by using LPDSRep and SPHARM-PDM. We analyse and compare the caudates between the groups through hypothesis testing and construction of regression models. The results reveal no differences of caudate size between PG and CG, however, the caudates of healthy controls appear more curved than those of early PD. The results suggest that while there is no clear evidence of brain atrophy of caudates in early PD, there may be a tendency of a general loss of structure in the caudates of patients with early PD.A major challenge in the research field of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is identification and diagnosis of patients with early PD. In this thesis, we represent the caudate nucleus of patients with early PD (PG) and of healthy controls (CG) using shape models. For instance, by using LPDSRep and SPHARM-PDM. We analyse and compare the caudates between the groups through hypothesis testing and construction of regression models. The results reveal no differences of caudate size between PG and CG, however, the caudates of healthy controls appear more curved than those of early PD. The results suggest that while there is no clear evidence of brain atrophy of caudates in early PD, there may be a tendency of a general loss of structure in the caudates of patients with early PD

Cross-modal 3D-2D facial verification through sibling networks

I de siste årene har dyp læring, fagfeltet innenfor maskinlæring hvor representasjoner læres gjennom lag med nevrale nett, gjort store fremskritt, spesielt når det gjelder oppgaver relatert til 3D-data. Så langt har det kun blitt gjort noen få forsøk på å utføre ansiktsgjenkjenning som bruker både 2D- og 3D-representasjonen av et ansikt, men disse forsøkene har problemer med å bygge en ordentlig bro mellom 2D og 3D representasjonene, ingen av disse forsøkene bruker dyp læring. I denne oppgaven utvikles en arkitektur for dyp læring som utfører verifikasjonsoppgaver på par av henholdsvis 2D rgb-ansiktsbilder og 3D-ansiktspunktskyer. Denne nevrale nettverksarkitekturen kombinerer deler av GhostFaceNets til 2D-betegnelsesutvinning, og deler av 3DFacePointCloudNet til 3D-betegnelsesutvinning ved å bruke en tilnærming inspirert av Siamesiske nettverk-"Siamese network", her kalt et Søskennettverk-"Sibling network". Dette nevrale nettverket ble trent ved å bruke to datasett, hvor det ene ble konstruert fra BU-4DFE-datasettet, og det andre ble syntetisk generert fra FaceGen. Nettverket ble trent flere ganger med ulike typer taps-funksjoner, hvor det for hver tapsfunskjon ble trent én gang med bruk av BU-4DFE-datasettet og deretter én gang med bruk av FaceGen-datasettet. Alle disse iterasjonene av nettverket ble evaluert på testdatasettet som var konstruert fra BU-3DFE-datasettet. Resultatene fra alle treningene viste at nettverket ikke var i stand til å lære sammenhengen mellom 2D-ansikter og 3D-ansikter. Dette var trolig på grunn av 3D-betegnelsesutvinneren, da den ga ut 3D-betegnelsesvektorer som var for like hverandre. Det foreslåtte nettverket ga ikke de ønskede resultatene som det opprinnelig ble håpet på, men med enkelte justeringer av 3D-betegnelsesutvinneren kan det potensielt oppnås bedre resultater i fremtiden.In the last few years deep learning, the machine learning field in which representations are learned through layers of neural networks, has made some major advancements, especially in regards to 3D data related tasks. So far there have only been a few attempts at doing face recognition using both a 2D and a 3D representation of a face, but these attempts had trouble in bridging the representation between 2D and 3D properly, also none of these attempts use deep learning. This thesis proposes a deep learning architecture that performs verification tasks on pairs of 2D rgb face images, and 3D face point clouds. It combines parts of the GhostFaceNets for 2D feature extraction, and parts of the 3DFacePointCloudNet for 3D feature extraction, using a Siamese inspired approach, here called a Sibling network. This neural network was trained using a two datasets, where one was created from the BU-4DFE dataset, and the other was synthetically generated from FaceGen. The network was trained multiple times with different types of loss functions, once using the BU-4DFE dataset and then once using the FaceGen dataset. All these iterations of the network were evaluated on the test dataset created from the BU-3DFE dataset. The results from all the trainings showed that the network was not able to learn the connection between 2D faces and 3D faces. This was likely due to the 3D feature extractor, as it outputted 3D feature vectors that were too similar to each other. In the end, the proposed network did not have the desired performance as originally hoped for, but with a few adjustments to the 3D feature extractor it could potentially achieve greater results in the future