One of the most significant changes in modern Western European party systems is the birth and growth of radical right parties. These parties have demonstrated considerable power in setting political agendas, impacting the overall dynamics of multiparty systems. In some systems, radical right parties have even managed to become feasible government coalition partners. The literature speaks of a normalisation process of parties previously thought of as extreme. Numerous scholars have sought to delineate the characteristics of the electoral segment voting for radical right-wing parties, as well as account for how mainstream parties have responded to the emergence of these new political actors. Yet, to date, we lack a systematic and detailed understanding of political parties’ considerations in this normalisation process. Across three independent papers, this dissertation offers a comprehensive analysis of such party internal contemplations.

Drawing on experiences from Sweden, the dissertation employs qualitative research methods involving a concept operationalisation and application, a small-n comparison, and a within-case study. Until the Sweden Democrats entered the Riksdag in 2010, Sweden represented an exception where no radical right-wing party had gained a durable position in national parliament. In their early days in the Riksdag, the Sweden Democrats were conspicuously ostracised by the established parties. However, since the party passed the electoral threshold, they have fortified their electoral support, as well as secured a position as a formalised support party of the national government. This dissertation analyses these developments from both the perspective of the Sweden Democrats and that of the established parties within the political system. By doing so, the dissertation generates three key contributions.

First, the dissertation offers a novel way to consider pariah party status as well as demonstrates the usefulness of the suggested operationalisation, using the Sweden Democrats as an empirical example. Specifically, I argue that we should conceive of pariah status in terms of two continuous dimensions involving a party's coalition potential and legislative cooperation potential. Second, the dissertation establishes the importance of social relations in interparty dynamics. By examining local level decisions to (not) govern municipalities together with the Sweden Democrats after the 2018 election, the dissertation distinguishes social relations as a matter of (dis)satisfaction, (in)appropriate behaviour, (dis)trust, (un)familiarity, and leadership. Third, the dissertation illustrates how candidate selection processes can serve as a strategic tool in facilitating integration. This, by examining how the Sweden Democrats conceive of the ideal candidate for representation, depicted as a matter of balancing six core traits: adaptability, stability, trustworthiness, social capacity, firmness, and familiarity. Together, these contributions not only aid in comprehending the complexity of radical right normalisation but also improve the conditions for future research.

Failure-transparent programming models abstract from failures by fully masking them from the programmer. They are widely used for programming distributed systems, as failures otherwise are considered a core difficulty. The most widely used of its kind for processing data is stateful dataflow streaming, a model restricted to static, directed, acyclic graphs of stateful stream processors. However, its restrictions limit the applicability of the model, as it lacks support for compositional patterns and replicated data types, making it difficult to express certain applications. Moreover, there is a lack of formal foundations and proofs of failure transparency.

This thesis contributes a semantics-agnostic definition of failure transparency, and two proofs of failure transparency, one of which is for a model of a stateful dataflow streaming system. It additionally contributes two novel programming models based on stateful dataflow streaming. The first provides extensions for compositional patterns, allowing it to express use cases such as a shopping cart. The second provides extensions for windowed conflict-free replicated data types, implemented in a low-latency programming system for global aggregations.

This thesis demonstrates the utility of failure-transparent programming models for distributed systems by contributions to its formal foundations and by making it applicable to a wider range of applications.

This paper gives an in-depth theoretical analysis of the direction and speed selectivity properties of idealized models of the spatio-temporal receptive fields of simple cells and complex cells, based on the generalized Gaussian derivative model for visual receptive fields. According to this theory, the receptive fields are modelled as velocity-adapted affine Gaussian derivatives for different image velocities and different degrees of elongation.  By probing such idealized receptive field models of visual neurons to moving sine waves with different angular frequencies and image velocities, we characterize the computational models to a structurally similar probing method as is used for characterizing the direction and speed selective properties of biological neurons. It is shown that the direction selective properties become sharper with increasing order of spatial differentiation and increasing degree of elongation in the spatial components of the visual receptive fields. It is also shown that the speed selectivity properties are sharper for increasing order of spatial differentiation, while they are for the inclination angle $\theta = 0$ independent of the degree of elongation.

By comparison to results of neurophysiological measurements of direction and speed selectivity for biological neurons in the primary visual cortex, we find that our theoretical results are qualitatively consistent with (i) velocity-tuned visual neurons that are sensitive to particular motion directions and speeds, and (ii)~different visual neurons having broader {\em vs.\/}\ sharper direction and speed selective properties.  Our theoretical results in combination with results from neurophysiological characterizations of motion-sensitive visual neurons are also consistent with a previously formulated hypothesis that the simple cells in the primary visual cortex ought to be covariant under local Galilean transformations, so as to enable processing of visual stimuli with different motion directions and speeds.

This article studies whether asymmetries in volatility help explain the cross section of commodity returns. We decompose realized variance into upside and downside components and construct a normalized difference measure, the relative signed jump (RSJ), following Bollerslev et al. (2020). A trading strategy that goes long the top tercile of commodities with the highest RSJ and shorts the bottom tercile delivers a statistically and economically significant annualized excess return of-6.29%. We also find that our tradable RSJ factor explains the cross section of commodity returns beyond well-established factors in a multivariate price setting context. Our results also show that the pricing ability of volatility asymmetries is distinct from other higher order moments such as realized skewness.

This paper expands on stochastic volatility models by proposing a data-driven method to select the macroeconomic events most likely to impact volatility. The paper identifies and quantifies the effects of macroeconomic events across multiple countries on exchange rate volatility using high-frequency currency returns, while accounting for persistent stochastic volatility effects and seasonal components capturing time-of-day patterns. Given the hundreds of macroeconomic announcements and their lags, we rely on sparsity-based methods to select relevant events for the model. We contribute to the exchange rate literature in four ways: First, we identify the macroeconomic events that drive currency volatility, estimate their effects and connect them to macroeconomic fundamentals. Second, we find a link between intraday seasonality, trading volume, and the opening hours of major markets across the globe. We provide a simple labor-based explanation for this observed pattern. Third, we show that including macroeconomic events and seasonal components is crucial for forecasting exchange rate volatility. Fourth, our proposed model yields the lowest volatility and highest Sharpe ratio in portfolio allocations when compared to standard SV and GARCH models.

Current moral values and ethical practices towards adoption are significantly different from the methods employed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Before adoption became a legally mandated practice in Canada and England, households often took in young orphaned or abandoned children who were allowed to co-habit within a household in exchange for performing housework or farm labor. 

My thesis investigates evolving attitudes towards adoption in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth centuries through the lens of three fictional texts: R. M. Ballantyne’s Dusty Diamonds Cut and Polished: A Tale of City-Arab Life (1884) and L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (1908) and Rainbow Valley (1919). Here, I demonstrate that in Dusty Diamonds, adoption is a transactional practice in which children are adopted for the economic value that they bring to their respective homes. In Anne of Green Gables, although Anne’s adoption is initially motivated by the practical need for cheap labor, she eventually becomes an integral part of the family. In Rainbow Valley, Mary Vance’s adoption is driven by philanthropic sensibilities and a sense of communal duty. 

The thesis is informed by the child emigration movement in the late nineteenth century in which over a hundred thousand street-children from England were exported to colonies such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia as cheap labor sources. The chapter on Dusty Diamonds presents the perspective of the country that exported the street children and the chapter on the Anne books represents contemporary Canadian attitudes and reception towards orphaned children with particular attention to the children’s social class. 

My research provides a critical framework to study the various sociocultural factors that initiated child adoption and to trace out evolving attitudes towards adoptive practices. The thesis follows a new historicist approach which is combined with relevant theoretical frameworks. In the first chapter, the new historicist approach is combined with theories on propaganda studies. Here, I support my work through the framework of Jacques Ellul’s work, Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes (1965). In the second chapter, the new historicist approach is supported by John Cawelti’s book on formula fiction, Adventure, Mystery and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture (1976). 

In the first chapter, through the framework of propaganda studies, I investigate the socio-cultural and socio-political climate that legitimized and normalized the mass emigration of pauper children. In the second chapter, through Cawelti’s theories on formula fiction, in which he suggests that formula fictions evolve over time and adapt the formulaic patterns to changing cultural contexts, I study the evolution of attitudes towards adoption in Anne of Green Gables (1908) and Rainbow Valley (1919). 

In my thesis, I aim to answer two main questions: How do the stories of the orphan children in the selected texts reflect contemporary attitudes towards adoption? How are class distinctions conveyed through attitudes towards adoption? 

Background

Parental leave generosity is protective for mothers’ mental health in the postpartum period and beyond. Strong work requirements exist for parents in Sweden to receive more generous benefits which might penalise individuals who, due to poor health, have a weak labour market attachment. The aim of the study was to examine whether mothers with poor health prior to pregnancy are less likely to be eligible for more generous benefits in Sweden.

Methods

We used total population registers to study first-time mothers, aged 25–45 years, who were resident in Sweden and gave birth between 1 January 2009 and 30 September 2013 (n = 151,452). We used logistic regression to examine the association between health one and two consecutive years prior to pregnancy (to assess chronicity) and eligibility for earnings-related parental leave benefits.

Results

Mothers who were admitted to hospital or received specialist outpatient care for any health condition in the year prior to pregnancy were less likely to be eligible for earnings-related benefits (OR 0·79, 95%CI 0·76–0·83) compared to healthy mothers, particularly those with chronic health issues (OR 0·64, 95%CI 0·62–0·68). Findings were driven by mothers with mental disorders (OR 0·22, 95%CI 0·20–0·23 for the year before pregnancy), and associations were stronger for those with chronic health issues and for Swedish-born mothers.

Conclusion

Mothers with prior health conditions, particularly mental disorders, are less likely to benefit from the protective health effect of parental leave as they may not meet the eligibility requirements for more generous remunerations. This study highlights how the strong work requirement for accessing generous parental leave benefits could unintentionally exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities between mothers with and without poor mental health. Easing work requirements for eligibility to more generous parental leave remuneration could help reduce these inequalities and thus promote better mental health for all, particularly among more disadvantaged groups. As such, our findings empirically support the need for adopting the Health in All Policies framework when designing parental leave policies in order to minimise health inequalities.

This study examines COVID-19 mortality across long-term care settings comparing migrants and Swedish-born during the first 2 years of the pandemic. Previous research shows that migrants faced higher risks of severe COVID-19 outcomes, contrasting with the observed Migrant Mortality Advantage. Using Swedish total population data (2019–22), we stratified participants aged 70+ by care setting and migration status. We analysed the first pandemic year (March 2020–February 2021) and the second year (March 2021–February 2022), alongside pre-pandemic mortality data for context. Outcome measures included all deaths from COVID-19 and other causes. Cox proportional hazards models were employed adjusting for sociodemographic and health variables. Our findings highlight the significant impact of care settings on COVID-19 mortality in the first pandemic year, exceeding that for other causes of death. Migrants born in low- or middle-income countries in institutional care had higher mortality rates (HR = 42.88, 95% CI = 36.69–50.13) than Swedish-born individuals in institutional care (HR = 25.83, 95% CI = 24.12–27.65) relative to Swedish-born with no care. This contrasts with mortality patterns for non-COVID causes before and during the pandemic, indicating a specific migrant disadvantage during the first year. In the second year, the excess COVID-19 mortality in care settings decreased yet continued to be higher for migrants than for Swedish-born, likely influenced by the equalizing effect of vaccinations. Despite mitigation efforts, a clear migrant mortality disadvantage persisted among those receiving home care or living in care homes.

The COVID-19 pandemic generated major health, social, and economic concerns that also influenced individuals’ childbearing decisions. Migrants have been disproportionately affected compared to natives, experiencing higher mortality rates, greater job losses, and more severe financial hardships. In Sweden, these disparities are reflected in a sharper decline in birth rates among migrants relative to Swedish natives in 2021, likely due to the pandemic’s more adverse effects on migrant communities. Drawing on data from the 2021 Swedish Gender and Generation Survey, this study employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models to examine how pandemic-related concerns—and the perceived impact of the pandemic across various domains (work and financial conditions, relationship quality, and wellbeing)—are associated with short-term fertility intentions across different migrant groups (Swedish natives, European migrants, and migrants from elsewhere). Our findings reveal distinct patterns by both migrant background and domain. Among all migrant groups, deteriorating work conditions were linked to a reduced desire to have children. Financial concerns further discouraged childbearing among European migrants. In contrast, Swedish natives’ fertility plans were more strongly influenced by personal wellbeing and relationship quality than by economic factors. Notably, improved financial or employment conditions were associated with a decreased desire to have children among European migrants, possibly reflecting a prioritization of career over family among this highly educated group during the crisis. Conversely, for migrants from elsewhere, concerns about future pandemics were linked to a higher short-term fertility desire, suggesting a ‘now or never’ mindset, akin to fertility responses observed after natural disasters.

Numerous studies have explored the influences of family policies, such as formal childcare use, and migration on fertility, with mixed findings. However, limited research has examined how formal childcare use (or the lack thereof) affects both fertility intentions and behaviours among native and migrant women. This study uses Italy as a case study, where the familistic welfare system creates challenges in work–family reconciliation and female workforce participation, particularly for migrant women facing precarious jobs and higher fertility. This results in employment disparities between migrant and native women, especially among mothers. Using the 2012 Birth Sample Survey from the Italian National Institute of Statistics, we address two research questions: (i) Does formal childcare use for one child positively influence mothers' fertility intentions and behaviours to have another? (ii) Does this effect vary according to migration background? We apply multinomial logistic regression models to analyse the relationship between mothers' fertility intentions and behaviours and childcare use by migration background, migratory generation, and partner's nationality. Our results show that mothers using formal childcare—either stable or occasional—are more likely to have positive fertility behaviours than those with unmet needs, with differences by migration background. Among mothers using formal care, natives show higher positive short-term fertility intentions than migrants, while natives with unmet childcare needs are less likely to have another child than migrants. While formal childcare has limited effect on fertility, unmet childcare needs emerge as a crucial factor, highlighting the need for policies addressing broader socio-economic and cultural factors shaping fertility decisions.

In this article, we summarise recent developments, identify gaps, and propose a research agenda for quantitative health impact assessment (HIA) of environmental exposures linked to urban transport and land use. This is based on a workshop of 30 experts, complemented by targeted literature identified by participants to illustrate the state of research and practice gaps. The practice of quantitative HIA in urban transport and land use interventions covers a diverse range of methods, models, and frameworks. The selection of an appropriate model depends upon the use case, i.e., the research question, resources and expertise, and application. The plurality of models can be a strength if differences are explicit and their implications are understood. A major gap in most assessments and frameworks is the lack of equity consideration. This should be integrated into all stages of the HIA, considering exposures, susceptibility, disease burden, capacity to benefit, household budgets, responsibility for harm, and participation in the process. Scenarios of environmental exposures in urban transport and land use interventions are often overly simple, while the scenario design process of spatial planning is often opaque. Researchers should specify the involvement of stakeholders and the data, evidence, or behavioural model used to construct the scenario. Recent developments in exposure assessment (remote sensing and modelling) have increased the capacity to conduct HIAs for small geographies at scale. At the same time, advances in simulation have enabled the representation of behaviours at high spatial and temporal resolution. The combination can enable person-centric measures accounting for location, activities, and behaviours, with HIA proceeding ahead of epidemiology. Most HIAs still use Comparative Risk Assessment. This is suitable for estimating the disease burdens of environmental exposures, but more advanced longitudinal methods are better suited for studying interventions. Beyond health outcomes, well-being must be incorporated. The monetisation of health outcomes through welfare economics remains contentious. Representation of uncertainty is increasingly acknowledged. Value of Information methods can inform where new data collection would most efficiently reduce final result uncertainty. In the context of the climate crisis and related environmental limits, methods are needed that consider adaptation alongside mitigation and prevention and test robustness to an increasingly unstable future.

The classical best-subset selection method has been demonstrated to be nondeterministic polynomial-time-hard and thus presents computational challenges. This problem can now be solved via advanced mixed integer optimization (MIO) algorithms for linear regression. We extend this methodology to linear instrumental variable (IV) regression and propose the best-subset instrumental variable (BSIV) method incorporating the MIO procedure. Classical IV estimation methods assume that IVs must not directly impact the outcome variable and should remain uncorrelated with nonmeasured variables. However, in practice, IVs are likely to be invalid, and existing methods can lead to a large bias relative to standard errors in certain situations. The proposed BSIV estimator is robust in estimating causal effects in the presence of unknown IV validity. We demonstrate that the BSIV using MIO algorithms outperforms two-stage least squares, Lasso-type IVs, and two-sample analysis (median and mode estimators) through Monte Carlo simulations in terms of bias and relative efficiency. We analyze two datasets involving the health-related quality of life index and proximity and the education-wage relationship to demonstrate the utility of the proposed method.

The ratio of prompt production cross-sections of ψ(2S) and J/ψ mesons in their dimuon final state is measured as a function of centrality, using data collected by the LHCb detector in PbPb collisions at √s_NN = 5.02 TeV, for the first time in the forward rapidity region. The measured ratio shows no dependence on the collision centrality, and is compared to the latest theory predictions and to the recent measurements in literature.

Developmental stuttering is a disorder with a high degree of heterogeneity, both behaviourally and neurologically. Research from different perspectives of stuttering indicates that sex is a potentially differentiating factor. In our study we explored if sex is related to variability of grey matter volume (GMV) patterns in adults with developmental stuttering. We used MRI to collect data on GMV from 24 righthanded adults who stutter (9 women and 15 men) and 29 righthanded fluent controls (10 women and 19 men). We analysed the following for 24 ROIs of the language system: 1) whole-group differences between the stuttering group and controls and 2) interaction between group (adults with stuttering versus controls) and sex. Our explorative results indicate that differences in grey matter volume between adults with stuttering and fluent adults are sexspecific for several areas involved in speech and language processing. We found an interaction between group and sex for the right BA45. The interaction indicates that men who stutter have larger GMV in this area compared to fluent men while women who stutter have smaller GMV compared to fluent women. Further, we found indications of sex-specific patterns in other areas of the bilateral inferior frontal cortex, but not the BA44, as well as in the cerebellum and the striatum.

Background: Migrant health, including reproductive health, is an important public health priority. The postpartum period is a critical window for establishing healthy behaviors that can impact long-term health. Mobile health interventions offer a scalable solution, but existing tools are often not culturally or linguistically adapted for diverse populations. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has evaluated the effectiveness of a culturally targeted mobile health intervention delivered after childbirth to promote a healthy diet and physical activity among migrant women.

Objective: The PRIMI(Promoting Reproductive Health inMigrant Women)trial will determinetheeffectivenessofasmartphone app (the PRIMI app) on primary (diet quality and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) and secondary (health literacy, BMI, self-efficacy, and self-rated health) outcomes in first-generation migrant women after childbirth.

Methods: A 2-arm randomized controlled trial will be conducted to examine the effectiveness of the PRIMI app. First-generation migrant women who have given birth within 6 months, are aged 18 years or older, and prefer to receive health-related information in any of the provided languages are eligible to participate in the study and will be recruited through health care services in Sweden. Thewomen will be randomized to the control group (standard care, eg, parental guidanceand support within child health care) or the intervention group (PRIMI app+standard care) in a 1:1 ratio. A total of 200 women (100 per group) will be included in the study. A waitlist control strategy will be applied so that women in the control group will receive the PRIMI app after the follow-up measurement at 6 months. Outcomeswill be assessed at baseline and at the 6-month follow-up. The PRIMI app, developed within the PRIMI project, is compatible with both Android and iOS. It contains weekly changing themes focusing on physical activity, diet, and health literacy throughout the 6-month intervention period. The app integrates behavior change techniques such as feedback and monitoring, goal setting, and instructions on how to perform the behavior. The app's language can be switched among 4 common languages (Arabic, Somali, English, and Swedish), and all textual content can be accessed through audio files for listening. All procedures have been approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (reference 2022-06733-01 and 2024-00135-02).

Results: Recruitment of study participants is planned to begin in September 2025. We anticipate completing recruitment in 2026 and that the results of the PRIMI trial will be available in 2027.

Conclusions:This study will provide novel evidence on the effectiveness of the PRIMI app in promoting healthy behaviors and supporting postpartum health among migrant women. This is highly relevant given the lack of previous comparable studies and the urgent need for tailored postpartum interventions for migrant populations. 

We present the first near-simultaneous observations of the altitudinal and latitudinal evolution of electron temperature (T_e) in the topside ionosphere during a superstorm, using Swarm and DMSP data. During the 10-11 May storm, a strong prompt penetration electric field (PPEF) induced a superfountain effect, intensifying the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) crests and shifting them to mid-latitudes. This led to significant increases in plasma density (N_e) at Swarm A (474 km) and DMSP (840 km) altitudes. At Swarm altitudes, T_e increased by 1500 K within the EIA trough, while at DMSP altitudes, T_e decreased by 1000 K in the EIA crests. Enhancement in the T_e at Swarm altitudes results from reduced electron-ion cooling from rapid N_e removal via upward EXB drift. Meanwhile, the elevated N_e at DMSP altitudes likely reduced T_e locally while enhancing heat conduction along magnetic field lines to Swarm altitudes. These novel observations highlight the crucial role of the EIA in regulating low-latitude T_e, leading to a reversal in the topside ionospheric temperature structure during the evening-sector superstorm.

Cerebral palsy (CP), the most prevalent childhood-onset motor disability, frequently entails progressive musculoskeletal complications. This comprehensive review synthesizes existing knowledge of microscopic and molecular alterations in CP skeletal muscle. Considerable methodological variability, heterogeneous patient cohorts, and inconsistent control groups significantly complicate comparative interpretations across studies. Nonetheless, some structural abnormalities consistently emerge, including increased variability in muscle fibre size, altered fibre type distribution, long sarcomeres at standardized joint positions, increased collagen content, disrupted neuromuscular junction integrity, reduced capillary density, and mitochondrial and satellite cell impairments. Investigations of satellite cell function in vitro further underscore potential mechanistic alterations, although findings remain inconsistent. Remarkably, few studies have systematically explored the cellular and molecular consequences of standard clinical interventions, revealing a notable research gap. In conclusion, the overall literature reveals considerable divergence in reported outcomes, reflecting the profound complexity of CP muscle biology. We believe that resolving this complexity will require more coordinated and collaborative research approaches.

The first observation of the Ξ_b⁰ → J/ψΞ^-π⁺ decay and the most precise measurement of the branching fraction of the Λ_b⁰ → J/ψΞ^-K⁺ decay are reported, using proton-proton collision data from the LHCb experiment collected in 2016-2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb^-1. Using the Λ_b⁰ → J/ψΛ and Ξ_b^- → J/ψΞ^- decays as normalisation channels, the ratios of branching fractions are measured to be

B(Λ_b⁰ → J/ψΞ^-K⁺)/B(Λ_b⁰ → J/ψΛ) =(1.17±0.14±0.08) x 10^-2,

B(Ξ_b⁰ → J/ψΞ^-π⁺)/B(Ξ_b^- → J/ψΞ^-) = (11.9±1.4±0.6) x 10^-2

where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.

Venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Although many genetic risk factors have been identified, a substantial portion of the heritability remains unexplained. In this study, we employed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for VTE across 9 international cohorts of the Global Biobank Meta-Analysis Initiative to address this question, along with in vivo functional validation. In this multipopulation GWAS (VTE cases, 27 987; controls, 1 035 290), 38 genome-wide significant loci were identified, 4 of which were potentially novel. For each autosomal locus, we performed gene prioritization using 7 independent, yet converging, lines of evidence. Through prioritization, we identified genes associated with VTE through GWAS and/or functional studies (eg, F5 F5, F11, VWF, STAB2, PLCG2, TC2N), functionally validated those that did not have evidence other than GWAS ( (TC2N (TC2N, TSPAN15), and discovered 1 not previously associated with coagulation ( (RASIP1 (RASIP1). We evaluated the function of 6 prioritized genes with strong genetic evidence, including F7 as a positive control, using laser-mediated endothelial injury to induce thrombosis in zebrafish after CRISPR/Cas9 knockdown. From this assay, we have supportive evidence for the role of RASIP1 and TC2N in the modification of human VTE and suggestive evidence for STAB2 and TSPAN15. This study expands on the currently identified genomic architecture of VTE through biobank-based, multipopulation GWASs, in silico candidate gene predictions, and in vivo functional followup of candidate genes.

Objective: Gross total resection is strived for in intramedullary spinal cord lesion surgery. Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is the gold standard, but there is no consensus on the optimal IONM workflow. This study details our institutional workflow.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all adults who underwent intramedullary resection at Karolinska University Hospital, 2007-2021 (n = 70). Continuous multimodal IONM (somatosensory-evoked potentials (SSEP), motor-evoked potentials (MEP) and epidural D-waves) was conducted by an in-room neurophysiologist. Alarm thresholds were preset (≥ 50% SSEP amplitude drop/10% latency rise; ≥ 80% MEP reduction; ≥ 50% D-wave loss) and triggered a standardized four-step rescue protocol (halt manipulation, raise MAP to 80-90 mm Hg, topical papaverine, observation). Motor/sensory function, modified McCormick (mMC) grade, pain, and sphincter control were documented pre-operatively, at 3 months, and ≥ 12 months.

Results: Seventy patients were included. Most harboured ependymoma (51%), hemangioblastoma (18%) and cavernoma (8.5%). A neurophysiologist was present during every procedure. A ≥ 50% intra-operative SSEP-amplitude decrease was not followed by a sensory deficit (OR:3.0, 95% CI 0.86-10.6; p = 0.085) or mMC deterioration (OR:1.6, 0.33-7.5; p = 0.57) at either short- or long-term follow-up. In contrast, complete SSEP loss markedly increased the risk of postoperative sensory deficit (3-months-OR:25.2, 4.7-135; p < 0.001; long-term-OR 11.0, 2.8-43.8; p < 0.001) and poorer mMC grade (3-months-OR:7.8, 2.0-31; p = 0.004; long-term-OR:11.0, 2.8-43.8; p < 0.001). Loss of MEPs predicted a decline in mMC at long-term follow-up (OR:4.0, 1.06-15.1; p = 0.041).

Conclusions: Live data from continuous intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, expertly interpreted in the OR, could potentially be used to make surgical and anesthesiologic adjustments with the goal of minimizing the risk of negative neurological outcomes. Significant associations were found between decreased or lost IONM signals and poorer sensorimotor function and mMC score at short- and long-term follow-up. Implementation of the IONM workflow is suggested in all intramedullary surgery.

This study presents the design optimization and experimental validation of a Line-Start Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (LSPMSM) aimed at achieving IE4 efficiency class. An IE1 class induction motor (IM) was used as a reference. Only the rotor structure was modified, while the stator geometry, winding, and mechanical components were kept unchanged. The optimization process focused on rotor slot geometry, magnet placement, magnet dimensions, and core length, employing a Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) to maximize efficiency while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Following the optimization, six candidate designs were evaluated based on demagnetization prediction, synchronization performance, and starting torque capability. Among them, Design C demonstrated the highest overall performance. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) confirmed that Design C met IE4 efficiency standards with a calculated efficiency of 92.15%. This result was later experimentally verified at 91.95% through thermal testing. The study further examined the cost and payback period scenarios for adopting LSPMSMs in industrial applications. Three implementation strategies were analyzed: replacing only the rotor, purchasing a new IE4 LSPMSM instead of an IE1 motor, and replacing an operational IE1 motor with an IE4 LSPMSM. The results indicated that efficiency improvement could be achieved with minimal modifications. The payback period varied depending on the investment strategy. The findings demonstrate that high-efficiency LSPMSMs can serve as direct replacements for induction motors, offering energy savings and improved performance while maintaining compatibility with existing motor housings and components. 

The present study explored acute responses of heart rate (HR) variability (HRV) metrics, incorporating the nonlinear index alpha 1 of detrended fluctuation analysis (DFAa1) during passive recovery, providing information about correlation properties of HR time series during the regulation of recovery processes. Recreationally active female (n = 13) and male (n = 13) participants participated. In a first session, a graded exercise test was conducted to determine peak HR (HR<inf>PEAK</inf>) and peak oxygen consumption (VO<inf>2PEAK</inf>). In a second and third session, participants completed an endurance training with moderate intensity (MOD) on a treadmill and an exergaming training with vigorous intensity (VIG), randomized and counterbalanced. Before and up to 45 min after the respective exercise sessions, RR-interval and hemodynamic measurements (peripheral systolic, SBP; diastolic blood pressure, DBP; and pulse wave velocity, PWV) were conducted. Internal load analysis of MOD versus VIG revealed significant differences and appropriate prescription of intensity domains during exercise (%HR<inf>PEAK</inf>: ∼66% vs. 86% and %VO<inf>2PEAK</inf>: ∼48% vs. 66%). The present data showed significant main effects of time, intensity, and their interaction for all RR-interval outcomes, PWV, and SBP. DFAa1 demonstrated a stronger correlated reorganization and overcompensation after VIG, with higher values and therefore increased correlation properties throughout the recovery process. The present data suggest that VIG transiently delays the recovery of cardiac parasympathetic activity and the normalization of correlation properties of HR time series. Regarding acute early and delayed recovery processes, higher correlation properties may reflect more order (less complexity) and interaction of involved physiological subsystems, supporting the assumption of increased systemic control to process the demands of higher exercise intensity. 

Exposure therapy for the treatment of pain-related disability relies on extinction learning, forming new safety memories inhibiting fear expression. However, fear often returns. The behavioral memory updating hypothesis posits that a fear memory can be 'updated' to a safe memory while in a malleable state, preventing return-of-fear. To test this hypothesis, 78 adolescents with and without chronic pain (age: Mean=15 y, range=10-24 y) were recruited for a two-day neuroimaging study. Due to incomplete data/excess motion, 55 participants (pain=38; pain-free=17) were included in MRI data analysis. Participants underwent a fear conditioning protocol with a within-subjects 'updating' manipulation: one CS+ (CS+Reminded [CS+R]) was reactivated to achieve a malleable state before extinction, while a second (CS+Not Reminded [CS+NR]) was not. We observed significantly less functional connectivity between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala for the CS+R and CS- compared to the CS+NR, consistent with the purported change in neural circuitry underlying the 'updating' effect, however observed no credible difference in fear ratings between the CS+R and CS+NR. This discrepancy may be crucial to understanding the mixed findings in the field and indicates that while some form of 'updating' may occur, it may be insufficient to reduce reported fear.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly integrated into organizations. What was once an unprecedented novelty evolved into an essential tool for modern business practices. Although AI has the potential to be one of the most powerful tools for data analysis, its potential will be limited if users cannot understand it. This study explored the impact of textual explanations provided by an AI anomaly detector on human decision-making and end-user performance, through an experiment with eight Swedish Coast Guard command center operators. Participants, using an AI prototype system, were tasked with analyzing maritime activity to identify suspicious activity. The results indicate that textual explanations increase an end user’s decision accuracy in false-positive scenarios but decrease their decision accuracy in true-positive scenarios. The results also suggest that a higher level of an end-user’s perceived mental effort does not necessarily lead to decreased user performance. It should be noted that the sample size of this study (both in the number of participants and number of observed cases) is too small to arrive at robust, statistically significant results. Therefore, the quantitative results should be interpreted with caution. Nonetheless, this study provides valuable insights and is intended to serve as a foundation for future research.

New research indicates that genetic variants related to educational attainment influence individuals’ political participation. This suggests that political inequality of opportunity is partially rooted in an inequality in genetic resources. However, the possibility that these genetic influences are contingent on individuals’ environments, such that they are amplified or reduced by certain environmental characteristics, remains unexplored. Using longitudinal and geo-coded register data for a large sample of genotyped twins in the Swedish Twin Registry, this paper explores whether early-life proximal environments that are conducive to participation modifies the effects of individuals’ education-related genetic resources on voting, as measured by a polygenic index for educational attainment. The results suggest that the level of political engagement, and of SES, both within the family and within the neighbourhood, can reduce the effects of genetic resources on voting. This has implications for how we can direct policy to ameliorate genetic inequalities in political participation.

We generalise a method recently introduced in the literature, that derives canonical differential equations, to multi-scale Feynman integrals with an underlying Calabi-Yau geometry. We start by recomputing a canonical form for the sunrise integral with all unequal masses. Additionally, we compute for the first time a canonical form for the three-loop banana integral with two unequal masses and for a four-loop banana integral with two unequal masses. For the integrals we compute, we find an ϵ-form whose connection has at most simple poles. We motivate our construction by studying the Picard-Fuchs operators acting on the integrals considered. In the appendices, we give a constructive explanation for why our generalisation works.

The Baltic Sea as a whole does not meet the criteria for good environmental status (GES) under descriptors 8 and 9 of the Marine Framework Directive based on a comprehensive evaluation of hazardous substances (HELCOM, 2018). Improved understanding of how human activities affect the Baltic sea is required to be able to more effectively target measures where they can have the greatest benefit. Shipping has been identified as a significant source of emissions of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in particular to the marine environment. We have developed a new activity model for Swedish leisure boats, using a new mapping of moorings in combination with Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. AIS transmitters are mandatory for larger ships, with gross tonnage over 300, as well as for passenger ships in international traffic. The use of AIS among leisure boats is therefore generally lower than for commercial traffic, but many boat owners still use AIS voluntarily, for example for safety reasons. Therefore, AIS data does not provide full temporal and spatial coverage of leisure boats, but the data can be used, among other things, to produce a generic time variation for leisure boat activity. The activity model combines AIS data for the year 2023, and a new dataset on Swedish moorings of leisure boats along the entire coast of Sweden, mapped using satellite imagery. The activity model is also based on information from the boating survey where boat owners estimated how often they use their boat, the distance sailed and what type of boat they use (Swedish Transport Agency, 2020). The model then assumes a Gaussian distribution of activity, concentrated at moorings and with a greater probability of boat activity closer to land. By modelling the activity for 232 963 leisure boats, we estimate a total fuel use of 27 330 tonnes. Antifouling paints release 18.9 tonnes of copper and 15.9 tonnes of zinc. As a complement to the activity model, Shipair has also been used (Segersson, 2013) to model the emissions of larger leisure boats. Shipair models emissions based on time series of boat positions available through AIS. AIS data also tracks longer trips, between different ports, which are not covered by the activity model. Although only about 6 000 leisure boats are equipped with AIS transponders, 11.1 % of the entire fleet's travelled distance is covered by these boats. However, the modelled fuel consumption is only 5.2% of the total fuel consumption estimated by the activity model, since a large proportion of the boats are assumed to be sailing boats.The findings presented in this study can serve as input data for dispersion modelling to estimate atmospheric and marine pollutant concentrations. Moreover, the model can be adapted to assess additional environmental pressures on the marine ecosystem, including underwater noise, physical disturbances, and unburned fuel emissions from twostroke engines. Additionally, it can be used to analyse the effects of different policy scenarios, offering valuable insights into how regulations influence emissions in both the atmosphere and marine environment.

Perceived dry air is a common complaint in indoor environments, yet its health associations and environmental factors related to this perception are unclear. We surveyed 7865 families and measured the indoor environment in 399 dwellings in Tianjin, China, from 2013 to 2016. It was found that 10% of the surveyed families reported frequently perceived dry air. The dry air perception was significantly associated with wheeze (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.60), rhinitis (AOR = 1.91), eczema (AOR = 1.89), and common cold infections (AOR = 1.64) in children and sick building syndrome symptoms in adults (AOR: 2.63-8.59). Higher concentrations of di-isobutyl (DiBP) and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBzP) were observed in homes with dry air perception. Although higher relative humidity might reduce the perception of dry air (AOR = 0.66), lower air exchange rates attenuated the protective effect. Additionally, building characteristics related to pollution exposures, such as living near highways (AOR = 1.31), visible mold spots (AOR = 1.50), and suspected moisture problems (AOR = 1.88), were associated with indoor dry air perception. Our findings suggest that perceived dry air was correlated with indoor exposure to pollution and could be used as an indicator for sick buildings.

Graph representation learning has become a powerful paradigm for modeling structured data, enabling machine learning systems to reason over relationships, spatial dependencies, and topological patterns. However, its potential in wireless networks remains underexplored, particularly in learning native representations of complex and dynamic wireless environments. This thesis addresses the challenge of applying graph representation learning (such as graph neural networks and transformer architectures) to wireless systems, where topology, domain heuristics, and physical constraints critically impact optimization performance and generalization.

The core problem investigated is how to construct and exploit graph representations that faithfully encode the native structure of wireless networks to enable scalable, topology-aware optimization. This includes coverage relations, interference patterns, and environment-specific propagation effects. Existing solutions in wireless machine learning often overlook these structural priors, resulting in brittle models that generalize poorly across different network deployments.

This thesis introduces a graph-centric methodology to bridge this gap. By representing wireless elements—such as base stations, links, and coverage zones as nodes and their interactions as graph edges, we develop learning architectures that integrate attention mechanisms, domain-aware features, and physics-inspired constraints. Four studies demonstrate the approach across key tasks: routing latency prediction, antenna tilt optimization, real-time radio coverage estimation, and neural ray tracing for link-level modeling.

Our results suggest that these graph-based models significantly outperform traditional baselines, achieving near-simulator accuracy with improved generalization across unseen topologies and user scenarios. They also uncover a correspondence between engineering practices and graph spectral properties, offering a new lens for understanding network design. The proposed methods reduce supervision needs and support scalable deployment across variable network configurations.

Overall, this thesis establishes graph representation learning as a foundational tool for wireless intelligence, enabling structure-informed, optimization-driven modeling across diverse network conditions. These advances pave the way towards future wireless foundation models capable of supporting a wide range of optimization, sensing, and decision-making tasks with minimal retraining.

Aim

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is the standard treatment for peritoneal metastases (PM) of colorectal or appendiceal origin. Rectal anastomotic leakage (RAL) or rectal stump blow-out is a serious complication following rectal resection after CRS-HIPEC. This study aimed to compare outcomes between ileo-/colorectal anastomosis and rectal stump procedure and to identify risk factors for RAL and blow-out.

Method

Data were retrospectively collected between 2012 and 2024 from a prospectively maintained HIPEC Registry and supplemented with the review of medical records. Postoperative complications and the prevalence of RAL or blow-out were registered. Pearson's chi-squared test was used to compare differences in categorical variables. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for RAL and blow-out.

Results

Among 1271 CRS-HIPEC procedures, 332 involved rectal resections. Patients received either an ileo-/colorectal anastomosis (n = 158) or had a rectal stump procedure (n = 174). RAL occurred in 5.7% and blow-out in 2.9% (p = 0.201). In the rectal stump group, patients were older (65 vs. 59 years; p = <0.001), had higher PCI scores (p = 0.031) and more often had received neoadjuvant treatment (p = 0.025). Logistic regression showed no independent association between RAL and type of rectal reconstruction (OR 1.99; 95% CI: 0.61–6.51), low anastomotic level (OR 2.17; 95% CI: 0.50–9.42) or peritoneal cancer index >21 (OR 6.47; 95% CI: 0.84–50.1).

Conclusion

Both reconstruction strategies following rectal resection in CRS-HIPEC were associated with low rates of RAL or blow-out. No independent risk factors were identified, indicating that the choice of surgical approach should be individualized based on clinical context rather than presumed leakage risk.

Background: Motor neuron disease is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. Formal psychological therapies are not routinely part of United Kingdom standard motor neuron disease care due to a lack of evidence-based guidance resulting from a paucity of clinical trials. We aimed to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy plus usual care compared to usual care alone improving psychological health in people living with motor neuron disease.

Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews with 15 people living with motor neuron disease, 10 caregivers and 12 healthcare professionals. Findings were used to develop an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention specifically for people living with motor neuron disease. Next, we examined its acceptability and feasibility in uncontrolled feasibility study with 29 people living with motor neuron disease. Findings from qualitative interviews with 14 people living with motor neuron disease and 11 therapists were used to revise the intervention. Finally, we conducted a multicentre, parallel, two-arm randomised controlled trial in 16 United Kingdom motor neuron disease care centres/clinics. Eligible participants were aged ≥ 18 years with motor neuron disease. Participants were randomly assigned (1 : 1) to receive up to eight sessions of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy plus usual care or usual care alone and followed up at 6 and 9 months post randomisation by blinded outcome assessors. The primary outcome was total score on the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Revised at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included health status using the EuroQol-5 Dimensions, five-level version. Primary analyses were by intention to treat.

Results: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy was acceptable to people living with motor neuron disease, and was feasible to recruit participants, hence trial progression criteria were met. From September 2019 to August 2022, 191 participants were recruited: 97 were allocated to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy plus usual care and 94 to usual care alone. Mean age was 61.9 years (standard deviation 11.4), 58% were male and 95% were White/ White British. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy plus usual care was superior to usual care alone on the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Revised at 6 months [adjusted mean difference 0.66 (95% confidence interval 0.22 to 1.10); Cohen's d = 0.46 (95% confidence interval 0.16 to 0.77); p = 0.003] and 9 months [adjusted mean difference 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.30 to 1.22); Cohen's d = 0.53 (95% confidence interval 0.21 to 0.85); p = 0.001]. Mean differences in total costs and quality-adjusted life-years at 9 months between Acceptance and Commitment Therapy plus usual care versus usual care alone were not statistically significant [costs: £1019 (95% confidence interval -£34 to £2074); quality-adjusted life-years: 0.019 (95% confidence interval-0.07 to 0.05)]. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was £88,507/quality-adjusted life-year: this decreased to £13,817/quality-adjusted life-year in those with medium disease-related deterioration in subgroup analyses.

Conclusion: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy plus usual care is clinically effective at maintaining or improving psychological health, as measured by the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Revised, in people living with motor neuron disease compared to usual care alone. It was not cost-effective overall when calculated using a standard health status measure (EuroQol-5 Dimensions, five-level version). However, it was cost-effective in a subgroup of people experiencing a medium rate of disease-related deterioration.

Aim: The overall aim of the thesis was to increase knowledge about caring mealtime environments, from a holistic perspective, by exploring different aspects of mealtime environments in nursing homes.

Methods: The thesis is based on four studies. In study I, an observation instrument for mealtime observations in nursing homes was further developed and validated. Method for validation was the Content Validity Index. The structure and content of the observation instrument followed the Five Aspects Meal Model framework. Study II was a descriptive observational study using a deductive approach. Observations of the mealtime environment were conducted at 23 meals. Five Aspects Mealtime Environment – Observation Instrument and dining map were used to collect data during the observations. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a deductive content analysis. Study III was a qualitative study where 20 residents in a nursing home were interviewed. Thematic analysis with an inductive approach was used. Study IV was also a qualitative study using thematic analysis with an inductive approach to analyse data collected from 19 interviews. The persons interviewed in this study were healthcare staff in a nursing home.

Results: In study I, the development of structure, content and wording resulted in the observation instrument FAME-OI. FAME-OI showed high validity after calculating I-CVI, S-CVI and modified Kappa. Studies II, III and IV strengthened the perception of the mealtime environment as an event intertwined with multiple perspectives. Different parts of the mealtime environment had different significance depending on whose perspective was considered. When mealtime environments in dementia care units and non-specialised units in a nursing home were explored in study II, the results were presented based on the theoretical framework FAMM. Varying needs were identified among the mealtime participants as well as different strategies and aids to meet these needs. The residents’ experiences of mealtime environments in nursing homes were explained by four themes in study III; the significance of food, security through routines, variability in staff influence, and limited social interactions. Two main themes related to the creation of a well-functioning mealtime environment were identified in study IV; significance of a calm environment and importance of organisational structure.

Conclusions: The results show that, for the mealtime environment in special nursing homes to become caring mealtime environments, a holistic perspective needs to be applied. All aspects of FAMM were significant, which means that all involved in the mealtime environment needs to work in collaboration. To create a caring mealtime environment, more is needed than optimizing the aspects of FAMM. The results showed that concepts such as participation, independence and care relationship need to be included when creating caring mealtime environments. A caring mealtime environment therefore needs to be developed based on a caring science perspective and implemented in accordance with the framework of person-centered care.

We report the first measurement of the dielectron invariant mass dependent transition form factor in the electromagnetic Dalitz decay J/ψ → e⁺e^-π⁰ using (10087 ± 44) x 10⁶ J/ψ events collected by the BESIII detector. A clear ρ - ω interference structure is observed, consistent with the pion form factor, which offers a novel approach to extract the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the anomalous muon magnetic moment (α_μ) and refine the predictions of the vector meson dominance (VMD) model and hadronic light-by-light contribution to α_μ. By taking into account the contribution of this ρ - ω interference structure, the branching fraction of J/ψ → e⁺e^-π⁰ in the full e⁺e^- invariant mass range is also measured for the first time to be (8.06 ± 0.31(stat) ± 0.38(syst)) x 10^-7, approximately twice the nonresonant VMD prediction.

Women with disabilities are at increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV), yet their experiences of using IPV services are rarely studied. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 11 women with disabilities. Three themes were identified: "violence and disability—the continuums of stigma" describing the forms of stigma that women experienced that impacted the use of IPV services; "the dual nature of social relationships" summarizing aspects of interpersonal relations that influenced the use of services; and "to fall between the cracks" detailing institutional gaps that led to hesitation in using IPV services. These findings point at a need for increased effort to reduce stigma, capacity strengthening on disability-related issues and targeted resources to improve access to IPV services among women with disabilities.

Rail vehicles are known for being energy-efficient in both passenger and freight transport. A critical subsystem of rail vehicles is the braking system, which ensures operational safety. Among the various braking systems, mechanical brakes are considered more reliable due to their fail-safe design, allowing effective braking even in the event of system failures - something that electric brakes today cannot guarantee.

Mechanical brakes generate braking force through friction, resulting in frictional heat and wear. The increase in temperature and wear of the friction pads, discs, or wheels induces uneven contacts. These uneven contacts introduce uncertainty in friction pairs and may reduce the coefficient of friction. Thus, friction heat affects braking performance and makes thermal analysis essential for mechanical brakes. This analysis primarily focuses on how heat is generated and dissipated. Conducting a precise thermal analysis of railway mechanical brakes is a challenging task.

While experiments are an effective means to investigate thermal characteristics, they are expensive and have limitations in data collection. In contrast, modelling and simulation are cost-effective and provide unique insights into thermal properties. This research focuses on modelling and simulating railway mechanical brakes with respect to their thermal-related properties. Three different modelling approaches are employed: analytical, numerical, and data-driven models. These methods aim to explore why composite brake blocks in winter result in longer braking distances, how to accurately simulate the temperature of brake discs, and what the computational cost is associated with each modelling method.

First, an analytical model examines how ice melts and is removed, revealing that the wettability of the composite material is the primary reason for the long braking distance of freight trains. The simulation results align with accident reports, which primarily occur at low ambient temperatures, around -15 °C, low speeds, approximately 20 km/h, and empty wagons. In the next step, a numerical model utilizes the finite element method (FEM) to solve heat transfer and elastic equations, incorporating thermal expansion, wear and contact. The simulation results are then compared with experimental data, demonstrating that this FEM model is robust, fast and accurate. Finally, a data-driven model is developed to reduce the computational cost of FEM. The results indicated that the data-driven model surpasses FEM in accuracy, computational time and complexity, with a root mean square error 12.1 °C vs. 23.4 °C, a computation time of 3 minutes vs. 104 minutes, and fewer input parameters, i.e. less than 20 vs. over 115.

In summary, this research employs modelling and simulation methods to conduct thermal analysis of the railway mechanical brake system, providing unique insights into thermal-related mechanical problems.

The fast-ion distribution function in fusion plasmas can only be measured indirectly by solving an ill-posed inverse problem. The inversion being ill-posed necessitates regularisation of the problem to ensure that the reconstruction of the fast-ion distribution function depends smoothly on the measurements obtained by fast-ion diagnostics. In turn, the resulting reconstruction depends on the choice of regularisation, and it is therefore beneficial to choose a physics-informed prior as regularisation scheme. In this work, we reconstruct the high-energy tail in the MeV-range of the fast-deuterium distribution in JET discharges heated by waves in the ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) using neutron and gamma-ray emission spectroscopy. We do this by applying a physics-informed prior based on collision physics and a newly formulated ICRF-physics prior, and we compare these results with numerical simulations and inversions based on a standard Tikhonov regularisation scheme. Our findings suggest that the physics-informed regularisation scheme including the ICRF prior improves the reconstructions compared with standard Tikhonov regularisation. Finally, it is shown that constraining the reconstruction to have negative gradients in the directions of phase space dictated by ICRF physics results in a reconstruction that well resembles expectations based on ICRF physics theory and numerical simulations.

Global numerical simulations are valuable tools for understanding the Sun-Earth interaction as they provide a more thorough picture of the system when compared to typically sparse observations. Yet, comparisons of these global models against observations is complicated by the inherent uncertainty that the observed phenomena occurred at the same time and location in the simulation domain. Therefore, aggregate measures of the Sun-Earth interaction, such as activity indices (e.g., AL, AU, Dst, cross polar-cap potential), are often used, with the downside of missing important underlying physical processes, especially at the mesoscales. Metrics or parameters that provide deeper insight into the physics but do not rely precisely on the location of the observations are therefore needed. Data assimilative models can be used to reconstruct high-latitude ionospheric electrodynamic quantities using sparse observations, providing a new avenue for data-model comparisons. We demonstrate this new approach to data-model comparisons by assimilating global simulation output from Multiscale Atmosphere-Geospace Environment (MAGE) into Local mapping of the polar ionospheric electrodynamics (Lompe). We directly compare and find good agreement between the simulation output and real-data-assimilation patterns of field-aligned currents and their constituent terms deriving from the divergence of the ionospheric Ohm's Law. We further calculate reconnection electric fields and voltages and find good agreement during the initial expansion phase, but different behavior later in the event as MAGE enters into steady-magnetospheric convection, in contrast to the observations, which indicated a classic substorm.

This Delphi study explores how demand and supply planners navigate paradoxical tensions within Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes. Planners encounter several paradoxes: performing (e.g., forecast accuracy vs. responsiveness), belonging (e.g., cross-functional collaboration vs. process objectivity), organizing (e.g., managing global standards and local adaptation), and learning (e.g., exploiting proven methods vs. exploring innovations). They manage these tensions through strategies (e.g., synthesis, separation) contingent on organizational (e.g., firm size) and environmental (e.g., industry dynamism) factors. Findings contribute to literature by unveiling S&OP’s micro-foundations, extending paradox theory, and integrating it with contingency theory. Planner roles are offered insights concerning effective tension management.

Social capital is a widely used concept in the social sciences. Although the quality of social relationships is an important dimension of social capital, most empirical studies primarily focus on its structural dimensions. The aim of this article is to investigate the association between structural social capital, the quality of social relationships, and self-reported depression. The central question is whether there is a difference between structural and qualitative dimensions of social capital in relation to self-reported depression. The data come from the Belarusian National Health Survey, which includes a nationally representative sample of 2107 individuals. Five different forms of social capital were measured, encompassing both structural and qualitative dimensions. The findings show that the most important forms of social capital for mental health among Belarusians are informal relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. Moreover, and of particular relevance to this study, the quality of social relationships are more strongly associated with depression than their structure. To better align with the theoretical framework of social capital, the article concludes that a combination of structural and qualitative indicators is essential when measuring social capital. Including qualitative dimensions may also be important for revealing the potential negative (mental health) outcomes of social capital.

In democratic settings, election violence is often jointly produced: it relies not only on elite incentives and capacities to deploy violence, but also on the willingness of ordinary actors to participate. Yet many studies of election violence overlook this elite–citizen interaction, effectively black-boxing the process through which elites mobilize people to fight. This article introduces and advances the concept of the joint production of election violence – a relatively common but undertheorized process through which political elites rely, not on their own militias or state security forces, but on the collaboration and participation of ordinary citizens. Such violence is especially puzzling in democracies, where citizens ostensibly have nonviolent avenues for political claim-making. To help explain how such violence becomes possible and how it unfolds, the article develops a framework that emphasizes two central components: (1) the circulation and resonance of threat-based and victimhood narratives that legitimize political violence, and (2) the social infrastructure – networks and organizational linkages – that facilitate the organization and coordination of violence. We draw on two cases of jointly produced election violence – Nigeria in 2003 and the United States in 2021 – to demonstrate how the framework can be applied across democracies at distinct stages of consolidation. Broadly, by developing the concept of jointly produced violence and offering a framework for its study, we aim to facilitate more systematic and comparative analyses of elite–citizen interactions in the context of electoral violence, helping to render visible a process that is often invisible in existing studies, while also bridging theories of election violence, democratic erosion, and right-wing extremism.

Safety Lead Time (SLT) management in industrial supply chains typically relies on ad-hoc decision-making processes, leading to suboptimal inventory levels and service performance. This study develops and implements a machine learning (ML)-enhanced decision support system for SLT optimization within a global technology company operating in an engineer-to-order (ETO) setting. Using interactive research methodology combined with CRISP-DM framework, the research analyzed 139,000 purchase order items from 9,000 materials across 270 suppliers spanning January 2018 to August 2024.

The study employed Random Forest regression to predict supplier delivery performance, achieving a rather low but acceptable accuracy (R2 0,3-0,55 and RMSE 3 to 5 days) through iterative model refinement including data preprocessing, feature engineering, and segmented modeling approaches. A comprehensive Power BI dashboard was developed integrating traditional metrics (on-time delivery, service level) with novel indicators (SLT utilization degree, inventory cost metrics called SEK days) as well as ML predictions and simulation possibilities.

Key findings reveal that successful ML implementation in supply chain buffering requires extensive iterative development, domain expertise integration, and hybrid decision frameworks combining algorithmic insights with human judgment. The research contributes to supply chain buffering theory by demonstrating ML applications to SLT optimization and provides detailed documentation of implementation challenges in industrial settings. Organizations implementing similar systems should count for learning curves and invest in cross-functional collaboration, data quality enhancement, and gradual trust-building processes rather than pursuing full automation approaches.

Putative metazoan body fossils from the Precambrian are curiously lacking morphological characteristics that link them unambiguously to extant animal phyla, including sponges. Chemical fossils such as the rare C₃₀ hydrocarbons 24-iso-propylcholestane (24-ipc) and 26-methylstigmastane (26-mes), however, have been proposed as evidence for the Neoproterozoic emergence of the Demospongiae (Porifera) due to their prevalence in rocks of this age and the occurrence of their sterol precursors in contemporary demosponges. However, there are alternative hypotheses which posit that diagenetic alteration products of algal sterols, or those from Rhizaria or other protists, account for the enigmatic steroid distributions observed in these ancient sedimentary rocks. Here, we report additional support for the Neoproterozoic rise of demosponges through the chemical characterization of two previously unrecognized C₃₁ hydrocarbons—24-n-butylcholestane (24-nbc) and 24-sec-butylcholestane (24-secbc). Precursor C₃₁ sterols from contemporary demosponges, as well as a suite of synthesized C₃₁ sterol standards were reduced to their sterane counterparts. Gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis and collisionally activated dissociation mass spectra confirmed the presence of 24-nbc and 24-secbc in well-preserved early Ediacaran rocks, and the coelution of these compounds with synthetic standards enhances the robustness of these findings. Co-occurrence of abundant 24-ipc and 24-secbc was found for numerous Neoproterozoic-Cambrian rock/oil samples, closely mimicking the abundance patterns and high structural selectivity of major C₃₀ and C₃₁ sterols detected in numerous species of modern demosponges. These findings support the hypothesized first emergence of sponges during the Neoproterozoic Era.