Coming dissertations at Uppsala university
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Surviving Birth and Thriving : Identifying infants at risk of death and disability in low- and middle-income countries
Link: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-523713
Background: Ending preventable newborn deaths is an unfinished global health agenda. Infants surviving birth have a right to thrive and to reach their full developmental potential. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate methods for identification of infants in need of neonatal resuscitation and at risk of disability in low- and middle-income countries.
Paper I was an observational study conducted in Pokhara, Nepal, comparing the heart rate in the first 3 minutes in infants who were quietly breathing (n=54) versus crying (n=1155) immediately after birth. The median heart rate did not differ between the two groups, but both bradycardia and tachycardia were more common among non-crying but breathing newborns.
Paper II was a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the incidence and outcomes of intrapartum-related neonatal encephalopathy in low- and middle-income countries. Altogether 53 articles were identified. The incidence ranged from 1.5 to 20.3 per 1000 live births (5 studies), the mean neonatal mortality was 19.3 % (45 studies, 3307 infants), and the incidence of combined outcome of death or moderate to severe disability at follow-up was 44.6 % (19 studies, 1595 children).
Paper III evaluated the feasibility of smartphone-aided remote General Movements Assessment for identification of children at risk of cerebral palsy in Kathmandu, Nepal. Children surviving birth asphyxia or neonatal seizures were filmed by parents using the NeuroMotion smartphone application at home at 3 months’ age. Altogether 31 children were enrolled, and 16 parents returned at least one video of approved technical quality. Usability of the app was good based on parental survey.
In Paper IV, individual (n=4) and group interviews (n=2) were conducted with ten mothers participating in the smartphone aided follow-up of their infants. The data were analysed using deductive qualitative content analysis. The remote follow-up was acceptable with support from the research assistants. Some participants would have preferred a face-to-face evaluation.
Conclusion: Not crying at birth is a potential indicator for need of neonatal resuscitation. Infants who survive resuscitation are at risk of intrapartum-related neonatal encephalopathy, which has persistently high burden particularly in low-income countries. All survivors of encephalopathy need follow-up and smartphone-aided remote General Movements Assessment could complement the assessments in settings similar to Kathmandu.
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Frustrated magnetism in icosahedral structures : The influence of order-disorder in quasicrystals and approximant crystals
Link: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-524558
This work will begin with an introduction to quasicrystals (QCs) and their structure, defining the unit cell-equivalent for icosahedral quasiperiodicity: a 3D tiling based on the golden ratio and aperiodic in all three dimensions. We briefly present the cut-and-project method used to generate QCs from a higher dimension hypercrystal, and how to build the 3D Penrose tilings, composed of the two golden rhombohedra. We introduce the atomic elementary units used to understand Tsai-type icosahedral QCs and their related approximant crystals (ACs). Approximants are conventional periodic crystals with local atomic environments very similar to their QC counterparts. Two methods for synthesis of Tsai-type QCs and approximants are introduced, the self-flux method as well as a rapid quench method. We describe briefly the differences between the two methods and aspect about phase stability for QCs and ACs obtained in binary and ternary systems. Various types of structural modulations can be induced in ACs which are absent from QCs. We present a new criterion discovered during the doctoral studies, which links the structure of existing ACs to the existence of stable QC counterparts. Basic concepts of magnetism relevant to Tsai systems are then introduced, with a description of the 4f shell magnetism in lanthanide elements, how it differs from transition metal magnetism, with localized (and relatively large) magnetic moments. In intermetallic systems such as Tsai-type QCs and ACs, the main type of magnetic interaction is of RKKY type. We link their structure to the magnetic behavior and phase transition that can occur in frustrated systems: spin glass, reentrant spin glass, spin ice, etc. and how they can be related to various Tsai systems.
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Playing with the Global : Family Dynamics and International Education in a Marketised Preschool Landscape
Link: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-524213
The surge in popularity of international schools around the world has extended to the domain of Early Childhood Education and Care. In the past few decades, international preschools have become more commonplace in marketised educational contexts. This thesis studies families who enrol their children in international preschools in Stockholm, Sweden, framing the rise of these institutions as embedded within two aspects of globalisation: the growing worth of transnational assets and the increasing prevalence of transnational families, encompassing those raising their children in foreign countries and those composed of parents from different national backgrounds.
The study, departing from Pierre Bourdieu’s relational sociology, examines preschool choice from two angles. The first inspects the social recruitment of international preschools through statistical analysis of individual-level register data concerning families. This analysis considers social characteristics such as education level, income, and migration histories. Secondly, through interviews with middle-class parents, it explores families’ choice-making processes, examining how they navigate their children’s preschool options and ultimately select international preschools.
The results show that international preschools cater to families with strong and weak social positions and those with Swedish and foreign backgrounds, which evidences a widespread belief in the value of transnational attributes. However, differences between international preschools’ specific languages highlighted that some languages are more closely linked with social advantage than others. Preschool choice was found to be shaped by complex dynamics, wherein social class, gender, migration experiences, family structures, and parenting cultures intersected with the local context and supply of preschools, both international and not. This first encounter with institutionalised education emerged as a situation where families renegotiated their family identity and priorities. Due to preschool children’s young age, transnational assets were not always easily transmitted or acquired, especially when parents desired divergent international and national investments. Such acquisition demanded considerable efforts in parenting, commuting to international preschools, and altering family dynamics. Preschools were shown to serve as providers of transnational assets and as possible hindrances to the particular forms of internationality families wished to nurture in their children.