We say that (weak/strong) time duality holds for continuous time quasi-birth-and-death-processes if, starting from a fixed level, the first hitting time of the next upper level and the first hitting time of the next lower level have the same distribution. We present here a criterion for time duality in the case where transitions from one level to another have to pass through a given single state, the so-called bottleneck property. We also prove that a weaker form of reversibility called balanced under permutation is sufficient for the time duality to hold. We then discuss the general case.

Numerous studies have looked at cognitive processing, more specifically attention, and its important role in various dynamic and static movements. Research on attentional demands in sport is an expanding area with studies now being done on athletes revealing the role of cognitive factors in the execution of motor movements in sports. Objective: the purpose of this study was to determine the attentional demands of a delivery in curling using a classic probe technique with a verbal response time and by measuring numerous performance variables. Subjects: ten healthy skilled curling players and nine healthy novice curling players undertook an auditory probe reaction time concurrently with a delivery in curling. Method: Sixty shots were executed with ten shots for each of the three phases of the shot, in all 30 take outs and 30 draws were done by each participant. The first phase when the player comes out of the “hack”, the second phase of the throw was when the player slid across the “t-line”. The third phase is when the player arrives near the line of Hog and releases the stone. Results: results revealed that reaction times were longer at phase 1 of the delivery for all subjects. The attentional demands for the draw and take out were highest at the phase one of the delivery, furthermore, compared to the draw, a significant rise of RT was seen in phase 3 of the take out shot. Significant differences were also found between the two experimental groups, with the most notable ones being that expert had a better shot success and a slower delivery time than the novice group. Conclusion: These results will lead to a better understanding of the attentional demands of two key shots in the sport of Curling and help curling coaches and teachers, as well as the players of the sport to know more about the attentional demands of the execution movement of the sport. This study also opens a new and interesting perspective on the importance of attention while performing motor tasks that are more complex and demanding.

Syfte: Att beskriva faktorer av betydelse för patienttillfredsställelse på akutmottagningen.Metod: En litteraturstudie med beskrivande design. Data baserades på 13 artiklar sökta i databasen PubMed.Resultat: Totalt identifierades sju faktorer av betydelse för patienttillfredsställelsen av vården på akutmottagningen. Faktorerna var patientens bakgrund, vårdpersonalens bemötande, information, kommunikation, triageprocessen, väntetid och miljö. Resultatet visade att den viktigaste faktorn som hade betydelse för patientens tillfredställelse på akutmottagningen var väntetiden, ovissheten kring denna och triageprocessens påverkan.Slutsats: Faktorerna visade sig vara viktiga var för sig och ännu viktigare i kombination med varandra. Om patienterna var missnöjda med en faktor påverkade det ofta tillfredställelsen av de andra faktorerna under besöket på akutmottagningen. Väntetiden tyder sig vara den mest betydande faktorn för patienttillfredsställelse i kombination med att triagesystemet påverkade hur länge patienterna faktiskt väntade på akutmottagningen. Forskning finns om vilka faktorer som var betydande för patienterna på akutmottagningen, ändå var patienterna fortsatt otillfredsställda och ovetande på akutmottagningen. Ytterligare forskning behövs kring samband mellan faktorer som är betydande för patienttillfredsställelsen på akutmottagningen och specifikt triagesystemets betydelse för väntetider och patienttillfredsställelse. Även forskning om triagesystemet är ett fungerande system, då samband visats med väntetider. / Aim: To describe the factors of patient satisfaction in the emergency department. Method: A literature review with descriptive design. The data was based on 13 articles searched in the PubMed database.Result: In total, seven factors of patient satisfaction of care were identified in the emergency department. The factors were the patient's background, health professional response, information, communication, the triage process, waiting time and the environment. The result showed that the main factor that had an impact on patient satisfaction in the emergency department was waiting time, the uncertainty surrounding this and the impact of the triageprocess. Conclusion: The factors shown to be important in itself, and more importantly, in combination with each other. If patients were dissatisfied with one factor it often affected the satisfaction of the other factors during the visit to the emergency department. The waiting time suggest being the most significant factor for patient satisfaction and the triage system affected how long the patients actually waited in the emergency department. Research exists on what factors that are significant for patients in the emergency department. Yet patients continued to be unsatisfied and unaware in the emergency department. Further research is needed about the relationship between the factors that are important for patient satisfaction in the emergency department and specific the triage system's impact on waiting times and patient satisfaction. Also research on the triage system as a functioning system, as association showed to waiting times.

This thesis is composed of three studies pertaining to the quality of care for radical cystectomy in Ontario between 1992 and 2004. In the first paper, the associations between provider volume and both operative and overall mortality were assessed. In the second paper, potential factors that could explain the association between volume and outcome were explored. In the final paper, the impact of waiting for cystectomy on survival outcomes was evaluated. Methods: A total of 3296 patients undergoing cystectomy for bladder cancer in Ontario between 1992 and 2004 were identified using the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database and the Ontario Cancer Registry. The effects of hospital and surgeon volume on operative mortality and overall survival were assessed using random effects logistic regression and marginal Cox Proportional Hazards modeling, respectively. To elucidate the factors underlying the volume-outcome association, the ability of a number of structure and process of care variables to attenuate the impact of volume was assessed. The effect of waiting for care, from transurethral resection to cystectomy, on overall survival was also assessed using marginal Cox models. Results: Neither hospital nor surgeon volume was significantly associated with operative mortality; however, both were associated with overall mortality. Of the measured structure/process measures, hospital factors caused the greatest attenuation of the volume hazard ratios, albeit to a limited degree. The wait time between the decision for surgery and cystectomy was also significantly associated with overall survival. The impact of delayed care was greatest for patients with lower stage disease. The data suggested a maximum wait time of 40 days for cystectomy. Conclusions: In this thesis, gaps in the quality of care for radical cystectomy in Ontario were identified. Patients treated by low volume hospitals and surgeons or those with long wait times all experienced worse outcomes. Since the underlying measures responsible for provider volume remain elusive, additional work is required to understand what these factors are. Initiatives to decrease wait times, however, are under way in Ontario. Whether these interventions decrease wait times and benefit patients remains to be seen.

This thesis is composed of three studies pertaining to the quality of care for radical cystectomy in Ontario between 1992 and 2004. In the first paper, the associations between provider volume and both operative and overall mortality were assessed. In the second paper, potential factors that could explain the association between volume and outcome were explored. In the final paper, the impact of waiting for cystectomy on survival outcomes was evaluated. Methods: A total of 3296 patients undergoing cystectomy for bladder cancer in Ontario between 1992 and 2004 were identified using the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database and the Ontario Cancer Registry. The effects of hospital and surgeon volume on operative mortality and overall survival were assessed using random effects logistic regression and marginal Cox Proportional Hazards modeling, respectively. To elucidate the factors underlying the volume-outcome association, the ability of a number of structure and process of care variables to attenuate the impact of volume was assessed. The effect of waiting for care, from transurethral resection to cystectomy, on overall survival was also assessed using marginal Cox models. Results: Neither hospital nor surgeon volume was significantly associated with operative mortality; however, both were associated with overall mortality. Of the measured structure/process measures, hospital factors caused the greatest attenuation of the volume hazard ratios, albeit to a limited degree. The wait time between the decision for surgery and cystectomy was also significantly associated with overall survival. The impact of delayed care was greatest for patients with lower stage disease. The data suggested a maximum wait time of 40 days for cystectomy. Conclusions: In this thesis, gaps in the quality of care for radical cystectomy in Ontario were identified. Patients treated by low volume hospitals and surgeons or those with long wait times all experienced worse outcomes. Since the underlying measures responsible for provider volume remain elusive, additional work is required to understand what these factors are. Initiatives to decrease wait times, however, are under way in Ontario. Whether these interventions decrease wait times and benefit patients remains to be seen.

Numerous studies have looked at cognitive processing, more specifically attention, and its important role in various dynamic and static movements. Research on attentional demands in sport is an expanding area with studies now being done on athletes revealing the role of cognitive factors in the execution of motor movements in sports. Objective: the purpose of this study was to determine the attentional demands of a delivery in curling using a classic probe technique with a verbal response time and by measuring numerous performance variables. Subjects: ten healthy skilled curling players and nine healthy novice curling players undertook an auditory probe reaction time concurrently with a delivery in curling. Method: Sixty shots were executed with ten shots for each of the three phases of the shot, in all 30 take outs and 30 draws were done by each participant. The first phase when the player comes out of the “hack”, the second phase of the throw was when the player slid across the “t-line”. The third phase is when the player arrives near the line of Hog and releases the stone. Results: results revealed that reaction times were longer at phase 1 of the delivery for all subjects. The attentional demands for the draw and take out were highest at the phase one of the delivery, furthermore, compared to the draw, a significant rise of RT was seen in phase 3 of the take out shot. Significant differences were also found between the two experimental groups, with the most notable ones being that expert had a better shot success and a slower delivery time than the novice group. Conclusion: These results will lead to a better understanding of the attentional demands of two key shots in the sport of Curling and help curling coaches and teachers, as well as the players of the sport to know more about the attentional demands of the execution movement of the sport. This study also opens a new and interesting perspective on the importance of attention while performing motor tasks that are more complex and demanding.

No description available.

The Dixon technique is a well-established method in magnetic resonance imaging for obtaining separate images of water and fat. Here we present a generalized solution to the two-point Dixon problem with a geometric interpretation, allowing for flexible echo times and a multi-peak fat model. By simulation and experiment, we have analyzed the dependence on the echo times of the error in the water, fat, and relative background phasor values due to both signal noise and T2* decay. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that broken symmetry due to the multi-peak nature of fat enables direct water and fat determination without phase correction, and we have quantified the reliability of this technique as a function of the echo times. The results may provide valuable guidance for selecting scan parameters to balance the objectives of optimizing fat-water identification, minimizing error in the pixel values, and minimizing total scan time.

In this master thesis, work done in the TURBO POWER project High temperature fatigue crack propagation in nickel-based superalloys during spring 2012 will be presented. The overall objective of this project is to develop and evaluate tools for designing against fatigue in gas turbine applications, with special focus on the crack propagation in the nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718. Experiments have been performed to study the effect of initial overloads, and it has been shown that even for small initial overloads a significant reduction of the crack growth rate is received. Furthermore, FE simulations have been carried out in order to describe the local stress state in front of the crack tip since it is believed to control, at least partly the diffusion of oxygen into the crack tip and thus also the hold time crack growth behaviour of the material. Finally, an evaluation method for the stresses is presented, where the results are averaged over an identifiable process/damaged zone in front of the crack tip.

Titel: Klimatförändringarna i nyhetsdiskursen Antal sidor: 47 Författare: Emelie Sahlström & Sofia Öström Handledare: Ulrika Olausson Kurs: Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap C Period: HT 2010 Universitet: Avdelningen för Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildning och samhällsvetenskap, Örebro universitet Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka om och i så fall hur klimatförändringarna i nyhetsdiskursen i New York Times och Dagens Nyheter har likheter, respektive skiljer sig åt. Vi undersöker också om klimatrapporteringarna är uppbyggda genom nationella eller globala identitet, om något ansvar utkrävs samt vilka som tillskrivs detta ansvar och om det finns en vetenskaplig säkerhet eller osäkerhet gentemot klimatförändringarna. Utifrån dessa har vi i slutdiskussionen diskuterat hur resultaten kan kopplas till USA:s och Sveriges klimatpolitik. Teorier: Teorierna är relaterad och presenteras i relation till tidigare forskning. De teorier som används i denna uppsats är, ansvarsutkrävande, vetenskaplig säkerhet och osäkerhet samt identitet.   Metod och material: För att uppfylla syftet använde vi en kritisk diskursanalys samt mikro- och makronivåerna. Vi har analyserat 8 artiklar från New York Times och 9 artiklar från Dagens Nyheter. Resultat: Resultaten visar att DN och NYT, som Europa och USA står mot varandra i klimathanteringen. Analyserna har också visat att klimatförändringarna framställs i de båda tidningarna utifrån nationella identiteter och en ”vi” och ”dem” diskurs återges konsekvent i artiklarna. När det kommer till vetenskaplig säkerhet och osäkerhet ställer sig både DN och NYT säkert till klimatförändringarna och detta görs genom citat från vetenskapsmän och statistik. Säkerheten präglas också av medvetenhet och god inblick i klimatförändringarna. Ansvarsutkrävandet i DN och NYT läggs till stor del på politikerna, dock utkräver NYT ett globalt ansvar och DN utkräver ett ansvar mot USA och Europa som Sverige i denna kontext står utanför. Nyckelord: Critical discourse analysis, climate, accountability, scientific certainty and uncertainty, identity, New York Times, Dagens Nyheter and climate policy