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Bakgrund och problem Många HR-funktioner har idag genomfört en Human Resource Transformation (HRT) genom att anta ett strategiskt, affärsinriktat och externt fokuserat arbetssätt i linje med verksamhetens mål, för att skapa ett större bidrag till organisatorisk framgång och överlevnad. Detta fenomen har främst studerats ur ett ledningsperspektiv, och medarbetarnas perspektiv har inom forskningen delvis försummats. Då medarbetare ofta beskrivs som organisationers viktigaste resurser, skulle deras perspektiv kunna bidra till att skapa ökad förståelse för HRT och dess relation till organisationers långsiktiga överlevnadsförmåga, en förmåga som ofta beskrivs som organisatorisk resiliens. Syfte och metod Studiens syfte är att skapa större förståelse för relationen mellan medarbetare och HRT, och hur detta kan förstås i relation till resiliens, genom att belysa fenomenet HRT ur ett medarbetarperspektiv. Då studien syftar till att skapa en ökad förståelse, har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod använts där det empiriska materialet hämtats genom nio semistrukturerade intervjuer. Respondenterna är från tre lokalt förankrade organisationer med olika branschtillhörighet. Resultat och slutsats Studiens empiriska material visar på att majoriteten av de intervjuade saknar ordentlig insikt i HR-funktionen och dess uppgifter. De flesta hade ingen relation till HR alls, och uttryckte ett lågt förtroende för funktionen. Det förekom en allmän önskan om ökad närvaro från HR för att skapa möjligheter till relationsbyggande, och för att HR skulle få större insyn i det operativa arbetet. För att besvara studiens problemformulering utgår analys och slutsats från dels ett systemteoretiskt perspektiv, dels ett relationellt perspektiv som skapats av studiens författare. Utifrån ett systemteoretiskt medarbetarperspektiv, är relationen mellan medarbetare och HR av begränsad betydelse och dess påverkan på resiliens är inte möjlig att göra uttalanden om. Utifrån ett relationellt medarbetarperspektiv är relationen av betydelse i egenskap av en av de resurser som påverkar organisationens medarbetarskap, som i sin tur kan ses som en av de sociala resurser som kan påverka resiliens. Därmed finns även större möjligheter att analysera och dra slutsatser om relationen mellan HRT och resiliens. / Background and problem Today, many HR functions have implemented an HRT by taking a strategic, businessoriented and externally focused approach in line with the business objectives, in order to create a greater contribution to organizational success and survival. This phenomenon has mainly been studied from a management perspective, and the employees' perspective has been partially neglected in research. As employees often are described as the most important resources of organizations, the employee perspective could contribute to creating an increased understanding of HRT and its relation to organizations' long-term survival ability, an ability that is often described as organizational resilience. Purpose and method The purpose of the study is to create a greater understanding of the relationship between employees and HRT, and how this can be understood in relation to resilience, by highlighting the phenomenon of HRT from an employee perspective. Since the study aims to create an increased understanding, a qualitative research method has been used in which the empirical material was obtained through nine semi-structured interviews. The respondents are from three locally based organizations with different industry affiliations. Results and conclusion The empirical material of the study shows that most of the interviewees lack proper insight into the HR function and its tasks. Most had no relation to HR at all and expressed a low confidence in the function. There was a general desire for increased presence from HR to create opportunities for building relationships, and to give HR greater insight into the operational work. To answer the problem formulation of the current study, both analysis and conclusion are based on a system-theoretical perspective as well as a relational perspective created by the authors of the current study. From a systemtheoretical perspective, the relationship between employees and HR is of limited importance and its impact on resilience is not possible to make statements about. From a relational employee perspective, the relationship is important as one of the resources that influences the organization’s followership, which in turn can be seen as one of the social resources that can affect resilience. Therefore, there are also greater opportunities to analyze and draw conclusions about the relationship between HRT and resilience.

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Alquilbenzeno linear sulfonado (LAS) é um surfactante presente em água residuária de lavanderia. Em virtude da complexidade de sua degradação, o presente estudo envolveu a análise de alguns fatores, destacando-se: diversidade de co-substratos; tempo de detenção hidráulico (TDH); e concentração de co-substratos. Avaliou-se a degradação de LAS com diferentes co-substratos (metanol, etanol e extrato de levedura) em reator UASB, em TDH de 24 h e 14±2 mg/L de LAS. A influência de TDH e concentração de co-substratos foram analisadas em sete reatores UASB, com 12±3 mg/L de LAS; TDH de 6, 35 e 80 h, e diferentes concentrações de co-substratos (etanol, metanol e extrato de levedura), expressada pela carga orgânica específica (COE), entre 0,03 e 0,18 gDQO/gSTV.d. Ao final, avaliou-se a degradação de LAS em água residuária de lavanderia diluída, nessa mesma configuração de reator com TDH de 35 h e 10±5 mg/L de LAS. Em todos os ensaios foi utilizado inóculo granulado proveniente de reator UASB empregado no tratamento de água residuária de abatedouro de aves, mantendo-se intacta a forma granulada. No ensaio variando co-substratos, observou-se maior remoção de LAS (50%) na presença de co-substrato complexo (extrato de levedura) que na presença de metanol e etanol (29-41%). Diferença pouco significativa entre as comunidades do domínio Archaea e Bacteria (cerca de 60 e 40%, respectivamente) foi observada na presença de diferentes co-substratos, mediante análise de hibridação fluorescente in situ (fluorescent in situ hybridization FISH). Verificou-se maior influência da concentração de co-substratos na degradação de LAS, seguida pelo TDH. Aplicando a menor COE (0,03 gDQO/gSTV.d), obteve-se alta degradação de LAS (76%), enquanto nos reatores variando TDH foram observadas eficiências de 18% (6 h), 37-53% (35 h) e 55% (80 h). Nos reatores variando TDH e concentração de co-substratos, observou-se significativa remoção de LAS no separador de fases (20-53%; na manta de lodo observou-se 13-43%), relacionada à baixa concentração de co-substratos e condição anaeróbia facultativa nessa região. Por meio da técnica de PCR-DGGE (polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) nas amostras do ensaio variando TDH e concentração de co-substratos, verificou-se maior coeficiente de similaridade na manta de lodo (Archaea: 70-90%; Bacteria: 69-83%), devido à estrutura de grânulo do inóculo utilizado. Verificou-se alta degradação de LAS (82%) no reator com água de lavanderia, atribuída à diversidade de co-substratos (12 ácidos orgânicos voláteis detectados) e à concentração baixa desses co-substratos (COE: 0,03 gDQO/gSTV.d). Mediante análise de pirosequenciamento da região do RNAr 16S de amostras do ensaio com água residuária de lavanderia foram encontrados 147 gêneros, dos quais 32 foram relacionados com a degradação de LAS (gêneros capazes de degradar compostos aromáticos, dessulfonação, e -oxidação). Observou-se significativa abundância relativa (>1%) dos seguintes gêneros relacionados com a degradação de LAS: Comamonas, Dechloromonas, Desulfovibrio, Gemmatimonas, Holophoga, Parvibaculum, Pseudomonas, Rhodanobacter, Sporomusa, Synergistes e Zoogloea. No separador de fases do reator com água de lavanderia, a alta remoção de LAS (90%) e a abundância relativa dos gêneros aeróbios (23%) e anaeróbios (6%) relacionados com a degradação de LAS corroboraram a relação entre remoção de LAS e condição anaeróbia facultativa / Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) is a surfactant present in laundry wastewater. Due to the complexity of its degradation, the present study involved the analysis of some features, highlighting: co-substrates diversity; hydraulic retention time (HRT); and co-substrates concentration. The LAS degradation with different co-substrates (methanol, ethanol and yeast extract) was evaluated in UASB reactor, at HRT of 24 h and LAS 14±2 mg/L. The influence of HRT and concentration of co-substrates was analyzed in seven UASB reactors, with LAS 12±3 mg/L; the HRT was 6, 35 and 80 h, and different concentration of co-substrates (methanol, ethanol and yeast extract), as specific organic load rate (SOLR) between 0.03 and 0.18 gCOD/gTVS.d. At the end, the LAS degradation was performed in UASB reactor fed with diluted laundry wastewater, at HRT of 35 h and LAS 10±5 mg/L. In all assays was used a granular inoculum from a UASB reactor employed in treatment of wastewater from poultry slaughterhouse, maintaining the granular form. In the assay varying the co-substrates, it was observed greater LAS removal (50%) in the presence of complex co-substrate (yeast extract) than in the presence of methanol and ethanol (removal: 29-41%). Insignificant difference between the communities from Archaea and Bacteria domain (about 60 and 40%, respectively) was observed in the presence of different co-substrates, according to the fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. It was verified greater influence of cosubstrates concentration than the HRT in the LAS degradation. At the lowest SOLR (0.03 gCOD/gTVS.d), high LAS degradation (76%) was obtained while in the reactors varying the HRT were observed efficiencies of 18% (6 h), 37-53% (35 h) and 55% (80 h). In the reactors varying the HRT and concentration of co-substrates, a significant LAS removal rate (20-53%; in the sludge blanket the rate was 13-43%) was observed in the phase separator, related to the low concentration of co-substrates and the anaerobic facultative condition in this region. By the PCR-DGGE (polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) technique of samples from the assay varying the HRT and concentration of co-substrates, it was verified great similarity coefficient in the sludge blanket (Archaea: 70-90%; Bacteria: 69- 83%) due to the granule structure of the inoculum used. High LAS degradation (82%) was verified in the reactor with laundry wastewater, which was attributed to the diversity of cosubstrates (12 organic volatile acids detected) and the low concentration of co-substrates (SOLR: 0.03 gCOD/gTVS.d). By pyrosequencing analysis of 16S RNAr genes in the samples from assay with laundry wastewater, it was found 147 genus, which 32 were related to the LAS degradation (genus able to degrade aromatic compounds, desulfonation, and - oxidation). A significant relative abundance (>1%) was observed in the following genus related to the degradation of LAS: Comamonas, Dechloromonas, Desulfovibrio, Gemmatimonas, Holophoga, Parvibaculum, Pseudomonas, Rhodanobacter, Sporomusa, Synergistes and Zoogloea. In the phases separator of the reactor with laundry wastewater, the high LAS removal (90%) and the relative abundance of genus aerobic (23%) and anaerobic (6%) related to the degradation of LAS corroborated the relation between LAS removal and the anaerobic facultative condition

Background The canine cardiac system has been the model against which many Class III cardiac devices are validated. Thus, it is expected that the canine heart has very similar electrical model to that found in humans. In 1999, the absence of Heart Rate Turbulence (HRT) after a single Pre-Ventricular Contraction (PVC) was linked to high-risk patient after acute myocardial infarction. Studies of HRT were performed on high-risk patients with Holter-Monitors as were most subsequent HRT studies. If HRT could potentially be used as a risk factor of heart disease, it is interesting to study whether HRT is present following a PVC in otherwise healthy canines. Methods For multiple months, five non-medicated, healthy canines were chronically monitored from between 1 and 8 sessions each. At each session, the canines were ventricularly paced to induce PVCs. Electrical signals, as seen through both a right-ventricular lead and Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, were captured and analyzed to determine whether the canines displayed HRT following each induced PVC. As a contrasting data set, for the majority of the canines, data was also collected once the canines were sedated. Results HRT was noted in all non-medicated and healthy canines. Of the two factors of HRT (slope and onset), TS was the most prominent indicator of HRT. In each canine, the slope was far greater than the 2.5 ms per RR interval threshold varying from 9.8 to 68.8 ms per RR interval. The onset was marked as HRT (onset less than 0%) in 22 of the 26 session. Additional data was analyzed for healthy yet medicated canines showed that sedation affected HRT, but that HRT was generally noted. Conclusion The canine model displayed a similar HRT characteristic as humans during normal and parasympathetic inhibited states. The presence of HRT in canines is most reliable when using TS. Further study in this area with naturally occurring PVCs would be of interest.

<p><b>Objectives</b>. To study medication utilization and adherence to prescribed therapy in a female population in central Sweden. To study usage of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in this population and to assess how HRT users compare to non-users regarding symptom reporting, general health and other variables. To evaluate symptom prevalence adjusted for potential symptom affecting variables. </p><p><b>Material and methods</b>. A cross-sectional postal questionnaire study was performed in 1995 in seven counties in central Sweden. A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 4,200 women aged 35-64, of whom 2,991 responded (71.2%). The questionnaire contained questions on psycho-socio-economic background, quality of life, self-reported health, height and weight, climacteric symptom prevalence, and menopausal status and symptoms. It also comprised questions on medication prescribed during the past year. </p><p><b>Results</b>. 40% used prescribed medication and 12% took four drugs or more. Age, educational level, self-rated health, and BMI remained significantly correlated to drug use in multivariate analysis. Adherence ranged from 15%-98% depending on age, a scheduled check-up, perceived importance of medication, concern about medication, taking cardiovascular and respiratory disease drugs. The highest adherence was found for hormonal medication the lowest for musculoskeletal medication. </p><p>HRT was used by 15% of the women. 13 % used other symptom relieving therapy. HRT users reported higher score of vasomotor symptoms, except for sweating during the daytime. </p><p>Prevalence of general symptoms did not necessarily increase with age. Especially symptoms related to stress-tension-depression decreased with age. Four different symptom prevalence patterns were found. </p><p><b>Conclusions</b>. Age, health status, educational level and body mass index (BMI) appear to affect drug use. Adherence to therapy is highest among elderly women who regard their medication as important and have a scheduled check-up. HRT relieves some vasomotor symptoms but does not affect other symptoms or self-rated health. Prevalence of symptoms related to Stress-tension-depression appears to decrease with age.</p>

Several studies suggest profound effects on mood and cognition by neuroactive steroids. Estrogen alone or in combination with antidepressant drugs affecting the serotonin system has been used to treat mood disorders. On the other hand, progesterone is related to negative effects on mood and memory. A major part of the progesterone effects on the brain can be mediated by its metabolite allopregnanolone, which is also de novo synthesized in the brain, and affects the GABAA receptors. It would be of great importance to find a substance that antagonize allopregnanolone adverse effects. To investigate how long term supplementation of estradiol and progesterone, resembling postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy, affects serotonin receptors in different brain areas important for mood and memory functions, we used ovariectomized female rats. After 2 weeks of supplementation with 17β-estradiol alone or in combination with progesterone, or placebo pellets, estradiol alone decreases but estradiol supplemented together with progesterone increases 5HT1A mRNA expression in the hippocampus. Estradiol decreases the 5HT2C receptor gene expression, while estradiol in combination with progesterone increases the 5HT2A mRNA expression in the ventral hippocampus. Thus, estradiol alone has opposite effects compared to the estradiol/progesterone combination. To detect if acute tolerance develops to allopregnanolone, an EEG method was used where male rats by continuous allopregnanolone infusion were kept on anesthesia level of the silent second (SS). After different time intervals (first SS, 30 min or 90 min of anesthesia) several GABAA receptor subunit mRNAs were measured for detecting if changed expression of any GABAA receptor subunits is involved in development of acute tolerance. There is development of acute tolerance to allopregnanolone and brain regions of importance are hippocampus, thalamus and hypothalamus. The GABAA receptor alpha4 subunit in thalamus and alpha2 subunit in the dorsal hippocampus are related to development of acute tolerance. For assessing allopregnanolone behavioral effects, we studied how this neurosteroid affects spatial learning in the Morris water maze task Allopregnanolone inhibits spatial learning short after the injection and shows a specific behavioral pattern with swimming close to the pool wall. The steroid UC1011 can inhibit the increase in chloride ion uptake induced by allopregnanolone. UC1011 decreases allopregnanoloneinduced impairment of spatial learning in the water maze, as well as the specific behavioral swim pattern. In conclusion, the present work demonstrates that neuroactive steroids affect the 5HT and GABA systems in a brain region specific way. GABAA receptor subunit changes in hippocampus and thalamus are related to acute allopregnanolone tolerance. Allopregnanolone induces cognitive deficits, like spatial learning impairment and UC1011 can inhibit allopregnanolone-induced effects in vitro and in vivo. Key words: Estradiol, progesterone, HRT, allopregnanolone, UC1011, serotonin receptor, GABAA receptor, mRNA, Morris water maze, silent second, tolerance.

Background: Numerous studies have shown that estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is an effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms, insomnia and vaginal dryness. Beneficial effects have also been shown on lipid patterns and on the incidence of osteoporotic fractures. As ERT increases the risk of endometrial adenocarcinoma, combinations with various progestogens have been developed in order to protect the endometrium. However, the addition of progestogens tends to reduce the beneficial effects of estrogens on mood, cognition and lipid metabolism. The added progestogen often causes side effects such as irritability and depression. There is evidence that the effect on wellbeing varies between women and with the type of progestogen used. Women who prefer to avoid withdrawal bleedings can be given continuous combined hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Unfortunately, irregular bleedings are common at the beginning of treatment and reduces compliance. Recently, several studies have reported an increased risk of breast cancer and venous thrombosis, and therefore long-term treatment with HRT for women without climacteric symptoms is no longer recommended. The ongoing debate has, for the time being, resulted in a recommendation that improving quality of life (QoL) by treatment of climacteric symptoms should be the only indication for prescribing HRT. Aims and methods: The aims of the study were to investigate bleeding patterns, changes in wellbeing at onset and during long-term treatment, and lipid and lipoprotein profiles with two different types of continuous combined HRT. In addition, women starting, and women switching from mainly sequential HRT were compared. The design was a randomised, double-blind, one year, prospective, multicentre study including 249 healthy postmenopausal women who were given continuous daily oral treatment with either combined 0.625mg conjugated estrogen (CE) and 5mg medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) or combined 2mg 17β - estradiol (E2) and 1mg norethisterone acetate (NETA). Bleedings, if any, were recorded daily throughout the study. The main outcome measures (changes in wellbeing and climacteric symptoms) consisted of daily ratings of 12 items on a validated symptom scale. Serum concentrations of lipids and lipoproteins were measured at baseline and after one year of treatment. Results and conclusions: The majority of drop-outs were confined to the first three months, and the main reasons were bleedings and/or decreased wellbeing. Drop-outs were three times more common in the E2/NETA group. During the first month, 67% of the women reported irregular bleedings. The number of bleeding days decreased on both treatments during the first four months. Treatment with CE/MPA resulted in less irregular bleedings and a shorter time to amenorrhoea compared to E2/NETA. As expected, "starters" experienced more sweats than "switchers" at the onset of treatment, but both groups improved significantly. Side effects such as breast tenderness, swelling, depression and irritability appeared during the first treatment week in both groups. The side effects of HRT appeared much more quickly than the benefits and were more frequent in women with a history of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Breast tenderness was more common in the E2/NETA group throughout the whole study period. Apart from that, there were no differences between the two treatment regimens as regards effects on well-being at the end of the study. Lipoprotein(a) levels, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, decreased in both treatment groups. Triglyceride levels increased in women treated with CE/MPA, and levels of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein fell in the E2/NETA group. In conclusion, treatment with E2/NETA caused more bleeding problems than treatment with CE/MPA. CE/MPA was better tolerated than E2/NETA at the beginning of the study, but among the women remaining in the study there was no difference in QoL between the two treatment groups. HRT counselling should take into account that a history of PMS increases the likelihood of side effects and that these may precede any beneficial effects. Both treatments produced beneficial effects on lipid and lipoprotein levels, and neither of the regimens was superior in this respect.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been studied as a protective factor for cognitive decline and dementia. However, study findings have been inconsistent. Variation in study findings may be due to differences in study designs, small sample size, exposure ascertainment, diagnostic procedures, and inclusion of relevant risk and confounding factors. Moreover, there may be significant differences between the characteristics of women choosing to use HRT and those opting not to use the therapy. Using a large-scale, population-based, cohort study, we examined the relationship between HRT and cognition while paying particular attention to moderating and confounding factors. The main outcomes of interest were to assess differences in risk for cognitive impairments and dementia between HRT user and never user groups; examine HRTs impact on age of onset of dementia; and explore the relationship between duration of HRT and cognitive decline. Logistic regression and Cox Proportional Hazards models were used to test HRT as a predictor for cognitive impairments, Alzheimers disease and vascular dementia, as well as to assess the effect of duration. Linear regression was used to consider the putative relationship between age at onset of dementia and HRT status. HRT use was found to be a statistically significant predictor for Alzheimers disease and vascular dementia. Overall, HRT use did not significantly predict for milder cognitive impairments, although significant interaction effects indicate that HRT may be protective at least for specific sub-groups of women. No durational effect was found for any of the outcomes. Neither did HRT appear to predict for age at onset of dementia. Notably, a large proportion of women in the current study reported using estrogen-only hormone supplements, and therefore generalizations regarding the findings are likely limited to estrogen-only preparations, not combination estrogen-progestin therapies. These findings must be considered within the context of the other known and potential risks and benefits that HRT may afford.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been studied as a protective factor for cognitive decline and dementia. However, study findings have been inconsistent. Variation in study findings may be due to differences in study designs, small sample size, exposure ascertainment, diagnostic procedures, and inclusion of relevant risk and confounding factors. Moreover, there may be significant differences between the characteristics of women choosing to use HRT and those opting not to use the therapy. Using a large-scale, population-based, cohort study, we examined the relationship between HRT and cognition while paying particular attention to moderating and confounding factors. The main outcomes of interest were to assess differences in risk for cognitive impairments and dementia between HRT user and never user groups; examine HRTs impact on age of onset of dementia; and explore the relationship between duration of HRT and cognitive decline. Logistic regression and Cox Proportional Hazards models were used to test HRT as a predictor for cognitive impairments, Alzheimers disease and vascular dementia, as well as to assess the effect of duration. Linear regression was used to consider the putative relationship between age at onset of dementia and HRT status. HRT use was found to be a statistically significant predictor for Alzheimers disease and vascular dementia. Overall, HRT use did not significantly predict for milder cognitive impairments, although significant interaction effects indicate that HRT may be protective at least for specific sub-groups of women. No durational effect was found for any of the outcomes. Neither did HRT appear to predict for age at onset of dementia. Notably, a large proportion of women in the current study reported using estrogen-only hormone supplements, and therefore generalizations regarding the findings are likely limited to estrogen-only preparations, not combination estrogen-progestin therapies. These findings must be considered within the context of the other known and potential risks and benefits that HRT may afford.