Högskolan i Skövde

Artikeln redogör för hur grols arbete på Högskolebiblioteket i Skövde på ett lugnt och metodiskt sätt har bidragit till att driva verksamheten framåt. Med osviklig timing och extraordinär förmåga till informationsbehandling har biblioteksmiljön och omistliga mervärden i studenters och forskares vardag utvecklats till oanade höjder. Dessa resultat är därför av stort intresse för bibliotekssfären. Närmare studier av prestationerna visar att viktiga förutsättningar för dem skapats i speciella geosociala kontexter, vilka berörs närmare i artikeln: Finspång, Uppsala, Umeå, San Diego, Kristianstad, Hönsa och Falun. Betydelsen av dessa ur ett bredare biblioteks- och informationsvetenskapligt perspektiv bör bli föremål för vidare forskning.

In this chapter, we discuss and analyse how family SMEs can prepare for crises originating in different areas. In specific, we discuss how family SMEs can prepare for crises originating in the family, the firm and the environment. There is an overlap in family SMEs, which implies that it is necessary to account for all three areas in a crisis situation. All three dimensions can be the origin for a crisis and part of a solution to handling the crisis. In the following, we discuss each dimension in detail with regard to crisis management in family SMEs. The study offers advice for family SMEs facing a crisis situation caused by internal causes, business or family-induced. Family SMEs should prepare themselves well in advance—with crisis management—to face severe shocks, and not just react under stress. This leads to a more proactive crisis management approach.

Preschool children, when diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), often ex- perience a long and painful journey on their way to self-advocacy. Access to standard of care is poor, with long waiting times and the feeling of stigmatization in many social set- tings. Early interventions in ASD have been found to deliver promising results, but have a high cost for all stakeholders. Some recent studies have suggested that digital biomarkers (e.g., eye gaze), tracked using affordable wearable devices such as smartphones or tablets, could play a role in identifying children with special needs. In this paper, we discuss the possibility of supporting neurodiverse children with technologies based on digital biomark- ers which can help to a) monitor the performance of children diagnosed with ASD and b) predict those who would benefit most from early interventions. We describe an ongoing feasibility study that uses the “DREAM dataset”, stemming from a clinical study with 61 pre-school children diagnosed with ASD, to identify digital biomarkers informative for the child’s progression on tasks such as imitation of gestures. We describe our vision of a tool that will use these prediction models and that ASD pre-schoolers could use to train certain social skills at home. Our discussion includes the settings in which this usage could be embedded. 

Background/objectives

To provide age- and sex-specific percentile curves of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) by determinants from 3-<15 year-old European children, and to analyse how modifiable determinants influence 25(OH)D.

Subjects/methods

Serum samples were collected from children of eight European countries participating in the multicenter IDEFICS/I.Family cohort studies. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were analysed in a central lab by a chemiluminescence assay and the values from 2171 children (N = 3606 measurements) were used to estimate percentile curves using the generalized additive model for location, scale and shape. The association of 25(OH)D with time spent outdoors was investigated considering sex, age, country, parental education, BMI z score, UV radiation, and dietary vitamin D in regressions models.

Results

The age- and sex-specific 5th and 95th percentiles of 25(OH)D ranged from 16.5 to 73.3 and 20.8 to 79.3 nmol/l in girls and boys, respectively. A total of 63% had deficient (<50 nmol/l), 33% insufficient (50-<75 nmol/l) and 3% sufficient (≥75 nmol/l) levels. 25(OH)D increased with increasing UV radiation, time spent outdoors, and vitamin D intake and slightly decreased with increasing BMI z score and age. The odds ratio (OR) for a non-deficient 25(OH)D status (reference category: deficient status) by one additional hour spent outdoors was 1.21, 95% CI [1.12–1.31], i.e., children who spent one more hour per day outdoors than other children had a 21% higher chance of a non-deficient than a deficient status.

Conclusion

A majority of children suffer from deficient 25(OH)D. UV radiation, outdoor time, and dietary vitamin D are important determinants of 25(OH)D.