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In this thesis, the trade-offs between latency and transmitted data volume in vehicle-to-cloud communication for different choices of application layer messaging protocols and binary serialization formats are studied. This is done with the purpose of getting enough performance improvement to enable delay-sensitive Intelligent Transport System (ITS) features, and to reduce data usage in mobile networks. The studied protocols are Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) and Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT), and the serialization formats studied are Protobuf and Flatbuffers. The results show that CoAP — the only User Datagram Protocol (UDP) based protocol — has the lowest latency and overhead while not being able to guarantee reliable transfer. The best performer that can guarantee reliable transfer is MQTT. For the serialization formats, Protobuf is shown to have three times smaller serialized message size than Flatbuffers and also faster serialization speed. Flatbuffers is the winner in the case of memory use and deserialization time, which could make up for the poor performance in other aspects of data processing in the cloud. Further, the implications of these results in ITS communication are discussed suggestions made into future research topics.

HLA-B27 is a risk marker for ankylosing spondylitis and other associated seronegative spondyloarthropathies. We compared three methods of HLA-B*27 typing in a New South Wales (NSW) population: flow cytometry, rs4349859 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection assay, and allele-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of exons 2 and 3. Over a 5-month period, 543 samples underwent flow cytometric testing and RT-PCR high-resolution melt analysis of rs4349859 SNP and of exon 2 (5' fragment) and exon 3. In the third method, positive samples were further analysed with fluorescent resonance emission transfer (FRET) RT-PCR of exon 2 fragments, 2a and 2b. HLA-B*27 and other genotypes were confirmed by Sanger sequencing of a 600 base pair fragment of exons 2 and 3. In our cohort, the rs4349859 SNP method had 78.6% sensitivity and 98.7% specificity. Screening with exon 2 (5' fragment) and exon 3 RT-PCR provided 100% sensitivity. Further testing with exon 2a and 2b FRET RT-PCR produced 100% specificity. This cascade approach with allele-specific RT-PCR assays was able to differentiate all samples into HLA-B*27 subtypes. HLA-B*27 genotyping with allele-specific RT-PCR assays, to screen for and confirm HLA-B27 positive samples, was more sensitive and specific than flow cytometry and rs4349859 SNP assays. It is a potentially cost-effective method for differentiating HLA-B27 subtypes. Our cascade genetic testing approach is suitable for replacing the current flow cytometric HLA-B27 assay for the heterogeneous NSW population.

ObjectivesSierra Leone has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world. Timely and well-coordinated referrals are necessary to reduce delays in providing adequate care for women with obstetric complications. This study describes factors affecting timely and adequate referral of women with obstetric complications in rural areas of Sierra Leone as viewed by health workers in rural health facilities.DesignQualitative research with semi-structured interviews using open-ended questions. Data were analysed by systematic text condensation.SettingInterviews were held in nine peripheral health units in rural Sierra Leone.Participants19 health workers including nurses, midwives and clinical health officers participated in nine interviews.ResultsFrom the interviews, four major themes describing possible factors of delay in referral of women in need of emergency obstetric care emerged: (1) communication between healthcare workers; (2) underlying influences on decision-making; (3) women’s compliance to referral and (4) logistic constraints.Several factors in rural Sierra Leone are perceived to complicate timely and adequate referral of women in need of emergency obstetric care. Notable among these factors are fear among women for being referred and fear among healthcare workers for having maternal deaths or severe obstetric complications occurring at their own facilities. Furthermore, decision-making of healthcare workers whether to refer a woman or not is negatively influenced by a hierarchical culture with high power distance between healthcare workers.ConclusionFactors identified that complicate timely and adequate referral of women in need of emergency obstetric care must be considered in efforts to reduce maternal mortality. Possible interventions that may reduce delay in referral include increased communication by mobile phones between health workers for advice and feedback regarding referrals, involvement of influential stakeholders to increase women’s compliance to referral, and consistent use of standardised management protocols.

Tourism has a positive impact on economic growth and development, especially for small towns and rural areas. This is especially applicable to the Free State Province that has numerous economic challenges, including the highest unemployment rate in South Africa. One way of attracting tourists to areas they might not normally visit, is through the development of tourism routes. In South African, the Maloti Drakensberg Route (MDR) is one of the longest tourism routes and a substantial section of the route runs through the Free State Province (Harrismith to Zastron). Tourism routes are usually managed by forums that need to oversee the effective management of routes. In this regard, the MDR is managed by the Maloti Drakensberg Route Forum (MDRF). Due to the importance of attracting tourists, the aim of this investigation was to assess the marketing and management effectiveness of the Free State section of the MDR. The research approach was both qualitative and quantitative and product owners and tourists were included in the data collection. The findings indicate that the route is not effectively managed, with serious ramifications for economic development and sustainability.Keywords: Route tourism; Managing and marketing effectiveness; Maloti Drakensberg Route (MDR); Maloti Drakensberg Route Forum (MDRF)

In this paper we focus on the problem of finding (small) subhypergraphs in a (large) hypergraph. We use this problem to illustrate that reducing hypergraph problems to graph problems by working with the 2-section is not always a reasonable approach. We begin by defining a generalization of the binomial random graph model to hypergraphs and formalizing several definitions of subhypergraph. The bulk of the paper focusses on determining the expected existence of these types of subhypergraph in random hypergraphs. We also touch on the problem of determining whether a given subgraph appearing in the 2-section is likely to have been induced by a certain subhypergraph in the hypergraph. To evaluate the model in relation to real-world data, we compare model prediction to two datasets with respect to (1) the existence of certain small subhypergraphs, and (2) a clustering coefficient., 23 pages, 10 figures (4 embedded in the tex, 6 pngs) This article has been accepted to the special issue of Internet Mathematics for WAW'16

Intensive care unit (ICU) discharges are challenging practices that carry risks for patients. Despite the existing body of knowledge, there are still difficulties in clinical practice concerning unplanned ICU discharges, specifically where there is no step-down unit.The aim of this study was to explore general ward nurses' experiences of caring for patients being discharged from an ICU.Data were collected from focus groups and in-depth interviews with a total of 16 nurses from three different hospitals in Sweden. An inductive qualitative design was chosen.The analysis revealed three themes that reflect the challenges in nursing former ICU patients: a vulnerable patient, nurses' powerlessness and organizational structure. The nurses described the challenge of nursing a fragile patient based on several aspects. They expressed feeling unrealistic demands when caring for a fragile former ICU patient. The demands were related to their own profession and knowledge regarding how to care for this group of patients. The organizational structure had an impact on how the nurses' caring practice could be realized. This evoked ethical concerns that the nurses had to cope with as the organization's care guidelines did not always favour the patients.The structure of the organization and its leadership appear to have a significant impact on the nurses' ability to offer patients the care they need.This study sheds light on the need for extended outreach services and intermediate care in order to meet the needs of patients after the intensive care period.

A first-year undergraduate course at Uppsala University has been redesigned in a process exploring different levels of student participation. In the first part of the project, the student voice was heard through interviews focusing on the role of the course in the degree program. In the second part, a student-teacher team was formed to develop course curriculum and teaching material in partnership. Among the implemented changes were new seminars focusing on conceptual understanding, redesign of all lectures to include active student participation, and a change of the course literature. The redesigned course significantly increased student satisfaction compared to previous years. Important success factors were involvement of the student organization to promote the project, institutional support, early selection of concrete development tasks, and allowing team members to choose what they wanted to develop according to their own expertise.

Som ett kandidatarbete vid Linköpings universitet har ett program för att automatisera videoanalyser tagits fram, med Nationellt forensiskt centrum som kund. Kunden har tidigare använt sig av manuellt arbete för att analysera videoklipp vilket har krävt mycket resurser. Rapporten är indelad i två delar där den första delen beskriver gruppens gemensamma arbete och de erfarenheter som har samlats in under projektet. Den andra delen är individuella bidrag från gruppmedlemmarna som behandlar områden inom mjukvaruutveckling och projektarbeten. Projektgruppen har använt sig av en agil arbetsmetod i projektet, en variant av Scrum. Eftersom programmet har utvecklats i iterationer har en iterativ utvecklingsprocess varit lämplig och de erfarenheter som detta medfört finns presenterade i rapporten. Resultatet av rapporten beskriver systemet ViAn som är en videospelare med utökad funktionalitet med bland annat möjligheten att detektera rörelse. Systemet har också funktionalitet för att automatisera rapportgenerering genom att skapa Word dokument utifrån de bokmärken som användaren har skapat. I resultatet presenteras även de erfarenheter som gruppen har samlat. I diskussionsdelen diskuteras bland annat vilket värde som systemet har för kunden. De främsta slutsatserna för rapporten är att nära kontakt med kunden är en viktig del i att skapa ett värde i produkten, att användning av ett standardformat för GUI:t gör att inlärningskurvan blir brant och att designmönster kan användas för att underlätta vidareutveckling av programmet.

Internationally, Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) preconception screening of Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) individuals and couples has led to effective primary prevention of TSD. In Australia, adolescent preconception genetic screening programs operate mainly in Jewish community high schools. These existing programs offer an effective means of primary prevention of TSD, are cost effective and safe. However, in the broader Australian community TSD screening is not systematically performed and cases still occur in unscreened AJ individuals. In order to improve the effectiveness of Australian screening, there is a need for definitive guidelines for healthcare professionals to facilitate extension of the proven benefits of preconception TSD screening to all AJ individuals at risk. We performed a systematic review of the relevant literature relating to AJ pre-conception and antenatal screening for TSD. The evidence was assessed using an established National Health and Medical Research Council evidence grading system. Evaluations of efficacy of TSD screening programs design and execution, cost-benefit and cost-utility health economic evaluation, and population outcomes were undertaken. The results have been used to propose a model for universal AJ TSD preconception and antenatal screening for the primary care setting.