Abstract

Background
Tick-borne infections are of emerging and increasing concern in the Scandinavian countries Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Only few studies have investigated protective practices against tick bites in the general population. The aim of this multi-country study was to assess the use of protective practices and the perception of the efficacy of them.

Abstract
Background

Tick-borne diseases are emerging and re-emerging threats causing public health concerns in Europe and North America. Prevention and control require understanding of human exposure and behaviour. The aim was to measure exposure to tick bites across Scandinavia, its spatial distribution and the associated risk factors.

Methods

We sent a web-based survey to a randomly chosen population and analysed answers by Principal Component Analysis and Chi-Square. Individual responses were aggregated at the municipality level to assess the spatial distribution of bites.

Results

In recent decades, the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Sweden has increased. To calculate the burden of disease over a 17-year period, we analyzed data from the Swedish National Health Data Register for TBE cases diagnosed during 1998–2014. We compared healthcare use and sick leave associated with 2,429 persons with TBE with a referent cohort of 7,287 persons without TBE. Patients with TBE were hospitalized for significantly more days during the first year after disease onset (11.5 vs. 1.1 days), logged more specialist outpatient visits (3.6 vs.

The European waste framework directive encourages reuse, refurbishment and recycling of products and materials in order to reduce plastic waste. However, thousands of chemicals are used in plastic materials. Many of these are potentially toxic, and may cause hormonal and developmental disruption in children. This includes phthalates and short chain chlorinated paraffins, which are used as plasticizers and flame-retardants. European legal frameworks regulate the amounts of these substances in toys in an effort to protect children's health and safety.

Through a survey with European companies and expert interviews we study how REACH authorisation affects the phase-out of hazardous chemicals focusing on trichloroethylene, a well-studied solvent used in metal parts cleaning. We find that most of the firms have substituted trichloroethylene by perchloroethylene, which has similar chemical characteristics. This allows them to continue to use the same machines and routines at low costs.

Chemical substitution can mitigate risks from chemical substances for individuals and the environment. This study investigates the preferences of companies regarding the adoption of safer alternatives to hazardous flame retardants in electronic appliances in Sweden.

Understanding unethical behavior is essential to many phenomena in the real world. We carry out a field experiment in a unique setting that varies the levels of reciprocity and guilt in an ethical decision. A survey more than one year before the field experiment allows us to compare at the individual level stated unethical behavior with revealed behavior in the same situation in the field. Our results indicate a strong discrepancy between stated and revealed behavior, regardless of the specific treatment in the field experiment.

n much of the developing world, cooking accounts for the largest share of women's time in home production. Does relying on solid fuels drive this time burden? This study revisits a clean energy information experiment in rural India to assess the time savings' potential of cleaner cooking technologies. Treatment villages were randomly assigned to receive information about negative health effects of cooking with solid fuels and about public subsidies for cleaner liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Time-use data indicate that primary cooks spend almost 24 hours cooking each week.

In this paper, we evaluate the effects of a psychological training, called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on stress and risk and time preferences. MBSR is a well-known psychological technique, which is believed to improve self-control and reduce stress. We conduct the experiment with 139 participants, half of whom receive the MBSR training, while the other half are asked to watch a documentary series, both over 4 consecutive weeks.