Urban Lindgren

Factors Associated with Heterotopic Bone Formation in Cemented Total Hip Prostheses

A series of 237 total hip replacements were analysed by means of a computer program. High body weight and postoperative fever, as well as several indications of a technically demanding operation, occurred significantly more often in the group of patients which developed paraarticular ossification postoperatively. The results point to a causal relation between tissue trauma and heterotopic bone formation. We wish to underline the importance of a gentle handling of tissues in the performance of a total hip replacement if the rate of ectopic bone is to be reduced to a minimum.

Diclofenac for pain after hip surgery.

Sixty-eight patients were studied during the day after hip replacement for arthrosis. No pain reliever was allowed within 4 h prior to initial assessment of pain. An injection of diclofenac 75 mg, pethidine 50 mg, or placebo was given intramuscularly, and a second injection was usually given after 3.5 h. Pain was recorded before and for 3 h after these injections. Ten patients in the placebo group demanded rescue drug because of insufficient pain relief. Four patients discontinued the study due to side effects: nausea (one patient in the placebo group) and somnolence or nausea (three patients in the pethidine group). Assessed both by visual analogue scale (VAS), and by the investigators assessment, the diclofenac group had less pain than the pethidine and placebo groups. Side effects were least frequent in the diclofenac group. This study demonstrates that at the doses used here, compared with pethidine, diclofenac is more effective in relieving postoperative pain and has fewer side effects.

Labour Market Externalities and Regional Growth in Sweden: The Importance of Labour Mobility between Skill-Related Industries

Boschma R., Eriksson R. H. and Lindgren U. Labour market externalities and regional growth in Sweden: the importance of labour mobility between skill-related industries, Regional Studies. This study investigates the relationship between labour market externalities and regional growth based on real labour flows. In particular, it tests for the importance of labour mobility across so-called skill-related industries between 435 four-digit industries within 72 Swedish functional regions (1998–2002). Both the fixed-effect models and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimates demonstrate that a strong intensity of intra-regional labour flows between skill-related industries impacts positively on regional productivity growth, but less so on employment growth. Labour mobility between unrelated industries tends to dampen regional unemployment growth while a high degree of intra-industry labour flows is only found to be associated with rising unemployment.

Agglomeration mobility: effects of localisation, urbanisation, and scale on job changes

Following increased attention being paid to the importance of labour-market processes in relation to knowledge diffusion and learning, this study addresses the influence of agglomeration economies (localisation, urbanisation, and scale) on the propensity to change jobs between and within local labour markets. From the use of longitudinal individual data (1990–2002), controlling for factors such as age, sex, income, and social relations, the results show that the composition of regional economies influences labour-market dynamism. We identify two cases of intraregional agglomeration mobility, that is, positive effects on job mobility, due to the concentration of similar activities (localisation economies) and the size of the labour market (urbanisation economies). The results also show that localisation economies compensate for regional structural disadvantages connected to small population numbers, as localisation effects in small regions have a significantly positive effect on intraregional job-mobility rates, even compared with localisation effects in large and diversified metropolitan areas. The results indicate that the concentration of similar activities may be useful for small regions, if high levels of job mobility are crucial for the transfer of knowledge and the performance of firms.

Prediction of Spirometric Values in Patients with Scoliosis

The prediction of normal spirometric values requires a measure of the non-deformed body height of scoliotic patients. The arm-span method has been used for estimating the non-deformed body height in spite of the fact that opinions about the normal relationships between body height and arm span differ. In order to minimize the error of estimation of non-deformed body height, the normal relationships between body height and arm span were determined for 91 males and for 118 females of ordinary body stature, varying age (5-78 years), and Swedish origin. The body-height/arm-span relationships were described by linear regression equations taking age into account. The results indicate significant sex and age differences in the arm-span/height ratio. Multiple regression equations including arm span and age as regressors were used to calculate the non-deformed body height in scoliotic patients. The arm-span method was compared with the method using the degree of lateral curvature of the spine for calculation of non-deformed body height of scoliotic subjects. The arm-span method resulted in a correction of body height and predicted spirometric values that agreed closely with those obtained by the method using the degree of curvature of the spine. The two methods may be used alternatively. In accordance with earlier reports, the predicted spirometric values were underestimated when the measured body height was used.

Factors Shaping Workplace Segregation Between Natives and Immigrants

Research on segregation of immigrant groups is increasingly turning its attention from residential areas toward other important places, such as the workplace, where immigrants can meet and interact with members of the native population. This article examines workplace segregation of immigrants. We use longitudinal, georeferenced Swedish population register data, which enables us to observe all immigrants in Sweden for the period 1990–2005 on an annual basis. We compare estimates from ordinary least squares with fixed-effects regressions to quantify the extent of immigrants’ self-selection into specific workplaces, neighborhoods, and partnerships, which may bias more naïve ordinary least squares results. In line with previous research, we find lower levels of workplace segregation than residential segregation. The main finding is that low levels of residential segregation reduce workplace segregation, even after we take into account intermarriage with natives as well as unobserved characteristics of immigrants’ such as willingness and ability to integrate into the host society. Being intermarried with a native reduces workplace segregation for immigrant men but not for immigrant women.

Learning through Contact? The Effects on Earnings of Immigrant Exposure to the Native Population

Factors influencing immigrant labour-market outcomes have received increased scholarly attention lately. A recent research focus has been the effects of residential setting on labour-market outcomes. This study brings a new dimension to this emerging body of research, introducing the role played by workplace composition, in addition to place of residence, in immigrant earnings. Based on Swedish longitudinal register data, ordinary least squares regression is used to examine effects of previous exposure to natives on earnings in three immigrant cohorts (1990, 1995, and 2000) five years after arrival. Besides controlling for individual characteristics and various labour-market attributes, a two-step Heckman correction procedure is applied to take into account the selectivity of entering the Swedish labour market. The main finding of the study is that exposure to the native population at the workplace is more important than residential exposure for predicting immigrant earnings.

Effect of the Milwaukee brace on vital and ventilatory capacity of scoliotic patients.

The vital capacity (VC) and the maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) were studied in 29 patients with scoliosis (predominantly idiopathic). The results obtained confirmed earlier observations that scoliotic patients have decreased VC and MVV. The immediate effect of the application of the Milwaukee brace was a slight though statistically significant decrease in MV, whereas there was no significant effect on VC. Treatment with the Milwaukee brace for a mean period of 15 months did not appreciably influence the VC or MVV, as a percentage of the predicted normal values of the patients, when measured without the brace applied.

Bacteria in hip surgery. A study of routine aerobic and anaerobic cultivation from skin and closed suction wound drains.

One hundred and seven patients with closed suction wound drains after hip surgery were investigated with regard to bacteria in the drain. In one-third of the cases bacterial contamination of the wound was found. In more than half the total number of cases the bacteria in the wound were not identical with those found on the skin, either pre- or post-operatively. Anaerobe bacteria occurred only in one case. Penicillin administration considerably reduced the frequency of positive cultures. These findings support the prophylactic use of antibiotics in the prevention of late infections in endoprosthesis operations even when the early infection rate is satisfactorily low.

The Importance of Business Climate and People Climate on Regional Performance

Eriksson R. H., Hansen H. K. and Lindgren U. The importance of business climate and people climate on regional performance, Regional Studies. Creativity and talent are considered key factors in regional development due to the connection between growth, city-regions and human capital. To come to a deeper understanding of the relevance of recent amenity-driven theories and how they are related to employment and gross regional product per capita (GRP) at the regional level, this paper analyses the influence of business climate (business-friendly assets) and people climate (amenities). Based on panel-data regressions, it is shown that both business and people climate are related to regional performance. The exact nature of these relationships is, however, dependent on how both regional performance and business or people climate is defined.