| 1. |
- Fornander, Louise, 1983-
(författare)
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Upper Airway Mucosal Inflammation : Proteomic Studies after Exposure to Irritants and Microbial Agents
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- People are, in their daily lives, exposed to a number of airborne foreign compounds that do not normally affect the body. However, depending on the nature of these compounds, dose and duration of exposure, various airway symptoms may arise. Early symptoms are often manifested as upper airway mucosal inflammation which generates changes in protein composition in the airway lining fluid.This thesis aims at identifying, understanding mechanisms and characterizing protein alterations in the upper airway mucosa that can be used as potential new biomarkers for inflammation in the mucosa. The protein composition in the mucosa was studied by sampling of nasal lavage fluid that was further analyzed with a proteomic approach using twodimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Additionally, by studying factors on site through environmental examination, health questionnaires and biological analyses, we have tried to understand the background to these protein alterations and their impact on health.Respiratory symptoms from the upper airways are common among people who are exposed to irritative and microbial agents. This thesis have focused on personnel in swimming pool facilities exposed to trichloramine, metal industry workers exposed to metalworking fluids, employees working in damp and moldy buildings and infants diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus infection. The common denominator in these four studies is that the subjects experience upper airway mucosal inflammation, which is manifested as cough, rhinitis, phlegm etc. In the three occupational studies, the symptoms were work related. Notably, a high prevalence of perceived mucosal symptoms was shown despite the relatively low levels of airborne irritants revealed by the environmental examination. Protein profiling verified an ongoing inflammatory response by identification of several proteins that displayed altered levels. Interestingly, innate immune proteins dominated and four protein alterations occurred in most of the studies; SPLUNC1, protein S100A8 and S100A9 and alpha-1-antitrypsin. Similarly, these proteins were also found in nasal fluid from children with virus infection and in addition a truncated form of SPLUNC1 and two other S100 proteins (S100A7-like 2 and S100A16), not previously found in nasal secretion, were identified.Altogether, the results indicate the potential use of a proteomic approach for identifying new biomarkers for the upper respiratory tract at an early stage in the disease process after exposure to irritant and microbial agents. The results indicate an effect on the innate immunity system and the proteins; SPLUNC1, protein S100A8 and S100A9 and alpha-1-antitrypsin are especially promising new biomarkers. Moreover, further studies of these proteins may help us to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in irritant-induced airway inflammation.
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| 2. |
- von Fieandt, Linus
(författare)
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Cutting Edge Titanium-based CVD Hard Coatings
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Modern tools for metal cutting applications, such as turning or milling, are typically improved with a thin protective coating. Despite being only a few microns thick, the coating can increase the lifetime of the tool by more than 100 times compared to an uncoated tool. Two different types of techniques are normally used to deposit the coatings, i.e. chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD). A CVD coated tool often includes several different layers. TiN-Ti(C,N)-Al2O3-TiN is a common combination. The research in this thesis has focused on deposition, characterization, and optimization of TiN and Ti(C,N) layers. CVD has been used to deposit all coatings studied in this thesis. They were characterized with a variety of techniques such as: X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.TiN was deposited on three different substrates, Co, Fe and Ni. It was found that the TiN coating was strongly affected by the substrate. TiN deposited on Fe substrates resulted in a porous interface caused by substrate etching by the reaction gas mixture. CVD of TiN on Ni substrates resulted in an unwanted intermetallic phase (Ni3Ti) in addition to TiN. Etching or corrosion of the Fe substrates could be reduced by lowering the deposition temperature. In addition, the formation of (Ni3Ti) could be significantly reduced by adjusting the partial pressure of the reactant gases. This shows that CVD of TiN on cutting tools with Fe or Ni as a binder phase needs to be optimized with respect to the process parameters.Thermodynamic calculations of the Ti(C,N) CVD process indicates that the major growth species using CH3CN, TiCl4 and H2 as precursors, was HCN and TiCl3. They were formed in the gas phase by homogeneous reactions. Furthermore, it was found that by adjusting the composition of the reaction gas mixture, the preferred orientation, morphology, and micro-structure of the Ti(C,N) coatings could be tailored. As a result, the tribological/mechanical properties of the Ti(C,N) coatings could be significantly improved. A hardness of 40 GPa, i.e. close to super hard could for instance be achieved. The origin of the mechanical improvements was attributed to a more ordered crystallographic orientation in the <111> direction as well as a high defect density close to the coating surface. In addition to the excellent mechanical properties, the Ti(C,N) coatings were also found to have a high corrosion resistance in sea water, thanks to a formation of a passivating surface layer (TiO2).
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| 3. |
- Taabodi, Amir
(författare)
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Implementing an Integrated Product Service Offering Design Method for Complex Products and Systems
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Over the last decade, manufacturing firms have shown increasing interest to shift from selling physical products to providing solutions for customer needs. Several concepts, such as the Integrated Product Service Offering (IPSO), have been developed to support these companies.This thesis sheds additional light on aspects and consequences of applying the SPIPS (Solution Provider through Integrated Product Service development), an IPSO design method for a Complex Product Systems (CoPS) provider through a case study. The thesis reveals that a CoPS provider could benefit by applying the SPIPS method in terms of improving the environmental performance of CoPS, creating synergy between the SPIPS method and other managerial systems (e.g. Customer Value Management (CVM) and Research & Development (R&D) management) and service-related knowledge integration in the product development process.The SPIPS method can contribute to the environmental performance of CoPS to a wide extent. In the design phase, the most influential phase, the IPSO design method can provide different options to address the environmental performance of CoPS. In the use phase, with the highest environmental impact, the SPIPS method can facilitate the design of different services which could outperform existing technological solutions for changing physical products in terms of contribution to the environmental performance of CoPS.Furthermore, the SPIPS method can support CVM through developing analytical trees for customer values. Through evaluating the correlation between design parameters and finding the most important ones, designers can focus on the “hot spot” and managers can assign resources in an effective and efficient way. The customer-centric feature of the IPSO concept can also contribute to CVM in terms of improving the process of evaluating customer value, and by providing customized offerings to meet customer needs.In addition, based on the SPIPS method a process is developed to prioritize R&D projects with regard to provider value and customer value. Provider value and customer value, which are not always the same, are used as drivers for R&D project prioritization. The value-based Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is used to overcome the difficulty of systematically relating R&D projects with customer value. The value-based QFD improves the process of service-related knowledge integration in the design phase of product development, and provides designers with the opportunity to investigate the total effect of each R&D project on customer value over the product life cycle.
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| 4. |
- Bossér, Ulrika, Dr. 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Kvaliteter i elevers samtal under gruppdiskussioner och rollspel om samhällsfrågor med naturvetenskapligt innehåll
- 2020
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Ingår i: FND (Svensk förening för forskning i naturvetenskapernas didaktik) konferens 2020, Göteborgs universitet (digital konferens), 11-12 november 2020.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Olika typer av klassrumsdiskussioner lyfts ofta fram som ett sätt att främja elevers resonemangsförmåga och kritiska tänkande. Det behövs dock mer kunskap om vilka specifika kvaliteter i diskussioner mellan elever som kan främja sådana förmågor.Detta konferensbidrag presenterar en studie där vi har undersökt kvaliteter i elevers resonemang om SNI, dels under utforskande gruppdiskussioner och dels under en debatt i form av ett rollspel. Vi undersökte också hur dessa kvaliteter sedan fick betydelse för elevers skriftliga resonemang, genom att analysera elevers argumenterande texter efter respektive aktivitet. I studien deltog 35 elever från två klasser som läste kursen Naturkunskap 1b. De två SNI som eleverna arbetade med berörde vargfrågan i Sverige respektive genmanipulerade grödor.Kvaliteter i elevernas muntliga och skriftliga resonemang om SNI beskrevs i termer av attityd (öppenhet för eller avfärdande av olika perspektiv) och sociolingvistisk kod (huruvida eleverna inkluderar förklaringar och motiveringar i sina resonemang eller inte). Dessa kvalitativa data analyserades därefter vidare med statistiska metoder.Resultaten visar att eleverna under gruppdiskussionerna i högre grad än under debatten nyanserat resonerade om ett flertal olika perspektiv, till exempel naturvetenskapliga, etiska, politiska och personliga. Ett annat resultat var att eleverna i den här studien förklarade och motiverade sina resultat i högre grad under debatten än i gruppdiskussionerna. Under presentationen kommer dessa resultat att diskuteras i relation till syftet med respektive typ av aktivitet.Ingen signifikant skillnad kunde visas mellan gruppdiskussioner och debatt när det gäller vilken betydelse de fick för kvaliteter i elevernas argumenterande texter. Vad gäller kvaliteter i elevernas diskussioner indikerar däremot resultaten att en attityd med öppenhet för olika perspektiv tillsammans med resonemang som inkluderar förklaringar och motiv främjar öppenhet för olika perspektiv i elevernas texter. Pedagogiska implikationer av resultaten kommer att diskuteras under presentationen.
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| 5. |
- Bossér, Ulrika, Dr. 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Students' Use of Open-Minded Attitude and Elaborate Talk in Group Discussion and Role-Playing Debate on Socioscientific Issues
- 2020
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Ingår i: Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. - : Modestum. - 1305-8223 .- 1305-8215. ; 16:12, s. 1-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Student-active science teaching that includes interactions among students is suggested to support students’ reasoning skills. However, little is known about what are the beneficial modes of interaction to support learning. In the present study, we investigated how different types of classroom discussion on socioscientific issues can encourage students’ reasoning skills as expressed in argumentative essays. Qualities of students’ talk and reasoning skills were described in terms of attitudes, drawing on Dewey, and sociolinguistic codes, drawn from Bernstein. Qualitative data consisting of transcribed classroom discussions and student argumentative essays were analysed by means of statistical methods. The results describe how specific qualities in students’ talk influence qualities of students’ argumentative texts. The results indicate that teachers by promoting elaborate talk among students can stimulate more nuanced and elaborate student texts.
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| 6. |
- Bossér, Ulrika, Dr. 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Teachers’ Coordination of Dialogic and Authoritative Discourses Promoting Specific Goals in Socioscientific Issue-Based Teaching
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. - : Springer. - 1571-0068 .- 1573-1774. ; 19:3, s. 461-482
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The integration of socioscientific issues (SSI) into science teaching requires that teachers manage classroom discussions in which various perspectives are considered and students’ contributions are recognized. The present study aimed to provide knowledge of how classroom discussions on SSI can be structured and implemented to pursue specific teaching purposes. In this study, two secondary science teachers’ employment of communicative approaches during four discussions on SSI was analysed. In the studied context, communicative approaches can be described as involving various or only a single perspective on SSI and as being either interactive or non-interactive. The results elucidate how teachers can make purposeful use of different communicative approaches to facilitate students’ decision-making while promoting complexity in their reasoning. The results also show how teachers can promote cumulativity, in terms of their recognition of students’ contributions to discussions. It is proposed that teachers can use the concept of communicative approaches as an analytical tool to reflect on and develop aspects of teaching practice in relation to the goals that they wish to achieve.
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| 7. |
- Görling, Stefan, 1980-
(författare)
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Samarbete utan gemensamma mål : Att styra och stimulera innovation
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In Sweden, three of the four largest institutional research funders have the explicit goal to not only support research but also to stimulate economic growth. How this should be done in practice, however, is more uncertain. Often used theories, e.g. triple helix, national innovation systems and clusters, are all based on the notion that different skills and organizations should be combined in dynamic partnerships in order to shorten the time from research to application. In this dissertation, I present how an R&D program with the requirement to both produce valuable research results and to stimulate innovation was put into practice. The program is explored from multiple levels of analysis. Based on the case, it is showed how innovation policy acts as an organizing force on its environment and that it affects the organization of R&D activities. This dissertation identifies problems that arise and investigates how the process can be improved in order to meet the objectives of stimulating innovation and growth. By applying the ideas of Serres and Luhmann, using the term innovation in these instances can be regarded as a form of parasite, which affects the system as such. I argue that this can be a fruitful way of conceptualizing how we can strive to manage closed systems that are otherwise challenging to govern. We can develop the debate on how to stimulate innovation by shifting the perspective from a sequential top-down process in which policy is being implemented to have a planned effect (and where any deviation constitutes an unsuccessful implementation), to discuss how we can disrupt a system in a particular direction. Based on the empirical data, I explore and analyze a number of identified events that will be rewarding for professionals working with similar efforts or are planning further research in this area. Among other things, it is demonstrated how a process perspective can be a rewarding way to study not only structural aspects but also seize the dynamics of the system. I demonstrate that this perspective better allows us to understand which aspects are important for stimulating innovation. The dissertation further discusses the concept of dual technologies, intellectual property, applied research and the conflict between different levels of innovation.
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| 8. |
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