| 1. |
- Gourdon, Mathias, 1980, et al.
(author)
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Pulp mill biorefineries
- 2013
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In: International Process Integration Jubilee Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, March 18-20 2013.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)
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| 2. |
- Karlsson, Johan, 1984
(author)
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Mesoporous Implants for Localized Controlled Drug Delivery
- 2014
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The use of bone-anchored implants is today a routine treatment for patients with normal regenerative capacity. However, there is an ongoing development within implant research to improve the osseointegration of implants. Despite considerable progress, further improvements are needed to achieve a more rapid healing and to enable treatment of patients suffering from low bone amounts or poor bone quality. One approach to improve the clinical outcome of bone-anchored implants is to use drugs to promote bone tissue regeneration. When using therapeutic treatments, the delivery system is crucial to obtain high efficiency and avoid toxic side effects.The primary aim of this thesis was to investigate how mesoporous titania thin films can be used for local drug delivery to obtain enhanced osseointegration of implants. The well-defined pore structure of mesoporous materials makes them appropriate as drug delivery systems. Templates of different sizes were used, enabling the pore size to be varied from 3.4 to 7.2 nm. Moreover, the adsorption and release of different drugs from mesoporous titania were monitored using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation. The results showed that the mesoporous titania thin films served for high drug loading and controlled release. The drug administration of the osteoporosis drug alendronate was also evaluated in vivo. The drug was radiolabelled, which enabled molecular specific detection; hence, the drug distribution into the surrounding bone and the distal diffusion could be analyzed. The results showed that most of the released drug remained within a few 100 micrometers from the implant surface. Biological evaluation demonstrated that local delivery of the osteoporosis drugs alendronate and raloxifene from mesoporous titania thin films improved the osseointegrating performance of implants and that local delivery of chemokines, for homing of stem cells, enhanced the bone tissue regeneration.Another aim was to apply novel ex vivo analytical techniques to yield knowledge about the implant-bone interface. Atom probe tomography is considered as one of the most powerful tools for microstructural characterization. This technique was used for the first time to characterize an interface between a biomedical device and tissue. The analysis provided a three-dimensional atomic reconstruction of the interface between the implant and formed bone mineral. Raman spectroscopy with mapping capability was utilized to characterize the molecular identity of the formed bone mineral at implant surfaces with and without delivery of alendronate. It was shown that it is crucial to control the drug concentration in order to promote biomineralization.The results presented and discussed in this thesis demonstrate that mesoporous titania thin films are highly suitable as a drug delivery platform for bone anchored implants. Furthermore, the novel analytical ex vivo techniques applied allowed for new insights about tissue response to biomedical implants.
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| 3. |
- Lindskog, Carin, 1965-
(author)
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Tensions experienced and balancing strategies used in Agile Software Development environments
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- To achieve efficiency in rapidly changing environments, working methods that promote change and flexibility are needed. Thus, the Agile ways of working (i.e. Agile values, principles, and frameworks) are today the most common approach to developing software and something that is currently spreading to many other industries and organizations outside of the traditional IT sector. However, it is challenging to combine the business-driven need for predictability and planning with the Agile ways of working, e.g. changeability, self-management and step-by-step development and delivery; therefore, several tensions can arise at the team and organizational levels. Tensions can, for example, be experienced if the team members’ experiences are rooted in traditional project environments with stable processes and predefined requirements based on detailed planning. This dissertation aims to contribute to our knowledge of Agile Software Development (ASD) by examining the contradictions and tensions in ASD environments, as well as how to balance and react to these tensions. The dissertation responds to the great need for conceptual development in the field of Information Systems. The target groups are both researchers and practitioners.The research reported on in this dissertation is based on one conceptual study and two empirical studies. The studies reported on in four appended papers jointly contribute toward answering three research questions (RQs):RQ 1: What is the nature of the tensions experienced in ASD environments?RQ 2: What are the sources of the tensions experienced in ASD environments?RQ 3: What ambidextrous strategies can be used to both balance and react to the tensions found in ASD environments?This dissertation brings together concepts from academic domains of knowledge (organizational theories of [paradoxical] tensions and ambidexterity and Activity Theory derived from socio-psychological theory) in order to provide a new insight into the complexity of ASD.This dissertation contributes by discussing and visualizing how patterns of contradictions, categorized tensions and ambidextrous (i.e. the ability to manage two seemingly contradictory activities) strategies have been compiled and connected. This dissertation also contributes by describing how three models that can be used to develop the concept of “shared mental models”, which is so important to team-based learning.
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| 4. |
- Norman-Monroe, Therese, 1984-
(author)
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Transport accessibility, wholesale trade and spatial development
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis comprises four independent papers, which all explore some aspect of the relationship between accessibility and spatial development. The central question I pose is how improved accessibility to transportation services, human capital, jobs, or the market contributes to the spatial variation in economic development. Empirical data and estimations are utilized in all chapters.The first paper (co-authored with Johan Klaesson) explores how a regional accessibility model can be used to analyze the growth of knowledge-intensive industries on a detailed geographical scale compared to a broader definition.In the second paper (co-authored with Maria Börjesson and Christer Anderstig), a refined accessibility measure is used to estimate the magnitude of the causal effect of transport system investments on the unemployment rate, and whether the effect differs for people with different levels of education.The third paper addresses the role that access to transportation services plays for wholesale start-ups, particularly in regions lacking in local demand.The analysis in paper number four covers the same time period as the advancement of the Internet, which greatly reduced transaction costs. The paper examines the importance of access to human capital for the spatial reorganization and growth of wholesale industries during this time period.
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