1. |
- Andersson, Peter, 1981-, et al.
(author)
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Coincidence spectroscopy for increased sensitivity in radionuclide monitoring
- 2022
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The majority of the energy in a nuclear explosion is released in the immediate blast and the initial radiation accounts. The remaining fraction is released through radioactive decay of the explosion's fission products and neutron activation products over a longer time span. This allows for the detection of a nuclear explosion by detecting the presence of residual decay. Radionuclide monitoring stations for detection of radioactive emissions to the atmosphere is thereby an important tool in the verification of compliance with nuclear disarmament treaties. In particular, the globally spanning radionuclide station network of the International Monitoring System (IMS) has been implemented for verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors are workhorses in radionuclide monitoring. The detection of characteristic gamma rays can be used to disclose the presence of signature nuclides produced innuclear weapon tests. A particular development that has potential to improve the sensitivity of radionuclide monitoring is the coincidence technique where decaying nuclides that emit several coincident gamma rays can be detected at much smaller activity concentrations than with conventional gamma spectroscopy.In this project, dedicated gamma-gamma coincidence detectors are being developed, utilizing electronically segmented HPGe detectors. These detectors are expected to be highly sensitive to low-activity samples of nuclides that present coincident emissions of gamma rays. In this paper we present the concept, define performance parameters, and explore the performance of such detectors to a subset of radionuclides of particular CTBT relevance. In addition, we discuss the path forward in developing a next generation gamma-gamma coincidence spectroscopy system of segmented HPGe.
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2. |
- Dods, Robert, 1989, et al.
(author)
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Ultrafast structural changes within a photosynthetic reaction centre.
- 2021
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 589:7841, s. 310-314
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Photosynthetic reaction centres harvest the energy content of sunlight by transporting electrons across an energy-transducing biological membrane. Here we use time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography1 using an X-ray free-electron laser2 to observe light-induced structural changes in the photosynthetic reaction centre of Blastochloris viridis on a timescale of picoseconds. Structural perturbations first occur at the special pair of chlorophyll molecules of the photosynthetic reaction centre that are photo-oxidized by light. Electron transfer to the menaquinone acceptor on the opposite side of the membrane induces a movement of this cofactor together with lower amplitude protein rearrangements. These observations reveal how proteins use conformational dynamics to stabilize the charge-separation steps of electron-transfer reactions.
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3. |
- Bergemalm, Daniel, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Systemic Inflammation in Preclinical Ulcerative Colitis
- 2021
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In: Gastroenterology. - : AGA Institute. - 0016-5085 .- 1528-0012. ; 161:5, s. 1526-1539.e9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background & Aims: Preclinical ulcerative colitis is poorly defined. We aimed to characterize the preclinical systemic inflammation in ulcerative colitis, using a comprehensive set of proteins.Methods: We obtained plasma samples biobanked from individuals who developed ulcerative colitis later in life (n = 72) and matched healthy controls (n = 140) within a population-based screening cohort. We measured 92 proteins related to inflammation using a proximity extension assay. The biologic relevance of these findings was validated in an inception cohort of patients with ulcerative colitis (n = 101) and healthy controls (n = 50). To examine the influence of genetic and environmental factors on these markers, a cohort of healthy twin siblings of patients with ulcerative colitis (n = 41) and matched healthy controls (n = 37) were explored.Results: Six proteins (MMP10, CXCL9, CCL11, SLAMF1, CXCL11 and MCP-1) were up-regulated (P < .05) in preclinical ulcerative colitis compared with controls based on both univariate and multivariable models. Ingenuity Pathway Analyses identified several potential key regulators, including interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor, interferon-gamma, oncostatin M, nuclear factor-κB, interleukin-6, and interleukin-4. For validation, we built a multivariable model to predict disease in the inception cohort. The model discriminated treatment-naïve patients with ulcerative colitis from controls with leave-one-out cross-validation (area under the curve = 0.92). Consistently, MMP10, CXCL9, CXCL11, and MCP-1, but not CCL11 and SLAMF1, were significantly up-regulated among the healthy twin siblings, even though their relative abundances seemed higher in incident ulcerative colitis.Conclusions: A set of inflammatory proteins are up-regulated several years before a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. These proteins were highly predictive of an ulcerative colitis diagnosis, and some seemed to be up-regulated already at exposure to genetic and environmental risk factors.
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4. |
- Branger, Erik, 1988-, et al.
(author)
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Comparison of prediction models for Cherenkov light emissions from nuclear fuel assemblies
- 2017
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In: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 12
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device (DCVD) is a tool used by nuclear safeguards inspectors to verify irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies in wet storage based on the Cherenkov light produced by the assembly. Verification that no rods have been substituted in the fuel, so-called partial-defect verification, is made by comparing the intensity measured with a DCVD with a predicted intensity, based on operator fuel declaration. The prediction model currently used by inspectors is based on simulations of Cherenkov light production in a BWR 8x8 geometry. This work investigates prediction models based on simulated Cherenkov light production in a BWR 8x8 and a PWR 17x17 assembly, as well as a simplified model based on a single rod in water. Cherenkov light caused by both fission product gamma and beta decays were considered.The simulations reveal that there are systematic differences between the models, most noticeably with respect to the fuel assembly cooling time. Consequently, a prediction model that is based on another fuel assembly configuration than the fuel type being measured, will result in systematic over or underestimation of short-cooled fuel as opposed to long-cooled fuel. While a simplified model may be accurate enough for fuel assemblies with fairly homogeneous cooling times, the prediction models may differ by up to 18 \,\% for more heterogeneous fuel. Accordingly, these investigations indicate that the currently used model may need to be exchanged with a set of more detailed, fuel-type specific models, in order minimize the model dependant systematic deviations.
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5. |
- Branger, Erik, 1988-, et al.
(author)
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Investigating the Cherenkov light production due to cross-talk in closely stored nuclear fuel assemblies in wet storage
- 2018
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In: ESARDA Bulletin. - : European Commission Joint Research Centre. - 1977-5296. ; :57, s. 66-74
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The Digital Cherenkov Viewing Device (DCVD) is one of the tools available to a safeguards inspector performing verifications of irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies in wet storage. One of the main advantages of safeguards verification using Cherenkov light is that it can be performed without moving the fuel assemblies to an isolated measurement position, allowing for quick measurements. One disadvantage of this procedure is that irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies are often stored close to each other, and consequently gamma radiation from one assembly can enter a neighbouring assembly, and produce Cherenkov light in the neighbour. As a result, the measured Cherenkov light intensity of one assembly will include contributions from its neighbours, which may affect the safeguards conclusions drawn.In this paper, this so-called near-neighbour effect, is investigated and quantified through simulation. The simulations show that for two fuel assemblies with similar properties stored closely, the near-neighbour effect can cause a Cherenkov light intensity increase of up to 3% in a measurement. For one fuel assembly surrounded by identical neighbour assemblies, a total of up to 14% of the measured intensity may emanate from the neighbours. The relative contribution from the near-neighbour effect also depends on the fuel properties; for a long-cooled, low-burnup assembly, with low gamma and Cherenkov light emission, surrounded by short-cooled, high-burnup assemblies with high emission, the measured Cherenkov light intensity may be dominated by the contributions from its neighbours.When the DCVD is used for partial-defect verification, a 50% defect must be confidently detected. Previous studies have shown that a 50% defect will reduce the measured Cherenkov light intensity by 30% or more, and thus a threshold has been defined, where a ≥30% decrease in Cherenkov light indicates a partial defect. However, this work shows that the near-neighbour effect may also influence the measured intensity, calling either for a lowering of this threshold or for the intensity contributions from neighbouring assemblies to be corrected for. In this work, a method is proposed for assessing the near-neighbour effect based on declared fuel parameters, enabling the latter type of corrections.
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6. |
- Branger, Erik, 1988-, et al.
(author)
-
On Cherenkov light production by irradiated nuclear fuel rods
- 2017
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In: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 12
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Safeguards verification of irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies in wet storage is frequently done by measuring the Cherenkov light in the surrounding water produced due to radioactive decays of fission products in the fuel. This paper accounts for the physical processes behind the Cherenkov light production caused by a single fuel rod in wet storage, and simulations are presented that investigate to what extent various properties of the rod affect the Cherenkov light production. The results show that the fuel properties has a noticeable effect on the Cherenkov light production, and thus that the prediction models for Cherenkov light production which are used in the safeguards verifications could potentially be improved by considering these properties.It is concluded that the dominating source of the Cherenkov light is gamma-ray interactions with electrons in the surrounding water. Electrons created from beta decay may also exit the fuel and produce Cherenkov light, and e.g. Y-90 was identified as a possible contributor to significant levels of the measurable Cherenkov light in long-cooled fuel. The results also show that the cylindrical, elongated fuel rod geometry results in a non-isotropic Cherenkov light production, and the light component parallel to the rod's axis exhibits a dependence on gamma-ray energy that differs from the total intensity, which is of importance since the typical safeguards measurement situation observes the vertical light component. It is also concluded that the radial distributions of the radiation sources in a fuel rod will affect the Cherenkov light production.
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7. |
- Dods, Robert, 1989, et al.
(author)
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From Macrocrystals to Microcrystals: A Strategy for Membrane Protein Serial Crystallography.
- 2017
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In: Structure. - : Elsevier BV. - 1878-4186 .- 0969-2126. ; 25:9, s. 1461-1468
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serial protein crystallography was developed at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) and is now also being applied at storage ring facilities. Robust strategies for the growth and optimization of microcrystals are needed to advance the field. Here we illustrate a generic strategy for recovering high-density homogeneous samples of microcrystals starting from conditions known to yield large (macro) crystals of the photosynthetic reaction center of Blastochloris viridis (RCvir). We first crushed these crystals prior to multiple rounds of microseeding. Each cycle of microseeding facilitated improvements in the RCvir serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) structure from 3.3-Å to 2.4-Å resolution. This approach may allow known crystallization conditions for other proteins to be adapted to exploit novel scientific opportunities created by serial crystallography.
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8. |
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9. |
- Andersson, Erik, et al.
(author)
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Projected sensitivity to sub-GeV dark matter of next-generation semiconductor detectors
- 2020
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In: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1475-7516. ; 2020:5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We compute the projected sensitivity to dark matter (DM) particles in the sub-GeV mass range of future direct detection experiments using germanium and silicon semiconductor targets. We perform this calculation within the dark photon model for DM-electron interactions using the likelihood ratio as a test statistic, Monte Carlo simulations, and background models that we extract from recent experimental data. We present our results in terms of DM-electron scattering cross section values required to reject the background only hypothesis in favour of the background plus DM signal hypothesis with a statistical significance, Z, corresponding to 3 or 5 standard deviations. We also test the stability of our conclusions under changes in the astrophysical parameters governing the local space and velocity distribution of DM in the Milky Way. In the best-case scenario, when a high-voltage germanium detector with an exposure of 50 kg-year and a CCD silicon detector with an exposure of 1 kg-year and a dark current rate of 1×10-7 counts/pixel/day have simultaneously reported a DM signal, we find that the smallest cross section value compatible with Z=3 (Z=5) is about 4×10-42 cm2 (6×10-42 cm2) for contact interactions, and 2.5×10-41 cm2 (4×10-41 cm2) for long-range interactions. Our sensitivity study extends and refine previous works in terms of background models, statistical methods, and treatment of the underlying astrophysical uncertainties.
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10. |
- Andersson, Erik, 1988-, et al.
(author)
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Subphenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease are characterized by specific serum protein profiles
- 2017
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 12:10
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Genetic and immunological data indicate that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are characterized by specific inflammatory protein profiles. However, the serum proteome of IBD is still to be defined. We aimed to characterize the inflammatory serum protein profiles of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), using the novel proximity extension assay.Methods: A panel of 91 inflammatory proteins were quantified in a discovery cohort of CD (n = 54), UC patients (n = 54), and healthy controls (HCs; n = 54). We performed univariate analyses by t-test, with false discovery rate correction. A sparse partial least-squares (sPLS) approach was used to identify additional discriminative proteins. The results were validated in a replication cohort.Results: By univariate analysis, 17 proteins were identified with significantly different abundances in CD and HCs, and 12 when comparing UC and HCs. Additionally, 64 and 45 discriminant candidate proteins, respectively, were identified with the multivariate approach. Correspondingly, significant cross-validation error rates of 0.12 and 0.19 were observed in the discovery cohort. Only FGF-19 was identified from univariate comparisons of CD and UC, but 37 additional discriminant candidates were identified using the multivariate approach. The observed cross-validation error rate for CD vs. UC remained significant when restricting the analyses to patients in clinical remission. Using univariate comparisons, 16 of 17 CD-associated proteins and 8 of 12 UC-associated proteins were validated in the replication cohort. The area under the curve for CD and UC was 0.96 and 0.92, respectively, when the sPLS model from the discovery cohort was applied to the replication cohort.Conclusions: By using the novel PEA method and a panel of inflammatory proteins, we identified proteins with significantly different quantities in CD patients and UC patients compared to HCs. Our data highlight the potential of the serum IBD proteome as a source for identification of future diagnostic biomarkers.
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11. |
- Andersson, Jan, 1965-, et al.
(author)
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Läsbarhet av vägskyltar i form av LED-skylt : färgkombination och fontstorlekens betydelse för läsbarheten
- 2015
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Läsbarheten av vägskyltar har studerats och då i LED-format. Avsikten med studien var att studera effekten av färgkombination, fontstorlek och ljusbetingelser för läsbarheten av en LED-skylt. 101 studenter deltog i studien, där 32 var män och 69 var kvinnor. Deras ålder varierade mellan 18–66 år. Valet av försökspersoner påverkades av studiens syfte, det vill säga det var inte intressant att studera vare sig skillnader mellan olika kön, ålder eller synförmåga. En statistisk analys genomfördes för att studera hur läsbarhetsavstånden varierade som en effekt av färgkombination, fontstorlek och ljusförhållanden. Vidare uppmättes belysningsstyrkan vid de datainsamlingstillfällen som genomfördes. Läsbarhetsavstånden undersöktes både i dagsljus och i mörker. Resultaten av studien visar att färgkombinationen på skylten påverkar dess läsbarhet. Skyltar med vit text på blå, brun eller grön bakgrund kunde avläsas vid längre avstånd än skyltar med svart text på vit eller orange bakgrund. Fontstorleken är också av betydelse för läsbarheten och varje ökning i fontstorlek ger en signifikant skillnad i avstånd som skylten kan avläsas på där skylten med den största fontstorleken (300 mm) avläses från längst avstånd. Skyltarna avläses även vid längre avstånd i dagsljus jämfört med mörker. Läsbarheten av skylten med den minsta fontstorleken 200 millimeter ändras dock inte signifikant vid dagsljus jämfört med mörker. Dessa entydiga resultat påvisar att samtliga variabler som studerats har betydelse för läsbarheten. Det ska dock tilläggas att försöksdeltagarna stod stilla vid de tillfällen som de avläste skyltarna och hade fri sikt till skylten.
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12. |
- Bergemalm, Daniel, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Markers of systemic inflammation in preclinical ulcerative colitis
- 2019
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In: United European Gastroenterology journal. - : Sage Publications. - 2050-6406 .- 2050-6414. ; 7:8_suppl, s. 111-111
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Data on the preclinical stage of ulcerative colitis (UC) are sparse. At diagnosis, UC often shows a modest increase in systemic inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein (CRP). However, a subclinical inflammation with elevated levels of CRP and interleukin-6 (IL6) in serum have been observed several years before diagnosis [1]. First-degree relatives, including healthy twin siblings, also display elevated levels of some inflammatory markers as a consequence of shared genetic and environmental risk factors [2]. It is reasonable to believe that the preclinical inflammation, reflecting early pathogenic mechanisms, ultimately leads to a diagnosis of UC.Aim and Method: We aimed to deeper examine the systemic preclinical inflammation in UC using a comprehensive set of protein markers. Cases with UC were identified at clinical follow-up of a prospectively collected population-based cohort of healthy individuals from northern Sweden. Plasma samples from cases and controls were subjected to proximity extension assay for relative quantification of 92 protein markers of inflammation. Results were validated in an inception cohort of treatment naïve, newly diagnosed patients with UC (n=101) vs. healthy controls (n=50). In addition, to examine the impact of shared genetic and environmental factors, a cohort of healthy mono- and dizygotic twin siblings of twins with UC (n=41) and matched healthy controls (n=37) were explored.Results: Pre-diagnostic plasma samples from 72 cases who later in life developed UC and 140 controls, matched for gender, age, year of health survey and area of residence, were identified (table 1). Six proteins were significantly upregulated (p<0.05) in pre-diagnostic UC compared to matched healthy controls. A receiver-operating curve based prediction model using the six protein markers combined with sex, age, smoking status and time to diagnose was set up for validation. The model discriminated newly diagnosed, treatment naïve UC cases from healthy controls (AUC=0.96; CI 0.93-0.98). An AUC of 0.73 (CI 0.62-0.84) was observed when the model was applied to healthy twin siblings vs. healthy controls and four out of six proteins were upregulated similarly as in the pre-diagnostic samples. The relative levels of the six proteins showed an intermediate upregulation in pre-diagnostic samples and samples from healthy twin siblings compared to samples at diagnosis of UC. Only one protein showed a significant correlation with time to diagnosis in the pre-diagnostic samples. Using pathway analysis, the six protein upregulations pointed towards subclinical inflammation in UC being caused by dysregulation of four immune pathways.Conclusions: This is the first comprehensive characterisation of preclinical systemic inflammation in UC. Inflammatory proteins were upregulated several years prior to diagnosis of UC and to some extent these alterations were also seen in healthy twin siblings of UC patients. Characterisation of the preclinical stage of UC could pave the way for identification of predictive biomarkers and preventive strategies.
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13. |
- Bost, Jeremy P., et al.
(author)
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Novel endosomolytic compounds enable highly potent delivery of antisense oligonucleotides
- 2022
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 5:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The therapeutic and research potentials of oligonucleotides (ONs) have been hampered in part by their inability to effectively escape endosomal compartments to reach their cytosolic and nuclear targets. Splice-switching ONs (SSOs) can be used with endosomolytic small molecule compounds to increase functional delivery. So far, development of these compounds has been hindered by a lack of high-resolution methods that can correlate SSO trafficking with SSO activity. Here we present in-depth characterization of two novel endosomolytic compounds by using a combination of microscopic and functional assays with high spatiotemporal resolution. This system allows the visualization of SSO trafficking, evaluation of endosomal membrane rupture, and quantitates SSO functional activity on a protein level in the presence of endosomolytic compounds. We confirm that the leakage of SSO into the cytosol occurs in parallel with the physical engorgement of LAMP1-positive late endosomes and lysosomes. We conclude that the new compounds interfere with SSO trafficking to the LAMP1-positive endosomal compartments while inducing endosomal membrane rupture and concurrent ON escape into the cytosol. The efficacy of these compounds advocates their use as novel, potent, and quick-acting transfection reagents for antisense ONs.
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14. |
- Branger, Erik, 1988-, et al.
(author)
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Plutonium Production under Uranium Constraint
- 2023
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In: Science and Global Security. - : Routledge. - 0892-9882 .- 1547-7800. ; 31:3, s. 115-136
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Production rates of fissile materials are often used to independently assess the number of nuclear warheads a state may possess. One key constraint of a plutonium-based nuclear weapons program is the availability of natural uranium, where a shortage of uranium will constrain plutonium production in the fuel cycle. Recycling of the reprocessed uranium can be used to mitigate such a shortage. Furthermore, since military reactors operate in short cycles to ensure that the plutonium is weapon-grade, it may be possible to operate them using slightly depleted uranium, provided that there are sufficient reactivity margins. Using slightly depleted or recycled uranium, the plutonium production can increase by a factor 2–5 as compared to a once-through scenario, for the same input of natural uranium. For future assessments of a state’s plutonium production, a uranium constraint should only be considered if there is clear evidence that no nuclear fuel cycle involving uranium recycling is implemented, or if evidence exists that the recycling is insufficient to mitigate the constraint.
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15. |
- Branny, Artur, 1988-, et al.
(author)
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Smarter greener cities through a social-ecological-technological systems approach
- 2022
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In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 55
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Smart city development is expanding rapidly globally and is often argued to improve urban sustainability. However, these smart developments are often technology-centred approaches that can miss critical interactions between social and ecological components of urban systems, limiting their real impact. We draw on the social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) literature and framing to expand and improve the impact of smart city agendas. A more holistic systems framing can ensure that ‘smart’ solutions better address sustainability broadly and extend to issues of equity, power, agency, nature-based solutions and ecological resilience. In this context, smart city infrastructure plays an important role in enabling new ways of measuring, experiencing and engaging with local and temporal dynamics of urban systems. We provide a series of examples of subsystems interactions, or ‘couplings’, to illustrate how a SETS approach can expand and enhance smart city infrastructure and development to meet normative societal goals.
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16. |
- Cha, Jihyoung, 1988-, et al.
(author)
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A Numerical Approach to Optimize the Design of a Pintle Injector for LOX/GCH4 Liquid-Propellant Rocket Engine
- 2023
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In: Aerospace. - : MDPI. - 2226-4310. ; 10:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study presents an optimal design approach of a pintle injector for a deep throttlable liquid-propellant rocket engine (LPRE). Even though the pintle injector is used in rocket engines, it has become more important since reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) recently became a trend due to their economic and environmental benefits. However, since many variables must be determined to design a pintle injector, optimizing the pintle injector design is complicated. For this, we design a pintle injector to optimize the performance parameters; the spray angle, vaporization distance, and Sauter mean diameter (SMD). To confirm the approach, we design a pintle injector using an optimization method based on convex quadratic programming (CQP) for a 1000 N thrust and a throttle ability of 5 to 1 LPRE with liquid oxygen and gaseous methane. Then, we verify the performance using a numerical simulation. Through this work, we check the effectiveness of the optimization method for a pintle injector design.
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17. |
- Draxler, Joar, et al.
(author)
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A numerical model for simulating the effect of strain rate on eutectic band thickness
- 2020
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In: Welding in the World. - : Springer. - 0043-2288 .- 1878-6669. ; 64:10, s. 1635-1658
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Large tensile strains acting on the solidifying weld metal can cause the formation of eutectic bands along grain boundaries. These eutectic bands can lead to severe liquation in the partially melted zone of a subsequent overlapping weld. This can increase the risk of heat-affected zone liquation cracking. In this paper, we present a solidification model for modeling eutectic bands. The model is based on solute convection in grain boundary liquid films induced by tensile strains. The proposed model was used to study the influence of strain rate on the thickness of eutectic bands in Alloy 718. It was found that when the magnitude of the strain rate is 10 times larger than that of the solidification rate, the calculated eutectic band thickness is about 200 to 500% larger (depending on the solidification rate) as compared to when the strain rate is zero. In the paper, we also discuss how eutectic bands may form from hot cracks.
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18. |
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19. |
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20. |
- Grape, Sophie, 1982-, et al.
(author)
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Non-proliferation and safeguards activities within the Alva Myrdal Centre for nuclear disarmament
- 2022
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In: Proceedings of the Symposium on International Safeguards: Reflecting on the Past and Anticipating the Future.
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In 2020, the Swedish government announced the intent to start up a national competence centre on nuclear disarmament in Sweden. The goal was to highlight the importance of nuclear disarmament issues, and to promote research, teaching and policy support on topics relevant to nuclear disarmament. During the spring semester 2021, the Alva Myrdal Centre (AMC) on nuclear disarmament was established at Uppsala University. The AMC combines competences from different disciplines such as peace and conflict research, applied nuclear physics, and international law, and organises the work into six different working groups. One of the working groups is focusing on technical aspects, while the remaining five working groups are focusing on policy aspects. The technical working group is led by the Division of Applied Nuclear Physics at Uppsala University, where research on nuclear safeguards has been performed for over 30 years, and where competence in addition exists on a number of applied physics applications ranging from nuclear reactions, nuclear power and detection of radionuclides.
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21. |
- Grape, Sophie, 1982-, et al.
(author)
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State-of-the-Art Report : Prepared by Working Group 4: Technical nuclear non-proliferation and safeguards under the Alva Myrdal Centre for nuclear disarmament
- 2022
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The Alva Myrdal Centre for nuclear disarmament (AMC) was established in 2021. AMC consists of six working Groups, and one of them - Working Group 4 - is called Technical nuclear non-proliferation and safeguards. This is the State-of-the-Art Report of that working group. The objective with the report is to provide an overview of the technical fields relevant to the working group and to highlight where research and activities within the working group may contribute to global nuclear disarmament. The report gives a brief explanation of actors in the field, introduces nuclear materials and assay techniques, and then continues to elaborate on challenges and needs associated with nuclear measurements and assessments in the fields of non-proliferation, nuclear safeguards and nuclear disarmament. A section is also devoted to the management of nuclear weapons materials after disarmament. Lastly, the report contains a section on interdisciplinary research and development in nuclear disarmament, and information about technical education and training in the non-proliferation and disarmament field.
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22. |
- Grännö, O., et al.
(author)
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Preclinical protein signatures in blood predict Crohn's disease and Ulcerative colitis several years before the diagnosis
- 2024
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In: Journal of Crohn's & Colitis. - : Oxford University Press. - 1873-9946 .- 1876-4479. ; 18:Suppl. 1, s. I660-I661
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: We aimed to identify protein signatures predictive of a future diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Methods: We conducted a case-control study, nested within large population-based cohorts with biorepositories. Samples were obtained from individuals who later in life were diagnosed with IBD (preclinical cases) and compared with age and sex-matched individuals who remained free from IBD during follow-up (controls). Using proximity extension assays (Olink, Uppsala), we measured 176 proteins. We applied regularized logistic regression to identify protein signatures of preclinical disease in serum from the discovery cohort (n=312). Their performance was validated in an external preclinical cohort (n=222). The biological relevance of identified proteins was further assessed in an inception cohort (n=144). Finally, we used an IBD twin cohort (n=327) to examine the impact of genetic and shared environmental factors on identified proteins.Results: We identified 34 proteins associated with preclinical Crohn’s disease (CD) in the discovery cohort (Pfalse discovery rate <0.10), with 9 confirmed in the validation cohort (Pfalse discovery rate <0.05). For preclinical ulcerative colitis (UC), 45 proteins were identified and 12 validated (Fig. 1A-B). In the discovery cohort, a signature of 29 proteins differentiated preclinical CD cases from controls with an AUC of 0.85 (Fig. 1G). Its performance was confirmed when applied to the preclinical validation cohort (AUC=0.84, Fig. 1H). Moreover, the signature had excellent capacity to differentiate newly diagnosed CD from healthy controls in the inception cohort (AUC = 0.99, Fig. 1I). The preclinical UC signature had a significant, but albeit lower, predictive capacity in the discovery (AUC=0.77), validation (AUC=0.67) and inception cohort (AUC=0.90, Fig. 1G-I).15 of 17 proteins associated with preclinical IBD demonstrated significantly higher intra-pair correlation coefficients in healthy monozygotic- compared to dizygotic twin pairs, indicating an influence from genetic factors on the regulation of these protein markers. The preclinical signature for CD demonstrated an AUC of 0.87 when comparing twins with preclinical CD (n=10) to matched external healthy twins. However, its predictive capacity was lower when comparing preclinical CD twins with their healthy twin siblings (AUC=0.58), i.e., when accounting for genetic and shared environmental factors. The difference in AUC estimates in the twin cohort was not significant (P=0.07).
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23. |
- Gustavsson, Cecilia, Dr, 1973-, et al.
(author)
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A technical view on Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme
- 2022
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Pakistan performed at least two nuclear weapons tests in 1998 as a direct response to the Indian nuclear tests earlier the same year. With this act, Pakistan became the seventh country to successfully complete a nuclear weapons programme. The Pakistani nuclear weapons arsenal consists of both uranium and plutonium weapons and the country has an extensive nuclear industry with all facilities necessary for enrichment of uranium, production of plutonium and reprocessing of spent reactor fuel.Pakistan acquired a Canadian civil heavy water nuclear reactor in 1971; KANUPP-1. In 1976 however, the cooperation with Canada ended as Canada stopped supplying fuel for the reactor. At this point, Pakistan had acquired know-how and experience to manufacture its own fuel and also started building an independent nuclear industry with several unsafeguarded reactors at the Khushab site. With French assistance, a reprocessing plant was constructed and consequently, Pakistan is today in possession of all components necessary for developing and employing both uranium and plutonium nuclear devices. In this presentation, we will explore technical challenges associated with bringing a country such as Pakistan under the existing or proposed treaty verification following treaties such as the NPT, TPNW and FMCT. Using a simulation framework and estimates based on known physical quantities and derived abilities, we will discuss what conclusions can be drawn with regards to uranium and plutonium stockpiles.
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24. |
- Gustavsson, Cecilia, Dr, 1973-, et al.
(author)
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Exploring methods to reconstruct historic reactor operation
- 2024
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In: Alva Myrdal Centre AMC Annual conference 2024, 18-19 June, 2024..
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In the event of a far-reaching nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapon states would cease pro-duction of fissile materials for nuclear weapons, and also place their pre-existing plutonium andhigh enriched uranium (HEU) under international inspection. In this case, it can be anticipated that sizes of stockpiles are declared, with detailed records on how they were produced. Forexample, if the core geometry and operational history of a military reactor would be declaredby the owner state, the plutonium production of the core can be reconstructed using reactorphysics codes, which can provide confidence in the declared plutonium stockpiles.Challenges include that any data on fuel cycle operations provided by the state cannot beassumed to be truthful. This leads to the additional need to verify the declared operationalhistory by consistency checks within records and when possible with inspections. A further complication is that a long time might have passed since the fissile material production tookplace, and records can therefore be expected to be incomplete or inaccurate, and the responsiblepersonnel may be retired or even deceased. In this case, there may be a need to be able toreconstruct lost information on fuel cycle operations.We consider a test and training case of the Swedish pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) in Ågesta, which was in operation between 1963 and 1974. In this case study, we explore available archive material in order to obtain information such as the core loadings of the reactor, its operational history and the fuel designs used. Primarily we explore the use of records from the tritium monitoring for consistency checks with operational data records. Tritium production occurs via neutron capture in deuterium; a main component of heavy water, and since heavy water is an expensive asset, the consumption of it is closely monitored, for example by measuring tritium release. Moreover, the tritium production is proportional to the neutron flux in thereactor which is also a crucial component for calculating plutonium production
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25. |
- Gustavsson, Cecilia, Dr, 1973-, et al.
(author)
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Modelling fissile production in the Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR) of DPRK
- 2024
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In: Alva Myrdal Centre AMC Annual conference 2024, 18-19 June, 2024.
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Since North Korea, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) left the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003, the DPRK nuclear fuel cycle has continued operation as well as further development, without transparency to international inspectors. A recent addition to the DPRK fuel cycle is the Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR), a 100 MWth light water reactor in Yongbyon, which, as appears to be in operation since October 2023.Considering the non-NPT-signatory status of DPRK, it is of concern that the ELWR may be used to produce plutonium for nuclear warheads, in addition to or instead of its use for electricity production. In this work we explore the possibility to model the fissile material production in the ELWR, by modelling the core with Serpent2, and integrating information from available remote monitoring, such as satellite imagery of cooling water outlets from the facility.Little openly available and verified information exists on the details of the ELWR, such as nuclear fuel design and core geometry. Therefore, a base case based on available statements is used to create a core model similar to conventional international LWRs. Multiple scenarios for core load options are based on either assumptions on 1) uniform enrichment optimised for low burnup and production of weapons-grade plutonium, 2) heterogeneous core with drivers of enrichment fuel and targets of natural uranium for plutonium production or 3) uniform enrichment for high burnup and electricity production. Plutonium production made possible using the ELWR is estimated per MWd, as well as per year of operation. Special consideration is given to cycle length constraints from requirement of weapons-grade quality of the produced plutonium, and implications on availability and stoppage frequency, which might be monitored remotely, unless online refuelling is a possibility.Possible implications on the DPRK Pu stockpile are discussed, as well as attempts to identify unknown parameters of importance (i.e. attempting to make unknown unknowns into known unknowns).
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26. |
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27. |
- Hedlund, Johanna, 1988-
(author)
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The environment knows no borders : Investigating the collective challenge of governing policy issue interdependencies
- 2021
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Many of today’s most pressing environmental problems cross-cut jurisdictional, geographical, and administrative boundaries, creating interdependencies between different locations and between policy issues that no single actor can address alone. In practice, however, environmental policy is still often contained within the traditional responsibilities of the public sector and frequently judged ineffective, particularly in the European context. Whether and how interdependencies are actually associated with collaboration between policy actors has remained difficult to establish. This cumulative thesis focuses on interdependent environmental challenges that policy actors need to manage. Specifically, this thesis describes and analyses policy issue interdependencies and how they align with the collaborations of policy actors. In addition, this thesis explores how policy issue interdependencies can be revealed, concretised, and analysed. Interdependencies are effectively represented by networks, both as conceptual models and as analytical methods. Therefore, the studies in this thesis use a multilevel network model to explore the structural alignment between interdependencies and collaboration through the perspective of institutional fit.This thesis reports findings from two research projects. The first project focuses on policy issue interdependencies relating to regional water degradation. This project describes and analyses these interdependencies in relation to collaborative networks across administrative boundaries (Papers I–III). The second project focuses on climate change impacts that propagate through food trade dependencies. This project contributes insights into the effect of climate change on food trade networks that cross national borders, illustrating a need for global climate adaptation (Paper IV).Paper I introduces a methodological procedure for assessing policy issue interdependencies and develops policy issue networks by identifying overlapping causal relationships between policy issues and their environmental targets. By applying the procedure empirically to water governance, the paper shows that policy issue interdependencies vary in degree and type. Paper II combines the policy issue networks from Paper I with collaborative networks of policy actors in a multilevel network to analyse the impact policy issue interdependencies have on who policy actors select for collaborative partners and to clarify if and how patterns of collaboration among actors are formed. Paper III differentiates reinforcing and counteracting policy issue interdependencies and studies how these impact the perceptions and collaborations of the actors. Paper IV, shifting the focus to the global level, analyses climate change impacts related to food trade dependencies across national borders. Specifically, Paper IV investigates the impact of climate change on the structure of global food trade networks and therefore contributes a baseline scenario analysis for future studies that investigate policy issue interdependencies and policy actor collaborations on the global level.
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28. |
- Hedman‐Lagerlöf, Erik, et al.
(author)
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Therapist‐supported Internet‐based cognitive behaviour therapy yields similar effects as face‐to‐face therapy for psychiatric and somatic disorders : an updated systematic review and meta‐analysis
- 2023
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In: World Psychiatry. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1723-8617 .- 2051-5545. ; 22:2, s. 305-314
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Providing therapist-guided cognitive behaviour therapy via the Internet (ICBT) has advantages, but a central research question is to what extent similar clinical effects can be obtained as with gold-standard face-to-face cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). In a previous meta-analysis published in this journal, which was updated in 2018, we found evidence that the pooled effects for the two formats were equivalent in the treatment of psychiatric and somatic disorders, but the number of published randomized trials was relatively low (n=20). As this is a field that moves rapidly, the aim of the current study was to conduct an update of our systematic review and meta-analysis of the clinical effects of ICBT vs. face-to-face CBT for psychiatric and somatic disorders in adults. We searched the PubMed database for relevant studies published from 2016 to 2022. The main inclusion criteria were that studies had to compare ICBT to face-to-face CBT using a randomized controlled design and targeting adult populations. Quality assessment was made using the Cochrane risk of bias criteria (Version 1), and the main outcome estimate was the pooled standardized effect size (Hedges’ g) using a random effects model. We screened 5,601 records and included 11 new randomized trials, adding them to the 20 previously identified ones (total n=31). Sixteen different clinical conditions were targeted in the included studies. Half of the trials were in the fields of depression/depressive symptoms or some form of anxiety disorder. The pooled effect size across all disorders was g=0.02 (95% CI: –0.09 to 0.14) and the quality of the included studies was acceptable. This meta-analysis further supports the notion that therapist-supported ICBT yields similar effects as face-to-face CBT.
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29. |
- Hernandez Bennetts, Victor, 1980-, et al.
(author)
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Towards occupational health improvement in foundries through dense dust and pollution monitoring using a complementary approach with mobile and stationary sensing nodes
- 2016
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In: Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). - 9781509037629 ; , s. 131-136
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In industrial environments, such as metallurgic facilities, human operators are exposed to harsh conditions where ambient air is often polluted with quartz, dust, lead debris and toxic fumes. Constant exposure to respirable particles can cause irreversible health damages and thus it is of high interest for occupational health experts to monitor the air quality on a regular basis. However, current monitoring procedures are carried out sparsely, with data collected in single day campaigns limited to few measurement locations. In this paper we explore the use and present first experimental results of a novel heterogeneous approach that uses a mobile robot and a network of low cost sensing nodes. The proposed system aims to address the spatial and temporal limitations of current monitoring techniques. The mobile robot, along with standard localization and mapping algorithms, allows to produce short term, spatially dense representations of the environment where dust, gas, ambient temperature and airflow information can be modelled. The sensing nodes on the other hand, can collect temporally dense (and usually spatially sparse) information during long periods of time, allowing in this way to register for example, daily variations in the pollution levels. Using data collected with the proposed system in an steel foundry, we show that a heterogeneous approach provides dense spatio-temporal information that can be used to improve the working conditions in industrial facilities.
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30. |
- Iredahl, Fredrik, 1988-
(author)
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Assessment of microvascular and metabolic responses in the skin
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The general aim of this project was to develop experimental in vivo models that allow for minimally invasive investigations of responses in the skin to microvascular and metabolic provocations. The cutaneous microvasculature has emerged as a valuable model and been proposed to mirror the microcirculation in other organs. Dysfunction in the cutaneous microcirculation has thus been linked to systemic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Models for investigating skin responses could facilitate the understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms as well as effects of drugs.In the first study, three optical measurement techniques (laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF), laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) and tissue viability imaging (TiVi)) were compared against each other and showed differences in their ability to detect microvascular responses to provocations in the skin. TiVi was found more sensitive for measurement of noradrenaline-induced vasoconstriction, while LSCI was more sensitive for measurement of vascular occlusion. In the second study, microvascular responses in the skin to iontophoresis of vasoactive drugs were found to depend on the drug delivery protocol. Perfusion half-life was defined and used to describe the decay in the microvascular response to a drug after iontophoresis. In the third study, the role of nitric oxide (NO) was assessed during iontophoresis of insulin. The results showed a NO-dependent vasodilation in the skin by insulin. In the fourth study the vasoactive and metabolic effects of insulin were studied after both local and endogenous administration. Local delivery of insulin increased skin blood flow, paralleled by increased skin concentrations of interstitial pyruvate and lactate, although no change in glucose concentration was observed. An oral glucose load resulted in an increased insulin concentration in the skin paralleled by an increase in blood flow, as measured using the microdialysis urea clearance technique, although no changes in perfusion was measured by LSCI.The thesis concludes that when studying skin microvascular responses, the choice of measurement technique and the drug delivery protocol has an impact on the measurement results, and should therefore be carefully considered. The thesis also concludes that insulin has metabolic and vasodilatory effects in the skin both when administered locally and as an endogenous response to an oral glucose load. The vasodilatory effect of insulin in the skin is mediated by nitric oxide.
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31. |
- Jain, Sanjay, et al.
(author)
-
A Hierarchical Approach for Evaluating Energy Trade-offs in Supply Chains
- 2013
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In: International Journal of Production Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0925-5273. ; 146:2, s. 411-422
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Supply chain design and operational decisions may impact the energy needed to keep the products flowing through to the customers. It is a challenge to determine the energy consumption and even more challenging to understand the impact of design and operational decisions on the energy consumption along the supply chain. This paper presents a hierarchical simulation based approach for estimating the energy consumption to keep the products flowing through a supply chain. System dynamics simulation is used at a high abstraction level to understand the major factors that may affect the energy consumption. Discrete event simulation is then used to delve down in detail for evaluating the critical stages in the supply chain. A case study for a closed loop supply chain of forklift brakes is used as an example of application of the approach. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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32. |
- Jain, Sanjay, et al.
(author)
-
Multi-Resolution Modeling for Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis
- 2013
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In: Proceedings of the 2013 Winter Simulation Conference. - 9781479920778 ; , s. 1996-2007
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Consumers are increasingly becoming conscious of the need to reduce environmental impact. This hasmotivated the industry to make efforts to improve the sustainability of their products and supply chains.Such efforts require the ability to analyze the sustainability of supply chains and potential improvements.A systematic approach is needed to evaluate the alternatives that may range from those at the supplychain configuration level to those for improving equipment at a production facility. This paper presents amulti-resolution modeling approach that allows analyzing parts of the supply chain at appropriate level ofdetail. The capability allows studying the supply chain at high level initially and iteratively drilling downto detailed levels in the identified areas of opportunity and evaluating associated improvement alternatives.Multi-resolution modeling directly relates the impact of improvement in one part of the supplychain to overall supply chain performance thus reducing analyst effort and time.
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33. |
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34. |
- Johansson, Björn, 1975, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation and Calculation of Dynamics in Environmental Impact Assessment
- 2013
-
In: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. - Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg. - 1868-4238 .- 1868-422X. - 9783642403514 ; 397:1, s. 135-141
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In ten years customers will select products not only based on price and quality but also with strong regard to the product value environmental footprint, including for example the energy consumed. Customers expect transparency in the product realization process, where most products are labeled with their environmental footprint. Vigorous companies see this new product value as an opportunity to be more competitive. In order to effectively label the envi-ronmental impact of a product, it is pertinent for companies to request the envi-ronmental footprint of each component from their suppliers. Hence, companies along the product lifecycle require a tool, not only to facilitate the computing of the environmental footprint, but also help reduce/balance the environmental impact during the lifecycle of the product. This paper proposes to develop a procedure that companies will use to evaluate, improve and externally advertise their product’s environmental footprint to customers.
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35. |
- Karyotaki, Eirini, et al.
(author)
-
Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression : A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Network Meta-analysis
- 2021
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In: JAMA psychiatry. - : American Medical Association. - 2168-6238 .- 2168-622X. ; 78:4, s. 361-371
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IMPORTANCE: Personalized treatment choices would increase the effectiveness of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) for depression to the extent that patients differ in interventions that better suit them.OBJECTIVE: To provide personalized estimates of short-term and long-term relative efficacy of guided and unguided iCBT for depression using patient-level information.DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, and Cochrane Library to identify randomized clinical trials (RCTs) published up to January 1, 2019.STUDY SELECTION: Eligible RCTs were those comparing guided or unguided iCBT against each other or against any control intervention in individuals with depression. Available individual patient data (IPD) was collected from all eligible studies. Depression symptom severity was assessed after treatment, 6 months, and 12 months after randomization.DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: We conducted a systematic review and IPD network meta-analysis and estimated relative treatment effect sizes across different patient characteristics through IPD network meta-regression.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores.RESULTS: Of 42 eligible RCTs, 39 studies comprising 9751 participants with depression contributed IPD to the IPD network meta-analysis, of which 8107 IPD were synthesized. Overall, both guided and unguided iCBT were associated with more effectiveness as measured by PHQ-9 scores than control treatments over the short term and the long term. Guided iCBT was associated with more effectiveness than unguided iCBT (mean difference [MD] in posttreatment PHQ-9 scores, -0.8; 95% CI, -1.4 to -0.2), but we found no evidence of a difference at 6 or 12 months following randomization. Baseline depression was found to be the most important modifier of the relative association for efficacy of guided vs unguided iCBT. Differences between unguided and guided iCBT in people with baseline symptoms of subthreshold depression (PHQ-9 scores 5-9) were small, while guided iCBT was associated with overall better outcomes in patients with baseline PHQ-9 greater than 9.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this network meta-analysis with IPD, guided iCBT was associated with more effectiveness than unguided iCBT for individuals with depression, benefits were more substantial in individuals with moderate to severe depression. Unguided iCBT was associated with similar effectiveness among individuals with symptoms of mild/subthreshold depression. Personalized treatment selection is entirely possible and necessary to ensure the best allocation of treatment resources for depression.
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36. |
- Segerstark, Andreas, 1988-, et al.
(author)
-
Effect of Process Parameters on the Crack Formation in Laser Metal Powder Deposition of Alloy 718
- 2018
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In: Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. A. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1073-5623 .- 1543-1940. ; 49A:10, s. 5042-5050
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cracking in Alloy 718 using laser metal powder deposition has been evaluated in this study. It is found that the material is susceptible to cracking when the laser power is high, the scanning speed is high and the powder feeding rate is low. Almost all the cracks are located close to the center of the deposited wall and propagates in the normal direction to the substrate. Evidence of liquation are found at the cracked surfaces and since all cracks reside in regions which are reheated several times, the cracks are determined to mostlikely be heat affected zone liquation cracks. The influence of respective process parameter was evaluated using a design of experiment approach. It is shown that, when the powder feeding rate is incorporated as avariable, the heat input is not a suitable indicator for the hot cracking susceptibility in laser metal powder deposition of Alloy 718. A combinatory model using the power ratio together with the heat input is therefore proposed.
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37. |
- Segerstark, Andreas, 1988-, et al.
(author)
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Investigation of laser metal deposited Alloy 718 onto an EN 1.4401 stainless steel substrate
- 2017
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In: Optics and Laser Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0030-3992 .- 1879-2545. ; 97:Supplement C, s. 144-153
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper focuses on how process parameters affect the deposition of Alloy 718 onto an EN 1.4401 stainless steel substrate in terms of secondary phase formation, dilution and hardness. A columnar solidification structure with elongated grains growing in the direction normal to the substrate was observed for all parameters. In the interdendritic regions, phases with a high content of Niobium were identified. Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy measurements revealed these phases to most likely be Laves phase and Nb-carbides. Temperature measurements indicated no significant aging in the deposits. Considerable enrichment of iron was found in the initially deposited layers due to dilution from the substrate. The increased content of iron seemed to aid in forming constituents rich in niobium which, in turn, influenced the hardness. The highest mean hardness was noted in the sample with the lowest area fraction of Nb-rich constituents.
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38. |
- Segerstark, Andreas, 1988-
(author)
-
Laser Metal Deposition using Alloy 718 Powder : Influence of Process Parameters on Material Characteristics
- 2017
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Additive manufacturing (AM) is a general name used for manufacturing methods which have the capabilities of producing components directly from 3D computeraided design (CAD) data by adding material layer-by-layer until a final componentis achieved. Included here are powder bed technologies, laminated object manufacturing and deposition technologies. The latter technology is used in this study. Laser Metal Powder Deposition (LMPD) is an AM method which builds components by fusing metallic powder together with a metallic substrate, using a laser as energy source. The powder is supplied to the melt-pool, which is created by the laser, through a powder nozzle which can be lateral or coaxial. Both the powder nozzle and laser are mounted on a guiding system, normally a computer numerical control (CNC) machine or a robot. LMPD has lately gained attentionas a manufacturing method which can add features to semi-finished components or as a repair method. LMPD introduce a low heat input compared to conventional arc welding methods and is therefore well suited in, for instance, repair of sensitive parts where too much heating compromises the integrity of the part. The main part of this study has been focused on correlating the main process parameters to effects found in the material which in this project is the superalloy Alloy 718. It has been found that the most influential process parameters are the laser power, scanning speed, powder feeding rate and powder standoff distance.These process parameters have a significant effect on the temperature history ofthe material which, among others, affects the grain structure, phase transformation, and cracking susceptibility of the material. To further understand the effects found in the material, temperature measurements has been conducted using a temperature measurement method developed and evaluated in this project. This method utilizes a thin stainless steel sheet to shield the thermocouple from the laser light. This has proved to reduce the influence of the laser energy absorbed by the thermocouples.
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39. |
- Segerstark, Andreas, 1988-, et al.
(author)
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Microstructural Characterization of Laser Metal Powder Deposited Alloy 718
- 2018
-
In: Materials Characterization. - : Elsevier BV. - 1044-5803 .- 1873-4189. ; 142, s. 550-559
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A microstructural study of Laser Metal Powder Deposition (LMPD) of Alloy 718, using a low (40 J/mm) and high (100 J/mm) heat inputs (HIs) was performed. The microstructure was characterized in as-deposited condition as well as after a standard heat-treatment, using optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Laves, MC-carbides, γ' and γ'' are observed in the interdendritic areas of both conditions. However, the dendritic core only consists of γ-matrix. The high HI condition shows a slightly larger Primary Dendrite Arm Spacing (PDAS) as compared to the low HI condition. Additionally, the particle size of the Nb-rich constituents in the interdendriticregions (Laves-phase and Niobium carbide) are larger in the high HI sample. After heat-treatment, the Laves phase dissolves and is replaced by δ-phase in the interdendritic regions, while γ', γ'' and MC-carbideremain in the interdendritic regions. However, the γ'' precipitates seems to be less developed in the dendritic core as compared to the interdendritic regions, especially in the high HI sample. This can be attributed to a heterogeneous distribution of Nb in the microstructure, with a lower Nb content in the dendritic core as compared to close to the interdendritic regions.
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40. |
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41. |
- Störe, Siri Jakobsson, et al.
(author)
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Mind, Body and Machine : Preliminary Study to Explore Predictors of Treatment Response After a Sleep Robot Intervention for Adults with Insomnia
- 2023
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In: Nature and Science of Sleep. - : Dove Medical Press. - 1179-1608. ; 15, s. 567-577
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: The study aimed to explore characteristics of responders to a sleep robot intervention for adults with insomnia, and the likelihood that participants responded to the intervention. Methods: Data from the intervention and the control group in a randomized waitlist-controlled trial (n = 44) were pooled together after both had undergone the intervention. A repeated measures ANOVA and Friedman tests were used to explore changes over time. Differences in baseline characteristics between responders (n = 13), defined as a reduction of -5 on the Insomnia Severity Index from pre- to post-intervention, and non-responders (n = 31) were analyzed with t-tests and chi-square tests. Finally, logistic regression models were estimated.Results: Baseline anxiety was the only statistically significant difference between responders and non-responders (p = 0.03). A logistic regression model with anxiety and sleep quality as predictors was statistically significant, correctly classifying 83.3% of cases. Discussion: The results imply that people with lower anxiety and higher sleep quality at baseline are more likely to report clinically significant improvements in insomnia from the sleep robot intervention.
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42. |
- Störe, Siri Jakobsson, et al.
(author)
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The effects of a sleep robot intervention on sleep, depression and anxiety in adults with insomnia : A randomized waitlist-controlled trial
- 2022
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In: Journal of Sleep Research. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0962-1105 .- 1365-2869. ; 32:3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The study objective was to assess if a 3-week intervention with the Somnox sleep robot had effects on symptoms of insomnia, somatic arousal, and/or concurrent symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults with insomnia, compared with a waitlist-control group. The participants (n = 44) were randomized to a 3-week intervention with the sleep robot (n = 22), or to a waitlist-control group (n = 22). The primary outcome measure was the Insomnia Severity Index administered at baseline, mid-intervention, post-intervention and at 1-month follow-up. Secondary outcome measures were the Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Additionally, sleep-onset latency, wake time after sleep onset, total sleep time and sleep efficiency were measured the week prior to and the last week of the intervention, both subjectively with the Consensus Sleep Diary and objectively with wrist actigraphy. Mixed-effects models were used to analyse data. The effect of the sleep robot on the participants' insomnia severity was not statistically significant. The differences between the intervention group and the control group on the measures of arousal, anxiety and depression were also not statistically significant, and neither were the sleep diary and actigraphy variables. In conclusion, a 3-week intervention with daily at-home use of the robot was not found to be an effective method to relieve the symptom burden in adults with insomnia.
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