Samhällsekonomiska vinster med regionala fjärrvärmenät, (En fallstudie på västra Skåne)

Syftet var att undersöka vilka samhällsekonomiska vinster som kan fås utav regionala nät ur ett ekonomiskt, miljömässigt och socialt perspektiv. Projektet syftade också till att utreda var det finns förutsättningar för regionala nät och utnyttjande av spillvärme samt vilka hinder som finns. För att utreda vilka vinster som kan uppnås skapades två olika modeller som sedan jämfördes.Målsättning var att projektet skulle resultera i en metodik som kan användas för att beskriva de förmodade samhällsekonomiska vinsterna med regionala nät. Metodiken skulle vara av sådan karaktär att den kan tillämpas på fler regionala nät än det för studien undersökta området

Phase-Sensitive Amplification of 28 GBaud DP-QPSK Signal

We demonstrate, for the first time, amplification of a DP-QPSK signal using a vector phase-sensitive amplifier (PSA). The PSA-based receiver shows an about 0.7 dB sensitivity improvement compared to an EDFA-based receiver

Laser Beam and Laser-Arc Hybrid Welding of Aluminium Alloys

Aluminium alloys are widely used in many industries due to their high strength-to-weight ratios and resistance to corrosion. Due to their specific thermophysical properties and intricate physical metallurgy, these alloys are challenging to weld. Work-hardened alloys may experience strength loss in heat-affected zones (HAZ). The strength of precipitation-hardened alloys is severely damaged in both HAZ and weld metal due to coarsening or full dissolution. The high thermal conductivity and reflectivity of aluminium causes lower laser beam absorptivity with lower processing efficiency. Weld imperfections such as porosity, humping, and underfills are frequently formed due to the low melting point and density promoting high liquidity with low surface tension. Porosity is the most persistent imperfection and is detrimental for mechanical properties. In this work, extensive review was made on laser beam and laser-arc hybrid welding of aluminium alloys. Solidification cracking, evaporation of alloying elements, porosity and keyhole stability, and other challenges are studied in detail. The current development of laser welding of aluminium alloys is not so mature and new discoveries will be made in the future including the use of newly developed laser systems, welding consumables, welding methods, and approaches.publishedVersio

A Review on Laser-Assisted Joining of Aluminium Alloys to Other Metals

Modern industry requires different advanced metallic alloys with specific properties since conventional steels cannot cover all requirements. Aluminium alloys are becoming more popular, due to their low weight, high corrosion resistance, and relatively high strength. They possess respectable electrical conductivity, and their application extends to the energy sector. There is a high demand in joining aluminium alloys with other metals, such as steels, copper, and titanium. The joining of two or more metals is challenging, due to formation of the intermetallic compound (IMC) layer with excessive brittleness. High differences in the thermophysical properties cause distortions, cracking, improper dilution, and numerous weld imperfections, having an adverse effect on strength. Laser beam as a high concentration energy source is an alternative welding method for highly conductive metals, with significant improvement in productivity, compared to conventional joining processes. It may provide lower heat input and reduce the thickness of the IMC layer. The laser beam can be combined with arc-forming hybrid processes for wider control over thermal cycle. Apart from the IMC layer thickness, there are many other factors that have a strong effect on the weld integrity; their optimisation and innovation is a key to successfully delivering high-quality joints.publishedVersio

Effect of preheating and preplaced filler wire on microstructure and toughness in laser-arc hybrid welding of thick steel

Acicular ferrite (AF) is the most important microstructural constituent to achieve high toughness at low temperatures in weld metal of steels. This is due to the relatively small grain size and large misorientation angles. AF is known to form at non-metallic inclusions (NMIs), but under high cooling rates, as in deep and narrow laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW), this phenomenon is scarcely studied. In deep and narrow LAHW, insufficient transportation of filler wire to the root results in low amount of NMIs, thus bainite-martensite mainly forms due to fast cooling. In this work, a 45 mm thick high strength low alloy steel was welded by double-sided LAHW using different groove preparations. The effect of different cooling times on the microstructure in the weld metal and the heat-affected zone was studied. A low fraction of AF and high hardness were achieved in the root of weld metal when using standard LAHW. This was related to a rapid cooling time (Δt8/5 35 J) was achieved at −50 °C by combining preheating and preplaced filler wire, and up to 45 % fraction content of AF was reached. However, many NMIs were still inactive due to a small diameter (< 200 nm) and unfavorable chemical composition related to the high cooling rate. The external methods had no influence on the occurrence of weld centerline cracks in the root, which will require further attention to secure mechanical properties and integrity.publishedVersio

Root formation and metallurgical challenges in laser beam and laser-arc hybrid welding of thick structural steel

Single-pass laser beam welding (LBW) of steel components with wall thickness of > 10 mm is of high interest due to enhanced productivity. Deep penetration LBW provides excessive hardness and certain quality issues such as root humping in flat position, which is associated with disability of surface tension to sustain melt dropout. High hardness is associated with fast cooling rates and shortage of filler wire transportation to the root of the fusion zone. Use of laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) can promote acicular ferrite by adding filler metal and additional heat input from the arc. However, LAHW may promote humping and adjustment of many parameters is required hindering its application. In this work, a 16 kW disk laser was used in butt welding of 12 mm and 15 mm thick plates with different bevelling geometries. Root humping occurred within a wide range of process parameters providing narrow process window. Twelve millimeter thick plates were successfully welded with a single-pass technique providing good quality of root by using zero air gap regardless bevelling geometry. Welding of 15 mm plates was more challenging, and the process was sensitive even with a slight parameter change. Improved results were achieved with application of small air gap. Acceptable hardness in both weld metal and heat affected zone (< 290 HV) was achieved for both plate thicknesses providing good toughness of minimum 27 J at −50°C.publishedVersio

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Samhällsekonomiska vinster med regionala fjärrvärmenät

Purpose: The aim was to explore what socio-economic benefits could be made out of regional networks in an economic, environmental and social perspective. The project also aimed to investigate where there is potential for regional networks and utilization of waste heat, and what barriers exist. In order to investigate the gains that can be achieved two different models was created and then compared. The goal of the project was that the work would result in a methodology that can be used to describe the supposed socio-economic benefits of regional networks. The methodology would be of such nature that it can be applied to other regional networks than that for the study investigated area. Aims: The first part of the purpose was answered by creating two models describing an area of a regional district heating network and the same area without a regional network. To create the models, following questions was answered: What factors influence the design of the system? What characteristics must a city hold in order to be suitable for connection to the network, such as type of production facility, heat demand and geographical location? How much capacity is needed in the system and requires new plants to ensure the energy supply? The second part of the purpose was to investigate the potential for regional networks and the possibility of utilizing waste heat. To answer the purpose the following questions where solved: What basic factors are needed to build a regional network, what are the complications, what is required to use waste heat to a greater extent, what barriers exist? Methods: The first part of the purpose which was to look at the socio-economic benefits of regional networks has been answered by the creation and testing of two different models. The analytical models, built on quantitative data, are applied to real cases. The information that has been used in the models has both been of qualitative and quantitative nature and is gathered through interviews and from statistics. The second part of the purpose which was about to find out where there is potential for regional networks and utilization of waste heat is based partly on the results from the model but also on a literature review. The information used is qualitative in nature. To answer both parts of the purpose a case study approach is used. Conclusion: A regional system of district heating network provides opportunities for more efficient use of combined heat and power and waste heat by creating a greater demand for heat. The network also provides a greater flexibility in production, which ensures that the variations in heat demand, is better controlled. By optimizing the operation of the system, economic and environmental benefits are obtained. Preconditions for regional heating network depends on factors such as the number of large-scale production facilities in the area, over-capacity in production, demand of heat in the region, the cost of producing heat in local networks and the distances between the local networks. By applying the methodology, described in the thesis, it is possible to investigate the benefits of regional networks in other regions. The potential for regional networks is expected to be greatest in the regions of western Scania, Gothenburg and the greater Stockholm area. The outcome of the case study on western Scania shows that a regional network in the area is both economically viable and provides benefits to the environment, in comparison with not having a regional network. The savings amounts to 201 million SEK and carbon emissions falls by 368 000 tons annually. The cost savings is due to the increased use of combined heat and power plants in the system and the electricity generation from these facilities is crucial to how much carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced. The total benefits to society are not only economic and environmental benefits it is also social benefits. Social benefits of a regional network can be an increased security of supply of district heating, better living environment and climate, the ability for people to choose their supplier and that district heating may increase its competitive advantage over other heating alternatives which may eventually lead to relatively lower price increases for district heating than of other alternatives. Regional networks improve the socio-economic benefits at a regional level and in a wider perspective also at a national level

Bus Runner : Using Contextual Cues for Procedural Generation of Game Content on Public Transport

With the support of the regional public transport operator, this paper explores the potential for mobile games to make journeys on public transport more enjoyable. To this end we have developed a game called Bus Runner which is a context-aware endless runner, based on open and shared data. By blending features of the physical world, such as recognisable landmarks, with the game’s virtual world, we situate and enhance passengers’ experience of travelling on public transport. We identify a set of challenges and opportunities based on the development and evaluation of Bus Runner. These are of relevance not only for game development purposes, but also impact context-driven content generation of infotainment services as a whole