Sustained and triggered release by microencapsulation

Uncontrolled growth of microorganisms is problematic in areas ranging from wound care to aquaculture and ship hulls. In chronic and hard-to-heal wounds, a bacterial biofilm can impair wound healing. The growth of marine microorganisms, so-called biofouling, on equipment used in aquaculture can decrease productivity and thereby result in a loss of revenue. To counteract these problems and minimize microbial growth, antimicrobial substances have been developed. For efficient use of these antimicrobial substances that enables long-term protection without excessive use, their release from materials should be controlled. In this work, microencapsulation was used as a means of controlling the rate at which a model hydrophobic substance was released in two different ways. A slow sustained release microparticle system with a complete release over a period of weeks was developed. These microcapsules were also incorporated into cellulose fibers, to produce a nonwoven material possessing controlled release properties. As a complement to this, a fast triggered release system was developed where a significant release could be seen within minutes of the trigger event.Through a combination of these two types of controlled release, a hypothetical release profile could be tailored to fit specific applications. The triggered release microparticles could initially increase the antimicrobial concentration above a certain effective concentration, and the sustained release microparticles would maintain the concentration above the effective concentration for a prolonged time. The use in a nonwoven fiber material was illustrated in this work, although use in e.g. continuous fibers or painted coatings could also easily be conceived

Cooperatives at a crossroads

This exploratory comparative case study seeks to understand challenges and strategies for farmer collective action in post-Soviet settings. It does so by examining member relations, trust and commitment in two successful dairy cooperatives in western Ukraine: one NGOinitiated cooperative with a bottom-up organization, and one cooperative developed in liaison with a local large-scale agricultural enterprise (LSE). Through qualitative field study data from 28 interviews, the study shows how the rural institutional context affects cooperative initiatives. The results indicate that initial and to some extent lingering issues of trust among villagers seemingly linked to failed or fraudulent projects and investments of the transition period can be an obstacle for cooperatives linked to NGOs. Meanwhile, such trust issues could easily be circumvented by the second cooperative through its strong links to the local LSE, which could bestow the cooperative with trustworthiness. The study also shows how the two cases, due to their origins and support, differ a lot in their member relations, including how they handle collective action problems and how members identify within the cooperatives. While the NGO-backed cooperative opts for a strategy that advocates equity, participation and a strong care for community, the LSE cooperative opts for a more vertical, business-like organization, at the expense of some of the cooperative principles. Pointing to the institutional factors which enable LSE cooperatives, a continued development of LSE cooperatives is expected and discussed. Lawmakers may need to distinguish between traditional cooperatives and LSE cooperatives in order to secure the needs of both types of arrangements

Evaluation of Secondary Packages for Tetra Top on the Italian Market ? supportive tools for decision-making

Title Evaluation of secondary packages for Tetra Top on the Italian market? supportive tools for decision-making. Authors Viktor Eriksson and Monica Towman. Supervisors Annika Olsson, Department of Design Sciences, Division of Packaging Logistics, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University. Armando Francione, Technical Director, Tetra Pak Italiana S.p.A. Problem Setting ? What requirements do the actors in the supply chain have on the secondary packages? ? What are the values and benefits of different secondary packages for the actors in the supply chain? ? What are the pros and cons of the secondary packages currently on the market in Italy? ? Is there a ?best choice? among the different secondary packages? Objective To evaluate different secondary packages at three dairies in Italy. Provide Tetra Pak and future customers with key requirements and supportive tools for decision-making regarding suitable secondary package(s) to implement together with the Tetra Top primary package. Method This master's thesis is based on a descriptive case study. Observations and interviews form the qualitative base whereas quantitative data has been collected with questionnaires. Conclusions The big variety of demands and requirements from different customers preclude the possibility of finding one universal secondary package suitable for all supply chains. Often, it is also unsuitable to use the same packaging system for different distribution channels with different properties. Three evaluation tools have been developed to facilitate choice of suitable secondary package(s) to implement according to the individual requirements from future customers. Packaging Function Analysis ? analyses values and benefits, but also failings of existing packaging systems for different actors in the supply chains. Strengths and Weaknesses Tables ? comprehensive collections of pros and cons regarding packaging systems currently on the Italian market. Conclusive Packaging Evaluation Matrix ? objectively grades a variety of key properties of different secondary packages. Can be used with two different methods of application. Other thesis conclusions: ? Activities related to the secondary packages are clearly dominated by logistical aspects on the observed market. Marketing aspects are of no great concern as secondary packages are rarely displayed to end-consumers; also, environmental aspects play a minor, but growing, role. ? It is hard to optimize a packaging solution for the whole supply chain. Reducing the complexity at one actor can increase complexity at another actor in the supply chain. ? It is not sufficient for a packaging supplier to objectively evaluate different packaging systems and expect the customer to be satisfied according to this evaluation. ? It seems like the packaging suppliers could market and inform about its distribution equipment more extensively to customers

Problematizing productivity : exploring patterns of thought in the swedish national food strategy

This thesis explores what agro-political discourses define the Swedish National Food Policy from 2017. By analysing how the problems of environmental sustainability and productivity are addressed, the study aims to excavate unearthed ways of thinking. The findings show that environmental sustainability is assumed to be attained through increased and intensified production, hoping to substitute ‘unsustainable’ international produce with Swedish ‘sustainable’ produce on the world market. Environmental sustainability is also addressed through intensification, as it is understood as a matter of resource efficiency. By examining how productivity is problematized, the study finds the presence of two understandings of the concept: as ‘resource productivity’ and as ‘value productivity’. The latter is shown to be very similar to profitability and competitiveness. Through the conceptualization of productivity as ‘profitability’, policy responses to achieve productivity are promoted in part through a 'simplification rationale' that is used to scrutinize different environmental policies specific to Swedish agriculture. ‘Simplification’ is also employed to open for an overhaul of the law on land acquirement, as the national strategy hopes for a structural rationalization spearheaded by transnational capital. Marginal smallholders are being advised to diversify and find income support through extensification measures in the Rural Development program. The study argues that the aspiration for this divergent development, the ‘dichotomization of landscapes’, must be seen as a break from earlier ‘productivist’ policies emphasizing the family farm as primary unit of agricultural production. The results of this study repeatedly point to the conclusion that the National Food Strategy is subscribing to a ‘neo-liberal’ discourse. The results also reveal how ‘multifunctional’ elements interact with and reinforce the neo-liberal discourse

Bör aktieboken och aktiebrevet avskaffas för kupongbolag? - Särskilt om de sakrättsliga konsekvenserna

Syftet med avhandlingen är att undersöka om nuvarande system för kupongbolag är tillfredställande eller om reglerna bör ändras. Arbetet riktar in sig på om aktieboken och aktiebrevet bör avskaffas och i så fall vad som ska införas istället. En konsekvens om aktiebrevet och/eller aktieboken avskaffas är att ett nytt sakrättsmoment måste införas. Ett alternativ som diskuterats i lagstiftningssammanhang är om ett centralt aktieägarregister bör införas ifall aktiebrevet avskaffas. Skälen för att avskaffa aktiebrevet är främst att det medför kostnader för bolagen och är manuellt betungande. Skälen för att behålla nuvarande system är främst att det med vissa undantag fungerar. En reform skulle innebära osäkerhet och initiala kostnader. Om aktiebrevet avskaffas går frågan isär om aktieboken ska utökas eller avskaffas helt till förmån för ett centralt register. Fördelarna med aktieboken är att reglerna är klara för samtliga parter och att de flesta av de berörda bolagen är små och inte har intresse av att ett centralt register införs. Ett centralt register menar förespråkarna innebär att ägarstrukturen i bolagen blir mer lättillgängligt och visar en mer rättvis bild av ägarförhållanden i bolagen. Jag är av åsikten att aktiebrevet bör avskaffas, bland annat eftersom aktiebrev kan försvinna, undvikande att införas i aktieboken medför en felaktig ägarstruktur och att aktieinnehavaren lättare kan tillvara ta sitt sakrättsliga skydd. Vad gäller frågan om ett register ska införas eller aktieboken utökas är jag kluven. Det blir en kostnadsfråga. Båda alternativen fungerar tillfredsställande och ger fullgott sakrättsligt skydd.The purpose of this essay is to examine if the current system for ”kupongbolag” is satisfactory or if the rules should be changed. The work is focused on the question of weather or not the share register (“aktieboken”) and the share certificate (“aktiebrevet”) should be revoked and if so, what should apply instead. A consequence if the latter would happen is that a new property law-moment has to be created. One option that has been discussed in the legislative context is if a central register of shareholders should be imposed instead of the share certificate. The reasons for the abolition of the share certificate are that it entails costs for the companies and is manually burdensome. The reason to retain the current system is mainly that it works with some exceptions. A reform would imply uncertainty and initial costs. If the share certificate should be abolished the question differs on weather the share register shall be increased or eliminated entirely in favour of a central register. The benefits of the share register is that the rules are clear for all parties and that most of the companies involved are small and do not have an interest in adopting a central register. A central register according to proponents means that the ownership structure of companies become more accessible and show a more accurate picture of their ownership in the companies. I am of the opinion that the share certificate should be abolished; partly because stock certificates may disappear, avoiding that the share register causes an incorrect ownership structure and shareholder can more easily take advantage of their rights in rem. As to whether a register is inserted or the shareholders index should stay I am more undecided. It comes down to a question of cost. Both options work satisfactorily and provide adequate rem

Model Based Residual Policy Learning with Applications to Antenna Control

Non-differentiable controllers and rule-based policies are widely used for controlling real systems such as telecommunication networks and robots. Specifically, parameters of mobile network base station antennas can be dynamically configured by these policies to improve users coverage and quality of service. Motivated by the antenna tilt control problem, we introduce Model-Based Residual Policy Learning (MBRPL), a practical reinforcement learning (RL) method. MBRPL enhances existing policies through a model-based approach, leading to improved sample efficiency and a decreased number of interactions with the actual environment when compared to off-the-shelf RL methods.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that examines a model-based approach for antenna control. Experimental results reveal that our method delivers strong initial performance while improving sample efficiency over previous RL methods, which is one step towards deploying these algorithms in real networks

Pre-study of Dynamic Amplification Factor for Existing Road Bridges

The Swedish Road network has, since 2018, been divided into four bearing capacity classes (BKs)—BK1–BK4. The heaviest allowed gross vehicle weight increased when BK4 was introduced, from 64 tonnes (BK1) to 74 tonnes (BK4). The Swedish Transport Administration aims, by 2025, to classify 60 % of the strategic road network for the heavy transport industry as BK4, increasing to 70–80 % by 2029. However, to reach these goals, it is estimated that over 700 bridges will need to be strengthened or replaced.This study, using a site-specific investigation to calculate the assessment dynamic ratio (ADR), showed that some of these bridges could be upgraded to BK4. A review of the literature indicated that light vehicles tend to have high dynamic amplification factors (DAFs), but light vehicles do not have critical load effects and are therefore not relevant from a design perspective. Instead, heavy vehicles are critical for the design. Both experimental and analytical investigations have shown that heavy gross vehicle weights result in low DAF values.This report proposes effective ways to collect site-specific dynamic traffic load information and a methodology to produce site-specific dynamic allowances using both experimental measurements and numeric models. It also explains how this methodology can be adopted by transportation agencies to study bridges along transport corridors.Findings from the pre-study have resulted in the following research proposals: sitespecific field measurements to quantify DAFs, guidelines for numerical modelling of vehicle–bridge interactions (VBIs), DAF for each limit state, three–dimensional analysis of VBIs, the introduction of gross vehicle weight into DAF equations, and pilot tests of proposed frameworks for transport corridors. The authors believe that several topics can be covered within the framework of a PhD project

Solution-Spinning of a Collection of Micro- and Nanocarrier-Functionalized Polysaccharide Fibers

Continuous polysaccharide fibers and nonwovens—based on cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, chitosan, or alginate—containing biopolymeric microcapsules (MC) or mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) are prepared using a wet-spinning or solution blowing technique. The MCs are homogeneously distributed in the fiber matrices whereas the MSNs form discrete micron-sized aggregates as demonstrated using scanning electron-, fluorescence-, and confocal microscopy. By encapsulating the model compound pyrene, it is shown that 95% of the substance remains in the fiber during the formation process as compared to only 7% for the nonencapsulated substance. The material comprising the MC has a strong impact on the release behavior of the encapsulated pyrene as investigated using methanol extraction. MCs based on poly(l-lactic acid) prove to be practically impermeable with no pyrene released in contrast to MCs based on poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) which allow for diffusion of pyrene through the MC and fiber as visualized using fluorescence microscopy

Kunskapsöverföring mellan avdelningar - En branschöverskridande studie

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of how factors related to knowledge in itself, the environment, the sender, the receiver, and the sender and receiver affect knowledge transfer between departments in different business sectors. We also intend to clarify differences between sectors and to map these differences. Methodology: As we have aimed to clarify what factors affect knowledge transfer we have conducted this study with an explorative approach. As companies act in a complex reality we conducted an empirical study in order to capture each specific knowledge transfer context. Furthermore, we have taken a middle-position between absolute objectivism and absolute constructionism as both individuals’ own beliefs and the surroundings affect individuals’ knowledge transfer actions On this basis we have firstly constructed a complex theoretical framework of factors affecting knowledge transfer with five pillars based on Szulanski’s seminal work “Exploring Internal Stickiness: Impediments to the Transfer of Best Practice Within the Firm”. Secondly, we have conducted semi-structured interviews with employees of private sector companies. Individual testimonies have then been analyzed with the help of the framework. Conclusion: We found that the factors affecting knowledge transfer varied according to the individual circumstances each company faced. The effects of the factors were also found to vary between interviewees of the same company. However, the differences in the effect of said factors were smaller between employees of the same company than between employees of different companies. The difference between the interviewee’s opinions of the impact the said factors was lessened even more when the compared interviewees worked in the same department. We also found that the interviewees did not assign the same importance to different factors affecting knowledge transfer. Furthermore, we found that channels were not mentioned as more important to knowledge transfer than any other factor

Questionnaire survey and knowledge analysis of Swedish forestry for dissemination of knowledge along a hiking trail in Skinnskatteberg municipality

Den svenska skogen har en potential att bidra med lösningar för framtiden. För att möta framtida behov har regeringen beslutat om ett nationellt skogsprogram med fem fokusområden. Ett kunskapskliv för hållbart brukande och bevarande av skogen är ett fokusområde där målet är att utveckla och bredda kunskapen kring skogen och trakthyggesbruket i svenskt skogsbruk. Men hur kunskapsnivå hos allmänheten om skog och det svenska trakthyggesbruket ser ut idag finns det begränsad vetskap om, speciellt bland invånare i områden där omfattande skogsbruk bedrivs. Syftet med kandidatarbetet var att undersöka vilken kunskapsnivå invånare med koppling till Skinnskattebergs kommun har gällande svenskt skogsbruk. Ett delsyfte var att skapa och sprida information längs en vandringsled i Skinnskattebergs kommun om natur, svenskt skogsbruk och trakthyggesbrukets olika skogsbruksåtgärder. En enkät skapades med en större mängd frågor med främst förutbestämda svarsalternativ. Frågorna delades in i tre områden, bakgrundsfrågor, kunskapsfrågor och vidare intresse. Litteraturstudie genomfördes om svenskt skogsbruk, litteraturen sammanställdes och simplifierades. Förslag på skyltmaterial skapades. Informationsplatser identifierades där skyltmaterialet ämnas distribueras. Resultatet visade att av de 261 svarande på enkäten fick dessa ett medel på 75 procent antal rätt på kunskapsfrågorna. Hos respondenterna kunde det ses en svag trend med stigande kunskap med en ökad ålder, dock var denna trend inte signifikant mellan de olika åldersgrupperna. Majoriteten av respondenterna angav att de vistas i skogen på fritiden, endast sju av de 261 respondenterna angav att de inte vistas i skogen på fritiden. I studien identifierade vi en potential att informera ytterligare kring skog och trakthyggesbruk i svenskt skogsbruk. Målet blev att skapa ett underlag till skyltar om skog och olika åtgärder i trakthyggesbruket. Hur skog och skogsbruk uppfattas av personer kan variera från region till region och därför ser vi ett behov av ytterligare undersökningar.The Swedish forest has the potential to contribute with many solutions to future problems. To meet the future demands, the Swedish government has decided on a national forest program with five focus areas. One of these focus areas, Increased knowledge for sustainable use and conservation of the forest, has the goal to develop and broaden knowledge about the forest and clearcutting in Swedish forestry. There is limited understanding about what level of knowledge there is in the general public about forests and clearcutting in Swedish forestry. This is especially true regarding residents in areas where extensive forestry is conducted. The objective of this study was to investigate what level of knowledge the residents in Skinnskatteberg municipality have regarding Swedish forestry. A secondary objective was to create and disperse information along a hiking trail in Skinnskatteberg municipality about nature, the Swedish clearcutting system and the different silvicultural measures. A survey was created with eleven mainly multiple-choice questions. The questions were split in to three categories, background questions, knowledge questions and further interest. A literature study was conducted on Swedish forestry. The material was compiled and analyzed. The data was used to help formulate signs along a hiking trail. Information places were identified where the sign material is intended to be located. The results showed that of the 261 respondents to the survey, respondents answered on average 75 percent correctly among the knowledge questions. Among the respondents, a weak trend could be seen of increasing knowledge with increasing age. However, this trend was not significant between the different age groups in the survey. A majority of the respondents stated that they recreate in forests during their leisure time. Only seven of the 261 respondents stated that they do not recreate in the forest in their free time. Using the results from the survey, we identified a potential for further information about forests and the clearcutting system in Swedish forestry. The goal became to create baseline knowledge for the signs about forests and the Swedish clearcutting system and the different silvicultural measures that commonly occur. Because forests and forestry are viewed differently by people in different regions of Sweden (eg. urban vs rural Sweden,), we conclude that there is a need for similar research elsewhere in Sweden as well