Standardization of packages at Duni AB - A process to maintain a limitation of packages and increase the filling rate.

Duni AB is a leading provider of premium solutions and products, e.g. napkins, plates, table covers, candles and food solutions. The company has recently made major organizational changes, i.e. going from a decentralized organization to a centralized organization with all product development in Malmö. There is a lot of work to be done to optimize both product and packaging development in order to reduce logistics costs and enhance production efficiency. The filling rate among the napkin packages is at present low and the fact that the company has no process for introducing new packages for napkins, has caused a large number of different box sizes. The problem of finding appropriate packages for napkins is complex, since many factors affect the packaging size and design. The lack of standardization of the boxes causes consequences during transports, handling, production and purchasing. At present Duni have no process for introducing new boxes. For this reason, the purpose of the Master thesis was to develop a process to maintain a limitation of boxes and develop standardized boxes. During the Master thesis a systems approach has been used and information has been gathered through interviews, database searching, literature studies, simulations in software for pallet utalization and a visit at Duni`s plant in Bramsche, Germany. In the Master thesis a box management tool have been developed. The tool helps to examine if existing boxes can be used for new products and illustrates how adjustment in the number of packages per box affects the choice of an appropriate box. An inventory of Duni's existing packaging solutions (primary and secondary packaging) has been done and simulations have been carried out for each primary package, trying to find the most appropriate packaging solution, concerning filling rate. Duni have got an enhanced awareness of the packaging potential, as a way to increase sales and reduce cost associated with production and handling. The packaging function at Duni is nowadays involved at an early phase of the product development and there is still much work to be done, trying to reduce the amount of boxes and increase the filling rate of the boxes. By using the box management tool it is possible for Duni to take a further step in the process of making suitable packages for napkins

Brandteknisk riskvärdering av Arken Hotell & Art Garden Spa

When a fire starts in a building a great threat against personal safety arises and this is especially true for the cases where people are unaccustomed to their environments. To diminish this threat it’s of great importance that adequate time for evacuation is available. In this paper students at the Fire Protection Engineering program examine the system that is currently in place to ensure the safety of guests and personnel at Arken Hotel & Art Garden Spa. This is done by setting acceptable risk criteria, evaluating risks, determining available and required time, analyzing the effects of important factors and finally reaching a conclusion about personal safety. The method involves literature studies, calculations, simulations and logical thinking. Where the safety is found inadequate different solutions are examined and recommended. The examination shows that the safety of guests cannot be completely guaranteed in all parts of the hotel without a few building modifications to reach the acceptable criteria

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Diagnosis and treatment of Acute Lower Limb Ischemia and its effect on

Abstract: Diagnosis and treatment of Acute Lower Limb Ischemia and its effect ion treatment results Degree Project thesis, Programme in Medicine, A. Karlsson, Supervisor; Joakim Nordanstig, 2015, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Objective Acute Lower Limb Ischemia (ALLI) is a serious condition where an artery of the lower limb is occluded resulting in impaired blood flow. The condition may lead to death and amputation and require urgent medical care. Aim The purpose of this study was to describe the early chain of care of ALLI patients with particular emphasis on early detection and the use of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) as well as administration of Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH). Methods The study included 108 patients for whom medical records at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital were reviewed. All patients treated with a main diagnosis of I74.3 according to ICD- 10 fulfilled inclusion criteria. Results Patients transported to the Emergency Department (ED) by EMS differed from those who were not in several ways. They were 8.5 years older. A history of congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation/flutter was more frequent among those who used EMS whereas the opposite was found with regard to previous Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). The median time from hospital arrival to first physician contact was 52 minutes when ALLI was suspected by the EMS personnel and 102 minutes if not (p=0.017). The time from symptom onset to revascularization was shorter when the EMS personnel suspected ALLI, 17 hours compared to 56 hours when not (p=0.011). Administration of LMWH in the ED tended to be associated with improved outcome. Conclusion Patients who use EMS were older and had a more severe co-morbidity than those who did not. Early detection of ALLI by the EMS personnel was associated with a shorter delay to see a physician and to revascularization. Early treatment with LMWH might be associated with improved outcome

Influence of Design Parameter Variation on Fighter Agility Metrics

Metrics that quantify fighter aircraft performance is an active research topic, and agility metrics seek to measure performance previously not captured with classic point performance metrics. Agility metrics are researched to be used in analysis with an advanced desktop simulator and investigate the effects of design parameter variation. Various pitch, roll and manoeuvre metrics are analysed through simulation with the JAS 39 Gripen by varying centre of gravity positions. Significant effects of the varying centre of gravity positions are caught by the metrics, with metric performance between positions differing upwards of 25%. The results serve to motivate the use of agility metrics in aircraft design and development, to visualise trends and tradeoffs not quantifiable by classic performance metrics

God’s honour, the council’s satisfaction, and thecalm of the kingdom : The invocation of God in the Swedish Privy Council protocols 1621-1636

The 1600’s were a turbulent period of Swedish history. War, the effects of confession-building and the growing influence of the privy council marked the first half of the century. The purpose of this essay is to analyse how God was invoked in the Swedish privy council protocols during 1621-1636 and to determine the function of these invocations. With a theoretical starting pointin the term political culture, I argue that God was invoked as part of a system of symbols that gave, for instance, meaning to politics and society. By categorizing all instances that the members of the privy council and other invited individuals spoke of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit (with a focus on God in particular) I found seven larger functions in the use of God in theprotocols. In summary they exercise a soothing and reassuring, confirming, class and order maintaining, guiding, and a meaning creating function. They also function to assert one’s position and safety and as a mode of expression. This asserts the role of religion in the political culture and how intertwined they were

The great genius’ divinatory glance : A study about the depiction of Carl Linnaeus’ expedition to Sápmi in the commemorations to his birth and death in 1807, 1878, 1907, 1978 and 2007

The purpose of this essay is to investigate how Carl Linnaeus’ (1707-1778) expedition to Sápmi (‘Lapland’) 1732 was depicted in the centennial, bicentennial and tricentennial commemoration of his birth in 1807, 1907 and 2007 and the centennial and bicentennial remembrance to his death in 1878 and 1978. It will, furthermore, examine if the celebrations of his expedition were also used to legitimize the Swedish colonialization of Sápmi. The source material are speeches given at the commemorations and articles published in conjunction with the remembrance of Linnaeus. The essay concludes that the commemorations of the 19th century were characterized by an inclination to portray the dangers of his expedition. This focus point, however, gradually shifted towards praising the scientific aspects and accolades of the expedition during the 20th and the 21st centuries. The appreciation of Linnaeus character in association with the journey remained a constant during all commemorations, with some exceptions. The conclusion regarding the legitimizing aspect, is that the majority of the 19th and early 20th century commemorations partially, at least legitimized the fiscal approach that the expedition had. However, the celebrations in 1978 and 2007 lacked this aspect

Evaluation of the Complexity of Procedurally Generated Maze Algorithms

Background. Procedural Content Generation (PCG) in Video Games can be used as a tool for efficiently producing large varieties of new content using less manpower, making it ideal for smaller teams of developers who wants to compete with games made by larger teams. One particular facet of PCG is the generation of mazes. Designers that want their game to feature mazes also need to know how to evaluate their maze-complexity, in order to know which maze fits the difficulty curve best. Objectives. This project aims to investigate the difference in complexity between the maze generation algorithms recursive backtracker (RecBack), Prim’s algorithm (Prims), and recursive division (RecDiv), in terms completion time, when solved using a depth-first-search (DFS) algorithm. In order to understand which parameters affect completion time/complexity, investigate possible connections between completion time, and the distribution of branching paths, distribution of corridors, and length of the path traversed by DFS. Methods. The main methodology was an implementation in the form of a C# application, which randomly generated 100 mazes for each algorithm for five different maze grid resolutions (16x16, 32x32, 64x64, 128x128, 256x256). Each one of the generated mazes was solved using a DFS algorithm, whose traversed nodes, solving path, and completion time was recorded. Additionally, branch distribution and corridor distribution data was gathered for each generated maze. Results. The initial results showed that mazes generated by Prims algorithm had the lowest complexity (shortest completion time), the shortest solving path, the lowest amount of traversed nodes, and the lowest proportion of 2-branches, but the highest proportion of all other branch types. Additionally Prims had the highest proportion of 4-6 length paths, but the lowest proportion of 2 and 3 length paths. Later mazes generated by RecDiv had intermediate complexity, intermediate solving path, intermediate traversed nodes, intermediate proportion of all branch types, and the highest proportion of 2-length paths, but the lowest proportion of 4-6 length paths. Finally mazes generated by RecBack had opposite statistics from Prims: the highest complexity, the longest solving path, the highest amount of traversed nodes, the highest proportion of 2-branches, but lowest proportion of all other branch types, and the highest proportion of 3-length paths, but the lowest of 2-length paths. Conclusions. Prims algorithm had the lowest complexity, RecDiv intermediate complexity, and RecBack the highest complexity. Increased solving path length, traversed nodes, and increased proportions of 2-branches, seem to correlate with increased complexity. However the corridor distribution results are too small and diverse to identify a pattern affecting completion time. However the corridor distribution results are too diverse to make it possible to discern a pattern affecting completion time by just observing the data

Motives, Implementation and Side Effects : An interview study about the regionalisation of Sweden's Schengen visa management in Sub-Saharan Africa

A challenge when reforming public management is the potential risk of side effects as policy intentions often come with unintended consequences in practice. For the field of International Relations (IR), management reforms affecting the foreign service are particularly relevant as they go beyond the domestic context with potential implications also for state relations with foreign publics. However, little academic attention has been directed towards visa management, which serves not only as a consular function of the diplomatic missions but also plays a key role in facilitating their diplomatic functions as stated in the Vienna Convention. Employing the theoretical perspectives of New Public Management (NPM) and The Visa Dimension of Public Diplomacy, this thesis investigates the intentions and outcomes of Sweden's decision to regionalise its Schengen visa management in Sub-Saharan Africa. The inquiry is based on 15 semi-structured interviews with public officials currently or formerly working at the Swedish Migration Agency, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish embassies in Abuja, Addis Abeba, Dar es Salaam, Lusaka, Nairobi and Pretoria. The thesis finds the regionalisation of Sweden's Schengen visa management to be an NPM-inspired reform intended to establish economies of scale in visa management. While the reform was motivated to improve cost efficiency and quality in terms of increased uniformity and legal certainty in visa processing, it was meantime anticipated to come with challenges related to resource allocation, transfer of local competence and service delivery to applicants. In practice, the reform has led to permanent side effects on applicants by making the visa process more time-consuming and expensive from a user perspective. Thus, the thesis concludes the regionalisation of the Schengen visa management to be an NPM-inspired reform that focused too narrowly on internal efficiency gains that it overlooked the negative effects on applicants to the detriment of Swedish diplomatic functions in Sub-Saharan Africa