Finite element methods for the solution of population balance equations

Digitisation of this thesis was sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin

Measurement, modelling, and closed-loop control of crystal shape distribution: Literature review and future perspectives

Crystal morphology is known to be of great importance to the end-use properties of crystal products, and to affect down-stream processing such as filtration and drying. However, it has been previously regarded as too challenging to achieve automatic closed-loop control. Previous work has focused on controlling the crystal size distribution, where the size of a crystal is often defined as the diameter of a sphere that has the same volume as the crystal. This paper reviews the new advances in morphological population balance models for modelling and simulating the crystal shape distribution (CShD), measuring and estimating crystal facet growth kinetics, and two- and three-dimensional imaging for on-line characterisation of the crystal morphology and CShD. A framework is presented that integrates the various components to achieve the ultimate objective of model-based closed-loop control of the CShD. The knowledge gaps and challenges that require further research are also identified

Deep Learning Based Focus lnterpolation for Whole Slide Images

Whole slide imaging is a crucial component of digital pathology, which emulates conventional microscopy by scanning the entire microscope slide. It results in a large digital image that can be examined by a cytopathologist or used in further computer-assisted image analysis. However, due to the optical limitations of the imaging system, only a thin slice of the three-dimensional sample is in focus in the captured image. Consequently, the cytopathologist looses the possibility to smoothly adjust the focus and get a feel for the shape of the sample at different depths. A common solution to this problem is to capture multiple images of the same slide at different heights, i.e., a so called z-stack (or focus stack). However, it still allows to inspect only a limited number of discretely positioned slices of the sample, and it dramatically increases the imaging time and captured data volume. This project proposes a focus interpolation method that allows to take only a few manually acquired images and interpolate the rest on demand. The proposed method relies on a convolutional neural network based on the U-Net architecture, which takes two different focus images as inputs and outputs an image corresponding to the intermediate focus level. The proposed method shows better results than no interpolation or linear interpolation and can be generalized to different datasets

Reflexive Content Analysis: An Approach to Qualitative Data Analysis, Reduction, and Description

Content analysis, initially a quantitative technique for identifying patterns in qualitative data, has evolved into a widely used qualitative method. However, this evolution has resulted in a confusing array of differing qualitative content analysis approaches that lack clear distinction from other methods. To address these issues, this paper introduces reflexive content analysis, a transtheoretical and flexible researcher-oriented method for the description and reduction of manifest qualitative data. RCA is used to identify patterns in the overt surface meanings of qualitative data through the use of a hierarchical structure of quantifiable analytical strata called codes, subcategories, and categories. Each stratum exists on a continuum of abstraction with codes being the closest to the original data and categories being the most abstract. During each stage of the RCA process, reflexivity is regarded as a valuable analytical resource that is crucial for ensuring adequate description of the data. RCA is intended to be used as method for data analysis, not a methodology, and therefore can be integrated with various methodological and epistemological approaches. This paper provides an introductory guide to conducting RCA. It first presents an overview of existing challenges in qualitative content analysis methods, followed by a rationale for the development of RCA. Then, the foundational principles of RCA and key concepts that support this method are discussed. The paper culminates by outlining the process for conducting an inductive RCA within a qualitative framework, using a previous application of this method as a reference point

Deep Learning Based Focus lnterpolation for Whole Slide Images

Whole slide imaging is a crucial component of digital pathology, which emulates conventional microscopy by scanning the entire microscope slide. It results in a large digital image that can be examined by a cytopathologist or used in further computer-assisted image analysis. However, due to the optical limitations of the imaging system, only a thin slice of the three-dimensional sample is in focus in the captured image. Consequently, the cytopathologist looses the possibility to smoothly adjust the focus and get a feel for the shape of the sample at different depths. A common solution to this problem is to capture multiple images of the same slide at different heights, i.e., a so called z-stack (or focus stack). However, it still allows to inspect only a limited number of discretely positioned slices of the sample, and it dramatically increases the imaging time and captured data volume. This project proposes a focus interpolation method that allows to take only a few manually acquired images and interpolate the rest on demand. The proposed method relies on a convolutional neural network based on the U-Net architecture, which takes two different focus images as inputs and outputs an image corresponding to the intermediate focus level. The proposed method shows better results than no interpolation or linear interpolation and can be generalized to different datasets

Intensivvårds- och anestesisjuksköterskors upplevelser av att vårda organdonator : Empirisk studie med kvalitativ ansats

Bakgrund. Intensivvårds- och anestesisjuksköterskor har en viktig roll vid organdonation. Omvårdnadssituationen vid vård av donator utmanar deras professionella kompetens och påverkar dem känslomässigt vilket inverkar på upplevelser av att vårda organdonatorer. Tidigare studier visade att specialistsjuksköterskors attityder och förhållningssätt till organdonation påverkar donationsviljan hos befolkningen.  Syfte. Syftet var att beskriva intensivvårds- och anestesisjuksköterskors upplevelser av att vårda en donator på intensivvårds- och operationsavdelning.  Metod. Studien hade en deskriptiv design med en kvalitativ ansats. Fem intensivvårdssjuksköterskor och fem anestesisjuksköterskor från ett sjukhus i Mellansverige, med erfarenhet av organdonation, inkluderades. Data samlades in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Intervjutexterna analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys.  Huvudresultat. Utifrån det insamlade materialet framträdde tre huvudkategorier och sju underkategorier. Huvudkategorierna var Professionell omvårdnad, Relationer till anhöriga och Samarbete mellan professioner. Specialistsjuksköterskor beskrev vårdandet av donator som en professionell utmaning där de behövde förhålla sig till att donatorn var dödförklarad samtidigt som kroppen behandlades med livsuppehållande insatser. Möten med anhöriga var utmanande och känslomässigt påfrestande. Att vårda yngre donatorer beskrevs som särskilt ansträngande. Samarbetet mellan avdelningarna och med operationsteamet upplevdes som positivt och givande. Återkoppling från det nationella donationscentrumet gjorde att arbetet med donationer kändes meningsfullt. Slutsats. Kommunikation med fokus på teamarbete och samarbete mellan professioner var en viktig faktor för professionellt vårdande. Kontinuerlig kunskap- och kompetensutveckling kring organdonation var av vikt för specialistsjuksköterskors professionella förhållningssät

Public opinion modeling using sentiment analysis

Šī darba mērķis ir izveidot sentimenta analīzes risinājumu, kuru paredzēts izmantot informācijas ieguves sistēmas koncepta izstrādē. Sentimenta analīze tiks veikta sociālo tīklu ziņām. Darba izstrādes sākumā tika veikta esošo sentimenta analīzes risinājumu izpēte un to rezultātu salīdzināšana. Tālāk tika veikta publiski pieejamo treniņdatu korpusu ievākšana. Papildus iegūtajiem datiem, tika izveidots latviešu valodai paredzēts sentimenta analīzes treniņdatu korpuss. Korpusa izveidošanas procesā tika veikta informācijas ieguves sistēmas koncepta izveide. Pēc nepieciešamo treniņdatu savākšanas, tika veikta ilgās īstermiņa atmiņas rekurentā neirona tīkla izveidošana un optimizēšana. Darba rezultātā tika iegūts latviešu valodas Twitter ziņu sentimenta korpuss un uz mākslīgajiem neironu tīkliem bāzēts sentimenta analīzes risinājums, kas sasniedza 82,37% precizitāti, 81,86% pārklājumu un 81,86% F1 mēru.The objective of this paper is to create a solution for sentiment analysis which will be used in the proof of concept development for information extraction system. Sentiment analysis will be performed on social network posts. At the beginning of the research author compared existing methods and their results. Subsequently, publicly available training data were gathered. In addition to that, author also created training data corpus for Latvian sentiment analysis. In the process of the corpus development, the proof of concept for information extraction system was created. Finally, a long short-term memory recurrent neural network was created and optimized. Research results consists of a new corpus of hand classified Latvian language Twitter posts and a neural network based sentiment analysis solution, which achieved 82,37% accuracy, 81,86% recall and 81,86% F1 score

Demand generation activity timeline chart

Kvalifikācijas darba mērķis ir izstrādāt sistēmu, kas nodrošina ērti pārskatāmas datu vizualizācijas izveidi vektorgrafikas formātā, kā arī tās pielāgošanu drukāšanai atbilstošā veidā. Datu vizualizācija tiks izmantota, kā atsevišķa komponente citas sistēmas ietvaros, bet kvalifikācijas darba ietvaros mērķa sistēma ir veidota tā, lai nodrošinātu vizualizācijas datu detalizētu apskati, kā arī to pievienošanu, rediģēšanu, dzēšanu, kārtošanu un filtrēšanu.The objective of this qualification work is to develop a system which would provide creation of concise and easy to read data visualization in vector graphics format, as well as its adjusting to print appropriate format. Data visualization will be used as a seperate component within different system, but within qualification work, target system will be made to ensure detailed review of visualization data as well as ability to add, edit, delete, sort and filter the data

Living with hiv : A literature review

Att leva med humant immunbristvirus kan innebära svårigheter för en individ. Det sociala nätverket drabbas, som kan innebära svårigheter i kontakt med anhöriga, vänner och vården. Syftet med denna studie var att sammanställa kunskap om personersupplevelse av att leva med hiv. Närmare har författarna valt att söka svar på frågeställningar, som handlar om hur personer med hiv beskriver sin livskvalitet, anpassning till den nya livssituationen samt upplevelsen av hur de blir bemötta av andra människor. Författarna genomförde en integrerad kunskapsöversikt och i den systematiska litteratursökningen hittades 25 artiklar som granskades och analyserades. Efter analysen kunde fyra teman beskrivas i resultatet: 1) faktorer som påverkar livskvalitén där deltagare har beskrivit att optimism, religion och empowerment har påverkat deras livskvalitet, 2) hiv som vändpunkt i livet där deltagare har berättat att deras värderingar och prioriteringar har ändrats efter att ha fått hivdiagnosen, 3)stigmatisering och känsla av utanförskap kände många deltagare då de upplevde att de blev exkluderade från samhället samtidigt som vänner och familj som vände dem ryggen och uteblivet stöd från stödorganisationer samt 4) vårdpersonalens bemötande som har upplevt på olika sätt, några deltagare har upplevt att vårdpersonal har ändrat sitt bemötande när de kontaktat deltagaren medan andra har fått bra stöd från vården i deras behandling. Slutsatsen var att personer som lever med hiv upplever en bättre livskvalitet när de får stöd från närstående, omgivningen och vårdpersonal. Föreslagen intervention var att information och utbildning om hiv ges under vårdpersonalens grundutbildning samt riktade interventioner gentemot befintlig vårdpersonal