Design Concept for Thule Luggage - A Flexible Solution for Traveling with Multiple Bags

During travels, people want to be able to move fast and smooth from point A to point B. Thereby, many people can relate to the struggles which occur when carrying several belongings simultaneously. This master’s thesis was performed in collaboration with Thule Sweden AB and the purpose was to develop a design concept which would make it easier to travel with a wheeled luggage in combination with a secondary bag such as a laptop bag or handbag. The design process started off with benchmarking competitors and their solutions to similar problems followed by a user study including observations of travelers and their habits, interviews and user journeys. From this, key findings were gathered and served as foundation for the identification of user needs, creating of personas and for decomposing the problem into the most important functions. Based on these, a large number of concepts were produced in a first concept generation phase through brainstorming, sketching and parallel prototyping. The concepts were evaluated and one was chosen to be elaborated in a second concept generation phase. The final concept is called Thule Unite and is a feature which enables fast and easy attachment of a secondary bag onto a wheeled luggage. The solution consists of a bar, equipped with two elastic bands, integrated into the wheeled luggage and does not interfere with the design of the luggage nor its fixed- and telescopic handle. When using Thule Unite the user places their secondary bag on top of the wheeled luggage, pulls the bar over and around the bag and the telescopic tubes and then releases it. The bar is pulled against the telescopic tubes by the elastic bands which are at the same time pressing the secondary bag towards the wheeled luggage. Thule Unite allows fastening of various types and sizes of secondary bags and is easily managed with only one hand. The concept aim travelers who are not willing to compromise in the choice of their personal everyday bag. The functional and minimalistic design of the concept would fit into a Thule wheeled luggage and achieve the company’s mission to help people transport the things they care for safely, easily and in style

Does spacing retrieval practice lead to a benefit in word learning before and after sleep? A developmental perspective

Understanding how to promote word learning across development is a crucial research area, as vocabulary size can predict academic and employment success. Spaced (relative to massed) retrieval practice (i.e., practising retrieval in sessions separated by hours or days) has been argued to benefit the long-term retention of novel vocabulary in adults and children. However, the effects of spaced retrieval practice are similar to sleep effects and the effects of repeated retrieval practice with feedback. Few studies have examined spaced retrieval practice in the absence of sleep between retrieval attempts or without feedback. This thesis addresses these areas by examining word learning performance up to 7 days after within-day spaced or massed retrieval practice with or without feedback and with or without a retrieval opportunity 24 hours after initial training in adult and child populations. We found a benefit in word learning performance from massed retrieval practice in adults and children on the first day of testing. Further, while within-day spaced retrieval practice protected memories from forgetting one week later, novel words were not better retained after within-day spaced retrieval practice in adult or child populations. We also conducted a direct comparative analysis of the adult and child data where we found that within-day spaced retrieval practice or a post-sleep retrieval opportunity generally slowed forgetting in adults, but children continued to improve their performance. However, developmental differences in the effects from within-day spaced retrieval practice only emerged if a post-sleep retrieval opportunity was provided. These results will be considered in the context of retrieval effort, contextual variability, and reconsolidation theories. Overall, this thesis provides critical evidence that a spacing benefit does not always emerge and that a post-sleep retrieval opportunity slows the forgetting of novel words one week later in adults but encourages continued improvements in children

Grazing and fouling behaviour on different vegetation types within heterogeneous semi-natural and naturalised pastures

In a two-year study, grazing, resting and fouling behaviour of cattle grazing on heterogeneous semi-natural/naturalised continuously grazed, fenced pasture areas (sites), were examined using two and nine sites in year 1 and 2. Five vegetation types were identified and mapped out on the sites used in the study: four typical species-rich semi-natural vegetation types (dry, mesic, wet, shaded), and one naturalised, grass-dominated type on former fertilised arable land. The two sites used in year 1 and seven sites in year 2 contained all five vegetation types, while one or two vegetation types (dry and wet) were absent on the remaing two sites in year 2. Behaviour was recorded over 24 h on three occasions in year 1, and on one occasion in year 2. During observation hours, animal behaviour (grazing/resting/other) and vegetation type grazed were recorded at 5-minute intervals and time and location of defecation and urination were recorded continuously. Vegetation types were sampled for herbage analysis directly after behaviour observations by cutting the vegetation in three random plots per type. Relative preference for grazing, resting and fouling was calculated for each vegetation type by dividing proportion of behaviour observations spent on a specific vegetation type by proportion of total area occupied by this vegetation type. The results showed that during both years, animals showed the greatest relative preference for the naturalised vegetation type when grazing or fouling (urination and defecation). The naturalised vegetation type also had the greatest content of metabolisable energy (from 9.8 to 10.1 MJ/kg DM) and crude protein (from 131 to 157 g/kg DM) and the least content of neutral detergent fibre (from 453 to 456 g/kg DM)

Cytokine responses during chronic denervation

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to examine inflammatory responses during Wallerian degeneration in rat peripheral nerve when the regrowth of axons was prevented by suturing. METHODS: Transected rat sciatic nerve was sutured and ligated to prevent reinnervation. The samples were collected from the left sciatic nerve distally and proximally from the point of transection. The endoneurium was separated from the surrounding epi- and perineurium to examine the expression of cytokines in both of these compartments. Macrophage invasion into endoneurium was investigated and Schwann cell proliferation was followed as well as the expression of cytokines IL-1β, IL-10, IFN-γ and TNF-α mRNA. The samples were collected from 1 day up to 5 weeks after the primary operation. RESULTS: At days 1 to 3 after injury in the epi-/perineurium of the proximal and distal stump, a marked expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β and of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was observed. Concurrently, numerous macrophages started to gather into the epineurium of both proximal and distal stumps. At day 7 the number of macrophages decreased in the perineurium and increased markedly in the endoneurium of both stumps. At this time point marked expression of TNF-α and IFN-γ mRNA was observed in the endo- and epi-/perineurium of the proximal stump. At day 14 a marked increase in the expression of IL-1β could be noted in the proximal stump epi-/perineurium and in the distal stump endoneurium. At that time point many macrophages were observed in the longitudinally sectioned epineurium of the proximal 2 area as well as in the cross-section slides from the distal stump. At day 35 TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-10 mRNA appeared abundantly in the proximal epi-/perineurium together with macrophages. CONCLUSION: The present studies show that even during chronic denervation there is a cyclic expression pattern for the studied cytokines. Contrary to the previous findings on reinnervating nerves the studied cytokines show increased expression up to 35 days. The high expressions of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the proximal epi-/perineurial area at day 35 may be involved in the formation of fibrosis due to irreversible nerve injury and thus may have relevance to the formation of traumatic neuroma

Effect of cultivation conditions on the structure and morphological properties of BNC biomaterials with a focus on vascular grafts

20 New materials that are not thrombogenic and have mechanical properties that mimic the native blood vessel are in very great demand. Nanocellulose produced by the bacteria Gluconacetobacter xylinus is a biomaterial that has gained interest in the field of tissue engineering because of its unique properties, such as great mechanical strength, high water content (around 99%), and the ability to be shaped into three-dimensional structures during biosynthesis. The fabrication process of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) vascular grafts is very unique because the material synthesis and product formation takes place simultaneously. The bio mechanical performance, which includes rupture pressure and compliance along with biological response (endothelialization, blood compatibility, etc.), is dependent on the morphology of a fibrillar network. The network formation is affected by cellulose assembly and bacteria motion, proliferation rate, and other factors. An understanding of the effects of cultivation conditions on BNC network formation is therefore of great importance

Törökország közlekedése

The design of sample cells to study solid/liquid interfaces by neutron reflection is presented. Use of standardized components and a modular design has allowed a wide range of experiments that include grazing incidence scattering andconventional small-angle scattering. Features that reduce background scattering are emphasized. Various flow arrangements to fill and replenish the liquid in the cell as well as continuous stirring are described

Identification of MS-specific serum miRNAs in an international multicenter study.

ObjectiveTo identify circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) linked to disease, disease stage, and disability in MS across cohorts.MethodsSamples were obtained from the Comprehensive Longitudinal Investigation of Multiple Sclerosis (CLIMB, Boston, MA), EPIC (San Francisco, CA), AMIR (Beirut, Lebanon) as part of the SUMMIT consortium, and Stockholm Prospective Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (Stockholm, Sweden) cohorts. Serum miRNA expression was measured using locked nucleic acid-based quantitative PCR. Four groups were compared: (1) MS vs healthy control (HC), (2) relapsing-remitting (RR) vs HC, (3) secondary progressive (SP) vs HC, and (4) RR vs SP. A Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for the comparisons. The association between each miRNA and the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was assessed using the Spearman correlation coefficient. For each comparison, the p values were corrected for multiple comparisons using the approach of Benjamini and Hochberg to control the false discovery rate.ResultsIn the CLIMB cohort, 5 miRNAs (hsa-miR-484, hsa-miR-140-5p, hsa-miR-320a, hsa-miR-486-5p, and hsa-miR-320c) showed a significant difference between patients with MS and healthy individuals; among these, miR-484 remained significant after accounting for multiple comparisons (p = 0.01). When comparing RRMS with HCs, hsa-miR-484 showed a significant difference (p = 0.004) between the groups after accounting for multiple group comparisons. When SP and HC were compared, 6 miRNAs (hsa-miR-484, hsa-miR-140-5p, hsa-miR-142-5p, hsa-miR-320a, hsa-miR-320b, and hsa-miR-320c) remained significantly different after accounting for multiple comparisons. Disability correlation analysis with miRNA provided 4 miRNAs (hsa-miR-320a, hsa-miR-337-3p, hsa-miR-199a-5p, and hsa-miR-142-5p) that correlated with the EDSS during the internal reproducibility phase. Among these, hsa-miR-337-3p was the most statistically significant miRNA that negatively correlated with the EDSS in three of the MS cohorts tested.ConclusionsThese findings further confirm the use of circulating serum miRNAs as biomarkers to diagnose and monitor disease status in MS.Classification of evidenceThis study provides Class III evidence that levels of circulating miRNAs identify patients with MS

Granskning av pedagogisk skicklighet – utmaningar för sakkunniga

Bedömning av pedagogisk och vetenskaplig skicklighet ska göras med lika stor omsorg vid tjänstetillsättningar. Trots att detta har varit lagstadgat i Sverige sedan 1960-talet visar forskning att det finns utmaningar förknippade med granskning av pedagogisk skicklighet. Svårigheten att göra kvalificerade bedömningar gäller inte bara vid anställning och befordran. De allt vanligare systemen för belöning av pedagogisk skicklighet vid svenska lärosäten har ytterligare satt fokus på behovet av kompetenta bedömare. Behovet har bland annat bemötts genom en nationell utbildning i sakkunniggranskning av pedagogisk skicklighet som genomförts som ett samarbete mellan ett flertal svenska lärosäten. Under tre utbildningsomgångar, mellan 2017 och 2020, fick deltagarna svara på frågor om upplevda utmaningar vid granskning av pedagogisk skicklighet. Svaren analyserades med tematisk innehållsanalys som resulterade i fem teman med fokus på: organisatorisk legitimitet, reliabilitet, validitet, konstruktivitet och professionalitet. Resultaten ger underlag för utveckling av lärosätenas granskningsprocesser, kan ge stöd till sakkunniga och personer som ska fatta beslut om anställning, befordran eller pedagogisk meritering och även för de som arbetar med att sammanställa en pedagogisk portfölj.  ENGLISH ABSTRACT Assessment of teaching portfolios – challenges for reviewers Assessment of teaching and scientific competence should be done with equal care at appointments. Despite the fact that this has been legislated in Sweden since the 1960s, research shows that there are challenges associated with reviewing teaching portfolios. The difficulty in making qualified judgments does not only apply to hiring and promotion. As systems for awarding pedagogical competence at Swedish higher education institutions have increased, an accentuated need for competent assessors have followed. The need has been met, among other things, through a national training in peer review of pedagogical competence conducted as a collaboration between several Swedish higher education institutions. During three cohorts of the course, between 2017 and 2020, participants were asked to answer questions about perceived challenges when reviewing teaching portfolios. The responses were analyzed using thematic content analysis which resulted in five themes focusing on: organizational legitimacy, reliability, validity, constructivity and professionalism. The results provide a basis for the development of the higher education institutions’ review processes, and can provide support to experts and people who have to make decisions about employment, promotion or educational qualification and also for those who work on compiling a teaching portfolio