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In this thesis, liquid-membrane-based methods for the analysis of trace metal species in samples of environmental and biological origin were developed. By incorporating extracting reagents in the membrane liquid, trace metal ions were selectively separated from humic-rich natural waters and urine samples, prior to their determination using various instrumental techniques. The extractions were perf
Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that transform chemical energy into electricity. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are particularly interesting because they can handle the reforming of hydrocarbon fuels directly within the cell. This is possible due to their high operating temperature. The purpose of this study is to develop an anode-supported SOFC model, to enhance the understanding of the in
That a load balancing strategy using stale information care lessly will incur system performance degradation is easy to verify. However it is not so obvious that routing a customer to the expected shortest queue has the same problem when information for decision is stale. We consider a queueing system with a load balancer and a pool of identical FCFS queues in parallel. The arrival process is assu
Knowledge about the nature, processes and patterns of cascading effects, i.e. where infrastruc-ture dependencies lead to impacts propagating from one system to other systems, is essential in order to miti-gate and respond to crises that involve critical infrastructures and societal functions. This paper presents a method for systematic description of cascading effects in past event, to some extent
Thread-Level Speculation can be used to take advantage of multicore architectures for web applications. We have implemented Thread-Level Speculation in the state-of-the-art JavaScript engine V8 instead of using an interpreted JavaScript engine. We evaluate the implementation with the Chromium web browser on 15 popular web applications for 2, 4, and 8 cores. The results show that it is beneficial t
It is widely accepted that firms in peripheral regions benefit to a lesser extent from local knowledge spillovers than firms located in agglomerations or industrial clusters. This paper investigates the extent to which innovative firms in peripheral regions compensate for the lack of access to local knowledge spillovers by collaborating at other geographical scales. So far the literature predomina
Internal erosion is a major reason for embankment dam failures. Resistivity measurements is an essentially non-destructive technique, which may have the possibility of detecting internal erosion processes and anomalous seepage at an early stage before the safety of the dam is at stake. This paper presents results from part of a dam safety investigation conducted at the Enemossen tailings dam in so
This paper presents a methodological approach for the study of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air, emitted during storage of municipal solid waste in bales. Determination of VOCs was based on sampling with adsorbent tubes followed by automated analysis using on-line work-up with a thermal desorption unit directly connected to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. Using calculation algorithm
Preterm birth is the major cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity in the developed world. Where there are no contraindications to their use, tocolytics can improve neonatal survival rates by approximately 3% per day between 23 and 27 weeks gestation with a concomitant reduction in morbidity. The ultimate aim of tocolytic therapy is to prolong pregnancy until growth and maturation is complete,
Industrial interventions that focus on increased productivity may impair the ergonomics, on a workstation or individual level. This paper presents a method that characterises work time consumption and physical work load of manual work, using video recordings synchronised with physiological measurements of, e.g. muscular activity, and postures. The underlying idea was that it is possible to amalgam
Background: The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically test a short, patient-reported questionnaire to be used in clinical practice for patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). The Visual Analogue Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (VAS-IBS) questionnaire was designed to measure the treatment response of symptoms and well-being in patients suffering from IBS. Methods: The VAS-I
The possibilities for implementing a rainwater collection system in Ringdansen, a residential area in Norrkoping, Sweden, have been explored by analysing four scenarios for using rainwater in a dual water supply system to supplement drinking water. A computer model has been generated to quantify the water saving potential of the rainwater collection scheme. The performance of the rainwater system
The influence of the auxotrophic deficiencies of the host strain and expression vector selection on the production of a heterologous protein was investigated. Heterologous xylanase production by two prototrophic S. cerevisiae transformants, containing either a plasmid-based, YEp-type expression system or an integrative, YIp-type expression system, were compared with production by an auxotrophic tr
Voluntary agreements represent a policy instrument for applying new knowledge, routines or technology to specified issues. The traditional role of an authority when using information, and taking economic, or administrative measures is that of an initiator and controller. Voluntary agreements, on the other hand, represent a communication process between an authority and a partner where relations of
A common control technique for limiting nitrogen oxide emissions is selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO, with NH,. The lifetime of the catalyst, which has a critical role in overall SCR system economics, is, however, limited due to deactivation by poisoning. A two-dimensional model was developed to describe poison accumulation and activity of an SCR catalyst. The model that has no adjustable
Biofuels are commonly stored in large stacks that may heat up and self-ignite from microbiological and chemical heat production. This paper shows how isothermal (heat conduction) calorimetry can be used to measure heat production rates of biofuels at relatively low temperatures close to where self-heating starts to become a problem. Measurements can be made to assess how the reaction rate is a fun
