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Cementindustrin, står inför stora utmaningar i strävan efter hållbar produktion eftersom den bidrar till cirka 8 % av världens totala koldioxidutsläpp. Majoriteten av utsläppen kommer från de kemiska reaktionerna vid upphettning av kalksten samt från de fossila bränslen som används i tillverkningsprocessen av cementklinker. Trots framsteg med användning av alternativa bränslen, alternativa råmaterial och cement-ersättningsmaterial är det oundvikligt att framtidens lösning måste innefatta infångning och lagring koldioxid (CCS) direkt vid fabrikerna.

Denna forskning syftar till att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur nya CCS teknologier så som elektrifierad plasmauppvärmning, oxy-fuel-förbränning och kalciumlooping påverkar klinkerbildningen under cementtillverkning. De höga koldioxidnivåerna som dessa teknologier genererar skapar dock nya processförhållanden vars påverkan på klinkerbildningen måste förstås för att teknikerna ska kunna utvecklas effektivt och säkert.

För att undersöka effekterna har avancerade experimentella metoder utvecklats, inklusive högtemperaturröntgen, som används för att studera hur råmaterial reagerar vid upphettning och vilka mineraler som bildas i cementklinkern. Resultaten visar att höga koldioxidhalter påverkar kalkstenens nedbrytning, förändrar mineralutvecklingen och ökar reaktiviteten hos nyckelmineraler som C2S (dikalciumsilikat). Detta leder till effektivare processer, där faser i råmaterial och mellanprodukter vid hög temperatur reagerar snabbare och bryts ner mer effektivt.

Avhandlingen betonar även vikten av att optimera råmaterial för att anpassa sig till de förändrade förhållandena. Genom att justera sammansättningen och partikelstorleken har studien visat att brännbarheten hos råmaterialen och reaktiviteten hos cementet kan förbättras. Detta innebär att cementet kräver mindre energi att tillverka samtidigt som det får bättre egenskaper för användning i kombination med tillsattsmaterial. 

Vid simulering av kalciumlooping-processen framkom att karbonatiseringens effektivitet och klinkermineralbildning påverkas av flera faktorer, såsom partikelsintring och temperaturdynamik. 

Denna forskning ger värdefulla insikter i hur framtida tillverkningstekniker påverkar klinkerbildningen. Resultaten bidrar till att möjliggöra en säker och effektiv utveckling av nya teknologier som kombinerar elektrifiering och koldioxidinfångning. Detta kan minska cementindustrins klimatpåverkan och bana väg för en cementproduktion som strävar mot världens klimatmål.

This thesis investigates the critical issue of military pilot selection. To understand and optimizeselection, much research has been conducted on factors predicting educational outcomes. Whileassessment testing remains central to selection and understanding pilots, studying abilityrequirements for pilot in modern-day educational and professional settings can help make sure thatour understanding is up to date. This thesis includes both approaches through the two distinct butinterconnected measures of (1) successful completion of Swedish military pilot education, and (2)the ability to perform effectively as a professional military pilot. By adopting this holistic approachand focusing on the historically underexamined Swedish military pilot education context, this workprovides unique insights into selection criteria.Studies I and II were conducted based on a data registry of assessment tests provided by theSwedish Armed Forces and examined the role of common predictors such as personality andcognition in completing the Swedish military pilot education. Using a qualitative, interview-basedapproach, Study III examined instead what qualities that active military pilot cadets themselvesperceive as required for their profession. In a stress experiment in a laboratory setting, Study IVbegun examinations on whether a unique type of stress that can occur in flight, startle, coulddeserve attention during selection.It was found through Studies I and II that personality traits, as assessed by specialist psychologists,are associated with success in the Swedish military pilot education. In particular being energetic,professionally motivated, studious and having leadership potential. In addition, interview-basedsuitability judgements by senior pilots appear the strongest predictor of success in the Swedishsystem, while typically observed cognitive predictors did not appear related to success. Study IIIinformed about professional demands for pilots and found through thematic analysis that Swedishpilot cadets value being a team player, having drive, being stress tolerant and being in good shape,in some overlap with Studies I and II. Startling events, carried out in a controlled laboratoryenvironment in study IV, did negatively affect basic human performance – this was unrelated toindividual personality and stress levels however, providing a first indication about this professionalability requirement for pilots.Taken together, the thesis findings provide valuable insights for military pilot selection. A keytakeaway is the importance of personality factors in predicting educational success within theSwedish system. Historically, personality has been considered less predictive than cognitive abilityin pilot selection. The lack of predictive validity for traditionally emphasized cognitive measuresmay be attributed to a restriction of range, likely due to Swedens highly rigorous selection process.In this system, most candidates have demonstrated strong cognitive aptitude before enteringtraining, reducing variability in those measures and maybe allowing for a shifting of focus topersonality traits. The personality traits found significant for education have conceptual overlapwith previous aviation research profiles based in the Five-Factor Model, and overlap with theprofessional demands identified by pilot cadets in study III. This highlights the potential importanceof these variables, the requirement for further research.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is defined as a clinical syndrome with typical symptoms and signs determined by congenital or acquired abnormalities of the structure or the function of the heart. Several therapeutic options have improved the quality of life and the outcome of patients with HF in recent years. However, also because an increasing number of individuals survives longer, up to the 10% of HF population reaches the advanced stage of the disease. Advanced HF (AdHF) is characterized by persistent severe symptoms despite optimal HF medical and electrical therapy with very poor functional capacity and episodes of unplanned hospitalizations or visits to reduce congestion or improve cardiac output. AdHF patients periodically undergo invasive right heart catheterization (RHC) to estimate pulmonary pressure and vascular resistance. Heart transplantation (HTX) remains the gold standard treatment for AdHF, allowing patients good mid- and long-term survival rates. Main complications after HTX include rejection, more common within the first year after surgery, and cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) in the long term. Echocardiography is a key first line tool for the routine assessment of cardiac function in AdHF and HTX, to monitor effectiveness of therapies and to stratify prognosis. Second level echocardiography techniques, especially Speckle Tracking-derived Myocardial work, are promising in assessing with more sensibility changes in left ventricular function, especially when associated with biomarkers as natriuretic peptides.

Objectives: This thesis is focused on the added role of echocardiography in AdHF and HTX patients and the main aims include: to study the reliability of echocardiography in the estimation of pulmonary arterial pressures (PAP) and the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension when compared to gold standard method (i.e. RHC, paper I); to estimate prognostic value of myocardial work in AdHF (paper II); to determine normal reference value of myocardial work indices in the transplanted heart compared to general healthy population (paper III); to describe the trend of NT-viproBNP (the most used natriuretic peptide in HF) after HTX, assessing its possible predictors among pre- and post-operative echocardiographic and clinical variables (paper IV).

Materials and methods: We retrospectively screened patients with AdHF in regular follow up at our University Hospital. For paper I, we selected all individuals with available RHC data and echocardiographic images recorded on the same day, excluding those with diseases which could represent biases, as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and those with poor acoustic window or undetectable tricuspid regurgitation; all patients underwent accurate echocardiographic analysis for the estimation of pulmonary pressures including peak tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TRV) and mean right ventricular–right atrial (RV–RA) pressure gradient. For paper II we included all patients with good acoustic windows and brachial artery cuff systemic blood pressure measured at the same time as the echocardiographic exam, for the calculation of myocardial work indices, excluding those with more than mild heart valve disease or atrial fibrillation. Applying dedicated software, myocardial work indices, including global constructive work (GCW), global work efficiency (GWE); global work index (GWI) and global wasted work (GWW) were calculated in each patient which was then followed up for the development of major events (all-cause mortality, HTX, left ventricular assist devices implantation – primary endpoint – or acute HF hospitalization – secondary endpoint). A population of HTX patients without history of CAV or rejection were screened for paper III and included if the acoustic window was good and brachial artery cuff systemic blood pressure was measured at the same time as the echocardiographic examination. Patients were excluded also in the presence of donor-specific antibodies or atrial fibrillation, more than mild mitral or aortic regurgitation, or abnormal left ventricular function. Myocardial work indices were calculated and compared to general population with similar age and no comorbidities, derived from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) NORRE study. Lastly, for paper IV, a wider population of HTX patients with available long term follow up and pre-surgical information were screened and described in terms of NT-proBNP values at 10 different time points including 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after theviiHTX. Continuous variables were reported as either mean with standard deviation or median with interquartile range according to normal distribution. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the ability of echocardiographic parameters to predict outcome (PH for Paper I, adverse events for paper II). Pearson's correlation coefficient was utilized to examine the strength of the association between echocardiographic measures and RHC findings in Paper I or NT-proBNP values in paper IV. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were applied to assess predictors of outcomes in paper II where Kaplan–Meier analysis estimated event-free survival. Linear regression was applied to test possible association with MW indices and population characteristics in paper III.

Results: Paper I: in the 41 patients enrolled, peak TRV was superior in terms of area under the curve by ROC analysis to mean RV–RA gradient in predicting increased mean PAP at RHC, both when using 20 or 25 mmHg as pathological cut off value. In particular, a peak TRV >2.4 m/s had 65% sensitivity and 100% positive predictive value for predicting PH according to the new guidelines’ definition.

Paper II: among 138 enrolled individuals, 35 patients developed at least 1 event at follow up. While myocardial work parameters were not associated with primary endpoint occurrence, the hazard ratio for each increase in GWI by 50 mmHg% was 0.90 (p = 0.025) and for each increase in GCW by 50 mmHg% was 0.90 (p = 0.022) when estimating the risk of acute HF hospitalization. Patients with GWI ≥ 369 mmHg% had a better event-free survival at Kaplan–Meier analysis.

Paper III: 82 HTx patients, 68.3% male with a median age of 53 (46–62) years were included in a median time lapse for HTX of 5 (2–22) months. No significant differences were described in terms of gender in HTX patients. On the contrary, all the myocardial work indices significantly differed from those reported in the EACVI NORRE study (all P-value <0.001), in particular with lower GWI, GCW, and GWE and higher GWW values in the HTX population.viii

Paper IV: in a population of 71 HTX patients, major reduction of NT-proBNP was described at month 3 after surgery, with further reduction at 6 months and 1 year after which it tended to remain stable. Among predictors of NT-proBNP values, at regression analysis, 1-year NT-proBNP values was related to RHC measured pulmonary wedge pressure and ischemic etiology but also to post-HTX kidney function and tricuspid regurgitation severity; long term NT-proBNP values were instead predicted by positive Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) antibodies, age at HTX and mitral and tricuspid regurgitation severity.

Conclusions: Standard and advanced echocardiography is confirmed to be an essential and non-invasive tool to describe pathological conditions in AdHF, to determine the best follow up timing to avoid major events or HF hospitalizations but also to early diagnose modification of physiological deformation in case of CAV of rejection or to predict an 0increase of NT-proBNP.

Orthoflaviviruses are arthropod borne single stranded RNA viruses that cause mild to severe illness in humans, affecting millions of people each year with no antivirals currently available. This viral genus includes viruses such as tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), West Nile virus (WNV) and Zika virus (ZIKV). Orthoflavivirus have their own viral proteins, yet like other viruses they also recruit and utilize several cellular proteins to fulfill their life cycle. While some of these host factors have been identified or characterized, most of them remain unknow. In this thesis, I have used different tools to identify and characterize novel proteins involved in orthoflavivirus infection.

Understanding the function of cellular proteins in the viral life cycle is important to comprehend the disease mechanism of the virus and to develop antivirals that target these. In the first part, we implemented proteomic phage display (ProP-PD) to identify short linear motif (SLIM) interaction between viral and cellular proteins, and this method identified Polyadenylate-binding protein 1 (PABP1) as a pro viral factor for many RNA viruses. In the second part of this thesis, we identified proteins involved in TBEV infection by performing an ascorbate peroxidase (APEX) 2-screen to identify proteins found in the vicinity of TBEV NS4B. Using this approach we identified Acyl-CoA Binding Domain Containing 3 (ACBD3). This protein is found in close proximity of TBEV NS4B affecting both viral replication and assembly in TBEV and Langat virus (LGTV) infection, by modifying the trafficking between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi. 

In the third part of the thesis, we explored the role of the nucleoporins (NUPs) in orthoflavivirus infection. NUPs are the building blocks of the nuclear pore complex, which is the complex responsible for the transport of RNA and proteins between the nucleus and cytoplasm. By implementing a variety of different molecular biology techniques, we identified NUP153 and NUP98 to be of importance in the viral life cycle. We observed that during orthoflavivirus infection, NUP153 and NUP98 are upregulated and recruited from the nucleus to the cytosolic region where they bind viral RNA (vRNA). We found that NUP153 regulates viral translation, while NUP98 is important for viral replication, showing the importance and different functions of this protein family in orthoflavivirus infection. 

Furthermore, in this thesis we also evaluated the use of peptides to block these specific virus-host protein interactions as potential antivirals. We show that peptides targeting and binding to PABP1 and NUP98 are antivirally active against several orthoflaviviruses. Taken together, the findings presented in this thesis have led to a better understanding of specific host factors required for the viral life cycle. This knowledge can be used in the development of new antivirals.

Trees are vital to our environment because they support biodiversity, carbon sequestration, oxygen production, and many other environmental functions. The lignocellulosic biomass produced by trees is also a renewable source of green products that can replace fossil fuel-derived products. More recently, their importance has been recognized as carbon sinks that assimilate atmospheric carbon dioxide into organic biomass. Climate change will expose trees to various environmental stresses and pathogens, and due to their sessile nature, trees rely on genetic diversity to survive and adapt. For instance, natural variation in resistance to pathogens allows trees to pass important resistance factors to their progeny and facilitate adaptation. Genome-wide methods have been developed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying natural variation in important tree traits, which could be used in breeding for improved forest feedstocks. In this thesis, the Swedish Aspen collection of Populus tremula trees (theSwAsp collection) was used as a resource to study natural variation in traits influencing tree biomass accumulation, pathogen resistance, and biomass processability. In addition, a systems genetic approach, including genome-wide analysis of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and genome-wide association studies (GWAS), was taken to elucidate factors influencing variation in lignin biosynthesis in the SwAsp population. We identified biomass traits, in particular stem diameter and height, as the most critical factors influencing overall saccharification yield in this population based on multivariate analyses. We uncovered new regulatory aspects of lignin biosynthesis. Through GWAS, we detected genetic associations for saccharification, guaiacyl (G)- and syringyl (S)-type lignin subunits in young ramets and fungal resistance, providing potential molecular markers for these traits. We also validated parts of our results using reverse genetics and an independent aspen collection. Finally, two soft rot fungal genera, Ascocoryne and Cadophora, were identified as highly abundant fungal pathogens in the ramets of the SwAsp trees. The symptoms of the fungal infections varied within the SwAsp population, and their extent correlated positively with the abundance of the p-hydroxyphenyl(H)-type lignin. This thesis highlights natural variation in traits significant for forest tree improvement, such as biomass accumulation, wood traits, and pathogen resistance, within the Swedish aspen population. It also provides details that help to understand lignin biosynthesis and fungal resistance in deciduous trees cultivated in short-rotation plantations. The identification of genetic and molecular markers for many of these traits contributes to efforts in tree breeding to enhance the resilience and utility of forest trees in the face of climate change.

Bakgrund: Rehabilitering är något som rekommenderas för vuxna med demenssjukdom. Multidimensionell interdisciplinär rehabilitering har potential att öka möjligheten för äldre vuxna med demenssjukdom och deras närstående att fortsätta leva ett aktivt och socialt liv med socialt engagemang i samhället för både hälsa och välbefinnande. Den vetenskapliga kunskapen och de kliniska erfarenheterna är dock begränsade med avseende på genomförbarhet och potentiella effekter av ett sådant rehabiliteringsprogram, som också innehåller utbildning och stöd till närstående.

Hos mycket gamla människor, där demenssjukdom är vanligt, har ett begränsat antal studier fokuserat på faktorer förknippade med ensamhet. På grund av risken för allvarliga hälsokonsekvenser som följer av ensamhet finns det ett behov av att öka kunskapen om förekomst av och faktorer som är förknippade med ensamhet bland mycket gamla människor och särskilt bland de som har en demenssjukdom.

Syfte: Att utvärdera genomförbarhet och potentiella effekter av ett personcentrerat multidimensionellt interdisciplinärt rehabiliteringsprogram för äldre personer med demenssjukdom som bor i ordinärt boende och deras närstående, samt att utforska ensamhet hos äldre personer med demenssjukdom.

Metod: Från den befolkningsbaserade studien, Umeå 85+/Gerontological Regional Database (GERDA), undersöktes förekomsten av ensamhet i ett representativt urval av mycket gamla människor, 85, 90 och 95 år och över, som lever med och utan demenssjukdom (n=1176). Ensamhet bedömdes med frågan "Händer det att du känner dig ensam?" Data om sociodemografiska faktorer, aspekter av social delaktighet, diagnoser och medicinska tillstånd, läkemedel, bedömningar och tester samlades också in genom strukturerade intervjuer i hemmet och genomgång av patientjournal (delstudie I).

I den randomiserade kontrollerade pilotstudien utvärderades studien, Multidimensional Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation in Dementia (MIDRED), som är ett personcentrerat rehabiliteringsprogram för äldre personer med demens som bor i ordinärt boende, inklusive utbildning och stöd till närstående. Sextioen deltagare med demenssjukdom och 67 närstående lottades till antingen en kontrollgrupp (sedvanlig vård) eller till rehabiliteringsprogrammet. Programmet bestod av bedömningar och interventioner som tillhandahölls av ett multiprofessionellt team under en 20-veckors rehabiliteringsperiod, följt av två uppföljningsperioder på fyra veckor vardera efter 5 och 14 månader. I delstudie II utvärderades rehabiliteringsprogrammet i MIDRED-studien i termer av uppföljningsfrekvens och svarsfrekvens, och potentiella kort- och långtidseffekter hos äldre vuxna med demenssjukdom med fokus på social delaktighet, ensamhet och mental hälsa. Testningar utfördes vid baslinjen och vid 5, 12, 24 och 36 månader. Erfarenheterna av att delta i rehabiliteringsprogrammet i MIDRED-studien undersöktes i delstudie III från deltagare med demens (n=16) perspektiv och i delstudie IV från deras närståendes perspektiv (n=14). Deltagarna med demens och deras närstående intervjuades individuellt i slutet av den 20 veckor långa rehabiliteringsperioden och data analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys.

Resultat: I delstudie I skilde sig inte förekomsten av ensamhet (ofta/ibland) signifikant mellan mycket gamla människor med (50,9 %) och utan (46,0 %) demenssjukdom. I multivariabla regressionsmodeller var två variabler signifikant associerade med ensamhet i båda studiegrupperna (deltagare med och utan demenssjukdom). Dessa var att leva ensam och att ha depressiva symtom. Hos mycket gamla människor utan demenssjukdom var boende på särskilt boende förknippat med mindre ensamhet. Det preliminära resultatet från delstudie II visade att svarsfrekvensen var hög för alla bedömningar inom områdena mental hälsa, ensamhet och social delaktighet fram till 12-månadersuppföljningen, inklusive frågor som innehöll flervalsalternativ. Svarsfrekvensen efter 12 månader minskade, särskilt för de mer kognitivt krävande frågor som hade flervalsalternativ inom området social delaktighet. Sammantaget visades ett fåtal statistiskt signifikanta skillnader mellan grupperna, men några av fynden verkar potentiellt kliniskt meningsfulla. Till fördel för interventionsgruppen fanns det kliniskt meningsfulla skillnader i depressiva symtom (kortvarig), aktiv rekreation, organiserade sociala aktiviteter och besök av familj och vänner (kortvarig). Det fanns ingen indikation på att rehabiliteringsprogrammet hade några kliniskt betydelsefulla effekter på ensamhet i interventionsgruppen. Kontrollgruppen verkade mer nöjd med frekvensen av att hålla kontakten med andra. Delstudie III identifierade ett centralt tema: Blivit stärkt genom delaktighet och samhörighet – vilket speglar perspektiven hos vuxna med demens som deltar i rehabiliteringsprogrammet. Det centrala temat baserades på fyra underteman: Att stärkas genom utmaningar; Få insikter, motiv och väcka oro för framtiden; Att bli sedd gör det värt att delta; och Känslor av samhörighet i medgång och motgång. Analysen av upplevelser av närståendes deltagande i programmet, som beskrivs i delstudie IV, genererade totalt sju kategorier, som sammanfogades till tre teman: Att känna sig utmanad och upplyft inför att möta en osäker framtid; Att uppfatta stödjande aktiviteter som källor till både glädje och frustration i vardagen; och Att finna lättnad i att känna igen sin anhöriges tidigare jag.

Slutsats: Hos mycket gamla människor verkar ensamhet vara lika utbredd bland de med som utan demens, även om välkända riskfaktorer för ensamhet, såsom depression och att bo ensam, var vanligare bland mycket gamla med demens. De två grupperna delade två av tre faktorer som var förknippade med ensamhet, vilket var att leva ensam och ha depressiva symtom. Att bo på ett särskilt boende var förknippat med upplevelsen av mindre ensamhet hos personer utan demens. Dessa fynd bidrar till viktig kunskap vid utveckling av strategier för att minska ensamhet i denna växande åldersgrupp som kännetecknas av höga risker för ensamhet och demens.

Sammantaget verkar ett personcentrerat multidimensionellt interdisciplinärt rehabiliteringsprogram för äldre personer med demens som bor i ordinärt boende, kombinerat med utbildning och stöd riktat till deras närstående, vara genomförbart och upplevdes värdefullt. Deltagarna med demens beskrev ökad självkänsla genom att de vågade mer och hanterade sin vardag bättre genom rehabiliteringen. Insikterna om sig själva och deras tillstånd motiverade dem att fortsätta med sina prioriterade aktiviteter, men väckte också oro för hur framtiden skulle se ut. Samvaron i gruppen och att bli sedd och uppmärksammad av personalen stärkte deras egen motivation och egen förmåga bland deltagarna med demens. De närstående kände sig stärkta av rehabiliteringen och mer rustade att hantera en oviss framtid. Samtidigt som rehabiliteringsprogrammet utmanade vardagsrutinerna, verkade fördelarna uppväga påfrestningarna. Mätmetoder som användes i denna studie under tre år, inom områdena social delaktighet, ensamhet och mental hälsa verkar möjliga att använda. Det verkade kognitivt krävande för deltagare med demens att svara på frågor om social delaktighet efter 12 månader. Därför var det värdefullt att använda strategin att även fråga närstående eller personal för att undvika bortfall av data. Den här aktuella pilotstudien indikerar potentiellt kliniskt betydelsefulla fynd om social delaktighet och mental hälsa (kortsiktig). Baserat på fynden i denna avhandling verkar det vara relevant att gå vidare till en randomiserad kontrollerad studie med tillräcklig adekvat statistisk styrka. För att lindra ensamheten skulle man kunna överväga att vidareutveckla insatser fokuserade på ensamhet.

Document clustering is a technique for organizing and discovering patterns in large collections of text, often used in applications such as news aggregation and contextual advertising. An example is the automatic grouping of news articles by theme, which is the focus of this thesis. For a clustering to be successful, typically the resulting clusters need to appear interpretable and coherent to a human. However, there is a lack of efficient methods to reliably assess the quality of a clustering in terms of human-perceived coherence, which is essential for ensuring its usefulness in real-world applications.

To address the lack of evaluation methods for document clustering focusing on human interpretation, we introduced Cluster Interpretation and Precision from Human Exploration (CIPHE). CIPHE tasks human evaluators to explore document samples from a cluster and collects their interpretation. The interpretation is collected through a standardized survey and then processed with the framework metrics to yield the cluster precision and characteristics. This thesis presents and discusses the development process of CIPHE. The feasibility of performing the exploratory tasks of CIPHE in a crowdsourcing environment was investigated, which resulted in insights on how to formulate instructions. Additionally, CIPHE was confirmed to identify characteristics other than the main theme such as the negative emotional response.

CIPHE was paired with a standard clustering pipeline to evaluate its capabilities and limitations. The pipeline is widely applied for its adaptability and conceptual simplicity, and also being part of the popular topic model BERTopic. The empirical results of applying CIPHE suggest that the pipeline, when integrated with a Transformer-based language model, generally yields coherent clusters.

Additionally, topic models have a similar aim as document clustering which is to automate the corpus processing and present the underlying themes to a human. Topic modeling has rich research on the human interpretation of topic coherence. In the thesis, the human interpretation collected with CIPHE was related to established research in topic coherence. Specifically, the human interpretation collected with CIPHE was used to highlight limitations with the keyword representations that topic coherence evaluation relies on.

Denna forskning undersöker potentialen hos två viktiga biopolymerer, specifikt kitin och lignin, som finns i biprodukter från biomassa, för att möta miljö- och energirelaterade utmaningar. 

Kitin, som vanligen återfinns i kräftdjurskal, kan deacetylseras för att producera kitosan, ett mångsidigt material med olika industriella tillämpningar. Traditionell kitosanproduktion är energikrävande och använder korrosiva reagenser. För att förbättra denna process introducerar Paper I en ’grönare’ metod, där den joniska vätskan [Emim][OAc] används för förbehandling av kitin, följt av mikrovågshjälpt deacetylation i vattenlösningar av NaOH eller [TBA][OH]. Förbehandlingen reducerar effektivt kitinets kristallinitet och förbättrar dess reaktivitet för att uppnå upp till 85% deacetylation på 1-2 timmar. Både [Emim][OAc] och [TBA][OH] kan regenereras (97% respektive 83%), vilket erbjuder en mer hållbar metod för kitosanproduktion som kan tex. fungera som substrat för katalysatorer i industrin. Paper II undersöker adsorption och katalytisk reduktion av fenolröd färgämne med Ag-belastade kitosankatalysatorer. Dessa katalysatorer visar utmärkt aktivitet över ett brett pH-intervall (4–11), med effektiv adsorption vid nästan neutralt pH (6,4) samt vid rumstemperatur. Efter fem återvinningscykler bibehåller katalysatorerna deras strukturella stabilitet med endast 0,2% förlust av Ag, vilket visar deras potential för avloppsvattenrening.

Lignin, en viktig men underutnyttjad polymer i träbiomassa, bränns vanligtvis till energi och värme. Nyligen har intresset ökat för att omvandla lignin till värdefulla produkter som jetbränsle-kolväten och finkemikalier. Utmaningen ligger i att selektivt bryta C–O och C–C-bindningar i lignin samtidigt som katalysatorns stabilitet bibehålls. Paper III undersöker C–O-klyvning i ligninmodelmolekyler med multifunktionella Ru/NbOPO₄/TiO₂-katalysatorer, vilket ger hög utbyte av kolväten (86,9–100%) under milda betingelser. Paper IV undersöker både C–O och C–C-klyvning med Ru/NbOPO₄-katalysatorer, varvid >99% konversion av modellföreningar uppnås med högt utbyte av kolväten. Katalysatorernas prestanda drivs av den justerbara synergismen mellan Lewis- och Brønsted-surheten hos niobiumfosfat och väteaktiveringsrollen hos Ru.

Denna tvärvetenskapliga forskning främjar biopolymerkemi och katalys, och erbjuder hållbara lösningar till miljö- och energimässiga utmaningar genom att maximera användningen av biprodukter från biomassa och tillhandahålla miljövänliga alternativ inom avloppsvattenrening och förnybar energi.

It is very challenging for policymakers and other decision makers to make any kind of decision on a new policy, as the reaction of a person to that policy (policy as one form of a norm) in a given situation is highly individual and based on their own subjective perspective. This becomes even more challenging in environments with a high degree of uncertainty (as is usually the case for policymakers).

Social simulations are a powerful tool for policymakers and other decision makers to support them in their decision-making process. To build agent-based social simulations that provide this support two main challenges exist: norm (policy) realistic behavior and the usability of the simulation.

Norm realistic behavior includes differentiated norm engagement as well as seeing norms as more than just restrictions on behavior. Situated norm engagement means that people react differently to norms and focus only on the parts that are relevant for them. Seeing norms as more than just restrictions on behavior means that people can also violate norms and be motivated to circumvent norms. To address these two parts, we formalize different perspectives on norms and develop a novel agent deliberation architecture, called the Perspective-Based Agent Deliberation Architecture (PBADA) that can represent different perspectives on norms. Another key element of our agent deliberation architecture is that norms are explicit objects.

Having norms as explicit objects is crucial for addressing the challenge of usability of the simulation. It allows policymakers to modify them interactively in the simulation. In general, we see usability as empowering the policy maker to use the simulation in a - for them - meaningful way. Policymakers need to understand how a norm (policy) is influencing the behavior of the agents and in what way. Furthermore, policymakers need to be able to modify existing norms and add new ones on the fly. This requires interaction tools and visualization capabilities necessary to support them in this process. To address this challenge, we present preliminary work on such an interaction tool. 

This thesis examines how changes in school equipment relate to changes in teaching ideals in the Swedish school system between 1865 and 2010. Three cases of changes in school equipment are examined in three sub-studies. The first sub-study explores how national guidelines for school desks covering the period 1865–1981 implicitly expressed specific teaching ideals. The second sub-study examines equipment requirements that arose in connection with changes in teaching ideals during the Swedish comprehensive school reform of 1949–1972. The third sub-study analyses how teaching ideals changed in conjunction with the introduction of new media technology in schools during the 1980s and in 2010. The thesis’s overarching research question addresses the significance of the origin and direction of change initiatives when school equipment and teaching ideals change. The source materials used in these studies consist of archival material from schools and authorities, printed official documents, teacher magazines, the local daily press, and teacher interviews. The thesis’s theoretical framework is based on a socio-material perspective whereby schools are studied as socio-material networks, and teaching ideals and school equipment shape each other. Additionally, concepts such as ‘historical path dependency’, ‘the grammar of schooling’, and ‘horizontal and vertical change initiatives’ also contribute to the analysis. Methodologically, the study follows a source-pluralistic and source-critical approach, which is supplemented by discourse analysis (in one sub-study). The results indicate that school equipment should not be seen merely as passive or neutral proposals for teaching. Historically, equipment has supported specific teaching ideals and has hindered or concealed others. While many teaching ideals have clearly changed during the period of investigation, older ideals have been reproduced over time because of ‘the path-dependent use of equipment’. However, school equipment has also changed based on how it is used or the ideals it is inter-related with. The results also indicate that the significance of the origin and direction of the change initiative shifts in character if such initiatives are vertical or horizontal to the school. Vertical change initiatives tend to function primarily as boundary setters for internal change within the school. Horizontal change initiatives, on the other hand, appear to take on great significance as trendsetters for the direction these changes take.

Economic crises and instability are inherent to capitalist economies, often having profound effects on regional economies and individual livelihoods. As a result, understanding how to achieve resilient regional economies has become a central focus of research in economic geography. In the wake of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, economic geographers have concentrated on how regions are impacted and what macro-level factors drive recovery, reorganization, or stagnation. While these macro-scale dynamics are important, they often overlook a crucial question: how do individuals and communities adapt to, and cope with economic shocks? This thesis shifts the focus to the lived experiences of those affected by crisis, examining how people cope with the losses brought on by economic upheaval in their daily lives, and how this reshapes their spatial relationships. Empirically, this research draws on the experiences of Danish mink farmers who lost their farms in 2020 due to the political decisions following COVID-19 pandemic. Through qualitative interviews, the study highlights how everyday practices—often neglected in macro- and meso-level analyses—not only help sustain livelihoods during crises but also challenge the structural inequalities of geographically peripheral regions. Beyond policy measures and economic structures, resilience in geographically peripheral regions is deeply embedded in social reproduction, cross-scalar networks, everyday familiarity, and the rhythms of socio-natural life. 

Through three articles analysing how people cope with economic crises using different theoretical frameworks, this study offers a micro-scale perspective on regional economic resilience. Empirically it highlights the crucial role of cross-scalar networks—both formal and informal—that people rely on to manage economic and social challenges. These networks are essential for counteracting uneven spatial power dynamics, supporting economic activities, and sustaining daily life (Paper 1). Furthermore, this thesis shows that economic crises are not only structural disruptions but also deeply personal and emotional experiences. Beyond the loss of employment, individuals often feel stranded—not just because their skillsets become redundant, but also due to their emotional attachment to their professions and ways of life (Paper 2). Finally, the research shows how the dismantling of industries disrupts the socio-natural rhythms that structure agricultural work, profoundly affecting individuals' relationships with both their environment and their livelihoods (Paper 3). This disruption extends beyond technical expertise, fundamentally altering how people engage with their surroundings. 

On a broader level, the findings emphasize that regional economic resilience is not solely about macro-scale economic production. It is deeply intertwined with social reproduction—the everyday, often invisible labor that sustains households, communities, and local economies. The contributions of family members, community groups, and local support networks are essential for maintaining livelihoods and ensuring social stability. Moreover, resilient regional economies are not just those that sustain economic production but also those that invest in and uphold resilient public services. Resilience, therefore, is not just an economic outcome but a collective process, shaped by relationships, interdependence, and the institutions that support everyday life.