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This work focuses on numerical solutions of optimal control problems. A time discretization error representation is derived for the approximation of the associated value function. It concerns symplectic Euler solutions of the Hamiltonian system connected with the optimal control problem. The error representation has a leading-order term consisting of an error density that is computable from symplectic Euler solutions. Under an assumption of the pathwise convergence of the approximate dual function as the maximum time step goes to zero, we prove that the remainder is of higher order than the leading-error density part in the error representation. With the error representation, it is possible to perform adaptive time stepping. We apply an adaptive algorithm originally developed for ordinary differential equations. The performance is illustrated by numerical tests., QC 20150612

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a serious medical condition requiring timely administered, appropriate antibiotic therapy. Blood culture is regarded as the gold standard for aetiological diagnosis of sepsis, but it suffers from low sensitivity and long turnaround time. Thus, nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) have emerged to shorten the time to identification of causative microbes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical utility in everyday practice in the emergency department of two commercial NAATs in patients suspected with sepsis. METHODS: During a six-week period, blood samples were collected consecutively from all adult patients admitted to the general emergency department for suspicion of a community-onset sepsis and treated with intravenous antibiotics. Along with conventional blood cultures, multiplex PCR (Magicplex™) was performed on whole blood specimens whereas portions from blood culture bottles were used for analysis by microarray-based assay (Prove-it™). The aetiological significance of identified organisms was determined by two infectious disease physicians based on clinical presentation and expected pathogenicity. RESULTS: Among 382 episodes of suspected sepsis, clinically relevant microbes were detected by blood culture in 42 episodes (11%), by multiplex PCR in 37 episodes (9.7%), and by microarray in 32 episodes (8.4%). Although moderate agreement with blood culture (kappa 0.50), the multiplex PCR added diagnostic value by timely detection of 15 clinically relevant findings in blood culture-negative specimens. Results of the microarray corresponded very well to those of blood culture (kappa 0.90), but were available just marginally prior to blood culture results. CONCLUSIONS: The use of NAATs on whole blood specimens in adjunct to current culture-based methods provides a clinical add-on value by allowing for detection of organisms missed by blood culture. However, the aetiological significance of findings detected by NAATs should be, The Skaraborg sepsis study, Skövde, Sweden

Syfte och frågeställningar: Det övergripande syftet handlar om hur spelare och ledare i ett pojkungdomslag i ishockey konstruerar och iscensätter maskuliniteter. Studien tar avstamp i att det skett en förändring i samhället rörande normer kring normalitet och maskulinitet och annorlunda uttryckt är studiens avsikt att undersöka hur detta påverkar konstruktionen av maskulinitet. De frågeställningar som har guidat undersökningen har varit: Hur förhåller sig spelare och ledare till ortodoxa och inkluderande maskulinitetsideal? Vilka normer kring sexualitet blir tydliga inom laget? Vilka normer kring etnicitet blir tydliga inom laget? Metodologi: Metoden utgjordes av deltagande observationer av ett elitlag i pojkungdomshockeyn samt kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra av spelarna. Laget bestod av spelare mellan 15 och 17 år där en del hade utländsk bakgrund. Observationerna och intervjuerna analyserades dels via ett deduktivt förhållningssätt utifrån queerteori, hegemonisk maskulinitetsteori och inkluderande maskulinitetsteori, dels via en tematisk innehållsanalys. Resultat: Sammanfattningsvis verkar det som om mycket av juniorverksamheten handlar om att producera spelare som kan ta steget upp till nästa nivå. Det verkar även som om spelarna är beredda att utsätta sina kroppar för stora påfrestningar som ibland leder till skador. En del spelare berättar om den press som gör att de spelar med skador för att inte missa ett tillfälle att visa upp sig. Det förekommer även utsagor om slagsmål där spelare berättar att dessa uppstår dels på grund av att det kan vara ett roligt inslag, dels på grund av det prat som försiggår mellan spelarna och motståndarna på isen. Det framgår också att en heterosexuell läggning framhävs bland spelare och ledare. Två av de intervjuade spelarna menar däremot att de inte skulle ha några problem ifall någon i laget kom ut som homosexuell. Det verkar också som att en svensk etnicitet inom laget framställs som den oproblematiska medan spelare från andra, Aim: The aim of the study on a more general level was to illuminate how players and leaders in an adolescent male ice hockey team constructs and stage masculinities. Due to recent shifts in the society regarding the norms of normality and masculinity the aim of the study was to examine how this affects the construction of masculinity. The following questions guided the investigation: How does players and leaders relate to orthodox and inclusive ideals of masculinity? What norms regarding sexuality become clear in the team? What norms regarding ethnicity become clear in the team? Methodology: The methods used in the study were participant observations of an adolescent male elite hockey team and qualitative interviews with four of the players in the team. The team consisted of players between 15-17 years old and some of the players had another ethnicity than Swedish. The observations and the interviews were analyzed by a deductive approached from the theories of queer theory, hegemonic masculinity theory and inclusive masculinity theory, and also with a thematic content analysis. Result: The results indicate that much of the activities in the adolescent male hockey team were about producing players to take the next step of their careers. It also seems like the players were prepared to expose their bodies to a lot of pressure that sometimes lead to injuries. Some of the players talked about the pressure that makes them play with injuries were the chance to show off their abilities was one particular reason for doing this. Some statements are also said about the fighting in the sport were players told that these fights occur due to the fun of it and also because of the trash talk that is occurring on the ice. There is also some examples of how heterosexuality is normative in the team and is emphasized by the players and the leaders. However two of the interviewed players imply that they would not mind if some of the players in the team came out as gay. To some degree a

Testis differentiation in zebrafish involves juvenile ovary to testis transformation initiated by an apoptotic wave. The molecular regulation of this transformation process is not fully understood. NF-kappa B is activated at an early stage of development and has been shown to interact with steroidogenic factor-1 in mammals, leading to the suppression of anti-Mullerian hormone (Amh) gene expression. Because steroidogenic factor-1 and Amh are important for proper testis development, NF-kappa B-mediated induction of anti-apoptotic genes could, therefore, also play a role in zebrafish gonad differentiation. The aim of this study was to examine the potential role of NF-kappa B in zebrafish gonad differentiation. Exposure of juvenile zebrafish to heat-killed Escherichia coli activated the NF-kappa B pathways and resulted in an increased ratio of females from 30 to 85%. Microarray and quantitative real-time-PCR analysis of gonads showed elevated expression of NF-kappa B-regulated genes. To confirm the involvement of NF-kappa B-induced anti-apoptotic effects, zebrafish were treated with sodium deoxycholate, a known inducer of NF-kappa B or NF-kappa B activation inhibitor (NAI). Sodium deoxycholate treatment mimicked the effect of heat-killed bacteria and resulted in an increased proportion of females from 25 to 45%, whereas the inhibition of NF-kappa B using NAI resulted in a decrease in females from 45 to 20%. This study provides proof for an essential role of NF-kappa B in gonadal differentiation of zebrafish and represents an important step toward the complete understanding of the complicated process of sex differentiation in this species and possibly other cyprinid teleosts as well., Funding Agency: Orebro University; Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority; Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, Singapore (se även Forskningsfinansiärer)

A series of polymers molecularly imprinted with the general anaesthetic propofol were synthesized using both semi- and non-covalent approaches. The polymers were evaluated with respect to template rebinding in both aqueous and organic media. In aqueous media, the observed propofol binding in these polymer systems was largely hydrophobic and non-specific in nature. In non-polar solvents such as hexane, electrostatic (hydrogen bonding) interactions dominate resulting in some selectivity. The implication of these results, in conjunction with those obtained using structures of similar size in other studies, is that propofol, a template possessing limited functionality and size, appears to define the lower limit for template size and degree of functionalization that can be used for the creation of ligand-selective recognition sites in molecularly imprinted polymers. Furthermore, studies with alternative ligands indicate that the steric crowding of a ligand's functionality to the polymer contributes to the extent of polymer-ligand recognition.

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Three molecular imprinting strategies, each based upon a series of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) cross-linked co-polymers, have been used to produce materials selective for the commonly used analgesic and antipyretic agent paracetamol (p-acetaminophen or 4-acetamidophenol) (1). The polymers were synthesised using either a semi-covalent imprinting strategy based upon 4-acetamidophenyl-(4-vinylphenyl) carbonate (4) or a non-covalent strategy based on methacrylic acid (MAA) as the functional monomer, or by employing a combination of these strategies. Radioligand binding studies demonstrated low template affinity in polymers offering only a single electrostatic interaction point for recognition via the phenolic residue in the template, whereas binding was substantially increased upon the introduction of a second binding mode, namely interaction at the acetamide moiety. HPLC analyses revealed no imprinting effect in the purely semi-covalent system, and only a minor effect in the purely non-covalent systems. However, a pronounced imprinting effect was demonstrated for polymers prepared by a combination of semi-covalent and non-covalent imprinting. This study illustrates a limitation of both the non-covalent and the semi-covalent strategies when it comes to achieving imprinted selectivity for small and poorly functionalised templates such as paracetamol. Parallels with conclusions from studies with antibodies are discussed.

We here present the first simulation of a complete molecularly imprinted polymer prepolymerization system. Molecular dynamics studies were performed for a system comprising a total of 1199 discrete molecules, replicating the components and concentrations employed in the corresponding polymer synthesis. The observed interactions correlate well with results obtained from (1)H NMR spectroscopic studies. Comparison with simulations performed in the absence of cross-linking agent (ethylene dimethacrylate) demonstrated its significance in the formation of ligand recognition sites. Moreover, the influence of events such as template-template (bupivacaine) and monomer-monomer (methacrylic acid) self-association, porogen-template interactions, and template conformational variability was revealed. The template recognition capacity of the modeled polymer system was verified by synthesis of imprinted and reference polymers and subsequent radioligand binding Analysis. Collectively, through a series of statistical analyses of molecular trajectories in conjunction with spectroscopic data it was demonstrated that an ensemble of complex structures is present in the prepolymerization mixture and that this diversity is the basis for the binding site heterogeneity observed in molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) prepared using the noncovalent strategy.

Vårt syfte är att klargöra analytikers informationsbehov samt deras förhållningssätt till information i företagens finansiella rapporter. Vi ämnar även redogöra för analytikerns synsätt på sitt samspel med företagen och hur detta kan påverka marknaden. Uppsatsen är deskriptiv, induktiv samt kvalitativ och den empiriska undersökningen har gjorts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med 10 av Sveriges bästa finansanalytiker. Slutsatser är att analytikern kräver all form av information som kan påverka företagen men är nöjd med årsredovisningens information. Balans- och resultaträkning samt kassaflödet används mest som kontrollinstrument, inte beslutsunderlag. Årsredovisningens frivilliga information används sällan. Analytikern och företaget är ömsesidigt beroende av varandra. Detta sampel kan leda till felaktiga analyser och påverkan på aktiekurser samt sämre finansiella rapporter och företagsbeslut.

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In the present study, the interactions of components in a (−)-nicotine molecular imprinting polymerization mixture have been studied by NMR spectroscopy. The dissociation constants for complexation of template by a functional monomer analogue, acetic acid, have been determined. Nicotine was shown to self-associate at concentrations comparable to those used in previous molecular imprinting studies (app Kdiss=0.082 M in CDCl3 at 298 K). The extent of self-association was enhanced by the presence of acetic acid. Previous studies on (−)-nicotine–imprinted methacrylic acid–ethylene dimethacrylate co-polymers suggested the involvement of recognition sites for template–template complexes. Collectively these results provide the first direct evidence for the presence of template–template complexes, and support the previously hypothesized basis for cooperative ligand recognition events in this polymer system.

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Uppsatsen behandlar ämnena varumärkesredovisning och varumärkesvärdering. Syftet med uppsatsen är att definiera begreppet varumärke, klargöra lagar och normer inom området och utreda huruvida varumärken kan tas upp av företag som en tillgång. Värderingsmetoder för varumärke ska klarläggas och vi ämnar även att förklara hur svenska företag behandlar varumärken både redovisningstekniskt samt hur de visar övrig extern information i sina årsredovisningar. Vi har använt oss av litteratur, lagar, normer, intervjuer och en fallstudie för att klargöra vad varumärken är, hur värdering kan göras samt vad som krävs för att få ta upp varumärken som tillgångar i balansräkningen. För att kunna visa hur svenska företag redogör för sina varumärken har vi studerat årsredovisningar från 20 svenska företag med starka varumärken. Vår slutsats är att både förvärvade och internt genererade varumärken är immateriella tillgångar av stor betydelse för företagen. Den svenska varumärkesredovisningen är dåligt utvecklad och den präglas av den sedan länge tillämpade försiktighetsprincipen. Då enbart varumärken förvärvas borde detta tas upp som varumärke i balansräkningen. Särredovisning av varumärke från goodwill vid företagsförvärv är en möjlighet men inte en nödvändighet då den är präglad av subjektiva bedömningar. Vilka värderingsmetoder som ska användas är helt beroende på åt vem som värderingen utförs. Årets utgifter för varumärkes uppbyggande får enligt lagen tas upp som tillgång i balansräkningen men detta sker inte i praktiken. Företagens internt upparbetade varumärken får inte tas med i balansräkningen men dess värde borde återspeglas bättre utanför balansräkningen i företagens årsredovisning. Om detta värde varit möjligt att ta upp hade det krävts omfattande norm- och lagförändringar. Dessutom hade företagens soliditet stärkts medan deras avkastningsmått kraftigt försämrats. Vi tror att dessa värden även i fortsättningen kommer att förbli utanför balansräkningen.

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To display perceivably different driving styles is an important ability for autonomous vehicles in real-life traffic scenarios. By encouraging predictable driving styles, we can promote trust and collaboration between vehicle and human drivers in traffic. However, many motion planners lack the ability to provide different driving styles using one method.As a result, many applications are overly defensive to ensure safety, and can not be tailored to the users' preferences. In this work, we build on our previous works on encoding perceivable driving styles using Signal Temporal Logic (STL) and generating motion planning trajectories using user preferences. We refine our previously proposed spatial constraints based on the Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS) model. We illustrate how the motion planner can be parameterized to produce aggressive, neutral and defensive driving behaviors, respectively. We evaluate the resulting driving styles on a set of real-life inspired driving scenarios, modeled in the Carla simulator and provide a detailed statistical analysis of the generated trajectories., QC 20220518

Vid tiden för Jesper Karlssons disputation var detta manuskript inskickat till förlag.