Objective: In obese patients, we hypothesized physical exercise (PE) to affect lipids rather through its intrahepatic fat accumulation-lowering effect, associated with a decrease of total body fat (Fat%) and even weight (Mass), than through muscle work and an improvement of physical fitness. Design and setting: Thirty seven sedentary, non-diabetic women (BMI median 34.8 kg/m2) from our out- patient department were tested. Elimination criteria: recent weight reduction, lipid-influencing or heart rate-modifying medication. Interventions: PE protocol: 60 min supervised trainings, intensity at 65% of VO2max, modified by the Clamped Heart Rate test. Median (M) of total training hours was 34 during 115 days . Main Outcome Measurements: an effect of PE on total cholesterol (CH), triacylglycerols, HDL- cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), index of atherogenity (IA), atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), maximum peak oxygen consumption (VO2max), Mass, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (Waist) and Fat%. Results: Statistically significant differences at start (_s) and at the end (_e) of PE (p<0.05): AIP -0.049, Mass -3.6 (kg), BMI -1.7 (kg/m2), Waist -2.5 (cm), Fat% -2.5, VO2max 2.92 (l.min-1.kg-1), W 16.4 (Watt). Correlation coefficients, Pearson's between Gaussian distributed (Gd-v) variables and...

Background: Sufficiently long and high-quality sleep is necessary for the daily renewal of brain and cognitive activity as well as for the maintenance of the whole organism. Apnea is defined as complete cessation of respiration or reduction of respiratory flow by more than 90% continuously for at least 10 seconds. The repeated respiratory arrest comes in repeated series. They are caused by episodes of upper airway obstruction, caused by an increased tendency of the airway walls to collapse. Sleep is an important lifestyle factor that needs to be addressed along with diet and physical activity. Short sleep leads to greater desire for food and sweets high in fat. Aim: The aim of this work was to determine the eating habits of patients with sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) and to compare the data with patients with simple ronchopathy. Methodology: Data collection took place in a specialized ENT clinic for sleep disorders at the University Hospital Ostrava for three months. A questionnaire was completed with newly arrived patients with regard to the eating habits of patients and anthropometric indicators, and physical activity. After that, the patients were clinically examined, and a limited polygraphy was performed, according to which the patients were divided. The collected data were statistically...

During the 21st century, more people will reside in cities than in rural areas for the first time in human history. As cities expand to accommodate their growing population, pressure is mounting on local biodiversity and the ecosystems they support. This prompted the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity - in collaboration with the City of Singapore - to develop a biodiversity index specifically for cities. In 2014, the final draft of the City Biodiversity Index was released. Twenty-three indicators comprise three categories that assess: native biodiversity, ecosystem services, and municipal support for local biodiversity. A case-study was designed for Starkville, MS to better understand the merits of the index and its application to small rural town planning. The research illuminated the breadth and flexibility of the index across multiple scales and the availability of local resources to deliver a meaningful biodiversity analysis.

The use of aluminum is a key factor in creating an Eco-friendlier automotive industry. The material has good properties and the ability to reuse the material. The requirement on the material in this industry is very high, due to the exposed working environments. The usage of aluminum will reduce the vehicle’s weight, which in turn will reduce emissions.    Aluminum casting is not free from obstacles. The properties can be altered with different casting methods and the design of the casting to a great extent. This master will focus on how the melt quality will have an impact on the material properties and how it is changed during the process. To fully understand what happens to the melt during the casting process, samples are received at different stages for further investigation. Different data is collected to be able to analyze what happens during the process. A quality measurement called the Quality index is used to determine the change in the quality in the different stages. With data from bifilm and density index, conclusions can be made on how and where the impurities are entering the melt and their effect. A conclusion is made that the degassing harms the quality of the melt.

Syntetiskt oxytocin är en vanlig behandling under förlossning. Oxytocin används som induktionsmetod och för att behandla värksvaghet. För att diagnostisera värksvaghet behöver kvinnan vara i aktiv fas, men varken för diagnosen värksvaghet eller för begreppet aktiv fas råder konsensus. Konsensus saknas även för längden på en normal förlossning och det råder individuell variation. Idag administreras oxytocin utan hänsyn till Body Mass Index. Syftet med litteraturöversikten var att belysa om och i så fall hur dosen av syntetiskt oxytocin påverkas av kvinnans Body Mass Index under förlossning. Metoden var en litteraturöversikt med systematisk ansats. Databassökningen utfördes i CINAHL och PubMed. Artiklarna kvalitetsgranskades och 15 kvantitativa artiklar inkluderades. Artiklarna analyserades med integrerad analys med en induktiv ansats. Dataanalysen resulterade i fyra huvudkategorier: exponering av syntetiskt oxytocin, oxytocindos, infusionslängd/duration av oxytocininfusion och varierande förlossningsutfall. Tre subkategorier påträffades under huvudkategorin oxytocindos: genomsnittlig medelhastighet, administrerad totaldos och högsta infusionshastighet. Resultatet visade att dosen av oxytocin under förlossning delvis påverkas av kvinnans Body Mass Index. Det sågs att ett högre Body Mass Index ökar sannolikheten att exponeras med oxytocin under förlossning. Ingen entydighet gällande oxytocindos i relation till Body Mass Index sågs för övriga kategorier. Det sågs en viss antydan att kvinnor som induceras behöveren högre högsta infusionshastighet och totaldos i relation till ett högre Body Mass Index. Slutsatsen var att sannolikt påverkas oxytocinadministreringen av fler faktorer än kvinnans Body Mass Index. Då oxytocin är en vanlig förlossningsintervention behövs fortsatt forskning på hur oxytocin kan doseras på ett mer individanpassat sätt. / Synthetic oxytocin is a common treatment during labor. Oxytocin is used as a method for induction and for augmentation of labor. To diagnose dystocia the woman needs to be in active stage, however there is no common definition either for the diagnose dystocia or concept of active stage. There is no agreement about the length of a normal labor and individual variety occurs. Today oxytocin is administrated without consideration for Body Mass Index. The aim of the literature review was to illustrate if and is so how the dose of synthetic oxytocin is affected by maternal Body Mass Index during labor. The method was a literature review with a systematic approach. The search was conducted in CINAHL and PubMed. The quality of the studies was assessed and 15 quantitative studies were included. The studies were analyzed through integrated analysis with an inductive approach. The data analysis resulted in four main categories: exposure of synthetic oxytocin, oxytocin dose, duration of oxytocin and varying labor outcomes. Three subcategories were found in the main category oxytocin dose: average rate, total dose and peak infusion rate. The result was that the oxytocin dose used during labor was partly affected by maternal Body Mass Index. A higher Body Mass Index was seen to increase probability for oxytocin exposure during labor. No unambiguity was seen regarding oxytocin dose in relation to Body Mass Index for the other categories. A trend towards the need of a higher peak infusion rate and total dose regarding a higher Body Mass Index was shown for women who underwent induction. In conclusion the administration of oxytocin is plausibly affected by other factors than maternal Body Mass Index. Since oxytocin is a common intervention during labor further research is needed to explore how administration of oxytocin could occur in a more individualized manner.

Determining how loads are distributed in a structure has long been a way for engineers to ensure that the final product will work as intended. As components become more and more complicated so does this analysis. The advantages of quickly identifying critical features in a design are significant. By gaining this knowledge it is possible to explore the design space more thoroughly. This was previously done by collecting information over a long period of time and gradually build up the knowledge which can take several weeks or sometimes even months. The theory of the U* index as a numerical analysis method was formulated in 1986 by Takahashi [30] but due to the computational capabilities at the time there was no practical applications. It aims to give the same information compared to the current iterative process in a significantly faster way by calculating the relative stiffness. In its current form it can however be computationally heavy and has not yet seen any extended applications in the engineering sector. As the U* index is both an algorithm for calculating the load paths but also a broader theory of energy based identification of the stiffest route in a structure, it is referred to both as a method and a tool. In this thesis we initially set out to identify needs in the product development processfor a engineer team. Then we will investigate the capabilities of the U* index method, improve said capabilities by optimizing computation time and compatibility, establish a foundation for future development, and finally propose an integration of the tool into an advanced aero-engine development process. The main focus of this thesis is on the concept solutions phase as the needfinding indicated this phase to be in most need of improvement. Other applications of U* are mentioned but will not be examined in detail. In the concept solutions phase one would want to evaluate design features from a larger perspective to explore thedesign space. This can be done with U* by identifying which features are carrying the loads and how close the calculated path is to the optimal one. A possible application in optimization in the preliminary solution phase were also identified. In this case one can for example analyze the contour of the U* field and use U* sum to identify the relative load carrying contribution of certain regions. The initial state of the technology was determined to be at a technology readiness level (TRL) of 5 in the ModSim scale, meaning that the key elements have been demonstrated on a realistic problem. As the goal of applying the tool on real large models was achieved, the complete system level capabilities were demonstrated resulting in TRL 6 being reached at the end of the development. The more commonly used NASA version of TRL started out at TRL 3 which was reached with the proof of concept conducted by Ramesh [24]. According to these definitions the technology didn’t progress any further due to the specific definitions being primarily oriented towardshardware and the requirement for TRL 4 involved laboratory validation. As the TRL have been assessed with both versions, any potential future work has the option tochoose which method fit that particular work. The successful implementation of theinspection load method for calculating U∗ was critical in being able to compute thesolutions in reasonable time frame. There is however more room to optimize time byimplementing algorithms for better suited meshing and post processing. The tool is applicable on large components but the solutions still require a lot of time which reduces its usefulness in the early, time critical phase. The post-processing routines similarly take time and require extensive manual labor to determine the proper load path. This is also sub optimal for visualizing the load paths because it relies on assumptions. Future work should therefore aim to maximize the automation part of the post-processing. Further validation needs to be conducted on more complicated structures to ensure correlation between physical components and simulation. Furthermore, the quantifying of margins, uncertainties and sensitivities of the simulation is important to better understand the limitations of the tool.

This extended abstract addresses index-based pricing models between shippers and carriers in strategic freight procurement. The increasingly unpredictable transportation cost developments, caused by a variety of different international crises, led to the need for shippers and carriers to find an equitable form of collaboration. Index-based pricing models are one way to regulate the price adjustment between shipper and carrier during the contract period due to cost developments. However, one obstacle to agreeing on such models is to find the correct index for the respective cost component that is adequate for both shipper and carrier and reflects the actual cost development of the carrier. In semi-structured expert interviews, we investigated which strategies are used to reflect volatile cost developments, how index-based pricing models work, and where problems are seen in this context. Furthermore, a broader study can lead to confirmation or further classification of the results. The abstract describes index-based pricing models with focus on road freight, but the mechanism will work for other transportation modes as well.

The fixed income market is not as exploited as other markets and has a more complex structure compared with the equity market. On the other hand, it has been seen that demand for research for the fixed income market has increased, which in turn has created greater interest in studying the characteristics of holdings in the market. This work studies whether it is possible to replicate indices through requirements for credit rating, sectors and mathematical key figures such as Duration, convexity, duration time spread (DTS) and option adjusted spread (OAS). Replication is made through linear programming in the program Python. By implementing lasso regression, this study examines whether it is possible to exceed the return by reducing the requirements for key figures that are not selected efter selection of variables in the regression. The investment company Alfred Berg has provided relevant data for this report. The data consists of information on all assets included in the index EUR Investment grade (ER00) over the period 2017-2021. The result of the replication follows the index returns, with small deviations, and the lasso regression selects the key figures DTS and OAS in its model. It is difficult to excess index return by focusing only on the key figures DTS and OAS. Analysis of other key figures and variables selected by the lasso regression can possibly create better results, as a suggestion for further work. / Räntemarknaden är inte lika exploaterad som andra marknader och har en mer komplex struktur jämfört med aktiemarknaden. Däremot har man sett att efterfrågan på forskning för räntemarknaden har ökat, vilket i sin tur skapat ett större intresse att studera egenskaperna av innehaven på marknaden. Detta arbete studerar om det går att replikera index genom krav på credit rating, sektor och matematiska nyckeltal som Duration, convexity, duration times spread (DTS) och option adjusted spread (OAS). Replikeringen sker genom linjär programmering i programmet Python. Genom att implementera Lasso regression undersöker detta arbete även om det går att överträffa vakastningen genom att minska kraven på nyckeltal som inte väljts ut efter urval av variabler i regressionen. Investmentbolaget Alfred Berg har bidragit med data för denna rapport. Datan består av information om alla tillgångar som ingår i indexet EUR Investment Grade (ER00) under perioden 2017-2021. Resultatet visar att replikeringen av index är möjlig, med små avvikelser, och lasso regressionen väljer nyckeltalen DTS och OAS i sin modell. Det är svårt att överträffa index genom att endast fokusera på nyckeltalen DTS och OAS. Analys av andra nyckeltal och variabler som väljs ut av lasso regressionen kan skapa ett bättre resultat.

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