The aim of this dissertation study was to optimize the isolation and long term cultivation protocols for human dental pulp stem cells. The protocols which showed best results were used for cultivation of dental pulp stem cell isolated from exfoliated teeth (SHED). Additional aims were to characterize DPSC and SHED and prove their ability to proliferate over Hayflick's limit and differentiate into mature cell lines (osteoblasts, chondroblasts and adipocytes). In order to find optimal protocols for isolation of dental pulp from tooth, we tried three different approaches. During optimization of cultivation protocol we focused on decreasing amount of fetal calf serum (FCS) from 10 % FCS in cultivation media (most often used in literature) into 2 % and thus get closer to cultivation conditions suitable for clinical usage. We compared DPSC cultivated in three different media (medium with 10 % FCS, 2 % FCS supplemented with growth factors and media with 2 % FCS supplemented with ITS and growth factors). For characterization of DPSC and SHED we used basic biological properties (proliferation activity, viability, morphology), their phenotype and karyotype. The study demonstrated that the best protocol for isolation of dental pulp from tooth was to break the roots and extract the pulp throw this aperture. We...

We isolated and expanded stem cells from dental pulp from extracted third molars using an innovative culture method consisting of low serum-containing medium supplemented with epidermal growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor BB. We evaluated the differentiation potential of these cells when they were growing either adherently or as micromass/spheroid cultures in various media. Undifferentiated and differentiated cells were analyzed by flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting. The flow cytometry results showed that the dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were positive for mesenchymal stromal cell markers, but negative for hematopoietic markers. Immunocytochemical and/or immunoblotting analyses revealed the expression of numerous stem cell markers, including nanog, Sox2, nestin, Musashi-1 and nucleostemin, whereas they were negative for markers associated with differentiated neural, vascular and hepatic cells. Surprisingly, the cells were only slightly positive for α-smooth muscle actin, and a heterogeneous expression of CD146 was observed. When cultured in osteogenic media, they expressed osteonectin, osteopontin and procollagen I, and in micromass cultures, they produced collagen I. DPSCs cultured in TGF-β1/3-supplemented media produced extracellular matrix typical of cartilaginous tissue. The addition of vascular endothelial growth factor to serum-free media resulted in the expression of endothelial markers. Interestingly, when cultured in neurogenic media, DPSCs exhibited de novo or upregulated markers of undifferentiated and differentiated neural cells. Collectively, our data show that DPSCs are self-renewing and able to express markers of bone, cartilage, vascular and neural tissues, suggesting their multipotential capacity. Their easy accessibility makes these cells a suitable source of somatic stem cells for tissue engineering. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

A number of studies have explored the drivers behind value creation, often referred to as value drivers. These studies point out that the generalizability of research on value creation to other contexts is difficult. One such context in which the value drivers remain unidentified is the context of industrial consultancy services. In the age of digitalization, where industries are becoming more complex and knowledge intensive, consultancy services have grown increasingly important for industrial customers. At the same time, globalization intensifies the competition on consultancy markets creating a high pressure on consultancy firms’ ability to continuously enhance value creation for their customers. Based on these challenges, the purpose of this thesis is to explore how value creation can be enhanced through the identification and utilization of value drivers in industrial consultancy services. Two research questions were formulated based on this purpose and addressed by means of a qualitative study conducted in the paper and pulp industry in Sweden. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six managers and decision makers from five multinational companies that use consultancy services. The thematic analysis of the interviews led to the identification of 13 value drivers that play key roles in value creation in industrial consultancy services: Individual competence, Organizational resources, Availability, Personal relationship, Communication, Personal attributes, Timeliness, Usage of time, Performance, Cost, Customer-organizational involvement, Documentation and Progress by feedback. Ten among these drivers were considered benefits, while three were considered sacrifices. Consultancy firms should strive towards minimizing the negative effects on value creation caused by sacrificial value drivers and maximize the positive effects on value creation caused by beneficial value drivers. In addition, the thesis contributes a model in which the 13 value drivers can be used by both industrial customers of consultancy services and consultancy firms for the purpose of evaluating and enhancing value creation. Specifically, the model offers a tool that (I) compares different consultancy firms or projects in terms of value creation, (II) evaluates and analyzes projects and collaborations with respect to value creation and (III) enhances value propositions and value creating processes.

The industrial sector in Sweden stands for 38 percent of the total energy use. Within these 38 percent the pulp and paper industry stand for about half of the energy use. Due to the extent of the energy use it is important that we do what we can to keep the energy usage as low as possible within our industries. In this bachelor thesis a case study is performed regarding a problem with a recovery boiler which belong to one of Stora Ensos pulp mills in a small town called Skutskär in Sweden. The problem with the recovery boiler is that it does not reach the temperature of the outgoing steam for which the soda boiler was designed, which causes the efficiency to suffer. The problem with the recovery boiler is not sustainable either in terms of energy use or economy. Recovery boiler 6 (RB6) as it is called is one of two recovery boilers belonging to the pulp mill. Both boilers are designed to produce high pressure steam at 56 bar and 450°C. The high-pressure steam produced goes through a back-pressure turbine where the pressure is lowered to the working pressure of the remaining factory while electricity is produced. Steam at a lower temperature results in lower enthalpy, which in turn will affect the electricity generation in the back-pressure turbine. The purpose of the study is to quantify the loss in electricity generation caused by the lack of steam temperature of RB6. As well as investigating the causes of the lack of heat transfer where the goal is to locate the problem area. A literature study was conducted regarding the efficiency of the recovery boiler, where much emphases was placed on the function of the superheater and the soot system. The superheater accounts for about 30 percent of all heat transfer in a recovery boiler and is directly crucial for reaching the final temperature of the steam. In the literature study, among other things, the design and fouling of superheater is studied to see that if affects the heater transfer. Further, the soot system effect on the heat transfer is also studied and it shows that the soot system has a greatly influence of the final heat transfer. The method used to conduct the study is primarily data analysis. The pulp mills internal analysis program WinMops is used in combined with Excel to analyze operational data. First, the magnitude of the problem was investigated by calculating the effect of RB6’s lack of steam temperature on the total enthalpy of the steam reaching the turbine. Calculations were made for electricity generation in normal cases and under the influence of RB6, where the difference was considered as lost electricity generation. Once the size of the problem was determined, the investigation of causes of heat transfer began, with the superheater coming into focus. The results of the case study show that RB6’s lack of steam temperature causes a loss of electricity production equivalent to 7 million SEK in a normal year and a year with a low electricity price, this amount to 3 million SEK. Whit regard to the second investigation, it is very likely that the superheater causes the temperature drop. However, the study shows that the superheater has no smaller heat transfer surface in relation to the other recovery boiler and that the heat transfer rate is also not deviant. The superheater shows a hint of fouling at the same time as the flow of soot steam is slightly lower on RB6, unlike the mill’s other recovery boiler. An interesting phenomenon that emerges in the study is that the tertiary air flow tends to have a greater effect on RB6 outgoing steam flow than expected. / Industrisektorn står för omkring 38 procent av Sveriges totala energianvändning. Av de 38 procenten står pappers- och massaindustrin för omkring hälften av all energianvändning. Eftersom industrin är en omfattande del gällande energianvändningen är det viktigt att åtgärder utförs för att hålla energianvändningen så låg som möjligt. I detta examensarbete utförs en fallstudie gällande ett problem med en sodapanna som tillhör Stora Ensos massabruk i Skutskär. Problematiken med sodapannan är att den inte når upp i den temperaturen på utgående ångan som sodapannan designades för vilket gör att verkningsgraden blir lidande. Problemet med sodapannan är inte hållbart både sett till energianvändning eller ekonomi. Sodapanna 6 (SP6) som den kallas är en av två sodapannor som tillhör massabruket. Båda sodapannorna är designade för att producera högtrycksånga vid 56 bar och 450°C. Högtrycksångan som produceras går via en mottrycksturbin där trycket sänks till arbetstrycken för resterande fabriken samtidigt som el produceras. Ånga vid lägre temperatur medför lägre entalpi vilket i sin tur kommer att påverka elproduktionen i motrycksturbin. Syftet med studien är att kvantifiera förlusten i elproduktion som den bristande ångtemperaturen av SP6 orsakar. Utöver det är syftet även att utreda orsaker till den bristande värmeöverföringen där målet är att lokalisera problemområdet. En litteraturstudie utfördes gällande effektivitet kring sodapannan varvid mycket tyngd lades på överhettarens samt sotningens funktion. Överhettaren står för omkring 30 procent av all värmeöverföring i en sodapanna och är direkt avgörande för att nå sluttemperaturen på ångan. I litteraturstudien studeras bland annat utformning och försmutsning av överhettaren för att se hur det påverkar värmeöverföringen. Vidare studeras sotningens påverkan på värmeöverföringen och även den påverkar i stor grad den slutgiltiga värmeöverföringen. Metoden som används för att genomföra studien är framförallt dataanalys. Massabrukets interna analyseringsprogram WinMops används tillsammans med Excel för att kunna analysera driftdata. Först utreddes storleken på problemet med hjälp av att beräkna hur stor påverkan SP6 bristande ångtemperatur har på den totala entalpin på ångan som når turbin. Beräkningar utfördes för elproduktion vid normalfall och vid påverkan av SP6 varvid skillnaden betraktades som den förlorade elproduktionen. När problemets storlek var fastställt började utredningen kring orsaker till bristande värmeöverföring varvid överhettaren hamnade i fokus. Studiens resultat visar att SP6 bristande ångtemperatur orsakar en elproduktionsförlust som motsvarar 7 miljoner kronor ett normalår och ett år med lågt elpris rör det sig om 3 miljoner kronor. Gällande den andra utredningen är det med stor sannolikhet överhettaren som orsakar temperaturfallet. Däremot visar studien att överhettaren inte har någon mindre värmeöverförande yta i förhållande till den andra sodapannan samt att värmeöverföringstalet är inte heller avvikande. Överhettaren visar en antydan på försmuttning samtidigt som sotångflödet är något lägre på SP6 till skillnad från brukets andra sodapanna. Intressant fenomen som dyker upp i studien är att tertiärluftflödet tenderar att ha en större påverkan på SP6 utgående ångflöde än förväntat.

En ökad levervikt kan ge en indikation på toxisk stress hos fiskar. I denna undersökning jämfördes levervikt hos sandskädda (Limanda limanda) kring utsläppsområdet för pappersmassabruket Södra Cell Värö med ett referensområde ca. 10 km norrut. Det togs även lever- och muskelvävnadsprov för en grundläggande undersökning för närvaro av kadmium. Detta då kadmium tidigare har konstaterats i utsläppsvattnet från det berörda bruket och för att denna tungmetall lätt ansamlas i just levern. Totalt undersöktes 290 individer och 56 vävnadsprov togs från 28 av dessa (14 från utsläppsområdet och 14 från referensområdet). Undersökningen kunde påvisa en signifikant skillnad mellan områdena där en högre levervikt återfanns hos fiskarna kring bruket. Denna skillnad tyder på att det finns en förekomst av toxiska ämnen i området. Undersökningen gällande kadmium gav inga signifikanta resultat, trots det kan närvaro av kadmium inte uteslutas. Vi kan inte heller utesluta andra tungmetaller samt dioxiner och PAH (polycykliska aromatiska kolväten), vilka också kan ge upphov till en ökad vikt och skador på lever. / An increased liver weight can be an indicator of toxic stress of fish. In this study, liver weight of common dab (Limanda limanda) from the area around the effluent of the pulp mill Södra Cell Värö and a reference area approx. 10 kilometers north, were compared. Liver and tissue samples for a basic study for the presence of cadmium were also taken. The reason being that cadmium has been proven present in the effluent water in earlier studies and that this is a heavy metal that easily accumulates in the liver. In total 290 individuals were included in the study and 56 tissue samples were taken from 28 of these (14 from each area). A significant difference between the areas was confirmed with the highest liver weight being within the area of the effluent, suggesting a presence of toxic substances. The result from the study regarding cadmium was deemed inconclusive, and the presence can therefore not be ruled out. The presence of other heavy metals, dioxins and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) can also not be ruled out, as they too can cause an increase in liver weight and damage to the liver.

Polysaccharides constitute an important source of raw materials for the packaging industry today. Polysaccharides have good natural barrier properties which are necessary for packaging films. Cellulose is the forerunner among renewable polymers for such applications. Hemicelluloses represent a new interesting breed of barrier materials. We have chosen to work with the hemicellulose O-acetyl-galactoglucomannan (AcGGM). The high water solubility of this particular hemicellulose extracted from process waters is both an advantage and a limiting factor. However, through the right modification, the water sensitivity of AcGGM can be regulated. This thesis presents four ways to modify AcGGM: (i) benzylation, (ii) plasma surface treatment followed by styrene addition, (iii) vapor-phase (VP) surface grafting with styrene, and (iv) lamination of an unmodified film with a benzylated material. The most important methods of analysis of the films produced include contact angle measurement, dynamic mechanical analysis under moisture scan, and oxygen gas permeability measurement. It was found that unmodified AcGGM films have low oxygen permeability at intermediate relative humidity (50 % RH) and good dynamic mechanical properties over a wider humidity range. Films of benzylated material (BnGGM) exhibited a decrease in oxygen permeability at lower humidity but showed better tolerance to higher humidities and indicated better dynamic mechanical behavior than AcGGM films. Lamination proved to be the most promising technique of modification, combining the good gas barrier properties of AcGGM films with the moisture-insensitivity of the BnGGM films. / QC 20101117

The knowledge of kinetics of pyrolysis is important. It is also challenging to find parameters for kinetic which can be applied at different sizes of biomass. Many researchers have been investigating the pyrolysis behavior of wood powders due to heat and mass transfer limitations. They have also been focusing on determining the effects of feedstock characterization, residence time, gas environment, heating rate and the final temperature as well as the arrangement of the pyrolysis reactor and modeling of the kinetics. This project presents a qualitative understanding of the pyrolysis process based on data from slow heating rates. Samples of spruce chips at different masses, namely 4 mg, 200 mg, 500 mg and 800 mg and also 4 mg powder have been used in experiments with thermogravimetric analysis to understand the mass loss behavior. Furthermore, kinetic parameters for biomass are taken from literature and have been used in modeling to understand to which extent these parameters are different for different particle sizes. The kinetic model that is chosen to investigate in this project is where each component of biomass shows different characteristics during the thermal decomposition. The experimental results on wood chips at different sample masses show same behavior for all of them and there is no heat and mass transfer limitations. The results from experiments on powders shows different behavior than for chips at the end of the mass loss curve only. This means less char is produced for powders than it is for the chips. The results from modeling show that kinetic parameters such as activation energy and the prefactor are the same for both powders and chips. The only parameter that is different is the pre-determined char yield for hemicellulose second reaction. The kinetic model and the kinetic parameters used in this report are in good agreement to the experimental results. The model used, where each component show different behavior during its thermal decomposition and the final products are volatiles and char is a reliable model to describe the mass loss behavior of biomass. The difference in the experimental results between powders and chips can be explained by the modeling. It can be stated that the difference is in the char yield from thermal decomposition of hemicellulose. / Kunskap om kinetiken för pyrolysprocessen är viktig. Det är även en utmaning att finna parametrar för kinetiken som kan tillämpas till olika massor och storlekar av biomassa. Många forskare har undersökt pyrolys beteenden på bara träpulver på grund av värme- och massöverföring begränsningar. De har också fokuserat på att undersöka effekterna av råvara karakterisering, uppehållstid, gasmiljö, uppvärmningshastighet och den slutliga temperaturen samt arrangemanget av pyrolysreaktorn och modellering av kinetiken. I detta projekt presenteras en kvalitativ förståelse av pyrolysprocessen baserad på data från långsamma uppvärmningshastigheter. Prover av granflis vid olika massor; 4 mg, 200 mg, 500 mg och 800 mg och även 4 mg pulver har använts i experimenten med thermogravimetric analys för att förstå massförlust uppträdandet. Dessutom har kinetiska parametrar för biomassa tagits från litteratur och har använts i modelleringen för att förstå i vilken utsträckning dessa parametrar skiljer sig åt för pulver och flis. Den kinetiska modellen som har valts att undersökas i detta projekt är den där varje komponent av biomassa visar separata och olika egenskaper under termisk nedbrytning. De experimentella resultat på flis vid olika provmassorna uppvisar samma beteende för dem alla och det finns ingen värme- och massöverföringsbegränsningar. Resultaten från experiment på pulver visar annorluna beteende än för träflis endast i slutet av massförlust kurvan. Detta innebär att mindre kol produceras för pulver än vad det gör för flis. Resultaten från modelleringen visar att kinetiska parametrar såsom aktiveringsenergin och prefactor är densamma för båda pulver och flis. Den enda parameter som skiljer sig är den förutbestämda utbytet av kol för hemicellulosa’s andra reaktion. Den kinetiska modellen och kinetiska parametrar som används i denna rapport är i god överensstämmelse med de experimentella resultaten. Denna modell som används, där varje komponent visar enskilt beteende under dess termisk nedbrytning och slutprodukterna är bara gaser och kol, är en pålitlig modell för att beskriva beteendet för massförlust av biomassa. Skillnaden i de experimentella resultaten mellan pulver och flis kan förklaras av modelleringen. Det kan konstateras att skillnaden är i kol utbytet från sönderdelningen av hemicellulosa.

Paper materials have a long history of use in packaging products, although traditional paper-based packaging is limited in its shape and design. In order to enable more advanced paper-based packaging, various 3-D forming processes for paper materials have been studied. Since 3-D forming processes typically include the application of moisture and/or temperature, the effects of moisture and temperature on the mechanical response of paper have also been investigated. In Paper A, an experimental study of the combined effects of moisture and temperature on the uniaxial mechanical properties of paper was conducted. These experiments provided new insights into how moisture and temperature affect both the elastic and plastic properties of paper materials. These experiments also provided the framework from which the effects of moisture and temperature were modelled in Paper C. In Paper B, an explicit finite element model of the paperboard deep-drawing process was developed. An orthotropic material model with in-plane quadrant hardening was developed and verified for paper. The simulation results matched the trends from experimental deep-drawing up to when micro-scale wrinkling occured. Since most experimental failures occur prior to wrinkling, this model provided quantitative understanding of failure in the paperboard deep-drawing process. In Paper C, an explicit finite element model of paper hydroforming, utilizing the same material model for paper materials as in Paper B, was developed and verified. The simulation results matched well with experimental results, and a parametric study with the finite element model produced quantitative understanding of the hydroforming process for paper materials. Additionally, drying was identified as an important phenomenon for determining the extent of formability of paper materials. / Papper har länge använts som förpackningsmaterial men traditionella pappers- och kartongförpackningar är begränsade i form och design. Olika 3-D formnings processor har studerats för att möjliggöra mer avancerade pappersbaserade förpackningar. Effekterna av fukt och temperatur på pappers mekaniska egenskaper har också undersökts eftersom fukt och temperatur har stor betydelse för slutresultatet i 3-D formningsprocesser. I Artikel A har den kombinerade effekten av fukt och temperatur på de uniaxiella mekaniska egenskaperna av papper undersökts experimentellt. Dessa experiment visar hur fukt och temperatur påverkar både elastiska och plastiska egenskaper hos papper samt ligger till grund för modelleringen av inverkan av fukt och temperatur i Artikel C. I Artikel B har en explicit finita element modell för djupdragning av kartong utvecklas. En ortotropisk materialmodell baserad på en rektangulär flytyta har utvecklats och verifierats för kartong. Simuleringen följde trenderna i experimenten fram till den punkt där mikroskopiska rynkor bildas. Resultaten från analyserna med modellen ger kvantitativ förståelse för materialbrott i djupdragningsprocessen eftersom de flesta experimentella materialbrott inträffar innan mikroskopiska rynkor bildas. I Artikel C har ett explicit finita element modell av hydroformning av papper baserad på materialmodellen från Paper B utvecklats och verifierats mot experimentell hydroformning av papper. En parameterstudie med finitaelement-modellen producerade kvantitativ förståelse för hydroformningsprocessen för papper. Dessutom identifieras torkning som ett viktigt fenomen för att fastställa graden av formbarheten för pappersmaterial. / <p>QC 20150907</p>

Demand-Side Management concepts have the potential to positively impact the financial as well as the environmental aspects of energy-intensive industries. More specifically, they allow reducing the energy cost for the industrial plants by dealing with energy-availability fluctuations. In this context, efficient frameworks for scheduling with energy awareness have been studied and showed potential to reduce the overall energy bill for energy-intensive industries, for instance stainless steel and paper plants. Those frameworks usually combine scheduling and energy optimization into one monolithic system. This work investigates the possibility of integrating the two systems by specific exchange of signals, while keeping the scheduling model separated from the energy-cost optimization model. Such integration means that the pre-existent schedulers and energy optimizers could be easily modified and reused without re-implementing the whole new system. Two industrial problems with different scheduling approaches are studied. The first problem is about pulp and paper production which uses the Resource Task Network (RTN) scheduling approach. The second one is about stainless steel production which is based on a bi-level heuristic implementation of an improved energy-aware scheduler. This work presents the decomposition methods that are available in literature and their application to the two industrial problems. Besides an improvement in the RTN approach for handling storages, this thesis describes a prototype implementation of the energy-aware RTN scheduler for paper and pulp production. Furthermore, this work investigates the performance of the application of different decomposition methods on different problem instances. The numerical case studies show that even though the decomposition decreases the solution quality compared to the monolithic system, it still gives good solutions within an acceptable duration with the advantage of having two separate pre-existent systems which are simply exchanging signals.

Turbulent mixing is present in many pulp and paper processes. It is a particularly important factor in the design and improvements of the paper machine headbox, influencing the final paper structure. During this project, experimental methods to quantify the effect of fibers on turbulent suspension flows have been developed, and then used for studying turbulent mixing in fiber suspensions. A technique that uses microprobes to measure passive scalar mixing of salt for the characterization of turbulent fluctuations in a fiber suspension flow has been developed: Conductivity micro-probes have been built and turbulence measurements have been performed in simple jet and wake flows, studying turbulent mixing between the two streams of pulp suspension, of which one has been doped with salt. A relatively new technique to measure fluid velocity non-intrusively in opaque fluids has also been tested. The technique makes use of ultrasonic pulses to obtain velocity information through the Doppler-shift of reflected pulses. The main efforts reported on in the thesis are focused on method design and development as well as method evaluation.