Den här uppsatsen behandlar olika människors upplevelser och uppfattningar i och kring sinnesrogudstjänsten. Sinnesrogudstjänsten har växt fram ur ett samarbete mellan tolvstegsandligheten och den kristna kyrkan. Jag har intervjuat besökare från sinnesrogudstjänster i Staffans kyrka i Gävle [Svenska kyrkan] och Missionskyrkan i Hudiksvall. Deras upplevelser har jag kartlagt och delat in i kategorier enligt den fenomenografiska metoden. Min uppgift har för det första varit denna kartläggning av besökarnas upplevelser och för det andra att försöka ge svar på mina frågeställningar vad som attraherar i denna gudstjänst samt vad den har att erbjuda för dagens människor. Resultatet av undersökningen visar på att sinnesrogudstjänstens mer öppna och välkomnande attityd i jämförelse med Svenska kyrkans ordinarie gudstjänstformer gör den attraktiv. Vidare upplevs i sinnesrogudstjänsten en annan form av gemenskap, ärlighet och delaktighet och utelämnandet av teologiska utläggningar vilket manar till den personliga erfarenheten av en andlighet. Detta gör att sinnesrogudstjänsten kan möta dagens människor och deras behov av personligt andligt sökande och stå som en kontrast till Svenska kyrkan som institution vilken kan upplevas som stel och föråldrad och inte ge svar på existentiella frågor förankrade i dagens vardag.

The focus of this thesis work was the development of an approachto couple a previosly existing Thermal Energy Storage (TES) modelwritten in C++ with a Simulink/Simscape plant model to simulate anAdvanced Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (AA-CAES) plant.After the creation and validation of such tool, the complete modelwas used to run simulations, with the aim of assessing the AA-CAESplant's performance under multiple patterns of charge anddischarge.Most of the works found in the literature only provide values ofstorage efficiency obtained from analytical approaches, whilethose that use simulation tools provide average values ofefficiencies when the plant is performing a series of identicalcycles of charge and discharge. During this thesis project,instead, simulations were performed for consecutive irregularcycles determined as the plant response to the electric grid powerrequest. The average efficiency values obtained provide thereforea better representation of how the plant would perform in realapplications.The results show that, under the assumptions made, the AA-CAESplant's overall storage efficiency is influenced very weakly byalterations of the charge-discharge patterns, and that goodperformances can be expected not only for identical chargedischargeconsucutive cycles, but for any pattern that observesthe cavern pressure limits, as long as the thermal energy storageis sized wisely.In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed in order toassess the influence of turbomachinery efficiency on overallstorage efficiency, for a specified plant layout. The results showthat the turbine efficiency is the most affecting parameter to theplant's performance, while the impact of the main compressors'sinefficiency is mitigated by the thermal recovery that takes placein the TES.The present work confirms that AA-CAES is a promising technologyand that storage efficiencies above 70% can be achieved even inrealistic production scenarios.Finally, future steps for more accurate simulations of plants'performances and more detailed energy production scenarios areproposed.MSc ET 18007Examinator: Joakim WidénÄmnesgranskare: Ane HåkanssonHandledare:

As novas ligas de alumínio que contém lítio são atraentes devido à sua baixa densidade, alto módulo elástico, elevada resistência mecânica e por terem boa resistência à corrosão em comparação com ligas similares que não contém lítio. A degradação do material devido à fadiga e corrosão são os dois principais fatores que contribuem para o envelhecimento de uma aeronave. O objetivo deste trabalho é estudar a resistência à fadiga de uma nova liga de Al-Li, denominada de AA 2050-T84, considerando os estágios de nucleação e de propagação. No primeiro caso são avaliados o efeito da variação do concentrador de tensão (kt) e o efeito da razão de tensões (R), enquanto que no segundo caso são estudados os efeitos da direção de laminação e da razão de tensões (R) na taxa de propagação da trinca por fadiga. Para o estágio de iniciação é possível observar que quanto maior o valor de R, menor é a vida em fadiga. Para um R constante, o concentrador de tensão reduz significantemente a vida em fadiga. Considerando a vida de propagação de trinca por fadiga, observa-se que, independente da direção de laminação, quanto maior o valor de R, para um mesmo ΔK, maior foi a taxa de propagação de trinca. Para um mesmo R, o expoente m da equação de Paris é maior na direção TL indicando maior velocidade de crescimento de trinca. Independentemente da direção tomada, quanto maior o valor de R maior o valor de m. O modelo matemático utilizado previu muito bem o efeito de R na taxa de propagação de trinca. A liga AA 2050 apresenta resistência à fadiga similar ligas das famílias 2XXX e 7XXX e similar a da liga Al-Li AA 2198 T8. / The new Al-Li alloys are very attractive due to its low density, high elastic modulus, increased mechanical strength, as well as good corrosion resistance in comparison with similar alloys that don\'t contain lithium. The material\'s degradation due to fatigue and corrosion are the main factors of aircrafts aging, and it is quite important to take them in account to guarantee the aircraft structural integrity. The aim of this work is to study the fatigue strength of a new Al-Li alloy, denominated as AA 2050 T84, considering both nucleation and propagation fatigue lives. In the first case were evaluated the effect of the variation of the stress concentrator (kt) and the effect of the stress ratio (R), while in the propagation life were considered the effect of the rolling direction and the stress ratio (R). From the initiation life results, it is possible to observe that as higher was R, lower is fatigue life and that the intensity of the stress concentrator reduces fatigue life significantly, independent of the R value. The results from the propagation life shows that in both LT e TL directions and for a constant ΔK, higher R induces larger fatigue crack propagation rates. Considering a constant R, the TL direction presents a larger exponent m of Paris equation, which is an indicative of higher larger crack propagation rate. Also, larger R causes larger m, independently of the rolling direction. The mathematical model used was able to take in account the R effect on the crack propagation rate. Considering the more traditional Al alloys from 2XXX and 7XXX families, and the Ali-Li alloys AA 2198 T8, the AA 2050 presented a quite similar fatigue behavior.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Biomedical Technology in the Faculty Health and Wellness Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / The accurate and consistent measurement of antioxidants is crucial to evaluating their biological role in the prevention and delay of cancer and other pathological conditions. Hence, the performance of the analytical method utilized should be evaluated for acceptable levels of accuracy, precision and other performance parameters according to internationally accepted standards. Additionally, the measure and influence of existing errors should be evaluated and the method optimized to reduce such errors. In furtherance of this vital aim, this research project sought out to optimize and validate two bio-analytical assays for the measurement of total antioxidant capacity and L-ascorbic acid (L-AA), respectively in food commodities. The validation procedure was performed in accordance with ISO 17025 international standard. The first study in this thesis evaluated, optimized and validated the hydrophilic oxygen radical absorbance capacity (H-ORACFL) assay using fluorescein for total antioxidant capacity in various food and beverage products. The assay demonstrated good results with regard to accuracy, precision, linearity, specificity, limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) and robustness. The extraction solvent (60% ethanol) recovered excellent antioxidant yields for most samples tested. The optimization of the method in terms of temperature and sample usage on the micro-plate significantly (p<0.05) reduced errors and subsequently improved precision substantially.

Important changes that have taken place within South African politics mean that most companies today are under pressure to implement affirmative action (AA) policies within their organisations (equity policies). These AA policies include employment equity (EE) policies and Black economic empowerment (BEE) policies. Company agendas now include aspects such as equality and social justice and organisations will continue to be evaluated in terms of how well they meet employment equity targets. Many employees and citizens in general view the process and implementation of these policies with great scepticism and even reluctance. It is important to understand and examine these perceptions because employee perceptions influence employee attitudes and behaviour and therefore have an effect on the success (or failure) of an organisation. The effective implementation of EE and BEE policies will to a large extent depend on whether or not these policies fit into the overall culture of an organisation or whether the organisational culture is adapted to accommodate these policies. Previously, corporate cultures largely ignored principles of diversity and difference. It is important that the question of whether this has changed or changed to a large enough degree be answered, especially with regard to the implementation of EE and BEE policies. Some EE and BEE programmes may fail because previous structures, cultural systems and management styles are adhered to without adapting these to suit the needs of these policies. Ultimately, employees’ perceptions of AA in their organisation, namely the EE and BEE policies that are implemented, influence the attitudes and behaviour of employees and ultimately the success of the organisation. These perceptions are related to the culture of the organisation. This study explores employee perceptions of equity policies, specifically EE and BEE, in terms of differences in demographic characteristics, including race, gender, age, years’ service and occupational level; as well as relative to the main factors of these equity policies, as confirmed by a factor analysis performed on the data, namely the importance, impact and clarity of these policies. The sample company’s organisational culture is also explored in terms of these equity policies and perceptions thereof. The ultimate goal of this research is to examine if any relationships exist between the implementation of organisational cultural practices in an organisation relative to equity policies and employee perceptions of these, and if any relationships do exist, to determine the nature of such relationships. The sample size in this study is 476 employees. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

Beroende klassas som en familjesjukdom som bär med sig negativa konsekvenser för alla inblandade. De anhöriga riskerar även att själva utveckla ett medberoendetillstånd där deras tanke- känslo- och beteendemönster blir självdestruktivt. Inom medberoendelitteraturen råder det dock ingen enighet om hur medberoendet bör förstås eller förklaras och undersökningar av det offentliga anhörigstödet har visat på en hel del brister bland annat genom att inte vara tillräckligt flexibelt och individanpassat. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur medberoendetillståndet förklaras och förstås av de anhöriga själva och hur anhörigstödet kan formas för att möta de anhörigas behov. Studien har genomförts genom en mikro-etnografisk metod som bestått dels av observationer i olika självhjälpsgrupper som alla härstammar från Anonyma Alkoholister (AA) och 12-stegsprogrammet, dels av kvalitativa intervjuer med medlemmar från de olika grupperna. Observationerna har genomförts vid totalt 9 olika tillfällen, 8 observationer vid fysiska öppna möten på Al-Anon, AA och ACA och en observation vid ett digitalt zoom-konvent, som hölls av Co-Anon. Intervjuerna var semistrukturerade och med Grounded Theory (GT) som analysmetod använde jag mig av ett teoretiskt målinriktat urval, och efter 9 observationer och 3 intervjuer hade jag nått en teoretisk mättnad. Analysen bestod av kodning i tre steg, enligt GT, och utmynnade i kärnkategorier som hjälpte till att besvara studiens frågeställningar. Resultaten av studien visar att medberoende kan förstås som ett verkligt problem som berör många olika delar av personernas liv där bristen på en känsla för identitet kan ses som kärnproblematiken som de andra delarna härstammar ifrån. Här samlas teman som dysfunktionella relationer, flykt och ärvda mönster. Medberoendet har gett en artificiell känsla av ett jag, som inte varit på riktigt. Medberoendet kan förklaras av de anhörigas dysfunktionella barndom som präglats av negativa känslomässiga konsekvenser, ej tillgodosedda behov och trauman. Stödet via självhjälpsgrupperna berör dels gruppens kultur där viktiga teman är tillhörighet och igenkänning dels handlingsprogram och nya strategier, med teman som personlig inventering och känslohantering. Insikten om medberoendet har varit smärtsam men samtidigt en förutsättning för tillfrisknande och genom gruppen skapas förutsättningar för att hjälpa andra genom att hjälpa sig själva.

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Aufgrund des weltweiten Trends zur Miniaturisierung, u. a. von elektronischen Bauteilen, von Sensoren, von Speichermedien, oder bei der gezielten Funktionalisierung von Nanopartikeln als Kontrastmittel in bildgebenden medizinischen Verfahren, nimmt die Erforschung von Nanosystemen eine interdisziplinäre Schlüsselrolle ein. Ein grundlegendes physikalisches, chemisches und biologisches Verständnis von Nanosystemen auf Grundlage von experimentellen und theoretischen Untersuchungen steht dabei ebenso im Fokus wie die konzeptionelle Entwicklung geeigneter Nanotechnologien zur kontrollierten Herstellung von Nanostrukturen über „bottom-up“ und „top-down“ Strategien. Getriebene Nanosysteme befinden sich fern vom thermischen Gleichgewicht. Zur ihrer Beschreibung gibt es bisher keine allgemein ausgearbeitete Theorie. Dies hat zur Konsequenz, dass getriebene Nanosysteme problemspezifisch modelliert und untersucht werden müssen. Die vorliegende Schrift ist in drei Themengebiete unterteilt: (i) konzeptionelle Beschreibung stochastischer Fluktuationen der Arbeit und der Wärme im Rahmen der stochastischen Thermodynamik, (ii) konzeptionelle Beschreibung von Vielteilchen-Transportproblemen mit repulsiven Nächste-Nachbarwechselwirkungen auf Grundlage der klassischen zeitabhängigen Dichtefunktionaltheorie und (iii) selbstorganisiertes Wachstum von metallischen und organischen Nanostrukturen.

A Lagrangian finite-element model of the plunge phase of the friction stir welding process was developed to better understand the plunge. The effects of both modeling and experimental parameters were explored. Experimental friction stir plunges were made in AA 7075-T6 at a plunge rate of 0.724 mm/s with spindle speeds ranging from 400 to 800 rpm. Comparable plunges were modeled in Forge2005. Various simulation parameters were explored to assess the effect on temperature prediction. These included the heat transfer coefficient between the tool and workpiece (from 0 to 2000 W/m-K), mesh size (node counts from 1,200 to 8,000), and material model (five different constitutive relationships). Simulated and measured workpiece temperatures were compared to evaluate model quality. As spindle speed increases, there is a statistically significant increase in measured temperature. However, over the range of spindle speeds studied, this difference is only about 10% of the measured temperature increase. Both the model and the simulation show a similar influence of spindle speed on temperature. The tool-workpiece heat transfer coefficient has a minor influence (<25% temperature change) on simulated peak temperature. Mesh size has a moderate influence (<40% temperature change) on simulated peak temperature, but a mesh size of 3000 nodes is sufficient. The material model has a high influence (>60% temperature change) on simulated peak temperature. Overall, the simulated temperature rise error was reduced from 300% to 50%. It is believed that this can be best improved in the future by developing improved material models.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) with neuroprotective and cardioprotective properties. It is thought that some of the actions of EPA may be attributed to its elongated metabolite, the PUFA docosapentaenoic acid (DPA). Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) are bioactive PUFA ubiquitously expressed in neural tissues. EPA and AA can be converted by cyclooxygenase (COX) to prostanoids and by lipoxygenase (LOX) to hydroxy fatty acids. PUFA can also be converted to ethanolamides in the brain. These mediators are involved in physiological and pathological processes in many bodily systems. The purpose of this study was to examine the production of eicosanoids, hydroxy fatty acids and fatty acid ethanolamides in young and aged rat brain following EPA or DPA enriched diets. The effects of specific PUFA on human platelet eicosanoid production were also investigated as these mediators play a role in adhesion and aggregation. Liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS/MS) assays were developed and used to measure lipid mediators in rat brain and human platelets. Ageing in rat brain was accompanied with several changes in the prostanoid and hydroxy fatty acid profiles. Supplementing the diet with EPA or DPA at a daily dose of 200 mg/kg for 8 weeks prevented these changes and decreased levels of PGE2. DPA changed the profile of hydroxy fatty acids synthesised in the brain tissue of young animals. This study has shown that levels of eicosapentaenoylethanolamide (EPA-EA) increase in the brain as a result of ageing and that this is accompanied by an increase in levels of anandamide. Feeding aged animals EPA or DPA further increased the levels of EPA-EA but prevented any change in the level of anandamide. Niacin is used to treat hypercholesterolaemia although it is associated with an unpleasant PGD2 mediated skin flush. This exploratory study has shown that human platelets treated with niacin did not show any changes in their prostanoid and hydroxy fatty acid profiles. Platelets treated with EPA showed increased production of TXB3 and 12-HEPE. Niacin augmented the effects of EPA on human platelet mediator synthesis. Overall, this study has demonstrated that EPA can change brain and platelet lipid mediator synthesis and has provided evidence that could explain some of the neuroprotective and cardioprotective actions of this PUFA.