PARPACK is an open-source Arnoldi/Lanczos eigensolver package which is compatible with a number of distributed parallel computing schemes. This thesis concentrates on a set of driver routines for PARPACK that were developed for use in the Automated Multilevel Substructuring (AMLS) vibration analysis software package developed at The University of Texas at Austin. AMLS requires many truncated eigensolutions to symmetric generalized algebraic eigenvalue problems. There is a need in AMLS to solve these problems in several different computing regimes, from serial execution on a single processor, to parallel execution on multiple nodes of a distributed computing cluster. This work is designed to enable evaluation, selection, and development of PARPACK capabilities for the variety of eigensolutions required by AMLS. / text

A hybrid model reduction for use with the automated multilevel substructuring (AMLS) method is presented for frequency response analysis of complex structures. Structure responses to harmonic excitations and quasi-static responses to dominant damping forces are included in a reduced approximation subspace. Both types of responses greatly increase the efficiency of the subspace for solving the frequency response problem (FRP) for systems with high modal density and structural damping, and provide a good preparation for future frequency-dependent problems. A distilled subspace assumed to provide accurate frequency responses is generated from the finite element (FE) models by using the AMLS method. Then, the hybrid model reduction method is used to reduce the distilled subspace into a small new subspace. Three types of vectors are used to construct this subspace. The first type is distilled subspace dynamic response vectors (DRVs), which are exact solutions in the distilled subspace at certain chosen frequencies, called the DRV frequencies. The second type is modal DRVs, which are inexpensive approximate solutions calculated in an eigenspace. The third type is damping deformation vectors (DDVs), which provide information about response of the structure to damping effects. As exact responses, the distilled subspace DRVs eliminate frequency response errors at the DRV frequencies, and improve the accuracy at nearby frequencies as well. A small number of DRV frequencies are chosen carefully to offer maximum benefit with minimal computational cost. The modal DRVs are approximated very inexpensively from a suitable eigenspace. Only the diagonal entries in the modal coefficient matrices are used, along with low-rank updates that improve the accuracy of the modal DRVs and are applied using the Sherman-Morrison-Woodbury formula. Because of their low cost, a large number of modal DRVs constitute the major part of the reduced subspace. A small number of DDVs represent response to provide damping with minimal computational cost. The dimension of the final subspace is minimized by removing any redundancy through a special implementation of the QR factorization. This method results in a much smaller new subspace than the one from traditional modal truncation while achieving the same FRP accuracy. Such an efficiency also establishes a good foundation for future application in frequency-dependent problems. / text

Hjärt-kärlsjukdomar är den vanligaste dödsorsaken i Sverige. 41 % av kvinnorna och 39% av männen avled till följd av hjärt-kärlsjukdomar år 2011. Då ambulanspersonalen ofta har begränsad tid på sig att etablera kontakt och skapa sig en helhetsbild över patientens tillstånd, vilket är viktigt för att säkerställa en god behandling, kan kravet på effektivitet bli en stressfaktor. För att minska stressen kan det vara bra att utgå från en strukturerad bedömning av patientens tillstånd och där en god anamnes är ett viktigt redskap. Det finns utarbetade instrument för detta,däribland anamnestagande enligt Advanced Medical Life Support®-konceptet(AMLS). Detta är ett koncept som bygger på bedömning av patientens tillstånd och sjukdomshistoria. Syftet: Att undersöka i vilken utsträckning sjuksköterskorna i det aktuella landstinget uppger att de enligt AMLS-modellen® bedömer patienter med akut bröstsmärta samt om bedömningen dokumenteras och vilken betydelse sjuksköterskorna ger bedömningen och dokumentationen. Metod: Studien genomfördes som e nkvantitativ enkätbaserad tvärsnittstudie. Enkäter skickades ut under två veckor till tre ambulansstationer i det aktuella länet, den insamlade datan analyserades med hjälp av analytisk och deskripitv data. Resultat: Majoriteten av de sjuksköterskor som deltog i studien uppgav att de följde riktlinjern aenligt AMLS®-konceptet. En majoritet  av sjuksköterskorna i studien uppgav även att de dokumenterade sina bedömningar av patienternas svar. Majoriteten av sjuksköterskorna i studien  ansåg att det var betydelsefullt att dokumentera båda patientens svar. Dock fanns det en del motsägendesfulla resultat, att sjuksköterskan uppgav att det var viktigt att bedöma elle rdokumentera, men sedan inte gjorde det. Slutsats:Då studien är begränsad både i storlek samt svarsfrekvens går det inte att dra några definitiva slutsatser. Majoriteten av de sjuksköterskor som deltog i studien uppgav att de följde riktlinjerna enligt AMLS®-konceptet. Majoriteten av sjuksköterskorna uppgav att de dokumenterade sina bedömningar av patienternas svar. / Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Sweden. 41 % of the women and 39 % of the men died as a result of cardiovascular diseases, in the year 2011. The ambulance staffs often have limited time to connect and form and create a comprehensive picture of the patient’s condition, which is crucial for ensuring good treatment. The requirement for efficiency can become a stress factor. To reduce the stress you may want to start with a structured assessment of the patient's condition, a good anamnesis is important. There are elaborate instruments for this, including gaining a proper anamnesis  using the Advanced Medical Life Support ® concept. (AMLS). This is an American concept based on the assessment of the patient's condition and medical history. Aim: To examine the extent to which nurses in the current County Council state that they assesses patients with acute chest pain, according to the AMLS model ® and if the assessment is documented and the importance nurses gives assessment and documentation. Method: The study was conducted through a quantitative survey-based cross-sectional study. Questionnaires were sent out for two weeks to three ambulance stations in the county, the gathered data were analyzed using analytical and descriptive data. Results: The majority of nurses reported that they followed the guidelines of the AMLS ® concept. The majority of nurses reported that they document their patient's response. The majority of nurses felt it was important to document. Some inconsistent results were however present, the nurse said it was important to document but did not. Conclusion: This study is limited in both size and response rate, it is not possible to draw any definitive conclusions. The majority of the nurses who participated in the study stated that they followed the guidelines of the AMLS ® concept. The majority of the nurses reported that they documented their assessment of patients' responses.

Ambulanssjukvården i Sverige är en föränderlig verksamhet som under de senaste åren inneburit utveckling från en ren tranportorganisation till något som kan jämställas med ett rullande sjukhus. Avancerad sjukvård erbjuds redan i hemmet och detta har succesivt höjt kraven för både den formella kompetensen hos vårdteamet men även den reella kompetensen att bedöma och behandla patienter med olika besvär. Förändringen har inneburit att ambulansverksamheten i många distrikt satsat stort på att vidareutbilda egen personal för att möta de rådande kraven. En av dessa satsningar är AMLS®, som innebär ett sätt att implementera strukturerat arbetssätt även för patienter med medicinska problem. Frågan kvarstår om denna satsning gett någon förändring i vårdteamets arbetssätt. Syftet med studien var att undersöka ambulanssjuksköterskors upplevelse av vårdbedömningar efter genomgången AMLS® kurs. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer där informanternas upplevelser av AMLS kursen har varit fokus. Resultatet visar på en följsamhet hos informanterna och en positiv inställning till utbildningskonceptet. De tillfrågade informanterna verkar anse att utbildningen tack vare sitt strukturerade format ger en kvalitetssäkring till patienten i form av en mer utförlig vårdbedömning. Informanterna verkar ha relativt samlad bild över konceptutbildningens ”amerikaanpassning” och hur denna kanske inte riktigt är anpassad till den studerade verksamhetens patientunderlag. Samtliga informanter presenterade även synpunkter härrörande behovet av ett samlat dokumentationsunderlag anpassat till konceptet för att undvika informationsförlust. Informanterna var också positiva till den breda satsningen där även mottagande enhet genomgått samma konceptutbildning, vilket bildar en logisk linje för patienten att följa. / Program: Specialistsjuksköterskeutbildning med inriktning mot ambulanssjukvård

<p><p><em>Transforming the Brute</em> addresses the ethical acceptability of creating painless animals for usage in biomedical experimentation.  In recent decades the possibility of creating genetically decerebrate animals or AMLs for human ends has been discussed in scientific, academic, and corporate communities.  While the ability to create animals that cannot feel, experience, and are more plant than animal remains science fiction, biomedicine may now be able to eliminate or significantly reduce the capacity to feel pain and nociception through genetic engineering.  With this new technology comes the opportunity to vastly increase the welfare of animals used in biomedical experimentation, yet this possibility has largely been ignored by the scientific and academic community.  This work seeks to reveal the moral necessity of creating painless animals for usage in biomedical experimentation for animal welfare ends.  Intrinsic objections relating to animal integrity, rights, companionship, the alteration of telos, humility and virtue are considered.  The benefit of eliminating nociceptive pain in experimental animals is addressed, and differences are examined between biomedical experimentation and other usage of animals for human ends which makes the proposed creation of painless animals ethically unique.  Finally, an argument is presented for the moral necessity of replacing normal animals with painless animals in biomedical experimentation with consideration given to genetically decerebrate animals.</p></p>

Transforming the Brute addresses the ethical acceptability of creating painless animals for usage in biomedical experimentation.  In recent decades the possibility of creating genetically decerebrate animals or AMLs for human ends has been discussed in scientific, academic, and corporate communities.  While the ability to create animals that cannot feel, experience, and are more plant than animal remains science fiction, biomedicine may now be able to eliminate or significantly reduce the capacity to feel pain and nociception through genetic engineering.  With this new technology comes the opportunity to vastly increase the welfare of animals used in biomedical experimentation, yet this possibility has largely been ignored by the scientific and academic community.  This work seeks to reveal the moral necessity of creating painless animals for usage in biomedical experimentation for animal welfare ends.  Intrinsic objections relating to animal integrity, rights, companionship, the alteration of telos, humility and virtue are considered.  The benefit of eliminating nociceptive pain in experimental animals is addressed, and differences are examined between biomedical experimentation and other usage of animals for human ends which makes the proposed creation of painless animals ethically unique.  Finally, an argument is presented for the moral necessity of replacing normal animals with painless animals in biomedical experimentation with consideration given to genetically decerebrate animals.