Microscopic colitis (MC), comprising collagenous colitis (CC) and lymphocytic colitis (LC) is a common cause of chronic watery diarrhea. The diagnosis relies on typical histopathological changes observed upon microscopic examination. The studies in this thesis investigated innate and adaptive immune responses in the colonic mucosa of MC patients, also comparing patients with active disease (CC and LC) and histopathologically in remission (CC/LC-HR). We first analyzed expression of interleukin-1/Toll-like receptor (IL-1/TLR) signaling regulators in MC patients (Paper I). Our results showed enhanced IRAK-M, microRNA-146a, -155 and -21 expressions, whereas IL-37 gene expression was reduced in CC and LC patients as compared to non-inflamed controls. These results suggest different pathophysiological mechanisms in MC patients. The mixed inflammatory cell infiltrations seen in the lamina propria of MC patients might be a result of dysregulated expression of chemotactic mediators. In Paper II, we showed that MC patients display mainly an increased expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors in active disease as compared to noninflamed controls. In Paper III, we examined if the decreased IL-37 expression seen in Paper I could mediate the upregulation of chemokines seen in Paper II. We showed that a relatively small reduction in the ability of epithelial cells to produce IL-37 results in mainly increased chemokine expressions in a pattern similar to the findings in Paper II. In order to understand the nature of infiltrating T cells commonly observed in MC patients, we analyzed the T cell receptor (TCR) β chains in colonic biopsies of MC patients (Paper IV). Our results showed significant differences in TCRβ repertoire, which suggests selectively expanded T cell clones in active MC and histopathologically in remission patients. Altogether, these results i) increase the knowledge of MC pathogenesis by showing changes in TLR signaling regulators, enhanced chemokine and their receptor expressions involved in a mixed immune cell infiltrations and selectively expanded T cell clones in CC and LC patients, as well as in histopathological remission ii) might potentially increase the possibility of more target-specific therapies based on IL-37 induction, chemokines or chemokine receptor inhibitions, or hindering T cell infiltration according to TCR clonality.

This thesis is a summary of five papers with focus on adsorption processes of various monocarboxylates and aminocarboxylates at the water/goethite interface. Interaction of organic acids at the water/mineral interfaces are of importance in biogeochemical processes, since such processes have potential to alter mobility and bioavailability of the acids and metal ions. In order to determine the coordination chemistry of acetate, benzoate, cyclohexanecarboxylate, sarcosine, MIDA (methyliminediacetic acid), EDDA (ethylenediamine-N,N’-diacetic acid) and EDTA (ethylenediamine-N,N’-tetraacetic acid) upon adsorption to the goethite (alpha-FeOOH) surface, a combination of quantitative measurements with attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was utilized. Over the pH range studied here (pH 3- 9) all ligands, except for sarcosine, have been found to form surface complexes with goethite. In general, theses were characterized as outer sphere surface complexes i.e. with no direct interaction with surface Fe(III) metal ions. Furthermore, two types of different outer-sphere complexes were identified, the solvent-surface hydration-separated ion pair, and hydration-shared ion pair. For the monocarboxylate surface complexes distinction between these two could be made. At high pH values the solvent-surface hydration-separated ion pair was the predominating complex, while at low pH the surface complex is stabilized through the formation of strong hydrogen bonds with the goethite surface. However, it was not possible to clearly separate between the two outer-sphere complexes for coordination of the aminocarboxylates with the surface of goethite. Additionally, EDDA also formed an inner-sphere surface complex at high pH values. The EDDA molecule was suggested to coordinate to the surface by forming a five membered ring with an iron at the goethite surface, through the amine and carboxylate groups. Contrary to the other ligands studied, EDTA significantly induced dissolution of goethite. Some of the dissolved iron, in the form of the highly stable FeEDTA- solution complex, was indicated to re-adsorb to the mineral surface as a ternary complex. Similar ternary surface complexes were also found in the Ga(III)EDTA/goethite system, and quantitative and spectroscopic studies on adsorption of Ga(III) in presence and absence of EDTA showed that EDTA considerably effects speciation of gallium at goethite surface. The collective results in this thesis show that the affinity of these ligands for the surface of goethite is primarily governed by their chemical composition and structure, and especially important are the types, numbers and relative position of functional groups within the molecular structure.

Bakgrund: Förekomsten av övervikt och fetma bland barn ökar i stora delar av världen. Brist på fysisk aktivitet är en av orsakerna bakom övervikt och fetma. För barn med fetma kan små mängder fysisk aktivitet ha stora positiva hälsoeffekter. Det finns ett behov av att utveckla nya effektiva strategier för att öka mängden fysisk aktivitet bland barn med övervikt eller fetma. Mobil hälsa (m-hälsa) används som ett paraplybegrepp för hälsotjänster förmedlade genom mobila enheter och definieras som ”medicinsk eller offentlig hälsoutövning som stöds av mobila enheter så som mobiltelefoner, anordningar för patientövervakning, personliga digitala assistenter och andra trådlösa enheter”. En potentiell strategi för att påverka mängden fysisk aktivitet bland barn med övervikt eller fetma är m-hälsa genom användning av mobiltelefon. Syfte: Att kartlägga och beskriva vilka interventioner med m-hälsokomponent genom användning av mobiltelefon som utvärderat fysisk aktivitet eller Body Mass Index (BMI) bland barn med övervikt eller fetma. Metod: En systematisk litteraturstudie där studier som beskrev interventioner med mhälsokomponenter för målgruppen barn 0-18 år med övervikt eller fetma inkluderades. Sökning genomfördes i tre vetenskapliga databaser. Resultat: Sökningarna resulterade i 649 studier av vilka 16 mötte uppsatta inklusionskriterier. M-hälsokomponenten innefattade i de flesta studier användning av sms och i några studier användning av app. Funktionen med m-hälsokomponenten studerades och delades in i självregistrering, kommunikation, uppmuntran, utbildning och påminnelse. De inkluderade studierna rapporterade olika former av BMI där två studier visade på signifikanta skillnader mellan interventions-och kontrollgrupp med störst minskning för interventionsgruppen. Få studier rapporterade objektivt mätt tid i fysisk aktivitet på måttlig till hög intensitet. Slutsats: Den vanligast förekommande interventionen med m-hälsokomponent genom användning av mobiltelefon bland barn med övervikt eller fetma var sms. För att kunna förstå och jämföra på vilket sätt m-hälsa kan användas skulle ett ramverk för beskrivning av dessa interventioner underlätta. / Background: The presence of overweight and obesity among children is increasing in large parts of the world. Lack of physical activity is one of the causes of overweight and obesity. For children with obesity, small amounts of physical activity may have major positive health effects. There is a need to develop new effective strategies to increase the amount of physical activity among children with overweight or obesity. Mobile health (mHealth) is used as an umbrella term for health services transmitted by mobile devices and is defined as "medical or public health practice supported by mobile devices such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants and other wireless devices." A potential strategy for influencing the amount of physical activity in children with overweight or obesity is mHealth through the use of mobile phones. Objective: To examine and describe what interventions with mHealth component through the use of mobile phones that evaluated physical activity or Body Mass Index (BMI) in children with overweight or obesity. Methods: A systematic literature study in which studies describing interventions with mHealth components for the target group of children 0-18 years of overweight or obesity were included. Search was conducted in three scientific databases. Results: The searches resulted in 649 studies, of which 16 met set inclusion criteria. In most studies, the mHealth component included the use of text messaging and in some studies the use of app. The function of the mHealth component was studied and divided into self-registration, communication, encouragement, education and reminder. The included studies reported different forms of BMI where two studies showed significant differences between the intervention and control group with the greatest reduction for the intervention group. Few studies reported objectively measured time in physical activity of moderate to high intensity. Conclusion: The most common intervention with mHealth component through the use of mobile phones among children with overweight or obesity was text messaging. In order to understand and compare how mHealth can be used, a framework for the description of these interventions would facilitate.

Globalization and market competition drives new product development. As a consequence, companies are forced to eliminate products more frequently. However, the process of eliminating products is often overlooked both in academia and in practice. Omitting the product elimination process can lead to production inefficiencies and unnecessary costs of retaining the products. The results in this thesis discovers inconsistencies in the present product elimination process at PharmaCompany. The inconsistencies are grouped in the four categories: Interaction & Collaboration, External Analysis, Resource Prioritization & Decision Making, Proactivity Analysis. The main suggested improvements comprise a clearer internal communication, increased documentation and restructuring the current process design. In addition, reframing the current elimination process to emulate the academical approach is suggested in order to further legitimize the elimination process and increase interest on the area. The thesis concludes that a more standardized elimination process can lead to increased efficiency by adopting additional filters to identify and analyze underperforming products. Furthermore, the thesis increases awareness of the topic of product elimination and enhances the knowledge within the research area. By linking the product elimination process to the resource allocation process, the thesis marks the overall neglect of the topic, and gives insights on the need for increased attention towards the product elimination process. / Globaliseringen och ökad konkurrens har drivit på ny produktutveckling. Som en konsekvens tvingas företag att eliminera produkter mer frekvent. Borttagning av produkter har dock förbisetts både i den akademiska världen och i praktiken till förmån för andra forskningsämnen. Att utelämna produkt elimineringsprocessen kan leda till produktionsineffektivitet och onödiga kostnader för att behålla produkterna. Avhandlingen resulterar i upptäckten av flera brister i den nuvarande produktelimineringsprocessen på PharmaCompany. Bristerna är grupperade i större kategorier, Interaction & Collaboration, External Analysis, Resource Prioritization & Decision Making, Proactivity Analysis. De viktigaste föreslagna förbättringarna innefattar tydligare intern kommunikation, ökad dokumentation och omstrukturering av den nuvarande processdesignen. Dessutom föreslås omramning av den nuvarande eliminationsprocessen för att efterlikna den akademiska metoden för att ytterligare legitimera eliminationsprocessen och för att få högre prioritet inom resursallokeringsprocessen. Avhandlingen drar slutsatsen att en mer standardiserad eliminationsprocess kan hjälpa processen att bli effektivare genom att använda fler filter för att identifiera och analysera svaga produkter. Dessutom ökar avhandlingen medvetenheten om ämnet produkteliminering och förstärker kunskapen inom forskningsområdet. Genom att länka produktelimineringsprocessen till resursallokeringsprocessen markerar avhandlingen den övergripande försummelsen av ämnet och ger insikter om behovet av produktelimineringsprocessen behöver få högre fokus och forskning.

ABSTRACT The demand of healthier products is increasing, and more people are more interested of what they eat. Statistics show that the consumption of snacks is rising. Hyperglycemia leads to an increased risk for complications in type II diabetes mellitus. Increased levels of postprandial plasma glucose may also lead to equal or maybe more harmful effects than fasting hyperglycemia. When the levels of postprandial plasma glucose are decreased, the development of cardiovascular complications is delayed, why it is important to lower the snacks consumption especially snacks that brings hunger quickly after they are eaten. Because of these factors, healthier products were developed in this study. The aim was to develop a wafer chocolate product that gives higher satiating effect and healthier blood glucose levels compared to one of Cloetta’s chocolate products. Two raw materials were used, a new carbohydrate and a new fat. The new carbohydrate is a healthier sugar alternative than sucrose, since it leads to lower and prolonged increase in blood glucose and insulin levels. The new fat is based on natural oil that is believed to be healthy, mainly due to its satiating effect. The effects of these two materials on blood glucose response and satiety were examined in two products. Furthermore, the products were made of fat reduced milk chocolate in which sucrose in the chocolate mass was 100 % replaced with the new carbohydrate, dietary fibre and fruit concentrate. Only one of the products contained the new fat. The products, together with Cloetta’s chocolate product were consumed by 17 healthy subjects. Blood glucose response and satiating effect after product intake were examined during a period of 3 days. When blood glucose response was analyzed, a slight indication that the products were relatively healthier than placebo, due to placebo’s unhealthy fluctuations, was found. No clear differences regarding blood sugar maxima were found. Placebo showed, as expected, the highest blood glucose maxima and the largest incremental area under curve, but the maxima of the new fat-lacking product was less than half as high as that of the new fatcontaining product and the area was smaller too, which was not expected. The results regarding the hunger levels were not as expected either since the new fat-lacking product was most satiating while the new fatcontaining product was the least satiating. Despite that, 57 % of the subjects reported they would by such products in the future. Several biases may have played a role in the results, for example whether or not subjects followed the criteria (e.g. lunch time, exercise), stress, worry, individual energy requirement and how serious and focused the subjects were. However, for further research, increasing the new fat content to 3 g, a bigger sized product, different filling, more subjects and more repeats of same measurements is recommended. / SVENSK SAMMANFATTNING Efterfrågan på hälsosammare produkter ökar, och fler människor blir mer intresserade av vad de äter. Statistik visar att konsumtionen av mellanmål ökar. Hyperglykemi leder till en ökad risk för komplikationer i typ II-diabetiker. Ökade nivåer av postprandiell plasmaglukos kan leda till lika eller mer skadliga effekter än fastande hyperglykemi. När nivåerna av postprandiell plasmaglukos är lägre reduceras utvecklingen av kardiovaskulära komplikationer, därför är det viktigt att minska småätandet, speciellt av mellanmål som leder till hunger snart efter att de har ätits. På grund av dessa faktorer har hälsosammare produkter utvecklats i denna studie. Syftet var att utveckla en kexchokladprodukt som har högre mättnadseffekt samt hälsosammare blodsockernivåer jämfört med en av Cloettas chokladprodukter. Två produkter som alternativ till Cloettas chokladprodukter utvecklades. I dessa användes en ny kolhydrat och ett nytt fett. Den nya kolhydraten är ett hälsosammare sockeralternativ än sukros, då den leder till en lägre och förlängd ökning av blodglukos- och insulinnivåer. Det nya fettet är baserat på en naturlig olja som är hälsosam på grund av dess mättande effekt. Effekten av dessa två ämnen undersöktes. Vidare så gjordes de två produkterna av fettreducerad mjölkchoklad i vilken sukros i chokladmassan var 100 % ersatt med den nya kolhydraten, kostfiber samt fruktkoncentrat. endast en av produkterna innehöll det nya fettet. Produkterna, tillsammans med Cloettas chokladprodukt (placebo) konsumerades av 17 friska personer. Blodsockerresponsen och den mättande effekten efter produktintaget undersöktes under 3 timmars period per dag i totalt 3 dagar. När blodglukosrespons analyserades hittades en svag indikation på att produkterna var relativt hälsosammare än placebo, på grund av de ohälsosamma fluktuationerna. Inga klara skillnader med avseende på blodsockermaxima hittades. Placebo visade, som väntat, det högsta blodglukosmaximum och den största arean under kurvan, men maximum för produkten utan det nya fettet var mindre än hälften så högt som det för produkten med det nya fettet och även arean under kurvan var mindre, vilket inte var förväntat. De upplevda hungernivåerna var inte heller som förväntat då produkten som saknar det nya fettet mättade flest personer medan produkten innehållande nya fettet mättade minst antal personer. Trots det så kunde 57 % av deltagarna tänka sig köpa sådana produkter i framtiden. Flera faktorer kan ha påverkat resultatet, till exempel huruvida försökspersonerna följde kriterierna (t.ex. lunchtid, träning), stress, oro, individuella energibehov samt hur allvarliga och fokuserade personerna var när de angav hungernivåerna. För vidare studier rekommenderas ett högre innehåll av det nya fettet (3 g), en större produkt, annorlunda fruktbaserad fyllning och fler deltagare och flera upprepningar av samma mätningar.

The aim of this thesis is to interconnect human tactile perception with various physical properties of materials. Tactile perception necessitates contact and relative motion between the skin and the surfaces of interest. This implies that properties such as friction and surface roughness ought to be important physical properties for tactile sensing. In this work, a method to measure friction between human fingers and surfaces is presented. This method is believed to best represent friction in tactile perception. This study is focused on the tactile perception of printing papers. However, the methodology of finger friction measurements, as well as the methodology to link physical properties with human perception data, can be applied to almost whichever material or surfaces.   This thesis is based on three articles.   In Article I, one participant performed finger friction measurements, using a piezoelectric force sensor, on 21 printing papers of different paper grades and grammage (weight of the papers). Friction coefficients were calculated as the ratio of the frictional force and the normal force, shown to have a linear relationship. The values were recorded while stroking the index finger over the surface. The results show that measurements with the device can be used to discriminate a set of similar surfaces in terms of finger friction. When comparing the friction coefficients, the papers group according to paper surface treatment and an emerging trend is that the rougher (uncoated) papers have a lower friction coefficient than the smoother (coated) papers. In the latter case, this is interpreted in terms of a larger contact between the finger and paper surface.   In addition, a decrease in friction coefficient is noted for all papers on repeated stroking, where the coated papers display a larger decrease. XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) reveals that skin lipids are transferred from the finger to the paper surface, acting as a lubricant and hence decrease friction. Nevertheless, there is evidence that mechanical changes of the surface cannot be completely ruled out.   The reproducibility of the finger friction measurements is elaborated in Article II, by using many participants on a selection of eight printing papers out of the 21. The trends in friction are the same; once again, the coated papers display the highest friction. There are notably large variations in the exact value of the friction coefficient, which are tentatively attributed to different skin hydration and stroking modes.   These same participants also took part in a tactile study of perceived paper coarseness (“strävhet” in Swedish). The results reveal that the participants can distinguish a set of printing papers in terms of perceived coarseness. Not unexpectedly, surface roughness appears to be an important property related to perceived coarseness, where group data display that perceived coarseness increases with increasing surface roughness. Interestingly, friction also appears to be a discriminatory property for some subjects. A few participants showed opposite trends, which is evidence for that what is considered coarse is subjective and that different participants “weigh” the importance of the properties differently. This is a good example of a challenge when measuring one-dimensional perceptions in psychophysics.   In Article III, a multidimensional approach was used to explore the tactile perception of printing papers. To do this, the participants scaled similarity among all possible pairs of the papers, and this similarity data are best presented by a three-dimensional space solution. This means that there are three underlying dimensions or properties that the participants use to discriminate the surface feel. Also, there is a distinct perceptual difference between the rougher (uncoated) and smoother (coated) papers. The surface roughness appears to be the dominant physical property when discriminating between a real rough paper and a smooth paper, whereas friction, thermal conductivity and grammage are more important when discriminating among the smooth coated papers.