Utsläpp av det syntetiska östrogenet EE2 kan redan vid väldigt låga koncentrationer leda tillfeminisering och problem med reproduktion hos vattenlevande organismer. EE2 är denvanligaste formen av östrogen i kombinerade p-piller och släpps ut i naturen genom blandannat vårt avloppsvatten. Dagens reningsverk är inte utrustade med något specifikt skydd föratt förhindra utsläpp av EE2 utan förlitar sig på nitrifierande och heterotrofa bakterier fördegradering. Den här nedbrytningen är tyvärr inte tillräcklig och halterna av EE2 som lämnarsvenska reningsverk är fortfarande skadliga för våra akvatiska ekosystem.Ett sätta att tackla detta problem är att vidareutveckla reningsverkens biologiskareningsprocess. Det finns flera olika typer av organismer som har förmågan att bryta ner EE2.Av dessa är en av de mest lovande grupperna vitrötesvampar som använder sig avextracellulära enzymer för att bryta ner olika svårnedbrytbara molekyler. Hur man skullekunna integrera vitrötesvamparna i vattenreningsverkens biologiska reningsprocesser återståatt se men framtidens ser ljus ut för våra akvatiska ekosystem.

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Introduction: Testosterone is an anabolic steroid that plays key roles in growing muscles, enhancing physical performance and appearance, maintaining bone density, sex drive and sperm production. It is highly sought-after by athletes for its ability to accelerate muscle growth. Acute testosterone increase can be reached pharmacologically using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) which is proven to have many harmful side effects including testicular shrinkage, prostate enlargement, and can lead to death. Physiological ways to increase testosterone such as resistance exercise have been shown to be an efficient way of significantly increasing testosterone without any harmful side effects.  Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to show the impact of free weights and resistance training on acute testosterone levels and to assess the effects of physical activity on testosterone.  Methods: PubMed was researched with the intent to include all articles which are written in English in all formats, peer reviewed, that study the effects of free weights and machines on testosterone in male adults. Results: This study yielded 11 eligible studies. A total of two studies compared free weights in relation to testosterone. Three studies used resistance training intervention in the study program. Six articles used free weights resistance training intervention in the study program. The Effective Public Health Practice Project's (EPHPP) quality assessment tool for quantitative studies results rated two studies as strong, seven moderate and one as weak. Conclusion: A more important increase in acute testosterone response was observed in individuals using free weights training compared to those using machine training. This is linked to the use of more muscles namely stabilizer muscles in free weight exercises. In addition to the type of resistance training, some important parameters should be taken into consideration. These include age, training volume threshold, training intensity, quality and quantity of sleep, short rest intervals and low adipose tissue percentage. Multiple gaps in knowledge were signaled in this review aiming to encourage further research regarding physical activity and testosterone.

The thesis consists of two papers which are based on a researchproject called ‘Considerations on Swedish Dental Care’. The aimsof the project were to analyse the characteristics of leadership in thepublic dental service (PDS) in Sweden (Paper I) and to study anddescribe patients’ opinions of dental care provided by the PDS andin private dentistry (Paper II).The aim of the first study was to investigate how experienced chiefdental officers (CDOs) in the PDS managed to maintain a marketposition at a time of social change and increased competition froma changing private sector. The CDOs, who have held a leading positionfor at least five years, were asked to participate in the study. Anempirical study with a qualitative design was conducted. Data from16 CDOs were collected in September-October 2014, with a 75%response rate. The aim of the second study was to investigate adults’ experiencesand opinions of the dental care they have received over time frombeing 50 years old to 70 years old. Patients’ dental visiting patterns,satisfaction with care and oral health measured as numbers of teethwere compared between the two care-provision sectors, public andprivate. In addition, a follow-up was conducted among those whoclaimed to have visited only the public sector or the private sectorand those who claimed to have used both sectors during the wholestudy period. Both studies may be of wider interest when examining Swedishdentistry:a) there are no studies of the characteristics of the top leadershipin the Swedish PDS. The PDS in Sweden differs a great dealfrom the PDS in other countries, as it covers much more of themarket and accounts for almost 45% of the total oral healthcaremarket in Sweden;b) there are no previous studies in Sweden, where a comparison ofpatients’ opinions of care in the two sectors of care providers inSweden is made in this way. The findings in Paper I underscore the fact that CDOs in the PDSexert a great deal of effort to consolidate the actual market position.The PDS is also “open” to patients of all kinds, not only to children,adolescents and special needs groups, and it also offers specialist care,which is unusual in many other countries.Paper II shows that patients who visited the PDS had a slightly poorerdental status, compared with the private patients. Both groups lostteeth during a 20-year period and almost at the same level. AlthoughCDOs in the first study focused on maintaining a strong marketposition, the patients in the second study reported greater satisfactionand a more frequent visiting pattern in private dental care comparedwith the PDS. To summarise, this thesis aims to illustrate the spirit of the top managementin the Swedish PDS and to explore adult patients’ opinionsand experience of care in the two provider sectors in Swedish oralhealth care.

Anledningarna till att elever ska läsa naturvetenskap är många: allmänbildning, kulturarv,demokrati och ekonomisk vinning. Trots detta visar forskning att elevers intresse förnaturvetenskap ofta minskar med åren. Syftet med detta arbete är att studera hur elever talarom naturvetenskap vid olika åldrar. Varför tror de att de ska läsa naturvetenskap? Huruppfattar de undervisningen och hur kopplar de samman skolundervisningen med sinafritidsintressen?För att studera detta har fyra elever i sexan och lika många i nian intervjuats och fått svara påfrågor om naturvetenskap och dess koppling till deras vardag. Resultatet visar till exempel atteleverna har svårigheter med att se samband mellan skolans naturvetenskapliga undervisningoch deras vardag utanför skolan. Eleverna i sexan saknar dessutom uppfattning om vadnaturvetenskap är och har därför oklara förväntningar på vad de ska få lära sig i denkommande undervisningen. Även eleverna i nian har en otydlig bild av vad naturvetenskap är.Samtliga elever har svårigheter att ge exempel på varför det är bra att alla kunnanaturvetenskap. / The reasons for studying science are numerous: general knowledge, cultural heritage, democracy and financial profit. All the same, research shows that students’ interest in science usually decreases over time. The purpose of this paper is to study how students talk about science at different ages. Why do they think they are being taught science? How do they perceive the process and how do they connect what they learn in school with their hobbies outside of school? To study this, four students in the sixth grade and four students in the ninth grade were interviewed. They answered questions about science, and the connection between science and everyday life. The result shows that the students had difficulties seeing any relation between school science and their life outside of school. The students in the sixth grade also lack any notion of what science is. They therefore have unclear expectations of what they will learn in the coming science education. The students in the ninth grade have an unclear perception of science, as well. All of the students interviewed had difficulties giving examples of why it is good to have knowledge of science.

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The Swedish Climate Policy Framework implies that the Swedish transport sector must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to nearly zero by 2045. Previous studies have – using life cycle assessment – shown that indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the vehicle and infrastructure life cycle are significant and should be considered in transport policy and planning of transport systems, in addition to direct emissions of vehicle operation. The aim of this thesis is to contribute with knowledge on climate impact and primary energy use of transport systems for decision-support in early planning at project and network levels, and evaluate and demonstrate how life cycle climate impact and primary energy use can be assessed in early planning. This thesis includes three papers that contribute to achieving this aim. Paper I developed a methodological approach to assess annual climate impact and primary energy use of Swedish road, rail, air, and sea transport infrastructure at a network level. Paper II then expanded this system to the assessment of the Swedish transport system at a network level, including national and international freight and passenger transport by road, rail, air, and sea. At the project level, Paper III examined how LCA can be used as decision-support in choice of road corridor, considering the practical prerequisite of data availability in early planning and usefulness of results in the decision-making process. Paper I showed that the annual climate impact of Swedish transport infrastructure is around 3 million tonnes CO2 equivalents and that the annual primary energy use is around 27 TWh. Road infrastructure accounted for the largest proportion of impacts – around 70% of the climate impact and around 80% of the energy use. Paper II showed that the annual climate impact of the Swedish transport system was around 44 million tonnes CO2 equivalents and the primary energy use was around 178 TWh. Road transport and aviation together accounted for 90% of the climate impact and primary energy use. Indirect impacts were significant, especially for road and rail transport, accounting for 30% of the total climate impact and primary energy use. Paper III found that (1) collection of project specific data should focus on parameters that differentiate the road corridors, that can be influenced in early planning, and that are not directly related to the road length and (2) life cycle assessment based models used in early planning should include nation specific generic data approved by the national road authority. / <p>QC 20181128</p>

Background  Patients in the intensive care unit often receive broad spectrum antibiotic (e.g., gentamicin) treatment that are mostly eliminated through the renal route. Therefore, the kidney function is a crucial factor to establish a good dosage regimen especially in patients with acute kidney injuries. Old-fashioned estimation formulas are used today to estimate the kidney function and there is room for improvement. A publication from 2009 have presented that clearance for gentamicin is a good enough estimation compared to the golden standard measurement methods.  Aim  The aim of the study was to first find and investigate already developed equations to estimate non-steady-state kidney function. Thereafter, the aim was to identify which equations, both suited for steady-state and non-steady-state situations, that could best correlate to CLg in adult ICU patients.  Methods  PubMed was used to gather data about non-steady-state kidney function. The equations were then applied on Excel and a dataset containing 100 patients was used to calculate kidney function estimates. Clearance for gentamicin were then compared to the estimates using linear regression, Bland-Altman plots and P30 values.  Results and discussion  The Cockcroft-Gault formula had the highest P30-value, while Grubb’s cystatin C formula generated the best Bland-Altman plot as well as the best linear regression. However, neither of these were good enough to be used in the clinical work. Surprisingly, the Jelliffe equation was the poorest to estimate kidney function.  Conclusion  None of the evaluated estimations were clinically good enough to replace the gentamicin clearance method.

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