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The thesis was conducted as the master thesis for a Master's in innovation and design. The aim of this thesis was to investigate in what ways scent can be used as an olfactory stimulation within exhibitions and to access the possible effects that occur from bridging historical contexts with scent within the exhibitions – as a tool for embodied storytelling. The olfactory study focuses on Leksmedjan Smetuna in Rademachersmedjorna, Eskilstuna. The thesis theoretical framework presents theories on sense of smell, museum experiences, storytelling, and embodied storytelling. A space analysis and a qualitative interview with a museum pedagogue at Västermanland´s county museum. An observational smellscape with different scented elements is conducted as well, with visiting children at Leksmedjan Smetuna in Rademachersmedjorna – where children get the chance to experience historical scents from the 17th century, through their sense of smell. This with the aim to visualize the physical-, emotional- and social effects that occur during children´s sensory museum experiences. The scented elements for the observational smellscapes were designed and produced during the thesis design process and are based on theoretical and empirical data collection. The results of the thesis bring forth important perspectives regarding children´s sensory museum experiences that incorporate scented elements. / Examensarbetet genomförs som ett examensarbete för en Master i innovation och design. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka på vilka sätt doft kan användas som luktstimulering inom utställningar, samt att visualisera möjliga effekter som uppstår genom att överbrygga historiska sammanhang med hjälp av doft inom utställningar – som ett verktyg för embodied storytelling. Doftstudien fokuserar på Leksmedjan Smetuna i Rademachersmedjorna, Eskilstuna. Studiens teoretiska ramverk presenterar teorier om människans luktsinne, museiupplevelser, storytelling med en fördjupning av embodied storytelling. Studiens empiriska metodarbete utgörs av en rumsanalys och en kvalitativ intervju med en museipedagog på Västermanlands länsmuseum. Metodarbetet inkluderar även en observerande smellscapes med besökande barn på Leksmedjan Smetuna i Rademachersmedjorna, Eskilstuna – där barnen får chansen att uppleva historiska dofter från 1600-talet, genom sitt luktsinne. Detta i syfte att visualisera de fysiska-, emotionella- och sociala effekterna som uppstår under barns sensoriska museiupplevelser av studiens doftelement. Doftelementen som ingår i studiens observerade smellscapes, designades och producerades under studiens designprocess och baseras på den teoretisk och empirisk datainsamling. Studiens resultat lyfter fram viktiga perspektiv på barns sensoriska museiupplevelser som innehåller doftelement.

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Using a bicycle helmet markedly reduces the risk of head injuries. The most recent systematic review and meta-analysis has documented that the use of bicycle helmet reduces the risk of serious head injuries by 60 % [1]. Given the large safety-gains from wearing a helmet while cycling, it is highly relevant to promote the uptake of bicycle helmets while also measuring how the prevalence of bicycle helmet use evolves over time across different groups. In Denmark, bicycle helmet use has been promoted in several nationwide campaigns targeting both the general cyclist population and cycling school children. Since 2004, the use of bicycle helmets among cyclist in Denmark has also been measured observationally in two different nationwide time series. One time series (termed 'city traffic'') consists of observations of cyclist across all age groups in city traffic. The other nationwide time series (named 'school traffic'') consists of observations in front of schools, and only includes observations of cycling children. This paper presents the results of these two observational time series, while also cautiously linking the increase in bicycle helmet use to campaigns that have promoted the uptake of bicycle helmets. This paper is structured as follows. First, the methods of the observational bicycle helmet studies are presented. Second, the results of the bicycle helmet observational time series are presented. Third, the discussion section assesses potential explanations for the increased bicycle helmet use in Denmark. The paper concludes that the use of bicycle helmets has increased markedly in Denmark. In 2004, approximately 6 % of the observed cyclists in city traffic used bicycle helmets. This number increased to 28 % in 2014 and to 48 % in 2021. In school traffic, helmet use among cycling school children increased from 33 % in 2004 to 60 % in 2014 and to 80 % in 2021. [From Introduction]

Tunneling involves large uncertainties. Since 2009, design of rock tunnels in European countries should be performed in accordance with the Eurocodes. The main principle in the Eurocodes is that it must be shown in all design situations that no relevant limit state is exceeded. This can be achieved with a number of different methods, where the most common one is design by calculation. To account for uncertainties in design, the Eurocode states that design by calculation should primarily be performed using limit state design methods, i.e. the partial factor method or reliability-based methods. The basic principle of the former is that it shall be assured that a structure’s resisting capacity is larger than the load acting on the structure, with high enough probability. Even if this might seem straightforward, the practical application of limit state design to rock tunnel support has only been studied to a limited extent. The aim of this licentiate thesis is to provide a review of the practical applicability of using reliability-based methods and the partial factor method in design of rock tunnel support. The review and the following discussion are based on findings from the cases studied in the appended papers. The discussion focuses on the challenges of applying fixed partial factors, as suggested by Eurocode, in design of rock tunnel support and some of the practical difficulties the engineer is faced with when applying reliability-based methods to design rock tunnel support. The main conclusions are that the partial factor method (as defined in Eurocode) is not suitable to use in design of rock tunnel support, but that reliability-based methods have the potential to account for uncertainties present in design, especially when used within the framework of the observational method. However, gathering of data for statistical quantification of input variables along with clarification of the necessary reliability levels and definition of “failure” are needed. / <p>QC 20170407</p>

Detta examensarbete är en ansats mot en förenklad metod för sprickkartering i borrkärna och utvärderar huruvida en förenklad metod är tillämpbar vid projekt som anläggs under aktiv design och tid är en kritisk faktor. Det föreliggande arbetet är en studie baserad på data från Boliden Mineral AB, från undersökningar utförda i syfte att lokalisera en lämplig, lågpermeabel bergvolym för anläggandet av ett slutförvar för miljöfarligt avfall. Vattenflöde i kristallin bergmassa, liksom den i Sverige, förmodas traditionellt påverkas mest av sprickornas karaktär så som sprickdensitet, sprickvidd, råhet, sprickfyllning etc. Vidare påverkar sprickegenskaperna bergmassans hållfasthet, varför karaktärisering av bergmassan utgör en central roll vid byggande i berg. Effektivisering av sprickkartering under aktiv design undersöktes genom att utvärdera hur väl de parametrar som används vid karaktärisering verkar för identifiering av vattenförande strukturer. Vidare utvärderades möjligheten att minska antalet sprickor att kartera och karaktärisera vid den fysiska kärnan. Resultat i denna studie visar inte några tydliga kopplingar mellan mätsektionernas hydrauliska konduktivitet (K) och de individuella karterade parametrarna. Osäkerheterna är dock stora då mätsektionerna för de hydrauliska testerna utgörs av 10 m för uppskattande av K, som dessutom påverkas av storskaliga företeelser (t.ex. grad av sammankoppling) som vidare inte är möjligt att uppskatta från borrhålsdata. Fjärrkartering av borrhålsfilm underestimerar överlag bergkvaliteten för de tre borrhål som analyserades. En förenklad metod med ett representativt urval sprickor för fysisk kartering beskriver fördelningen av parametervärden väl, vid jämförelse mot en fullständig fysisk kartering för två borrkärnor. Lerfyllda sprickor och höga Ja-värden överestimeras dock vid den förenklade karteringen vilket potentiellt kan leda till en mer konservativ förstärkningsåtgärd än nödvändigt. Fler studier behöver dock genomföras för att utvärdera huruvida den förenklade metoden kan reflektera parametervärdenas fördelning för individuella sprickgrupper. Vidare krävs ytterligare undersökningar för utvärdering av hur robusta de presenterade metoderna är vid kartering av borrkärnor med högre sprickighet än de som använts för analys i denna studie. / This master thesis is the inception of a simplified method for logging fractures in drill holes and comprises an evaluation on whether a simplified method is applicable for projects where the observational method is used and time is a critical factor. The following work is a study based on data from Boliden Mineral AB, acquired from investigations for locating a suitable, low-permeable rock mass for a repository for hazardous waste. Water flow in crystalline bedrock, such as that found in Sweden, is traditionally thought to be most influenced by fracture characteristics like fracture density, aperture, roughness, fillings etc. Moreover, these same characteristics influence the rock mass strength, which is why the characterization of fractures is fundamental for construction in rock. To improve efficiency of fracture logging in projects maintained under the observational method, an evaluation on how well the quantified fracture characteristics work for identification of large-scale water bearing structures was performed. Furthermore, the possibility of decreasing the number of fractures to log and characterize in the core was investigated.  The results show no apparent correlations between hydraulic conductivity (K) in test sections and the individually mapped parameters. However, the uncertainties are significant, mainly because of the large sections in which the hydraulic tests were conducted, but also because of largescale features influencing K (e.g. interconnectivity) which are not possible to estimate from core data.  Remote logging of borehole images generally underestimates the quality of the rock mass for the three analyzed boreholes. A simplified method with a representative selection of fractures for physical core logging was found to describe the distribution of parameter values well, when compared to a complete physical core log for two drill cores. Clayfillings and high Ja -values are however overestimated when the simplified method is applied which may lead to a more conservative reinforcement measure than necessary. However, more studies need to be carried out to evaluate whether the simplified method can reflect the distribution of parameter values for individual fracture sets. Moreover, additional studies are required to evaluate the robustness of the suggested simplified methods in drill cores from areas of more heavily fractured bedrock than those analyzed in this study.

Building an intelligent agent model from scratch is a difficult task. Thus, it would be preferable to have an automated process perform this task. There have been many manual and automatic techniques, however, each of these has various issues with obtaining, organizing, or making use of the data. Additionally, it can be difficult to get perfect data or, once the data is obtained, impractical to get a human subject to explain why some action was performed. Because of these problems, machine learning from observation emerged to produce agent models based on observational data. Learning from observation uses unobtrusive and purely observable information to construct an agent that behaves similarly to the observed human. Typically, an observational system builds an agent only based on prerecorded observations. This type of system works well with respect to agent creation, but lacks the ability to be trained and updated on-line. To overcome these deficiencies, the proposed system works by adding an augmented force-feedback system of training that senses the agents intentions haptically. Furthermore, because not all possible situations can be observed or directly trained, a third stage of learning from practice is added for the agent to gain additional knowledge for a particular mission. These stages of learning mimic the natural way a human might learn a task by first watching the task being performed, then being coached to improve, and finally practicing to self improve. The hypothesis is that a system that is initially trained using human recorded data (Observational), then tuned and adjusted using force-feedback (Instructional), and then allowed to perform the task in different situations (Experiential) will be better than any individual step or combination of steps.

An important aspect during the planning of commuter trains is how long they will be waiting at the platform. All travelers must be able to board and get off the train in time while the process cannot take too long. The train’s waiting time is called its dwell time, and this is a study of how the dwell time of the commuter trains in Stockholm behaves with a focus on the larger station Stockholm Odenplan and the smaller station Årstaberg. The duration of the dwell time compared to the stations planned dwell time was analyzed with manual measurements on the stations. The dwell time was analyzed both during and after rush hours. Possible reasons for the dwell time’s length were also analyzed and a potential factor that was in focus was the impact of the removal of train conductors. Train conductors in Stockholm’s rail system are responsible for monitoring the boarding and closing the train’s doors after it is finished. They began to dismantle from the trains Mars 2023 due to efficiency reasons. Half of the trains will run with a train conductor until autumn 2023, where they will disappear entirely. The train drivers will afterwards monitor the travelers with cameras instead. The commuter trains in Stockholm have three routes between Bålsta and Nynäshamn, Uppsala/Märsta and Södertälje and Södertälje and Gnesta. Factors considered when planning their timetables are the system’s capacity, how long the train should wait at a station and how long it takes to drive between stations. 94 % of the trains run on time in the system according to the operator MTR. The analyzed stations Stockholm Odenplan and Årstaberg are in Stockholm and have their separate conditions. Stockholm Odenplan is the second to largest station in the system and is in a central part of the city. The station is underground, and the rails are separated from the platform with platform doors. The doors are shown to cause delays for the dwell time as they are slow. Årstaberg has considerably fewer travelers than Stockholm Odenplan and is in the south parts of the city. The station is over the ground and has no platform doors. There are many theories about the causes behind a train’s dwell time based on the behavior of the passengers. They vary from where they are waiting on the platform, how they are queueing during boarding and the behavior during the boarding. The study shows that the dwell time in Årstaberg stays under its planned 42 seconds, but it is six seconds too long from its planned 60 seconds in Stockholm Odenplan. The dwell time increases during rush hour in Årstaberg and decreases outside of it, while Stockholm Odenplan seems to be largely unaffected by rush hours. Trains with train conductors seem to have a lower dwell time than those without them. The boarding has a shorter duration with train conductors, which shows that they are more efficient than the train drivers using cameras to monitor the boarding. However, it does take a little longer for the train to depart after the boarding is finished when they have a train conductor. Factors causing the dwell time are believed to be related to the flow of passengers and the design of the stations. The platform doors are believed to increase the dwell time in Stockholm Odenplan. Meanwhile, the protection from the weather and the location of the entrance in Årstaberg might impact its dwell time. When the number of passengers increases will the boarding take longer. The boarding will also be concentrated on a few doors in Årstaberg depending on the weather or if the trains are short. The dwell time should be analyzed further for a longer period and during more hours of the day. More stations in Stockholm’s rail system should be analyzed too.

A variety of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) phenotypes are tightly linked to changes in the cardiac energy metabolism that can lead to a loss of metabolic flexibility and to unfavorable clinical outcomes. We conducted an association analysis of 31 ASCVD phenotypes and 97 whole blood amino acids, acylcarnitines and derived ratios in the LIFE-Adult (n = 9646) and LIFE-Heart (n = 5860) studies, respectively. In addition to hundreds of significant associations, a total of 62 associations of six phenotypes were found in both studies. Positive associations of various amino acids and a range of acylcarnitines with decreasing cardiovascular health indicate disruptions in mitochondrial, as well as peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation. We complemented our metabolite association analyses with whole blood and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene-expression analyses of fatty acid oxidation and ketone-body metabolism related genes. This revealed several differential expressions for the heart failure biomarker N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression. Finally, we constructed and compared three prediction models of significant stenosis in the LIFE-Heart study using (1) traditional risk factors only, (2) the metabolite panel only and (3) a combined model. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) comparison of these three models shows an improved prediction accuracy for the combined metabolite and classical risk factor model (AUC = 0.78, 95%-CI: 0.76–0.80). In conclusion, we improved our understanding of metabolic implications of ASCVD phenotypes by observing associations with metabolite concentrations and gene expression of the mitochondrial and peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation. Additionally, we demonstrated the predictive potential of the metabolite profile to improve classification of patients with significant stenosis.