Vid extrema bergsaktiviteter som klättring och skidåkning ställs stora krav på utrustningen. Den här studien har fokuserat på skalplagg för alpin miljö. Skalplaggens huvuduppgift är att skydda mot vind och fukt samtidigt som de skall transportera fukt från insidan till utsidan. För att kunna designa och utveckla bästa möjliga skalplagg krävs det kunskap om vilken miljö produkten/plagget ska användas i, vem som ska använda det, hur mycket ska plagget användas, i kombination med vilka andra produkter/plagg och vilken kunskap har användaren? Det är också viktigt att förstå vilka materialkrav som ställs på produkten. Det leder till vikten att även förstå materialens egenskaper, vad det minsta, alternativt största mängden av en viss komponent som krävs för att produkten ska leva upp till de ställda kraven. Kunskap om kraven och funktionerna bakom mekanismerna som uppfyller kraven leder till en möjlighet att optimera plaggets funktion och miljöpåverkan. I denna studie har kunskaper inom textilteknik, fysiologi, termodynamik, kemisk dynamik och teknisk byggteknik kombinerats för att härleda och undersöka kraven på maximalt ånggenomsläpplighetsmotstånd beroende på grad av fysisk aktivitet. Resultatet visar tydligt att det maximala ånggenomsläpplighetmotståndet som accepteras vid en given intensitet sjunker med en avtagande temperatur. Detta beror på att fuktgradienten ökar med en avtagande temperatur, under premissen att temperaturen och fukthalten innanför membranet hålls konstant. / Program: Textilingenjörsutbildningen

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We examine the effect of joint custody on marriage, divorce, fertility and female employment in Austria using individual-level administrative data, covering the entire population. We also use unique data obtained from court records to analyze the effect on post-divorce outcomes. Our estimates show that joint custody significantly reduces divorce and female employment rates, significantly increases marriage and marital birth rates, and leads to a substantial increase in the total money transfer received by mothers after divorce. We interpret these results as evidence against Becker-Coase bargains and in support of a mechanism driven by a resource redistribution that favors men giving them greater incentives to invest in marriage specific capital. (authors' abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

Auf Grundlage der beiden Monomere (2,2-Bis(hydroxymethyl)propansäure (1) und 4,4-Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)valeriansäure (2)) wurden hochverzweigte Polyester synthetisiert. Durch Verwendung von zwei-, drei-, vier- und sechsfunktionalen Kernmolekülen konnte die strukturelle Vielfalt der hochverzweigten Polyester erhöht werden. Abmischungen auf der Grundlage zweier Polyole (Polyether- bzw. Esterdiol) mit verschiedenen hochverzweigten Polyestern wurden hinsichtlich ihrer Mischbarkeit mittels DSC- und DMA-Messungen sowie rheologisch, mittels temperaturabhängiger IR-Spektroskopie, hinsichtlich ihrer Oberflächenspannung und mittels temperaturabhängiger AFM-Messungen bzw. SAXS-Messungen charakterisiert. DSC und DMA-Messungen des Glasübergangszustandes der Abmischungen gaben Hinweise, dass hochverzweigte Polyester unterschiedlicher Strukturen mit den Polyolen auf molekularer Ebene mischbar sind. Die hochverzweigten Polyester P1 und P1-PEG400 verbesserten die Verarbeitungseigenschaften eines geschlossenzelligen PU-Hartschaumstoffes. Durch die Hochfunktionalität der hochverzweigten Polyester erfolgte das Aushärten des Schaumstoffes schneller, wobei überraschenderweise das "Fließen" des Schaumstoffes gleichzeitig verbessert werden konnte. Durch den Zusatz der genannten hochverzweigten Polyester zu dem Polyetherpolyol konnte die Viskosität gesenkt werden, was die Fließeigenschaften des Schaumstoffes verbessert. Die Schaumstoffe zeigen weiterhin verbesserte mechanische Eigenschaften.

In this work small and large-scale wear tests of polyurethane (PU) sliding against polyamide (PA) were carried out. In the large-scale tests, PU and PA samples were submitted to conditions similar to those found in oil and gas platform operations. The wear of these samples was measured using a coordinate measuring machine. Using the small-scale test configuration, the influence of contact geometry, sliding velocity, sliding stroke and contact pressure at the coefficient of friction (COF) and on the wear mechanisms was evaluated. In both test scales, the wear mechanisms of PA and PU samples were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. The thermal behavior of PA samples was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry. The PA physic-chemical analysis was performed using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy for PU. In large-scale tests was observed that the outer cover of flexible riser pipes had a maximum wear rate of 0.016 mm/km, while in the liner this wear rate was 0.264 mm/km. It was also observed that variations in the hardness of PU liner lead to an important change on the wear mechanisms and, consequently, on the wear rate. The wear rate at large-scale was also strongly affected by the contact temperature. Due to the reduction of the contact temperature, a sharp reduction on the liner wear rate was observed. However, no significant variation in the rate of wear of PA riser cover was noticed. In small-scales tests, under the same sliding velocity and contact pressure observed in the field, the tribological wear behavior was changed. It was also observed that increasing the contact pressure or reducing the sliding stroke leads to a decrease the COF, while the sliding velocity only induced a change in this parameter if the contact temperature was significantly increased. Using test parameters in small scale which lead to a temperature rise in the tribocontact, it was possible to reproduce the tribological behavior observed in large-scale test. / Neste trabalho foram realizados ensaios tribológicos envolvendo o par poliuretano (PU) e poliamida (PA) em escala real e reduzida. Nos ensaios em escala real, os materiais foram submetidos a condições similares às observadas em plataformas de óleo e gás. O desgaste destas amostras foi avaliado utilizando uma máquina de medir por coordenadas. Nos ensaios em escala reduzida foram avaliados os efeitos da geometria do contato, da velocidade de deslizamento, da amplitude de deslizamento e da pressão de contato sobre o coeficiente de atrito (COF), bem como sobre os mecanismos de desgaste. Para as amostras de ambas as escalas, os mecanismos de desgaste da PA e do PU foram observados através de microscopia eletrônica de varredura. O comportamento térmico das amostras de PA foi investigado através da calorimetria exploratória diferencial. A análise físico-química foi realizada utilizando difração de raios-x e espectroscopia Raman para a PA e a espectroscopia no infravermelho para o PU. Nos ensaios em escala real foi observado que as capas dos dutos flexíveis têm uma taxa de desgaste máxima de 0,016 mm/km, enquanto no liner essa taxa foi de 0,264 mm/km. Observou-se também que variações na dureza do PU do liner levaram a uma importante alteração dos mecanismos atuantes e, consequentemente, da taxa de desgaste. Essa taxa de desgaste foi também fortemente influenciada pela temperatura no contato. Essas alterações foram verificadas mediante a introdução de afastamentos periódicos entre os corpos durante o teste. Neste caso, o desgaste do liner foi mínimo. Todavia, a PA da capa externa não apresentou variação significativa na taxa de desgaste. Nos ensaios em escala reduzida, sob mesmas condições de velocidade e pressão observadas em campo, não foi obtida a mesma resposta tribológica. Notou-se também que o aumento da pressão ou redução da amplitude de deslizamento reduz o COF, enquanto a velocidade somente alterou este parâmetro caso houvesse uma alteração significativa da temperatura no contato. Mediante a utilização de parâmetros de teste na escala reduzida que levavam ao aumento da temperatura no contato, foi possível reproduzir o comportamento tribológico observado em escala real. / Doutor em Engenharia Mecânica

(EN) Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) represents a disease of mature-like B-cells. Due to failed apoptosis but also due to enhanced proliferative signals, the leukemic B-cells accumulate in the peripheral blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes and spleen. The clinical course of B-CLL is very heterogeneous; in some patients B-CLL progresses very rapidly into an aggressive form. Such patients need therapy sooner while in other patients with indolent B-CLL the onset of therapy takes years. Several standard prognostic and disease progression markers are used for disease staging and monitoring, however a reliable marker that will suggest when to start therapy is unknown. Expression of small, non-coding microRNAs is often deregulated and represent important prognostic markers in variety of cancers including leukemia. Hence in our study we concentrated to miR-155, an important molecule regulating differentiation of hematopoietic cells, inflammation process and antibody production. Its aberrant expression was described in Hodgkin`s as well as in non-Hodgkin`s lymphoma, including indolent lymphoproliferations like B- CLL. Our results confirmed elevated levels of both, primary miR-155 transcript and mature form of miR-155 in our B-CLL patient samples (N=239). The aberrant expression of miR-155 in B-CLL samples...

Hat sections, single and double, made of steel are frequently encountered in automotive body structural components such as front rails, B-Pillar, and rockers of unitized-body cars. These thin-walled components can play a significant role in terms of crashworthiness and impact energy absorption, through a nonlinear phenomenon called as progressive dynamic buckling. As modern vehicle safety design relies heavily on computer-aided engineering, there is a great need for analysis-based predictions to yield close correlation with test results. Although hat sections subjected to axial loading have been studied widely in the past, there is scanty information in published literature on modeling procedures that can lead to robust prediction of test responses. In the current study, both single-hat and double-hat components made of mild steel are studied extensively experimentally and numerically to quantify statistical variations in test responses such as peak load, mean load and energy absorption, and formulate modeling conditions for capturing elasto-plastic material behavior, strain rate sensitivity, spot-welds, etc. that can lead to robust predictions of force-time and force-displacement histories as well as failure modes. In addition, keeping initial stages of vehicle design in mind, the effectiveness of soft computing techniques based on polynomial regression analysis, radial basis functions and artificial neural networks for quick assessment of the behaviors of steel hat sections has been demonstrated. The study is extended to double-hat sections subjected to eccentric impact loading which has not been previously reported. A lightweight enhancement of load carrying capacity of steel hat section components has been investigated with PU (polyurethane) foam-filled single and double hat sections, and subjecting the same to quasi-static and axial impact loading. Good predictions of load-displacement responses are again obtained and shortening of fold lengths vis-à-vis hollow sections is observed. Finally, the performance of hat sections made of glass fiber-reinforced composites is studied as a potential lightweight substitute to steel hat section components. The challenging task of numerical prediction of the behaviors of the composite hat sections has been undertaken using a consistent modeling and analysis procedure described earlier and by choosing an appropriate constitutive behavior available in the popular explicit contact-impact analysis solver, LS-DYNA.

Le recyclage du combustible nucléaire passe par la production de poudres d’oxydes mixtes (U,Pu)O₂. Un des principaux procédés utilisés pour obtenir ce type de poudre comporte une étape de calcination d’oxalates mixtes qui se décomposent en oxyde. Le contrôle des propriétés physico-chimiques de la poudre au cours du traitement thermique des oxalates (étape précédant la mise en forme des pastilles combustibles) requiert une attention particulière, car celles-ci auront une conséquence directe sur l’aptitude à la compaction et au frittage.Dans ce contexte, ces travaux traitent de l’évolution des caractéristiques des poudres, et de la cinétique des différentes étapes de décomposition les influençant, lors de la calcination des oxalates mixtes U-Ce (simulant U-Pu).Une étude expérimentale détaillée sur les caractéristiques morphologiques et texturales, notamment la surface spécifique, a été menée et a permis de dresser un schéma d’évolution de la poudre lors des différentes étapes de décomposition. De plus, les variations de la teneur en carbone au cours de la calcination ont aussi été étudiées. Ce travail a permis d’identifier les étapes de décomposition d’intérêt pour le contrôle des caractéristiques des poudres lors du procédé de calcination.Enfin, ces étapes réactionnelles d’intérêt ont fait l’objet d’une étude cinétique détaillée. Celle-ci a conduit à l’identification de modèles adaptés au système d’étude qui décrivent les phénomènes physiques et chimiques ayant lieu au cours de la décomposition. / Nuclear fuel recycling process includes production of mixed oxide powder as (U,Pu)O₂. One of the most common processes actually investigated to get this kind of powder involves a calcination step of mixed oxalate which decomposes in oxide products. Physical and chemical powder characteristics during oxalate heat treatment (taking place before pellet shaping step) need a special attention. In fact, powder properties can affect directly their sintering and compaction abilities.The aim of this work deals with the powder characteristics evolution and the decomposition kinetics of steps having an effect on them, during U-Ce mixed oxalate calcination (surrogate system of U-Pu couple).A detailed experimental study of morphological and textural characteristics, especially specific surface area, has been carried out. The results have enabled to achieve a textural evolution pattern during different steps of oxalate decomposition. Moreover, carbon content variations through heat treatment process have been studied. This experimental route point out the most interesting decomposition steps impacting powder characteristics during calcination.Finally, a kinetic study of these decomposition steps has been performed. This exercise led to suitable kinetic models describing physical and chemical phenomena taking place during oxalate thermal decomposition process.

Läderindustrin har funnits i flera århundraden och läder används ofta tack vare materialets slitstarka egenskaper. De senaste åren har kunskapen och även intresset kring hållbarhet och djurs rättigheter ökat. Detta har lett till ökande efterfrågan på veganska alternativ till läder. Begreppet “veganskt läder” definieras som alla läderimiterade material tillverkade utan animalistiska produkter. Det vanligaste veganska lädret är PU-läder, tillverkat av polyuretan. Piñatex är ett nonwoven-material tillverkat av ananasblad som annars brukar brännas. Reishiär ett material producerat av företaget MycoWorks, tillverkat av mycel; den vegetativa delen hos svamp. Syftet med studien är att analysera kromgarvat och vegetabiliskt garvat läder med deras veganska substitut, PU-läder, Piñatex och Reishi utifrån fyra olika parametrar; ekonomi, hållbarhet, funktionella egenskaper och djuretik. Studiens resultat visar att kromgarvat läder är det starkaste materialet, men det har även stornegativ påverkan på miljön. Anledningen till att PU-läder är det vanligaste veganska lädret är på grund av de låga produktionskostnaderna, detta avspeglas på materialets lågt presterandefunktionella egenskaper. Reishi är ett mycket innovativt material, med minst miljöpåverkan och bra egenskaper. Med stigande efterfrågan finns stort potential till att materialet kan utvecklas och användas i fler sammanhang. Ur ett djuretiskt perspektiv kan inte konventionellt läder vinna över veganskt läder. Produktionen av veganskt läder kräver inte direkt att några djur slaktas, men veganskt läder är inte helt utan negativ miljöpåverkan. Slutligen faller valet av material och dess etiska värde till var enskild individ och slutproduktens önskade egenskaper. / The leather industry has been around for centuries and leather is frequently used due to the materials durable qualities. In the past few years environmental responsibility and interest in the wellbeing of animals has increased. This has led to an increase in demand for vegan substitutes for leather. Vegan leather is defined as any leather imitating material that is produced completely without animal products. The most commonly used vegan leather today is polyurethane leather, also known as pleather. Piñatex is a nonwoven fabric produced by pineapple leaves which would otherwise be discarded. Reishi is a material produced by the company MycoWorks, made from fine mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus. The purpose of this study is to analyze chrome tanned leather and vegetable tanned leather with their vegan counterparts, pleather, Piñatex and Reishi from four different perspectives; economic, environmental, functional and ethical perspectives. The result of the study shows that chrome tanned leather is by far the most durable of the materials, but it also has a high, negative environmental impact. The reason pleather is the most common vegan leather, is the low production cost of the fabric. This is mirrored by the low performance qualities of the fabric. Reishi is an incredibly innovative material, having the lowest environmental impact and with growing demand, the fabric has great potential to evolve and become more frequently used. Ethically speaking, vegan leather has an advantage over conventional leather, since no animals are harmed in the production process, but vegan leather is not without environmental impact. Ultimately, the choice and ethical value of each fabric comes down to the consumer and the desired qualities of the intended product.

miR-17-92 cluster (Oncomir1) encodes seven microRNAs (miRNA, miR) regulating many biological processes including proliferation, differentiation or apoptosis. Overexpression of microRNAs encoded by miR-17-92 cluster is found in a number of tumors including acute and chronic myeloid leukemias (Dixon-McIver et al., 2008; Li et al., 2008; Venturini et al., 2007). Myeloid progenitors express miR-17-92 cluster at a high level, while macrophage differentiation associates with its downregulation. Our laboratory found, that miR-17-92 cluster is repressed by transcription factor Early growth response 2 (Egr2) upon differentiation of primary myeloid PUER progenitors, induced with transcription factor PU.1. Aim of this thesis is to further test the abovementioned data by preparing a reporter vectors set, carrying various fragments of miR-17-92 putative promoter, which enables us to study regulation of transcription of miR-17-92 cluster. This task complicated by presence of increased GC content of the miR-17-92 promoter was successfully accomplished resulting in amplification of eight fragments containing the various parts of miR-17-92 promoter including region -3.3 to 0 kb relative to the start of miR-17-5p sequence, that were inserted into pGL3 reporter vector. Transfection of pGL3 reporter vector carrying...