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Denna rapport är en konsumentundersökning rörande skivförpackningar. Syftet med undersökning är att ta reda på vad konsumenter har för attityd, tankar och känslor kring olika slags skivförpackningar. Förändringar i människors köpbeteende och den ökad miljömedvetenhet i samhället gör det intressant att undersöka om detta även påverkar konsumenters syn på skivförpackningar.Undersökningen genomfördes genom att tre olika fokusgrupper träffades för att diskutera fyra olika skivförpackningar. I en öppen diskussion fick respondenterna redogöra för sina attityder, tankar och känslor kring skivförpackningar, därefter fick deltagarna svara på mer styrda frågor kring förpackningar och förpackningars miljöpåverkan. I forskningsresultaten framgår det att de flesta respondenter har en positiv attityd till Digipack, som enligt dem har de bästa produktattributen. Jewel box har kritiserats för att den inte är hållbar. Respondenterna uttrycker sig både starkt positivt och negativt om Jakebox, som upplevs som onödigt komplicerad eller kul och sexig. I grupperna ger man uttryck för en miljömedvetenhet, men att förpackning är miljövänlig tas inte upp som ett viktigt produktattribut. Hållbarhet, utseende och användarvänlighet betraktas som viktiga egenskaper hos en skivförpackning. I grupperna är man beredd att betala ett högre pris för att få skivor levererade i sina favoritförpackningar. / This report is a consumer market research study about cd packaging. The purpose was to examine people’s attitudes, thoughts and feelings regarding different cd packaging solutions. The recent change in society regarding environmental awareness and the change in people’s buying behaviour makes getting consumer’s view on cd packaging relevant. The study was performed with three focus groups that discussed four different types of cd packaging solutions. The respondents expressed their attitudes, feelings and thoughts in an open discussion regarding different packaging solutions. The participants also answered more direct questions regarding cd packaging and the environmental impact of packaging. Many of the respondents expressed a positive attitude towards Digipack, which in their opinion possessed the most attractive product attributes. Jewel box was criticized for its lack of durability. Respondents expressed both a strong positive and negative attitude towards Jakebox, which some experienced as to complicated whereas others thought of it as funny and sexy. The groups expressed environmental concern but environmental impact was almost never suggested as an important product attribute. Durability, appearance and usability were regarded as the most important qualities in cd packaging. The respondents expressed a willingness to pay a higher price to get cd´s in there packaging of choice.

<p>Injectable, in-situ gelling magnetic plum pudding hydrogel composites were fabricated by entrapping superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and thermosensitive N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM)-co–N-isopropylmethacrylamide (NIPMAM) microgels in a pNIPAM-hydrazide/carbohydrate-aldehyde hydrogel matrix. The resulting composites exhibited significant, repeatable pulsatile release of 4 kDa FITC-dextran upon exposure to an alternating magnetic field. The pulsatile release from the composites could be controlled by altering the volume phase transition temperatures of the microgel particles (with VPTTs over 37°C corresponding to improved pulsatile release) and changing the microgel content of the composite (with higher microgel content corresponding to higher pulsatile release). By changing the ratio of dextran-aldehyde (which deswells at physiological temperature) to CMC-aldehyde (which swells at physiological temperature) in the composites, bulk hydrogel swelling and thus pulsatile release could be controlled; specifically, lower CMC-aldehyde contents resulted in little to no composite swelling, improving pulsatile release. <em>In vitro</em> cytotoxicity testing demonstrated that the composite precursors exhibit little to no cytotoxicity up to a concentration of 2000 µg/mL. Together, these results suggest that this injectable hydrogel-microgel composite hydrogel may be a viable vehicle for <em>in vivo</em>, pulsatile drug delivery.<strong></strong></p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

<p dir="ltr">Single-particle tracking (SPT) provides high-resolution spatial-temporal information on biomolecule dynamics. However, localization inaccuracies, limited track lengths, heterogeneous fluorescence backgrounds, and potential molecular motion blur pose significant challenges that hinder the accurate extraction of movement trajectories and their underlying motion behavior. The conventional SPT pipeline struggles to comprehensively address detection, localization, linkage, and parameter inference simultaneously, resulting in information loss during sequential processing. To overcome these challenges, we propose SPTnet, an end-to-end deep learning framework that leverages a transformer-based architecture to optimize trajectory and motion parameter estimations in parallel through a global loss. SPTnet bypasses traditional SPT processes, directly inferring molecular trajectories and motion parameters from fluorescence microscopy video frames with precision approaching the statistical information limit. Our results demonstrate that SPTnet outperforms conventional methods under commonly encountered but challenging conditions such as short trajectories, low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), heterogeneous backgrounds, motion blur, and especially when molecules exhibit non-Brownian behaviors.</p><p dir="ltr">Besides SPT, we used single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) to study cytokinetic protein in fission yeast. During cytokinesis, myosin-II constricts the contractile ring that separates one cell into two daughter cells. The fission yeast cytokinetic contractile ring contains two types of myosin Ⅱ, Myo2 and Myp2. However, the precise ultrastructural arrangement of the two type Ⅱ myosins remains in question. We investigated the relative spatial arrangement of Myo2p and Myp2p within contractile ring using two-color super-resolution microscopy based on salvaged fluorescence imaging. Quantitative analysis of the nanoscale images should provide useful information for modeling contractile ring assembly and constriction.</p><p><br></p>

Bakgrund: Elektrifieringen har resulterat i en ökad efterfrågan av litiumjonbatterier vilket har skapat ett ökat konkurrenstryck på marknaden. För att upprätthålla konkurrenskraften och möta intressenternas förväntningar krävs betydande investeringar från företagets sida. Micropower Group som tillverkar laddare- och litiumjonbatteri är en ledande aktör på marknaden och genomför en superinvestering i en ny produktionsanläggning. Med tanke på att hållbarhet är ett aktuellt ämne har företaget valt att konstruera anläggningen utifrån en grön profil.  Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera och beskriva investeringsprocessens tidiga skeden, samt när och på vilket sätt hållbarhet spelar roll i processen, mer specifikt från initiering till beslut. Genom att utgå från detta syfte belyses även andra icke-finansiella dimensioner som är av betydelse.  Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie som har genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer för att samla in empiriskt material. Respondenterna valdes genom både ett strategiskt urval och ett snöbollsurval. Den teoretiska referensramen består framförallt av böcker, vetenskapliga artiklar från Linnéuniversitets databaser, såsom Google Scholar och OneSearch.  Slutsats: Det ursprungliga motivet bakom superinvesteringen var strävan efter att bibehålla en ledande position på marknaden och leda den gröna omställningen, vilket kräver ökad kapacitet. Emotioner var centrala under investeringsbedömningen och beslutet grundades på strategiska överväganden och dess överensstämmelse med företagets långsiktiga tillväxtstrategi, struktur, kultur och värderingar. Micropower Group integrerade hållbarhet i investeringsprocessens tidiga skeden, framförallt under framdrivning och delvis i beslut, genom att prioritera sociala och miljömässiga fördelar samt arbetsmiljöförbättringar för att stärka företagsimage, långsiktig tillväxt och lönsamhet samt konkurrensfördelar. / Background: Electrification has resulted in an increased demand for lithium-ion batteries, which has created increased competitive pressure on the market. To maintain competitiveness and meet stakeholders' expectations, significant investments are required on the part of the company. Micropower Group, which is a leading manufacturer of chargers and lithium-ion batteries, is making a large-scale super capital investment in a new production facility. Considering that sustainability is a current topic, the company has chosen to construct the facility based on a green profile. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze and describe the early stages of the investment process, as well as when and in what way sustainability becomes decisive in the process, more specifically from initiation to decision. By proceeding from this purpose, other non-financial dimensions that play a role are also highlighted. Method: The study is a qualitative case study that has conducted semi-structured interviews to collect empirical material. Respondents were selected through both strategic and snowball sampling. The theoretical frame of reference mainly consists of books, and scientific articles from Linnaeus University's databases, such as Google Scholar and OneSearch. Conclusion: The original motive behind the super capital investment was the aspiration to have a leading position in the market, which required increased capacity. Emotions were central during the investment assessment and the decision was based on strategic considerations and its consistency with the company's long-term growth strategy, structure, culture, and values. Micropower Group integrated sustainability in the early stages of the investment process, mainly during propulsion and partly in decisions, by prioritizing social and environmental benefits and improvements in the work environment for strengthened corporate image, long-term growth, and profitability as well as a competitive advantage.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a trans-differentiation program essential for development and wound healing that is pathologically activated during cancer progression. During this process, cells undergo complex changes at the transcriptional and translational levels leading to dissolution of cell-cell junctions, loss of apical-basal polarity, and cytoskeleton reorganization. Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) is well-established in driving cancer progression through EMT induction. Remodeling of cellular junctions, including gap junctions, is critical to acquiring migratory and invasive characteristics during EMT. The gene GJA1 encodes for Connexin43 (Cx43), the most ubiquitously expressed gap junction protein where altered regulation of Cx43 is associated with cancer progression. Intriguingly, Cx43 mRNA undergoes alternative ‘internal’ translation initiation, generating N-terminally truncated isoforms, including GJA1-20k, which regulates Cx43 gap junction formation. We have previously demonstrated GJA1-20k expression is inhibited during TGF-β-induced EMT, limiting gap junction formation; however, the relationship between GJA1-20k modulation of gap junction localization and cellular invasion and migration remains unknown. Given the role GJA1-20k has in regulating gap junctions, we hypothesize that suppression of GJA1-20k expression promotes metastatic trait acquisition through limiting gap junction formation. Utilizing lentivirally transduced stable mouse mammary gland epithelial (NMuMG) and triple-negative human breast epithelial (MDA-MB-231) cells expressing GJA1-20k, or Lac Z as control, we tested effects on TGF-β-induced EMT induction and metastatic trait induction. Boyden chambers, would/scratch assays were employed to analyze cell invasion and migration respectively. We found GJA1-20k overexpression during EMT results in decreased cell invasion and migration to LacZ controls. Future directions include evaluation of GJA1-20k restoration in a metastatic breast cancer model in vivo. Investigating the underlying role of GJA1-20k in EMT-induced cell junction remodeling could be promising as a potential pharmacological target process independent of transcriptional or post-translational pathways. Ultimately, by adding novel information in the expanding and compelling field of translational control, this work could aid in developing the future of precision medicine as new therapeutic solutions to treat cancer will require limiting cancer cell’s ability to metastasize. / R01 HL132236 JWS R41 CA250874 SL R01HL132236 Diversity Supplement KLY II 23PRE1025483 AHA Predoctoral Fellowship KLY II / Doctor of Philosophy / Every organ system relies upon cell-to-cell communication to properly function and is the basis of multi-cellular life. Gap junctions are nanoscale conduits allowing the passage of small signaling molecules and ions between adjacent cells, similar to telephone tubes. Gap junctions are formed from proteins called connexins. Interestingly, it is well known that shorter pieces of connexin proteins can regulate the formation of gap junctions and are uniquely created by a process called alternative ‘internal’ translation. Changes in the amounts of short-length and full-length connexin proteins are often found in cancer cells. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. Commonly, the morphology of cancer cells, and the way they communicate with neighboring cells, is altered. Cancer progression is aided by changes in cell signaling molecules, including TGF-β which can drive cancer cells to leave primary tumor sites and grow elsewhere in the body. This is important for the cancer cells to continue dividing and eventually metastasizing (invading other organ systems). Treating cancer once it has spread to other regions of the body is difficult and is the main cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Using TGF-β to model metastatic changes in mouse and human cell lines, we studied how short-length connexin protein affects metastatic cancer cell behavior. With this information we will be able to guide the development of druggable alternative ‘internal’ translation targets, by restoring the proper communication between neighboring cells and therefore preventing spread of cancer cells.