IntroduktionSpirometri är en vanlig undersökningsmetod för att bedöma en persons lungfunktion och lungkapacitet, där total lungkapacitet (TLC) är av stort värde. Kroppspletysmografi och kvävgasutsköljning är två metoder som mäter statiska lungvolymer, däribland TLC. Syftet med studien var att jämföra kroppspletysmografi med kvävgasutsköljning och se om det förelåg någon signifikant skillnad på mätresultaten mellan metoderna. Material och metod Studien bestod av 32 försökspersoner, varav 22 kvinnor och 10 män där samtliga undersökningar utfördes på Fysiologkliniken på Västmanlands sjukhus Västerås under februari och mars 2021. Variablerna TLC, funktionell residualkapacitet/intrathorakal gasvolym (FRC/ITGV) och vitalkapacitet (VC) uppmättes och beräknades. Resultatet jämfördes mot Hedenströms referensmaterial. Ett parat t-test med signifikansnivå p<0,05 användes för att se om det förelåg signifikant skillnad.  Resultat och slutsats Vid jämförelse av kroppspletysmografi och kvävgasutsköljning föreligger signifikant skillnad mellan samtliga variabler (p<0,001). Där kvävgasutsköljning uppmäter lägre volymer än kroppspletysmografi. / Introduction Spirometry is a commonly used examination method for validating pulmonary function and lung capacities, where total lung capacity (TLC) is of great value. Body plethysmography and multiple breath nitrogen washout are two methods that measure statical lung volumes, including TLC. The purpose of the study was to compare body plethysmography and multiple breath nitrogen washout to examine if there was a significant difference between the two methods. Material and method The study consisted of 32 test subjects, 22 women and 10 men, all examinations were performed at the Physiological Clinic at Västmansland´s Hospital Västerås between February and Mars 2021. The variables TLC, functional residual capacity/intrathoracic gas volume (FRC/ITGV) and vital capacity (VC) were measured and calculated. The result was compared against Hedenströms reference material. A paired t-test with significance level p<0,05 was used to evaluate if there was a significant difference.  Result and conclusion When comparing body plethysmography and multiple breath nitrogen washout, there is a significant difference between all variables (p<0,001). Where multiple breath nitrogen washout measures lower volumes than body plethysmography.

Att gjuta med betong under vatten är utmanande, och det ställs höga krav på både betongen och utförandet för att resultatet ska bli bra. Peab Anläggning har uppmärksammat en del problem med denna typ av gjutningar och ville därför tydliggöra problematiken för att öka chansen för bra resultat vid framtida undervattensgjutningar. Problemen bestod dels av gjutskador på den färdiga betongkonstruktionen, och dels av problem med betongen under gjutningens gång i form av skum och separation. Examensarbetet sammanställer svårigheterna med undervattensgjutning med självkompakterande betong (SKB) och undersöker vilka faktorer som påverkar det färdiga gjutresultatet. Detta har gjorts genom en litteraturstudie, intervjuer med kunniga personer inom ämnet samt besök på arbetsplatser där undervattensgjutningar utförts. De svårigheter som identifierats delas in under fyra huvudrubriker; planering inför gjutning, betong, form samt utförande. Planeringen inför gjutningen är mycket viktig men svår då många faktorer måste tas hänsyn till, såsom väder och trafik. För att minimera risken för oönskade gjutuppehåll krävs det även en förberedande plan med lösningar på problem som kan uppstå under gjutdagen. Svårigheten med färsk betong är att det är ett levande och därmed oförutsägbart material. Det är nödvändigt att betongen har god sammanhållning så att betongens cementpasta inte vaskas ut i vattnet. Det är även viktigt att betongen har rätt konsistens för att kunna omsluta all armering och fylla ut hela formen. Betongen testas när den kommer till arbetsplatsen. Bland annat kontrolleras betongens lufthalt samt homogenitet och flytbarhet, det senare med hjälp av flytsättmått. Det är viktigt att ta hänsyn till dessa kontroller och att ta beslutet att inte gjuta med dålig betong. Det ställs även höga krav på formen vid undervattensgjutningar. Den måste vara helt tät och byggas på rätt sätt så att skum och bottenslam kan rinna ut ur formen. En svårighet är att dykarna behöver utföra en del av formbyggandet under vattenytan. Utförandet är en stor utmaning, då arbetsmomentet är komplicerat och man gjuter i blindo. Metoden går ut på att betong pumpas ner under vattenytan genom ett betongrör med en undervattensventil. Under gjutningens gång är det viktigt att rörets mynning hela tiden är under betongytan och att gjutröret hålls vertikalt. Slutligen är det värt att nämna att litteraturen som finns idag om undervattensgjutningar är bristfällig, något som gör det svårt att lära sig om ämnet. De förslag på lösningar som grundas på slutsatsen är att all betong som kommer till arbetsplatsen bör testas, trots att det inte alltid är ett krav. Detta så att ett beslut kan tas kring varje enskilt betonglass om betongen är godkänd att gjuta med. För att öka chansen att betongen har önskade egenskaper är det viktigt att betongbilen som levererar betongen till arbetsplatsen är ren och inte innehåller rester av annan betong. Det krävs under hela arbetet en god kommunikation mellan både pumpmaskinist, dykare och arbetsledning för att de gemensamt ska kunna lösa eventuella problem som uppstår. Slutligen rekommenderas att ta hjälp av varandra och dra nytta av den kompetens och erfarenhet som finns inom företaget. / Casting with concrete under water is challenging, and requires high standards on both the concrete and the work practice to achieve good results. Peab noticed problems with this type of casting, and wanted to clarify the difficulties to increase the chance of good results with future underwater castings. The problems were injuries on the finished concrete structure and troubles with the concrete during casting such as foam and separation in the concrete. This paper compiles the difficulties with underwater casting with self-consolidating concrete (SCC) and investigates the factors that affect the final result. This has been done through interviews with experienced people, a literature review and visits to construction site that performed underwater casting. This paper identifies four main issues; pre-casting planning, concrete quality, form and work procedure. The planning is very important but difficult, as many factors need to be considered, such as weather, land traffic and boat traffic. In order to minimize the risk of unwanted breaks during casting, it is good to have a preparatory plan with solutions to problems that may occur. The difficulty with concrete is that it's a living, and thus unpredictable, material. It is very important that the concrete has good cohesion so that the concrete's cement paste is not washed out in the water. It is also necessary that the concrete has good consistency to ensure it will enclose all reinforcement and fill in the entire form. The concrete is tested when it arrives to the construction site. Among other things, the air content as well as homogeneity and flowability are controlled, the latter controlled by a slump flow test. It is important to take these controls into consideration, and to make the decision not to cast with bad concrete. The requirements on the form used during underwater casting are high. It must be completely dense and properly constructed so that foam and sludge can flow out of the form. One difficulty is that the divers sometimes need to build parts of the form under the water. The work practice is challenging as it's complicated and done blindly. The used method is to pump concrete under the water surface through a concrete pipe with an underwater valve. During the casting process, the mouth of the pipe must always be below the concrete surface and the casting tube should be kept vertically. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the literature available today about underwater casting is inadequate, which makes it difficult to learn about the subject. The suggested solutions presented in the report are that all concrete coming to the construction site should be tested, even though it is not always a requirement. Thus, the decision of whether the concrete had a high enough quality for casting would be made for each delivery. In order to increase the chances of the concrete having desired properties, it is important that the truck delivering concrete to the construction site is clean and does not contain residues of a different concrete. Throughout the work, a good communication between pump operator, diver and management is needed to jointly solve problems. At last, it is recommended to help each other and take advantage of the expertise and experience within the company.

Background: This work presents a generalized technique to estimate pulmonary ventilation-to-volume (v/V) distributions using the multiple-breath nitrogen washout, in which both tidal volume (VT) and the end-expiratory lung volume (EELV) are allowed to vary during the maneuver. In addition, the volume of the series dead space (vd), unlike the classical model, is considered a common series unit connected to a set of parallel alveolar units. Methods: The numerical solution for simulated data, either error-free or with the N2 measurement contaminated with the addition of Gaussian random noise of 3 or 5 % standard deviation was tested under several conditions in a computational model constituted by 50 alveolar units with unimodal and bimodal distributions of v/V. Non-negative least squares regression with Tikhonov regularization was employed for parameter retrieval. The solution was obtained with either unconstrained or constrained (VT, EELV and vd) conditions. The Tikhonov gain was fixed or estimated and a weighting matrix (WM) was considered. The quality of estimation was evaluated by the sum of the squared errors (SSE) (between reference and recovered distributions) and by the deviations of the first three moments calculated for both distributions. Additionally, a shape classification method was tested to identify the solution as unimodal or bimodal, by counting the number of shape agreements after 1000 repetitions. Results: The accuracy of the results showed a high dependence on the noise amplitude. The best algorithm for SSE and moments included the constrained and the WM solvers, whereas shape agreement improved without WM, resulting in 97.2 % for unimodal and 90.0 % for bimodal distributions in the highest noise condition. Conclusions: In conclusion this generalized method was able to identify v/V distributions from a lung model with a common series dead space even with variable VT. Although limitations remain in presence of experimental noise, appropriate combination of processing steps were also found to reduce estimation errors.

Background: This work presents a generalized technique to estimate pulmonary ventilation-to-volume (v/V) distributions using the multiple-breath nitrogen washout, in which both tidal volume (VT) and the end-expiratory lung volume (EELV) are allowed to vary during the maneuver. In addition, the volume of the series dead space (vd), unlike the classical model, is considered a common series unit connected to a set of parallel alveolar units. Methods: The numerical solution for simulated data, either error-free or with the N2 measurement contaminated with the addition of Gaussian random noise of 3 or 5 % standard deviation was tested under several conditions in a computational model constituted by 50 alveolar units with unimodal and bimodal distributions of v/V. Non-negative least squares regression with Tikhonov regularization was employed for parameter retrieval. The solution was obtained with either unconstrained or constrained (VT, EELV and vd) conditions. The Tikhonov gain was fixed or estimated and a weighting matrix (WM) was considered. The quality of estimation was evaluated by the sum of the squared errors (SSE) (between reference and recovered distributions) and by the deviations of the first three moments calculated for both distributions. Additionally, a shape classification method was tested to identify the solution as unimodal or bimodal, by counting the number of shape agreements after 1000 repetitions. Results: The accuracy of the results showed a high dependence on the noise amplitude. The best algorithm for SSE and moments included the constrained and the WM solvers, whereas shape agreement improved without WM, resulting in 97.2 % for unimodal and 90.0 % for bimodal distributions in the highest noise condition. Conclusions: In conclusion this generalized method was able to identify v/V distributions from a lung model with a common series dead space even with variable VT. Although limitations remain in presence of experimental noise, appropriate combination of processing steps were also found to reduce estimation errors.

Les particules d’aérosol sont une composante essentielle de l’atmosphère, et cette importance s’amplifie lors d’une éventuelle libération dans l’atmosphère de matières radioactives sous forme particulaire. En effet, pour améliorer la connaissance autour de la contamination des sols consécutive à une émission de particules, il est important d’étudier le rabattement des particules par la pluie sous le nuage. Dans ce but, des expériences sont menées à l’échelle microphysique (expérience BERGAME) pour quantifier l’efficacité des gouttes de pluie à collecter les particules. Ceci permet au final d’améliorer la modélisation du lessivage des aérosols atmosphériques par la pluie à méso-échelle. Le modèle utilisé est DESCAM qui décrit de manière détaillée les distributions granulométriques en masse et en nombre des particules pour chaque type d’aérosol et des hydrométéores et calcule leur évolution due aux processus microphysiques nuageux. L’expérience BERGAME a été dimensionnée et construite pour mesurer l’efficacité de collecte car les mesures de ce paramètre se sont avérées en désaccord avec les modèles classiques de la littérature pour les gouttes de pluie d’un diamètre supérieur au millimètre. Un montage optique a été imaginé pour tenter de comprendre quels mécanismes de collecte sont négligés dans les modèles standards. Un nouveau modèle d’efficacité de collecte pour les gouttes d’un diamètre de 2 mm est alors proposé prenant en compte pour les grosses gouttes une recirculation turbulente dans le sillage de la goutte capable d’augmenter de façon importante la capture des petites particules. Les nouvelles efficacités de collecte ainsi mesurées et paramétrées sont ajoutées au modèle de nuage DESCAM. Des modifications significatives sur la modélisation du lessivage par DESCAM sont observées, ouvrant ainsi la voie à une amélioration de la modélisation de la contamination des sols par les modèles de dispersion atmosphérique. / Aerosol particles are an important component of the atmosphere and are of great concern in the case of an accidental release of radioactive particles. To better understand ground contamination due to a particle release in the vicinity of an accident, it is important to study the particle scavenging associated with rain. To achieve this objective during this thesis, an experiment at the microphysical scale (BERGAME experiment) was developed and the modelling of the washout was improved at mesoscale. The model used was DESCAM : a microphysics model that describes the bin size distributions for aerosol particles and hydrometeors and calculates their evolution due to microphysical cloud processes. The BERGAME experiment was designed and built to measure the collection efficiencies which disagree with theoretical calculation. Using an optical method, it was shown that those discrepancies were due to rear capture. A new model of collection efficiencies for the 2 mm drops was proposed that takes into account for big raindrops the turbulent circulation occurring downstream increasing significantly the capture of small particles. The corrected collection efficiencies were implemented in the DESCAM model. By this way, significant modifications of the modelling were observed and studied. This is an important step toward an accurate modelling of the ground contamination in atmospheric dispersion models.

Este trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento e as análises de técnicas de controle aplicadas a uma base de movimento de um simulador de vôo. Nos primeiros capítulos são abordados aspectos relacionados com a simulação de movimentos. Uma breve descrição da dinâmica da aeronave e o desenvolvimento do algoritmo de movimento (washout filter) são apresentados. O modelo dinâmico da base de movimento é desenvolvido baseado num manipulador paralelo de seis graus de liberdade chamado de plataforma de Stewart acionado eletricamente. As equações de movimento do atuador eletromecânico são incluídas no modelo dinâmico da plataforma. O controle baseado na dinâmica inversa é uma alternativa para abordar o controle de sistema mecânicos não lineares como a plataforma de Stewart. Porém, essa técnica considera o conhecimento exato do modelo dinâmico do sistema, portanto, a dinâmica não modelada, as incertezas paramétricas e as perturbações externas podem degradar o desempenho do controlador. Além disso, o custo computacional pago pelo cálculo do modelo dinâmico realizado online é muito alto. Nesse contexto, duas estratégias de controle foram aplicadas na malha externa da estrutura de controle baseada na dinâmica inversa para o controle de aceleração na presença de incertezas paramétricas e da dinâmica não modelada, os quais foram introduzidas intencionalmente no processo de aproximar o modelo dinâmico com o objetivo de simplificar a implementação do controle baseado na dinâmica inversa. Na primeira estratégia, o termo robusto de controle foi projetado, provando a estabilidade do sistema linearizado por meio da teoria de estabilidade de Lyapunov. Este controle apresenta o fenômeno conhecido como chattering e então foi adotada uma função de saturação para substituir a lei de controle. Na segunda estratégia, o termo robusto de controle foi projetado considerando um problema de rejeição de distúrbio via controle H \'INFINITO\', onde o controlador considera as incertezas como distúrbios afetando o sistema linearizado resultante da aplicação do controle baseado na dinâmica inversa. Finalmente, três tipos de testes foram realizados para avaliar o sistema de controle: função descritiva, limiar dinâmico e algumas manobras da aeronave calculadas a partir do modelo dinâmico e transformadas através do algoritmo de movimento. As duas estratégias de controle foram comparadas. / This work presents the development and analysis of control techniques applied to a flight simulator motion base. The first chapters deal with subjects related to motion simulation. A brief description of the aircraft dynamic model and the development of the motion algorithm (washout filter) are presented. The motion base dynamics is derived based on a six degree of freedom parallel manipulator driven by electromechanical actuators. The six degree of freedom parallel manipulator is called Stewart platform. The motion equations of the electromechanical actuators are included in the motion base dynamics. Inverse dynamics control is an approach to nonlinear control design, nonetheless, this technique is based on the assumption of exact cancellation of nonlinear terms, therefore, parametric uncertainty, unmodeled dynamics and external disturbances may deteriorate the controller performance. In addition, a high computational burden is paid by computing on-line the complete dynamic model of the motion-base. Robustness can be regained by applying robust control tecniques in the outer loop control structure. In this context, two control strategies were applied in the outer loop of the inverse dynamics control structure linearized system for robust acceleration tracking in the presence of parametric uncertainty and unmodeled dynamic, which are intentionally introduced in the process of approximating the dynamic model in order to simplify the implementation of this approach, the inverse dynamic control. Both control strategies consist of introducing an additional term to the inverse dynamics controller which provides robustness to the control system. In the first strategy, the robust control term was designed proving the stability of the linearized system in the presence of uncertainties, using the Lyapunov stability theory. This control term presents a phenomenon known as chattering. Therefore, a saturation function was adopted to replace the control law. In the second strategy, the robust term was designed for a disturbance rejection problem via H \'INFINITE\' control, where the controller considers the uncertaities as disturbances affecting the linearized system resulting from the application of the inverse dynamic control. Finally, describing function, dynamic threshold and some maneuvers computed from the washout filter were used to evaluate the performance of the controllers. Both approaches were compared.

Este trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento e as análises de técnicas de controle aplicadas a uma base de movimento de um simulador de vôo. Nos primeiros capítulos são abordados aspectos relacionados com a simulação de movimentos. Uma breve descrição da dinâmica da aeronave e o desenvolvimento do algoritmo de movimento (washout filter) são apresentados. O modelo dinâmico da base de movimento é desenvolvido baseado num manipulador paralelo de seis graus de liberdade chamado de plataforma de Stewart acionado eletricamente. As equações de movimento do atuador eletromecânico são incluídas no modelo dinâmico da plataforma. O controle baseado na dinâmica inversa é uma alternativa para abordar o controle de sistema mecânicos não lineares como a plataforma de Stewart. Porém, essa técnica considera o conhecimento exato do modelo dinâmico do sistema, portanto, a dinâmica não modelada, as incertezas paramétricas e as perturbações externas podem degradar o desempenho do controlador. Além disso, o custo computacional pago pelo cálculo do modelo dinâmico realizado online é muito alto. Nesse contexto, duas estratégias de controle foram aplicadas na malha externa da estrutura de controle baseada na dinâmica inversa para o controle de aceleração na presença de incertezas paramétricas e da dinâmica não modelada, os quais foram introduzidas intencionalmente no processo de aproximar o modelo dinâmico com o objetivo de simplificar a implementação do controle baseado na dinâmica inversa. Na primeira estratégia, o termo robusto de controle foi projetado, provando a estabilidade do sistema linearizado por meio da teoria de estabilidade de Lyapunov. Este controle apresenta o fenômeno conhecido como chattering e então foi adotada uma função de saturação para substituir a lei de controle. Na segunda estratégia, o termo robusto de controle foi projetado considerando um problema de rejeição de distúrbio via controle H \'INFINITO\', onde o controlador considera as incertezas como distúrbios afetando o sistema linearizado resultante da aplicação do controle baseado na dinâmica inversa. Finalmente, três tipos de testes foram realizados para avaliar o sistema de controle: função descritiva, limiar dinâmico e algumas manobras da aeronave calculadas a partir do modelo dinâmico e transformadas através do algoritmo de movimento. As duas estratégias de controle foram comparadas. / This work presents the development and analysis of control techniques applied to a flight simulator motion base. The first chapters deal with subjects related to motion simulation. A brief description of the aircraft dynamic model and the development of the motion algorithm (washout filter) are presented. The motion base dynamics is derived based on a six degree of freedom parallel manipulator driven by electromechanical actuators. The six degree of freedom parallel manipulator is called Stewart platform. The motion equations of the electromechanical actuators are included in the motion base dynamics. Inverse dynamics control is an approach to nonlinear control design, nonetheless, this technique is based on the assumption of exact cancellation of nonlinear terms, therefore, parametric uncertainty, unmodeled dynamics and external disturbances may deteriorate the controller performance. In addition, a high computational burden is paid by computing on-line the complete dynamic model of the motion-base. Robustness can be regained by applying robust control tecniques in the outer loop control structure. In this context, two control strategies were applied in the outer loop of the inverse dynamics control structure linearized system for robust acceleration tracking in the presence of parametric uncertainty and unmodeled dynamic, which are intentionally introduced in the process of approximating the dynamic model in order to simplify the implementation of this approach, the inverse dynamic control. Both control strategies consist of introducing an additional term to the inverse dynamics controller which provides robustness to the control system. In the first strategy, the robust control term was designed proving the stability of the linearized system in the presence of uncertainties, using the Lyapunov stability theory. This control term presents a phenomenon known as chattering. Therefore, a saturation function was adopted to replace the control law. In the second strategy, the robust term was designed for a disturbance rejection problem via H \'INFINITE\' control, where the controller considers the uncertaities as disturbances affecting the linearized system resulting from the application of the inverse dynamic control. Finally, describing function, dynamic threshold and some maneuvers computed from the washout filter were used to evaluate the performance of the controllers. Both approaches were compared.

With the rapid somatic growth and development in infants, simultaneous accurate measurements of lung volume and airway function are essential. Raised volume rapid thoracoabdominal compression (RTC) is widely used to generate forced expiration from an airway opening pressure of 30 cmH2O (V30). The (dynamic) functional residual capacity (FRCdyn) remains the lung volume most routinely measured. The aim of this study was to develop comprehensive integrated spirometry that included all subdivisions of lung volume at V30 or total lung capacity (TLC30). Measurements were performed on 17 healthy infants aged 8.6-119.7 weeks. A commercial system for multiple-breath nitrogen washout (MBNW) to measure lung volumes and a custom made system to perform RTC were used in unison. A refined automated raised volume RTC and the following two novel single maneuvers with dual volume measurements were performed from V30 during a brief post-hyperventilation apneic pause: (1) the passive expiratory flow was integrated to produce the inspiratory capacity (IC) and the static (passive) FRC (FRCst) was estimated by initiating MBNW after end-passive expiration; (2) RTC was initiated late during passive expiration, flow was integrated to produce the slow vital capacity (jSVC) and the residual volume (RV) was measured by initiating MBNW after end-expiration while the jacket (j) was inflated. Intrasubject FRCdyn and FRCst measurements overlapped (p = 0.6420) but neither did with the RV (p < 0.0001). Means (95% confidence interval) of FRCdyn, IC, FRCst, jSVC, RV, forced vital capacity and tidal volume were 21.2 (19.7-22.7), 36.7 (33.0-40.4), 21.2 (19.6-22.8), 40.7 (37.2-44.2), 18.1 (16.6-19.7), 40.7 (37.1-44.2) and 10.2 (9.6-10.7) ml/kg, respectively. Static lung volumes and capacities at V30 and variables from the best forced expiratory flow-volume curve were dependent on age, body length and weight. In conclusion, we developed a comprehensive physiologically integrated approach for in-depth investigation of lung function at V30 in infants.

Detection of early pathophysiological changes of breathing in children with chronic respiratory disease MD. Vaclav Koucky - Ph.D. thesis Abstract Introduction: Currently, there are different methods for infant pulmonary function testing (iPFT) and morphological assessment of microscopic changes in endobronchial biopsy samples (EBB). In research setting, they allow detection of early pathophysiological changes of breathing in small children with chronic respiratory disease, respectively in risk of its development. Their clinical significance, however, is not fully acknowledged. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the safety, feasibility and clinical significance of iPFT and EBB in infants younger than 2 years of age. In addition, the relationship between functional and morphological changes of respiratory tract and the function of peripheral chemoreceptors was studied in selected patients' subgroups. Methods: Fifty-five infants with cystic fibrosis (CF), 35 physician-confirmed recurrent wheezers (AB), 9 infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 7 with interstitial lung disease (chILD) and 3 with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) were enrolled. All infants underwent iPFT and relevant clinical history data were recorded. Based on patients' age, CF group was divided into CFmalí (< 6 months) and CFvelcí (>...