Due to the short period that some photovoltaic technologies have taken part on the solar energy market, it is crucial to evaluate the long term stability of solar cells belonging to those technologies in order to ensure a minimum lifetime of their performance. Accelerated degradation tests are thus carried out to achieve such goals. The present study analyzes the encapsulation effects on co-evaporated manufactured Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) solar cells under damp heat conditions, consisting in 85 °C and 85 % relative humidity, during an approximated period of 1000 hours. The experimental procedure has been carried out at Solliance Solar Research facilities. Since the encapsulation packages play a critical role as a protection to achieve long term stability of the solar cells and modules, several packaging structures and materials has been taken into study. Thus, eighteen types of mini modules were manufactured including different combinations of encapsulants, front sheet foils, thin film protective barriers and CIGS cells from different manufacturers. The design of these mini modules and the manufacturing process to obtain them is also presented in this work. Various characterization techniques were carried out in order to acquire the required information about the solar cells and encapsulants performance along the damp heat degradation process. The results exposed that encapsulation packages including thin film barriers between the encapsulant and the front sheet foil allowed a longer solar cell lifetime due to their remarkable protection against moisture ingress. Moreover, the degradation of the molybdenum layer included in the CIGS cells was found as principal cause of efficiency decrement and end of performance of solar cells protected by regular encapsulant and front sheet foils. Some other findings in relation with the evaluated components are shown along the present study.

Bakgrund: Kommunikation är utbyte av betydelsefull information mellan individer och kan förmedlas via verbalt och icke-verbalt språk. Genom att vårdpersonal skapar en mellanmänsklig relation till patienten uppnås ömsesidig förståelse som är grunden för att bedriva personcentrerad vård. I interkulturell kommunikation kan det däremot vara svårt att nå full förståelse på grund av otillräckliga språkkunskaper och kulturella skillnader. Syfte: Syfte med studien var att beskriva betydelsen av språklig och kulturell förståelse i kommunikationen mellan patient och hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal.  Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie med systematisk ansats baserad på kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar genomfördes. Artikelsökningar gjordes i PubMed och Cinahl. Följande sökord användes i sökningar: communication, communication barriers, experience, health care, health personal, immigrant, interpreter, language, migrant, nurse-patient relations. Resultat: Ömsesidig förståelse, språklig och kulturell, är nyckeln för att vårdpersonal ska kunna förstå patienten och bedriva god vård. Resultatet baserades på 15 artiklar och består av tre tema: Kommunikation och relation, Invandrare i vården och Tolkning. Konklusion: Otillräckliga språkkunskaper är ett hinder för invandrare att komma i kontakt med vården, förmedla sina behov och nå full förståelse för given information. För vårdpersonal är språkbarriären ett hinder för att kunna bedriva patientsäker och personcentrerad vård. Båda parter är beroende av en tolk för att uppnå ömsesidig förståelse. / Background: Communication is an exchange of significant information between individuals and can be conveyed through verbal and non-verbal communication. When health personnel establish interpersonal relationships with the patient, mutual understanding will be obtained which is the basis for person-centered care. However, in intercultural communication it can be difficult to achieve full understanding due to insufficient language knowledge and cultural differences. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the importance of linguistic and cultural understanding in communication between patient and health personnel. Method: A literature study with a systematic approach based on qualitative articles was conducted. Article searches were made in PubMed and Cinahl. The following keywords were used in search process: communication, communication barriers, experience, health care, health personnel, immigrant, interpreter, language, migrant, nurse-patient relations. Results: Mutual understanding, linguistic and cultural, is the key for healthcare professionals to understand the patient and provide good care. The result was based on 15 articles and consists of three topics: Communication and relationship, Immigrants in healthcare and Interpreting. Conclusion: Insufficient language knowledge is an obstacle for immigrants to come into contact with healthcare, communicate their needs and gain full understanding of given information. Language barrier is an interference fpr healthcare professionals to be able to deliver patient-safe and person-centered care. Both parties are dependent on an interpreter to achieve mutual understanding.

The diploma thesis discusses a formation of the Generel barrier-free routes in Šlapanice. The first theoretical part consists basic information about barrier-free use of a building for people with limited movement and orientation. There are elements which need to be placed in the building or on a route for smooth movement of people with limited mobility, peoples with a stroller and people with visual impairment. Furthermore, there is a focus on technical requirements that ensure barrier-free use of roads and public spaces. Important buildings in Šlapanice are selected in the second practical part. Among the chosen objects there are designed routes with assessing terms of barrier-free. The set of proposed routes connects 24 selected important buildings in the city. It is divided into six parts, one of them leads to the outskirts of Šlapanice towards Bedřichovice. Following is a detailed analysis of these routes, a comparison with a decree, a methodology and a proposal for repairs.

The aim of this dissertation is to get to know metodology and construction of suitable electrical insertion in measurement of energy consumed by discharge. These findings will serve to scale dependings of output to frequence for surface and voluminous dielektric barrier discharge in synthetic dry air and determination of effect of humidity in air on electric characteristics of discharge.

This Diploma thesis focuses on the study of penetration of selected phenolic substances contained in extract from black elder (Sambucus nigra) via modelling systems represented by two types of synthetic membranes and a real system represented by a biological membrane. As a biological membrane, we have chosen skin from pig´s earlobe. Experiments of transdermal absorption and absorption through synthetic membranes were conducted through vertical (Franz´s) cells. Selected substances contained in the extract from black elder were rutin and chlorogenic acid. The main focus of this work was to determine how readily, or if at all, these two selected phenolic substances penetrate the skin and selected synthetic membranes. The percentage of absorbed amount of the substance was determined by HPLC analysis.

The principal theme of this diploma thesis is a development of Generel for barrier-free routes in Bystřice pod Hostýnem. The thesis focuses on familiarization with a group of people with limited movement and orientation abilities, their comfortable and safe usage of road constructions and public spaces. Theoretical interpretation of this diploma thesis is based on the bylaw No. 398/2009 Coll., on general technical requirements ensuring barrier-free use of the buildings. Theoretical part of the thesis continues by familiarization with the way of movement and orientation of people with limited movement and orientation abilities and their use of features used to simplify pedestrian transportation in the city. The practical part of the thesis is focused on development of proposal for routes connecting important objects of civil amenities in the city of Bystřice pod Hostýnem. Practical part also provides valuation of current status of existing routes and their proposed changes to achieve compliance with bylaw No. 398/2009 Coll., to ensure the maximum safety of barrier-free routes in the city.

In this thesis, we consider the motion planning problem for an autonomous vehicle in an obstacle-cluttered environment approximated by zonotopes, and we propose an input sampling algorithm leveraging discrete-time control barrier function conditions (DCBF). Specifically, an optimization-based control barrier function that takes into account the geometric shapes of the vehicle and obstacles is constructed and verified. We then propose a discrete-time CBF that guarantees the safety during the inter-sampling intervals. It is worth noting that we do not need an explicit expression of the barrier function, but instead, an numerically efficient algorithm is proposed to evaluate and implement the CBF/DCBF conditions. Finally, an RRT algorithm is incorporated that draws the input sampling from the input space restricted to DCBF condition. Thanks to our proposed DCBF and input sampling method approach, our proposed method is less conservative, computationally efficient and guarantees the safety during the sampling intervals. Numerical simulation with unicycle model has been done to demonstrate the favorable properties of the algorithm. / I det här dokumentet tar vi upp problemet med rörelseplanering för ett autonomt fordon i en hinderfylld miljö som approximeras av zonotoper och föreslår en algoritm för insatsprovtagning som utnyttjar diskreta villkor för kontrollbarriärfunktioner (DCBF). Vi konstruerar och verifierar en optimeringsbaserad kontrollbarriärfunktion som tar hänsyn till fordonets och hindrens geometriska former. Vi föreslår sedan en diskret CBF i diskret tid som garanterar säkerheten under intervallerna mellan provtagningarna. Det är värt att notera att vi inte behöver ett explicit uttryck för barriärfunktionen, utan istället föreslås en numeriskt effektiv algoritm för att utvärdera och genomföra CBF/DCBF-villkoren. Slutligen införlivas en RRT-algoritm som drar inmatningsprovtagningen från inmatningsutrymmet som är begränsat till DCBF-villkoret. Tack vare vår föreslagna metod för DCBF och insatsprovtagning är vår föreslagna metod mindre konservativ, beräkningsmässigt effektiv och garanterar säkerheten under provtagningsintervallerna. Numerisk simulering med encykelmodell har gjorts för att verifiera algoritmen.

Traditional transport companies usually focus on achieving economies of scale in supply chain management. At the same time, the managers of transport companies aiming to achieve sustainability often do not consider the barriers needed to overcome to achieve a sustainable supply chain. However, due to the increasing demand for sustainable products and business methods, sustainable supply chain management increasingly plays a crucial role in changing and diverting the focus on environmental, social and economic impact. Transport companies around the globe are increasingly aiming to reduce carbon emissions and eliminate biodiversity loss. The sustainability issues with transport in supply chain management have been a critical field of research for decades, and with the integration of technology, new ways of achieving sustainability are possible. This thesis analyses a phenomenon using multiple cases to investigate the barriers transport companies face to adopting IoT. Also, it deals with how communication service providers might be able to offer solutions to the barriers presented in this thesis.  A qualitative method has been used to approach the research topic. The findings will represent the ways of achieving a more efficient and sustainable supply chain, particularly in the transport sector. Interviews were conducted with multiple industry experts. The study aims to identify the barriers to adopting IoT, which can create a sustainable supply chain for transport companies. The results emphasise the barriers transport companies have to deal with internally and externally. Internally a company might struggle to strategise an infrastructural investment, train the existing workforce, and collaborate knowledge share among different departments. Externally, transport companies or communication service providers (CSP) will face limited resources, stakeholders' investment in the IoT ecosystem, demand for IoT and sustainable supply chain, privacy issues, compatibility issues and lack of skilled labour.

<p dir="ltr">Food packaging plays a crucial part, yet the use of petroleum-based plastics has led to environmental concerns. Researchers have been exploring sustainable alternatives using CNMs. This dissertation includes three parts, each focusing on using CNF or CNC for packaging applications. In the first project, CNF/CMC coated MP trays were achieved via over-molding. Mechanical, Gurley air porosity and water vapor transmission rate testing showed that the coating improved the overall performance. Coated samples showed the highest oil and grease resistance level. Fresh fruit testing showed that the coating helps elongate the shelf life of fruits. In the second project study, to overcome the problem of relatively poor water barrier performance of CNF/CMC coatings in high humidity conditions, coatings were chemically modified by crosslinking with PAE and incorporated with Cloisite-Na⁺ nano-clay and PVA. The chemical modification enhanced both water and oxygen barrier performance and reduced Cobb value. The formulated CNF-coated MP trays maintained the same level of oil and grease resistance. Mechanical testing showed reduced Young’s modulus, similar UTS, and higher strain at break for formulated CNF-coated tray samples compared to the un-crosslinked samples. In the third project, a transparent tri-layer PLA-CNC/PVA-PLA film was successfully fabricated using blade coating and lamination. The CNC/PVA coating (~ 6μm) showed a high degree of CNC alignment and significantly enhanced the gas barrier properties. Furthermore, these laminates were formed into bags where a fruit storage test showed that the PLA-CNC/PVA-PLA could elongate the shelf life of fresh apple slices based on weight loss and enzymatic browning.</p>

Background: Brain metastasis is a leading cause of cancer mortality and affects 20-40% of all cancer patients. The BBB is responsible for isolation and protection of the brain parenchyma from many diagnostic and therapeutic agents. New molecular agents that target tumour-associated VCAM-1 expression on the brain endothelium show improvements in the early diagnosis of brain metastasis. The vascular endothelium of the CNS plays an important role in the maintenance of the brain microenvironment and possibly aids the extravasation of tumour cells via expression of CAMs. Aims: Using the breast carcinoma-derived 4T1 cell line, syngeneic to BALB/c mice, this work aimed (i) to determine the level of colocalisation between VCAM-1 expression at sites of brain metastasis and the presence of VCAM-MPIO-induced hypointensities in MR datasets; (ii) to describe the normal developmental characteristics of the intracardial BALB/c-4T1 brain metastatic model in the absence of overt inflammation; (iii) to test the effects of an adenovirus-induced systemic inflammatory challenge on metastatic uptake and development in the brain. Results: The level of correspondence of VCAM-MPIO-derived hypointensities with VCAM-1 expression at the tumour site was found to be dependent on the size of metastasis. An improved method for detection of VCAM-MPIO hypointensities using an automated method has been presented. Tumours were found to develop preferentially on venous rather than arteriolar blood vessels, and showed greater and lesser abundance in different anatomical brain regions. Adenovirus injection was found to cause an upregulation of a range of peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokines, and expression of VCAM-1 on cerebral vasculature, preferentially on arteriolar blood vessels. Both pre- and post-treatment with adenovirus caused a two-fold reduction in tumour numbers and altered developmental characteristics of established tumours, although no significant differences were observed in VCAM-MPIO hypointensities in MR datasets. Conclusions: The development of molecular MRI approaches to target VCAM-1 expression at the site of brain metastases has improved the sensitivity of tumour detection. 4T1-GFP metastasis to the brain is specific both to anatomical sites and to regions of the vascular bed, suggesting differences in vascular morphology and/or signalling dynamics in these locations. The changes in tumour number and morphology as a result of systemic inflammation suggest an anti-tumour effect of adenoviral treatment and, given the role of the systemic immune system and its importance in the development of immunotherapies, possible future directions for research.