No description available.

Med den ökande trenden av process slutning inom massabruken, så har det indikerats att återvinningen av tvättvätska från de olika tvättsteg troligen resulterar i negativa effekter. Närvaron av olika komponenter kan påverka upplösningen av lignin genom att främja dess återdeponering på massan, och därmed påverka senare steg inom bruket. Denna studie fokuserade på effekten av tvättvätskes sammansättningen, pH och magnesiumjoners innehållet på ligninåterfästningen till fibrerna under brunmassatvätt. Projektets syfte var att finna nya relevanta insikter för dagens verksamheter. För den experimentella proceduren blandades massa- och vätskaprover erhållna från ett barrveds-sulfatmassabruk, relevanta lösningsmodifikationer genomfördes, och dessa placerades i ett vattenbad vid 90 °C. Därefter tvättades och separerades den resulterande blandningen. Kappatal och ISO-ljusstyrka användes för massakaraktärisering, samt UV-VISspektroskopi för tvättvätskor. En ytterligare procedur med alkalisk urlakning utfördes på massan för att identifiera den relativt svaga liginbindningen. Resultaten indikerade att högre ligninhalt och konduktivitet, lägre pH och högre MgSO4 koncentration i tvättvätskor ökar lignininnehållet i massan. Under proceduren identifierades en möjlig konkurrens mellan borttagningen av lignin från fibrerna och återfällningen. Genom att uföra studier på olika bruksvätskor, så påverkades flera variabler systemet samtidigt, vilket förhindrade identifikationen av den dominerande variabeln som potentiellt kunde justeras för att minska återdeponeringen. Det observerades dock att en tillsatts av NaOH i tvättvätskor kunde reducera lignininnehållet i massan, medans däremot en ökning av MgSO4 kunde ha negativa effekter. / With the growing tendency of process closure within pulp mills, recycling liquors into different washing stages was observed to result in likely negative effects. The presence of different components may affect lignin dissolution, by promoting its redeposition onto pulp therefore affecting later stages in the mill. The present study focused on the effect of washing liquor composition, pH, and magnesium ions content on lignin reattachment to fibres during brown stock washing. This project’s motivation was to provide new insights relevant for today’s operations. For the experimental procedure, pulp and liquor samples obtained from a softwood kraft pulp mill were mixed, relevant solution modifications were performed, and these were set inside a water bath at 90 °C. Then, the resulting mixture was washed and separated. Kappa number and ISO brightness were employed for pulp characterization, and UV-VIS spectroscopy for washing liquors. An additional procedure of alkaline leaching was performed on pulp to identify relatively weak lignin attachment. Obtained results indicated that higher lignin content and conductivity, lower pH and higher MgSO4 concentration in washing liquors increase the lignin content in pulp. A competition between lignin removal from fibres and reattachment was identified to be possibly occurring during the procedure. By performing studies on different mill liquors, multiple variables affected the system simultaneously, which hinders the identification of the dominant variable to be potentially adjusted for reducing the redeposition. However, it was seen that adding NaOH in washing liquors could reduce lignin content in the pulp, whereas an increase in MgSO4 could present negative effects.

Sammanfattning Syfte och frågeställningar Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur idrottslärare i årskurs 7-9 talar om relationen mellan orientering och friluftsliv i ämnet idrott och hälsa. Frågeställningarna studien avser besvara är följande: Hur bedrivs undervisningen i friluftsliv och orientering? Vilka geografiska områden används för friluftslivsundervisning? Hur används de geografiska områdena i undervisningen?  Metod Datainsamlingen till studien gjordes i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer utifrån en intervjuguide. Sju idrottslärare från årskurs 7-9 intervjuades, fem från Stockholms län varav två verksamma i innerstaden, en från Södermanlands län samt en från Norrbottens län. Urvalet skedde genom ett bekvämlighetsurval. Intervjuerna spelades in och transkriberades. Transkriberingen analyserades med hjälp av diskursanalys som teoretiskt ramverk. Resultat Diskursanalysen av hur idrottslärare talar om relationen mellan friluftsliv och orientering resulterade i en övergripande diskurs där själva undervisningen i friluftsliv framträder som bestående av aktiviteter. Orientering beskrevs vidare som ett kunskapsområde som kunde integreras i friluftsundervisningen. Friluftslivsundervisnings olika aktiviteter ses av flera lärare som förberedande delar inför vandringar och övernattningar. Närområdets ansågs ha stor betydelse då det just gav möjligheter till dessa förberedande aktiviteter. I talet om undervisning i friluftsliv och orientering framkom även behovet av mer resurser och mer av ämnesöverskridande planeringstid. Vid genomgången av det empiriska materialet framkom även att eleverna hade svårt att uppfatta syftet med de aktiviteter som genomfördes, vilket resulterade i att undervisningen i friluftsliv många gånger präglades av omotiverade elever. Slutsats I diskursanalysen av lärarnas tal framträder att lärarna har en mycket en öppen tolkning av kursplanen, där orientering utgör en aktivitet bland andra inom friluftsliv. Skolans närområde tilldelas stor betydelse och används för aktiviteter. Den öppna skrivningen i kursplanen ger idrottslärare möjligheter att bedriva aktiviteter utan att placera in dem i ett mer övergripande sammanhang. En möjlig lösning som gör att momentet friluftsliv och utevistelse kan inkluderas mer i undervisningen, är dels mer tid till undervisningen, dels en ämnesöverskridande planering. Detta skulle kunna skapa möjligheter till en rödare tråd än vad som återfinns idag. Friluftsliv och andra typer av ämnesinnehåll skulle kunna särskiljas tydligare. / Abstract Aim and research questions The purpose of this study is to examine how physical education (PE) teachers from grades 7-9 view the relationship between orienteering and friluftsliv within their teaching. The study aims to answer the following questions: How do PE teachers use orienteering and friluftsliv in their teaching? Which geographical areas are used during lessons focusing on friluftsliv? In what ways are these geographical areas being used by PE teachers? Method The data was collected through semi structured interviews which followed an interview guide. Seven PE teachers were interviewed, of which five teach came within the Stockholm area, one from Norrbotten and one from Södermanland. The teachers were selected through a convenient sample. The interviews were recorded, transcribed to text documents and thereafter analyzed by using a discourse analysis. Results The discourse analysis showed that the teachers view friluftsliv as a teaching area for physical activities. This was further explained by the teachers´ strive to organize the friluftsliv education using activities named by the curriculum. The teachers viewed these activities as preparations for other outdoor activities, such as longer hikes. The discourse around orienteering was that orienteering was an integrated part of friluftsliv. The open interpretation of the curriculum by the teachers led in some cases to activities being chosen without much reflection on their actual purpose. Furthermore, the empirical material showed that students did not know the purpose of certain activities, which affected their overall motivation for friluftsliv education. An important aspect for all teachers in this study is the geographical areas close to the school. Another aspect is the PE teachers´ desire for more cooperation with other school subjects. The PE teachers also expressed that they wanted a solution which could create more time for friluftsliv in their teaching, which would make it easier to organize meaningful activities. Conclusion The discourses connected to how the teachers talk about friluftsliv and orienteering shows that friluftsliv is mainly viewed as an area for physical activity. When discussing geographical areas close to the school, a discourse was created which highlighted the significance of this aspect, together with friluftsliv as a means of preparation for other outdoor activities. More cooperation with other subjects has potential to create more time for friluftsliv, making it easier to separate orienteering from this teaching area.

This thesis explores the ideological underpinnings of political soteriological discourse. Through analyzing key texts in liberation theology, using critical theorists such as Theodor W. Adorno and Wendy Brown, I aim to understand to how this soteriological discourse respond to the predicaments that afflict theology in modernity – and to explore the ideological issues with these responses. I then turn to present day Swedish theological conversations concerning salvation and its political use, in order to discuss whether the issues exposed in liberation theology can be considered to continue to be a problem for the present discussion. I also discuss the ethical and theological obstacles connected to the translocation of liberation theology from the Latin America of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s to present day Sweden, or, in other words: from an exploited continent in protest against imperialism and capitalism, to the continent guilty of so much of the suffering that Latin American liberation theology condemned. What does it mean to turn to liberation theology in this context? I find, in this discourse, a certainty and assuredness concerning the salvation of all, which I find to be at least in part ideologically grounded. Instead, I suggest another direction for political revolutionary soteriology: to unsettle and disturb the modern image of the God-like man; to reconnect with the prehistoric fear of nature through a vigilant and restless immanent critique and through the subversive act of rituals and sacrifice.

The work consists of two parts. In the first part which is concerned with random walks, we construct the conditional versions of a multidimensional random walk given that it does not leave the Weyl chambers of type C and of type D, respectively, in terms of a Doob h-transform. Furthermore, we prove functional limit theorems for the rescaled random walks. This is an extension of recent work by Eichelsbacher and Koenig who studied the analogous conditioning for the Weyl chamber of type A. Our proof follows recent work by Denisov and Wachtel who used martingale properties and a strong approximation of random walks by Brownian motion. Therefore, we are able to keep minimal moment assumptions. Finally, we present an alternate function that is amenable to an h-transform in the Weyl chamber of type C. In the second part which is concerned with Brownian motion, we examine the non-exit probability of a multidimensional Brownian motion from a growing truncated Weyl chamber. Different regimes are identified according to the growth speed, ranging from polynomial decay over stretched-exponential to exponential decay. Furthermore we derive associated large deviation principles for the empirical measure of the properly rescaled and transformed Brownian motion as the dimension grows to infinity. Our main tool is an explicit eigenvalue expansion for the transition probabilities before exiting the truncated Weyl chamber.

No description available.

The endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) has been the focus of much research in the past 40 years, primarily with respect to the summer habitat requirements for the species. Recent advances in radio telemetry have allowed researchers to learn about the specific activity patterns for roosting bats. Torpor is an energetic process that bats use to conserve energy through the day. We used an equation that gives a threshold for when the animal enters torpor to quantify the amount of energy conservation among Indiana bats, northern long-eared bat (M. septentrionalis) and little brown bat (M. lucifugus) and their reproductive stage. Additionally, we used the torpor threshold to determine if researchers were causing disturbances to roosting female Myotis bats in the summer. / Department of Biology

No description available.

Cette étude propose de réviser le postulat selon lequel le roman américain ne naît que dans les années 1820, pour suggérer que cette forme émerge plus tôt, entre 1789 et 1819. La période qui suit la fin de la guerre d’Indépendance n’est pas favorable à la naissance du roman : les élites craignent alors la déchéance de la jeune République, et la fiction risque de faire basculer le pays dans l’anarchie. Les œuvres des premiers auteurs américains sont fortement façonnées par l’impératif de didactisme et d’utilité sociale et morale qui pèse alors sur la création littéraire. Toutefois, le roman qui émerge dans les années 1790 demeure une forme sombre, plurielle et paradoxale qui résiste à toute tentative de recadrage et de maîtrise, comme en témoigne particulièrement l’œuvre de Charles Brockden Brown. Alors qu’une première tradition littéraire a commencé à se mettre en place au tournant du siècle, le roman subit une transformation esthétique majeure au cours des années 1800 et 1810. Il dépeint à présent avec nostalgie, dans une forme lisse, mesurée et linéaire, une Amérique qui n’existe plus ou qui n’a jamais existé, dans laquelle tout est perpétuellement ordonné et transparent. Ces ouvrages ne marquent pourtant pas l’avènement du roman américain, car leur équilibre est artificiel et les éléments sombres sont toujours lisibles au cours de ces deux décennies. Nous concluons qu’un roman spécifiquement américain se développe effectivement entre 1789 et 1819, qui, au moyen de deux esthétiques opposées mais complémentaires, s’interroge sur l’individualité, le temps et l’écriture, dans une quête perpétuelle d’équilibre et de maîtrise qui ne se réalise jamais vraiment. / Although critics still widely consider the American novel only emerges in the 1820s, this dissertation invalidates this assertion and suggests that it rises between 1789 and 1819 and has specific aesthetic characteristics. The period that follows the close of the Revolution is not favorable to the development of the novel: the elites fear the fall of the early Republic, and the novel might precipitate the nation into anarchy. The first American authors’ works are fashioned by the social and moral imperatives that influence writing at that time. Despite these measures, the novels published in the 1790s are dark, fragmented and paradoxical and resist any attempt at order and control, as Charles Brockden Brown’s works show. While the 1790s seem to witness the development of a specifically American tradition, the novel undergoes a major aesthetic change at the beginning of the 19th century. Long fictions now depict, with nostalgia and in a smooth, balanced, strongly linear form, an ordered and transparent American nation that is no more or that never existed. Yet these works do not indicate that the American novel has reached its mature form, as their balance is purely artificial and unruly elements are still at work during those decades. We conclude that a specifically American novel emerges during the thirty years following the Revolution: under two different but complementary aesthetics, this genre questions matters linked to individuality, time and writing, and is haunted by a quest for control and balance that never really comes to completion.

Le syndrome du museau blanc (SMB), causé par le champignon Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), a mis en péril les populations de chauves-souris hibernantes en Amérique du Nord. Certaines espèces sont hautement vulnérables à la maladie alors que d’autres espèces semblent être résistantes ou tolérantes à l’infection. Plusieurs facteurs physiologiques et environnementaux peuvent expliquer ces différences. Or avant 2015, peu d’études avaient porté sur le microbiome de la peau en relation avec cette maladie. La présente thèse vise à caractériser le microbiome cutané de chiroptères affectés par le SMB afin d’identifier les facteurs de vulnérabilité ou de résistance à la maladie. L’objectif principal est de déterminer comment le microbiome est affecté par la maladie ainsi que de déterminer si celui-ci à un rôle dans la protection face à l’infection fongique. Au Chapitre 1, nous avons tout d’abord exploré et comparé le microbiote cutané de petites chauves-souris brunes (Myotis lucifugus) non affectées par le SMB avec celui de chauves-souris survivantes au SMB pour tester l’hypothèse selon laquelle le microbiote cutané est modifié par la maladie. Nos résultats montrent que le site d’hibernation influence fortement la composition et la diversité du microbiote cutané. Les sites d’hibernations Pd positifs et négatifs diffèrent significativement en termes de diversité, ainsi qu’en termes de composition du microbiote. La diversité est réduite au sein du microbiote des chauves-souris survivantes au SMB et enrichi en taxons tels que Janthinobacterium, Micrococcaceae, Pseudomonas, Ralstonia et Rhodococcus. Certains de ces taxons sont reconnus pour leur potentiel antifongique et des souches spécifiques de Rhodococcus et de Pseudomonas peuvent inhiber la croissance de Pd. Nos résultats sont cohérents avec l’hypothèse selon laquelle l’infection par Pd modifie le microbiote cutané des chauves-souris survivantes et suggèrent que le microbiote peut jouer un rôle de protection face au SMB. Au Chapitre 2, nous avons étudié le microbiote d’une espèce résistante au champignon Pd en milieu contrôlé avant et après infection afin d’établir la réponse potentielle à la maladie. L’espèce étudiée est la grande chauve-souris brune (Eptesicus fuscus) dont le microbiote cutané pourrait jouer un rôle de protection contre l’infection. Nos résultats montrent que la diversité du microbiote de la grande chauve-souris brune inoculée avec Pd est plus variable dans le temps, tandis que la diversité du microbiote des chauves-souris du groupe contrôle demeure stable. Parmi les taxons les plus abondants, Pseudomonas et Rhodococcus, deux taxons connus pour leur potentiel antifongique contre Pd et d’autres champignons, sont restés stables durant l’expérience. Ainsi, bien que l’inoculation par le champignon Pd ait déstabilisé le microbiote cutané, les bactéries aux propriétés antifongiques n’ont pas été affectées. Cette étude est la première à démontrer le potentiel du microbiote cutané d’une espèce de chauves-souris pour la résistance au SMB. Au Chapitre 3, le microbiome cutané de la petite chauve-souris brune a été évalué en milieu naturel dans le contexte du SMB, à l’aide de la métagénomique, une approche haute résolution pour observer le potentiel fonctionnel du microbiome (métagénome fonctionnel). Nos résultats ont permis d’établir que le temps depuis l’infection a un effet significatif sur le métagénome fonctionnel. En effet, les chauves-souris dans la première année suivant l’infection ont un métagénome fonctionnel perturbé qui subit une perte de diversité fonctionnelle importante. Toutefois, le métagénome fonctionnel revient à une structure et composition similaire d’avant infection après 10 ans. Certaines fonctions détectées suite à l’infection sont associées à des gènes reliés au transport et à l’assimilation de métaux, des facteurs limitants pour la croissance du champignon. Ces gènes pourraient donc avoir un rôle à jouer dans la résistance ou la vulnérabilité à la maladie. Globalement, l’étude du métagénome chez la petite chauve-souris brune indique une vulnérabilité du métagénome fonctionnel au champignon, mais que celui-ci semble se rétablir après 10 ans. Une telle réponse pourrait avoir un impact sur la résilience de M. lucifugus. Cette thèse a permis d’acquérir des connaissances fondamentales sur le microbiome cutané des chauves-souris en hibernation pour mieux comprendre les communautés microbiennes de la peau dans le contexte du SMB. Le microbiome pourrait en effet jouer un rôle dans la vulnérabilité et la résistance des chauves-souris à la maladie, et il est essentiel d’adapter notre façon d’aborder la protection de ces espèces et de leur microbiome. Nous souhaitons que les travaux de cette thèse permettent de sensibiliser les acteurs de la conservation à l’existence et à l’importance potentielle du microbiome pour la santé de son hôte. Cette thèse fait également état de l’avancement des méthodes d’analyses qui permettront d’être de plus en plus précis et d’appliquer les connaissances du microbiome en biologie de la conservation. / White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has put hibernating bat populations at risk in North America. Some species are highly vulnerable to the disease while other species appear to be resistant or tolerant. Several physiological and environmental factors can explain these differences. However, before 2015, few studies have focused on the skin microbiome in relation to this disease. The present thesis aims to characterize the cutaneous microbiome of bats affected by WNS in order to identify the factors of vulnerability or resistance to the disease. The main objective is to determine how the microbiome can protect against the Pd fungus, or conversely how the microbiome is altered by the fungal infection. In Chapter 1, we first explored and compared the skin microbiota of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) unaffected by WNS with that of WNS survivors to test the hypothesis that the skin microbiota is modified by the disease. Our results show that the hibernation site strongly influences the composition and diversity of the skin microbiota. The Pd positive and negative sites differ significantly in terms of diversity, as well as in terms of the composition of the microbiota. Diversity is reduced within the microbiota of bats surviving WNS and enriched in taxa such as Janthinobacterium, Micrococcaceae, Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, and Rhodococcus. Some of these taxa are recognized for their antifungal potential and specific strains of Rhodococcus and Pseudomonas may inhibit the growth of Pd. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that Pd infection modifies the skin microbiota of surviving bats and suggest that the microbiota may play a protective role against WNS. In Chapter 2, we studied in a controlled environment the microbiota of a species that exhibits evidence of resistance with mild WNS symptoms, before and after infection, to establish the potential response to the disease. The species studied is the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), whose skin microbiota could play a protective role against infection. Our results show that the diversity of the microbiota of big brown bats inoculated with Pd is more variable over time, while the diversity of the microbiota of the control bats remains stable. Among the most abundant taxa, Pseudomonas and Rhodococcus, two taxa known for their antifungal potential against Pd and other fungi, remained stable during the experiment. Thus, although inoculation with the Pd fungus destabilized the skin microbiota, bacteria with antifungal properties were not affected. This study is the first to demonstrate the potential of the skin microbiota of a bat species for resistance to WNS. In Chapter 3, the skin microbiome of the little brown bat was evaluated in the natural environment in the context of WNS, using metagenomics, a higher-resolution approach to observe the functional potential of the microbiome (functional metagenome). Our results established that the time since infection has a significant effect on the functional metagenome. Indeed, bats in the first year after infection have a disrupted functional metagenome that undergoes a significant loss of functional diversity. However, the functional metagenome returns to a similar structure and composition to that observed before infection after 10 years. Certain functions detected following infection are associated with genes linked to the transport and assimilation of metals, known limiting factors for the growth of the fungus. These genes could therefore have a role to play in resistance or vulnerability to the disease. Overall, this metagenomics study indicates functional metagenome vulnerability to the fungus, although the original functional metagenome is reestablished after 10 years. Such diversified response could impact M. lucifugus resilence. This thesis provides fundamental knowledge on the skin microbiome of hibernating bats to better understand the microbial communities of the skin in the context of WNS. The microbiome could indeed play a role in the vulnerability and resistance of bats to disease and it is essential to adapt our way of approaching the protection of these species and their microbiomes. We hope that the results of this thesis will raise awareness among conservation stakeholders about the existence and potential importance of the microbiome for the health of its host. This thesis also reports on the advancement of analytical methods that will make it possible to be more and more precise and to apply knowledge of the microbiome in conservation biology.