The concept of the Circular Economy (CE) is proposed as a viable solution to the over-exploitation of natural resources with an economic and environmental backing. Although more commonly used in the context of non-renewable industrial materials and processes, there is a growing need to include these concepts into renewable materials that have technical functions. This thesis will discuss the concepts of CE in the context of the wooden furniture sector and how the inclusion of Value Retention Processes (VRPs) and other CE practices result in quantifiable environmental and economic benefits. Companies that are involved in these VRPs are consulted through a questionnaire. This is to better understand the process and limits of their implementations. The issue of furniture waste is highlighted to demonstrate the need for circularity in this industry and how it fits within the context of CE. A case study is conducted utilizing three comparable furniture products to populate the data needed to utilize an established CE model showcasing their quantifiable benefits (IRP, 2018). This research will lead to a basis for continued research, improvements to current CE models, and suggestions for best practices that can be implemented by industry stakeholders and consumers. The results of the company questionnaire showcase that a viable VRP market exists for the wooden furniture industry, with “Reuse” being the most utilized by consumers. The outputs of the CE model revealed that the inclusion of VRPs results in significant decreases in environmental impacts when compared with new product manufacturing.

Background:           Today’s fashion industry is one of the most wasteful and polluting industries, which contributes to a global concern. A transition from a linear to a circular approach is needed, in which consumers play a key role. Clothing rental subscription is among the sustainable business models that aim to reduce the production and disposal of clothes by increasing their utilization and extending their lifetime. Based on the attitude-intention relation from the Theory of Planned Behavior and on current literature, we develop a theoretical framework. Purpose:                  The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of perceived sustainability, perceived enjoyment, perceived financial risk, perceived performance risk, fashion leadership, psychological ownership and perceived convenience on consumers’ attitudes towards clothing rental subscription services and their intentions to engage in this circular fashion business model. Method:                  To fulfill the purpose, we conducted a quantitative study. Primary data was collected through online questionnaires, resulting in 282 responses from German females. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to identify the influences of the above-mentioned factors on attitude and on intention. Lastly, a linear regression analysis was used to test attitude’s influence on intention. Conclusion:               The results show that consumers’ attitudes towards clothing rental subscription are positively influenced by the perceived sustainability and perceived enjoyment of the business model, and negatively influenced by perceived financial risk and perceived performance risk. Their intentions to participate in clothing rental subscription were shown to be positively influenced by perceived enjoyment and attitude, while negatively influenced by perceived financial risk. Focusing on one clothing rental business model, we contribute to research in the field and provide valuable implications for practitioners.

The presented project explores the current theoretical and experimental tools available within the study group for the Future Circular Collider (FCC) with focus on the electron-positron collider. The aim of the study is to evaluate the current frameworks used for simulation, and investigate the possibility of simulating long-lived particles, that could be dark matter candidates, through them. Pythia cards were run through the framework of Delphes and several different software packages were studied on the journey through the work. It was found that the current framework reconstructs the masses of a Z bosons and Higgs bosons accurately from the ZH signal, which is central for the analysis at the FCC-ee. When the same analysis was applied for the new physics case of a dark matter particle included in the new card for study, a ROOT file was produced indicating that the framework was able to handle the new case. When this card was run through the analysis software however, difficulties arose and a final output could not be achieved. Conclusively, it can be said that the current framework has the possibilities of handling new physics cases but further study is required to be able to run certain software packages on these cases.

This thesis presents how circularity indicators successfully can be used to generate concrete design improvements for commercial machines with the aim of making them better adapted to the Circular Economy. By using a methodology based on workshops, assessment of circular maturity from BS8001:2017- Framework for implementing the principles of the circular economy in organizations – guide, and use of the circularity indicator Circularity Measurement Toolkit (CMT) a fully automated coffee machine became 4 percent improved in the circular performance and an 80 percent landfill waste reduction was achieved. As Circular Economy is becoming more accepted as the idea of moving forward towards a more sustainable future, topics on how to measure circularity for organizations and products are increasing. Apart from using circularity indicators together with ecodesign strategies in a case for the first time, this thesis also investigates how a  circular transition of a manufacturing company can be communicated to stakeholders.  With a slight modification of the circularity indicator CMT, the assessment provided a percentage on how circular a fully automated coffee machine is. Identified hotspots in the CMT, matched with areas with improvement potential at the case company, results in three concepts of improvement suggestions. The three concepts are: (1) a modular front to the machine to enable remanufacturing/recycling of the front, presents the option of changing the look of the machine without buying a new one, and lowers the amount of landfill waste, (2) The identity of Luna the barista is integrated into the interface of the coffee machine for emotional durability, and (3) suggestions of how a company can communicate their circular transition through sustainability reports are presented. Both the methodology, the use of circularity indicators to generate design suggestions, and the general idea of concepts are believed to be applicable to any commercial machine in order to improve the circular performance.

Background: Sustainability is becoming increasingly important from a consumer’s perspective when it comes to their preferences. Simultaneously, mass-market apparel brands are struggling to meet the demand for sustainable clothing and textile products. The industry is in dire need for sustainable development as it is responsible for 8-10% of world’s greenhouse gas emissions and is the cause of 20% of the world’s wastewater. Therefore, it is vital to explore what the barriers are that hinders the development of sustainable business models and the consequences of these barriers.  Purpose: This thesis aims to explore which barriers and subsequent consequences Swedish clothing & textile organizations face when developing a sustainable business model. Method: This study follows the interpretivist approach with inductively inspired reasoning. Qualitative semi-structured interviews are conducted on three different cases, which are analysed and compared using the general analytical procedure. The study used Snoek’s (2017) theoretical framework of internal and external barriers to explore the barriers in the Swedish clothing & textile industry. Findings: This thesis contributes with comprehensive knowledge about barriers and their consequences in the Swedish clothing & textile industry with the help of Snoek’s (2017) framework of internal and external barriers. A total of 24 barriers were classified under four barrier categories; “Costly business model”, “Lack of awareness & low willingness to pay”, “Lack of transparency”, and “Misalignment between policy & regulation within the C&T industry”. Nine were new out of these 24 barriers. A theoretical framework is brought forward illustrating the interconnectivity between “consumer awareness”, “demand and willingness to pay for sustainable products”, “companies match the demand”, and after that “, creating demand for sustainable products”. This study’s findings extend the knowledge about the Swedish clothing & textile industry for organizations that wish to develop sustainability into their business model.

Sammanfattning: This study aims to examine how cosmetic products recyclingand markings look like in Sweden. Thestudy used two methods where the first one was a visualresearch done through an externalmonitoring of ten different nail polishes where recyclingmarkings and other markings have been infocus. Then, five products that have similar properties(content, recycling, marking) as nail polishhave been analyzed to compare with the polish. Thesecond part of the method consists of aquantitative web survey to find out what nail polishconsumers' consumption looks like, how muchthey know about recycling and markings on nail polish,and how they think a nail polish bottle affectsthe environment.Results and analysis show that cosmetics/nail polishconsumers don't know much about nail polishmarkings. They know that nail polish is bad for theenvironment, but not why it is bad. This thereforeshows that the visual communication on the nail polishbottle is not sufficient and needs to be betterthrough design. It requires a circular design thatmakes conscious decisions early in the process toprevent the release of hazardous chemicals, miscommunicationregarding the recycling of packagingand clearer markings on the nail polish bottle.This study is based on the UN's global goals: 12-Responsible Consumption and Production, morespecifically 12.4- Responsible Management of Chemicalsand Waste and 13- Climate Action (UNglobal goals, 2020).

Collaboration is a pervasive element in an organization's departments, various suppliers, and business associates in an advanced manufacturing industry. Cloud Manufacturing (CMfg) is a new service-oriented business paradigm capable of generating this sought-after collaboration. Companies are expected to accomplish cost reductions, maintain quality, satisfy the market, and reduce environmental impacts while growing in sophistication and integration. Implementing the idea of sharing resources and capabilities will ultimately result in cost reduction, boost productivity,and more efficient consumption of natural resources globally. Sustainability, consumption of energy, and waste minimization would thus find an adequate representation within CMfg due to its collaborative aspect. Even though it has been more than a decade since the inception of cloud manufacturing, a broad consensus about the concept, essential characteristics, architecture is still lacking. This thesis addresses the presented definitions, features, and architectures associated with CMfg found in the literature; by conducting a systematic literature review. Thus, 105 papers have been selected to enable the identification of the core components of the CMfg idea, as well as illustrate how CMfg contributes to a more sustainable manufacturing future while its relationship with other relevant manufacturing paradigms, including Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, social manufacturing, E-manufacturing, and Industrial Internet, isinvestigated. Summaries of various definitions of the CMfg concept as well as different layers of its architecture have been presented. This paper investigates the potential contributions of CMfg to sustainability by analyzing solutions that lead to the improvement of collaboration, better automation, and utilizing the 6Rs concept, as well as considering the role of waste valorization and circular economy in today's manufacturing strategies.

Advances in experimental physics, specifically light sources emitting at an attosecond time scale, has enabled the time resolution of atomic processes like photoionization. Recent developments have allowed these sources to produce light with non-linear polarization. There exists various theoretical methods that can simulate experimental set-ups that make use of these attosecond sources. The aim of this thesis project was to extend two of these methods to be able to simulate circularly polarized light in order to both better model experimental results and come up with new potentially interesting experiments. This has resulted in an extended version of the Random Phase Approximation with Exchange method capable of simulating an ionization process by light of arbitrary polarization, as well as well as an extended version of the NewStock package that is capable of time-resolved simulation of matter interactions with arbitrary light pulses.

Introduction: The unsustainable recycling patterns of various companies in Sweden lead to a waste of possible resources. These resources can create value through re-production in circular processes. The issue that this study address is the recycling behavior among workplaces. There is a gap in the research of understanding influences to recycling behaviors among industrial companies, which is the target in this study. Theory & Purpose: This thesis employs behavioral theories on recycling activity through a framework developed by the authors with the aim of determining factors that affect the present recycling behavior within industries. Therefore, the purpose will be to investigate recycling behavior of companies within the flooring industry in Sweden. Furthermore, its purpose is to broaden the knowledge about recycling among companies and what situational factors that affect recycling behavior. Methodology: For data gathering, the thesis followed a quantitative method through conducting an online survey. The survey was sent out to 190 companies, and this resulted in 55 respondents which is a response rate of 28.9%. The survey data were collected to evaluate the prediction of behavior by the use of statistical regression analyses in STATA. Ordinal and binary data were the primary data types collected and used. Analysis & Results: A Probit regression model tested the survey data followed by calculations of the marginal effects. Marginal effect is used to conclude how much each situational factor provoked the probability of RECYCLING BEHAVIOR when the other factors are unchanged. The analysis made the support that RECYCLING BEHAVIOR is significantly related to the factors INFRASTRUCTURE, CONVENIENCE and ORGANIZATION COMMITMENT. Furthermore, there is an existence of latent factors affecting recycling behavior. This existence is because the statistical model partly explains the connection. Alternative factors should be investigated in further research since there are limited studies done on the topic. Conclusions: Considered benefits are for; the flooring industry as well as other industries and society at large. The understanding of enablers for influencing RECYCLING BEHAVIOR is one of the benefits of this study. Changes in arrangement and mobility of recycling stations, together with an increase of social norms and recycling policies, suggests being practical goals. Moreover, communicating these standpoints are important for companies to gain value. Nonetheless, protecting the environmental boundaries by decreasing the use of raw material in a growing global production market. Understanding how situational factors affect RECYCLING BEHAVIOR will help actors move towards more sustainable and circular acts. Regarding recycling among industries, this study can be used to understand how to gain more value in existing circular economy systems as well as waste management systems. Both economic value and ecological value can be determined, from putting waste material into new products instead of incinerating it. Future Research: Directions for future research include qualitative case studies, experimental testing, and models including internal factors, attitude, habits and subjective norms. Extending this thesis with other approaches will benefit to find further correlations and predictions regarding recycling behavior among companies. Further research should also include economic aspects of the material gained through recycling behavior.

Thermal instability in the toxin catalytic subunit may be a common property of toxins that exit the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by exploiting the mechanism of ER-associated degradation (ERAD). The Haemophilus ducreyi cytolethal distending toxin (HdCDT) does not utilize ERAD to exit the ER, so we predicted the structural properties of its catalytic subunit (HdCdtB) would differ from other ER-translocating toxins. Here, we document the heat-stable properties of HdCdtB which distinguish it from other ER-translocating toxins. Cell-based assays further suggested that HdCdtB does not unfold before exiting the ER and that it may move directly from the ER lumen to the nucleoplasm. These observations suggest a novel mode of ER exit for HdCdtB.