Building Information Modelling (BIM) involverar idag mer än bara 3D-modellering och möjligheter finns att addera dimensioner som tid (4D) och kostnad (5D). De positiva effekterna av 5D-BIM och potentialen att involvera fler aktörer tidigare i projektet gör det intressant att studera de faktiska behoven av 5D-BIM i tidigt skede av projektet. I denna studie har ett organisatoriskt perspektiv på förändring tillämpats där fokus läggs på uppfattningen av 5D-BIM och hur tekniken ska implementeras.  Examensarbetet har skrivits i samarbete med JM och intervjuer är utförda med aktörer aktiva i tidigt skede inom JM koncernen. Studiens resultat är baserat på bostadsutvecklaren JM, vilka karakteriseras av att äga hela produktkedjan från förvärv till förvaltning och har relativt standardiserade produkter. Syftet med det här examensarbetet är att undersöka behov av 5D-BIM hos aktörer i tidigt skede samt vilken nivå på informationen som är nödvändig. Studien fokuserar även på att undersöka vilka organisatoriska förutsättningar som krävs för att motivera implementationen av informationssystem i existerande organisationsstrukturer. Det framkommer i intervjustudien att det är viktigt att vara tydlig i sin definition av begrepp likt BIM. Då respondenternas behov är kopplade till vilken förförståelse som respondenten har på BIM.  Studien visar att implementeringen av 5D-BIM är starkt kopplat till samarbete och informationshantering mellan aktörer inom organisationen samt att ökat samarbete är en förutsättning för att skapa ett integrerat informationsflöde. Enligt respondenterna finns det idag ett behov av ett integrerat system med ett informationsflöde som hänger ihop, då ett integrerat informationsflöde gör det möjligt att göra successiva beräkningar på tid och kostnad samt se effekterna av beslut som tas. Idag saknar BIM-modellerna spårbarhet vilket efterfrågas. Utan spårbarhet blir informationen projektspecifik och går inte att utnyttja i andra projekt. För en lyckad implementering av 5D-BIM anser respondenterna att det är viktigt att teknik implementeras stegvis och är anpassad till de behov som finns.  Studien visar att en organisations struktur och kultur är viktiga förutsättningar för implementation av 5D-BIM. Implementationen underlättas även av ett strukturerat arbetssätt och en förändringsbenägen kultur. Motivation för förändring inom organisationer grundar sig i att skapa värde för individerna. Intuitiva system är en förutsättning för att individer ska se värde i förändringen och känna tillit till tekniken. / Today Building Information Modelling (BIM) involves more than just 3D-modeling and the dimensions time (4D) and cost (5D) can be added. The positive effects of 5D-BIM and the potential to involve more actors earlier in the project make it interesting to study the needs of 5D-BIM in the early stages of the project. This study has an organizational perspective on change where focus is on how 5D-BIM is perceived and how the technic should be implemented.  This master thesis has been written in collaboration with JM and the interviews are based on actors in early stages within the JM organization. The results of the study are based on JM, which are characterized by ownership of the entire project process from acquisition to management and deliver relatively standardized products. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the needs of 5D-BIM in early stages and the level of information required. The study also focuses on examining the organizational conditions required to motivate the implementation of information systems in existing organizational structures. It appeared in the interview study that it is important for the organization to be clear in its definition of concepts like BIM. The needs found are linked to the knowledge the respondent have on BIM and their definition of BIM. The study shows that the implementation of BIM is strongly linked to collaboration and information management between stakeholders, and that enhanced collaboration between actors is a prerequisite for creating an integrated flow of information. Today there is a need for an integrated system created from a connected flow of information. An integrated flow of information answers the need of making successive calculations on time and cost as well as understanding the effects of decisions made. Today, models lack traceability as desired. Without traceability, the information is specific to the project and cannot be used in other projects. For a successful implementation of 5D-BIM, respondents believe it is important that the technology is implemented step-by-step and adapted to the existing needs. This study indicates that a company's structure and culture are important prerequisites for the implementation of information technology. Implementation is also facilitated by a structured way of working and a culture positive toward changes. Motivation for change within organizations is based on creating value for individuals. Intuitive systems are a prerequisite for individuals to see value in the change and to trust the technology.

Participatory design approach emphasizes user involvement to contribute to interactive systems throughout the design process. The potential user participates in many activities in different physical meetings and workshops. This approach helps the designers to develop better tools to support users work but it is difficult to get them to co-design at the same place and time for many reasons. I have also experienced this kind of difficulty in the school projects involving users in the design process. Many new technologies nowadays have been introduced and used for different purposes so I have asked myself how I can use this to get control over this kind of difficulty. And how to bring people together online to co- design instead of having any physical workshops. Today, many online technologies are used to facilitate PD activities and bring the potential users together regardless of time and space. Some researchers have investigated online media platforms that people are familiar with, for example Facebook to reach their users. Some of them use online tools developed for conducting participatory design online.This study investigates how to design remote/online meeting formats to engage people with different media habits in the early stages of participatory design to get inspiration for redesigning a website. It is very important for a participatory design at a distance to understand and adapt to individual media habits and technological skills because this aspect is crucial for the success of bringing the participants together online and persuade them to contribute including making them willing to involve and perform their online work tasks. The project facilitator should get to know already in the beginning of the project about different communication ways that each participant prefers and usually uses in their daily life. To make sure that the facilitator can reach the potential users and bring them to collaborate online and give their contribution to a design in time. This study shows also that the relation between the participants and the temple or the facilitator is crucial for the success of getting them to contribute. Another aspect that the facilitator needs to take into account is to know about the users’ technological background. This can be used as basic information to choose online tools or media platforms to design online meeting formats to engage people in the design process. The tools that match the participants’ skills make them focus more on their work tasks rather than technical issues. But even if someone has high computer skills, it does not mean that he wants to work with whatever tools in some online activities, the facilitator has to adapt according to what they prefer or give them choices and flexibility. In addition, it is not enough only to observe and provide different channels for the participants to get feedback. It is hard to observe people working online and not everyone says what they think to the facilitator. To know how the users interact with and think about different online meeting formats during the design project by doing feedback interview after each PD stage helps the facilitator to improve online meeting formats for the next steps. The facilitator gets possibilities to repeat and clarify some issues during the project, encourages the participant to continue or contribute more, and prepares them for the next steps. The participants get better understanding of the project and motivation to move on.

L’innovation est un élément efficace pour répondre aux défis et perspectives imposés par les événements contemporains (mondialisation, concurrence, bouleversements politiques…). Des politiques liées aux stratégies d’innovation, des études sur les pratiques et les méthodes pour innover sont conduites par les entreprises et promues par les gouvernements. Afin de consolider la capacité à créer et innover, des recherches sont aujourd’hui axées sur les phases amont du processus d’innovation. Ces phases consistent à générer, évaluer et exploiter très tôt des innovations embryonnaires. Notre problématique de recherche concerne spécifiquement l’évaluation d’idées générées dans les phases amont. Les enjeux de cette action sont d’évaluer des idées très peu finalisées, en grandes quantités. Actuellement, le manque de méthodes adaptées, des restrictions de temps ou encore des budgets limités contraignent cette phase d’évaluation. Afin de pouvoir proposer une méthode d’aide à l’évaluation d’idées, nous réalisons une étude bibliographique puis proposons une démarche et des outils conduisant à une évaluation d’idées formalisée et instrumentée. Notre proposition permet d’appréhender les informations des évaluations réalisées et fournit des éléments de visualisation pour aider notamment les experts lors de cette action. Cette méthode s’est construite à partir d’analyses de situations professionnelles sur le terrain et nous a permis de proposer trois modèles. Ceux-ci ont été testés et expérimentés en milieu académique et industriel. Enfin, cette recherche s’est concrétisée par l’élaboration d’une maquette informatique nommée IdéoVal destinée à aider l’évaluation et la sélection d’idées / Innovation is an effective element to address the challenges and prospects imposed by the contemporary events (globalization, competition, political changes…). Innovation strategies, studies on the practices and methods to innovate are led by several companies and are promoted by the governments. In order to consolidate the capacity to create and innovate, current researches are focused on the early stages of the innovation process. These phases consist of generating, evaluating and exploiting embryonic innovations very early in the process. Our research problematic is specifically related to the evaluation of ideas generated in the early stages. The issues involving this action are to evaluate a large quantity of ideas that are not yet finalized. Currently, the lack of adapted methods, time restrictions or limited budgets constraint this evaluation stage. In order to propose a method for assisting ideas evaluation, we made a bibliographical study, and then we proposed an approach and tools leading to a formalized and instrumented evaluation of ideas. Our proposal enables the capitalization of the information from the evaluations carried out and provides a visualization of elements to, in particular, help the experts carry out this action. This method was built from the analyses of professional situations in the field and allowed us to propose three models. These models were tested in academic and industrial environments. Finally, this research was materialized by the elaboration of a software model called IdéoVal, which purpose is to help evaluate and select ideas

La phase initiale (de quelque fractions de seconde à quelques minutes) de la polymérisation catalytique des oléfines est encore peu comprise. Elle est pourtant reconnue comme une étape cruciale pour contrôler la morphologie de la particule de polymère et pour garantir la performance optimale du catalyseur et une certaine stabilité thermique du procédé. Ce travail présente l'étude et l'optimisation d'un mini réacteur à lit fixe pour mener des polymérisations catalytiques en phase gaz avec des durées très faibles (minimum 0.1s) dans des conditions proches à celles utilisées industriellement. La possibilité de suivre la température du gaz et de récupérer les particules de polymère pour les caractériser permet de décrire d'une façon complète le comportement du catalyseur au début de la réaction. L'étude a été limitée à la polymérisation de l'éthylène (avec un catalyseur métallocène supporté sur silice) et l'attention a été particulièrement mise sur la relation entre transfert de chaleur de la particule et performance du catalyseur. Il a été montré que des températures trop élevées peuvent être responsable localement de la modification du comportement du site active et de l'altération des propriétés des polymères. Un choix adéquat des conditions de réaction permet de suivre indirectement l'évolution de la température des particules en mesurant celle de la phase gaz. Dans un deuxième temps différents métallocènes ont été utilisés pour étudier l'influence des conditions de réaction, de la préparation du catalyseur et des propriétés du support sur l'activité, les propriétés du polymère et la morphologie des particules au temps court. Une attention particulière a été portée sur l'évolution des sites actifs et sur la cristallisation des chaînes de polymère dans un support poreux en évolution. Une activité élevée a été mesurée dans les premières cinq secondes et les températures de fusion et cristallisation des polymères ont été utilisées comme sondes pour mesurer l'avancement de la fragmentation du support. Les résultats ainsi obtenus peuvent non seulement clarifier certains aspects clé du début de la polymérisation mais aussi être utilisés comme donnés de départ pour modéliser la particule en croissance et contribuer à réduire l'écart qui est actuellement présent entre comportement réel du catalyseur et prédictions des modèles / The early stages (from less than 1s to few minutes) of catalytic olefin polymerization are still fairly understood even if they are nowadays recognized to be crucial for the determination of the morphology of the polymer particle, the optimization of the whole catalyst performance and the thermal stability of the process. In this work we will present how we studied and optimized a specially conceived packed bed reactor to perform gas phase catalytic olefin polymerizations as short as 0.1s under industrially relevant conditions. The possibility to measure the reactor temperature and to recover unaltered the polymer particles allows to take a complete picture of the catalyst behavior at the reaction start-up. The study will be restrained to ethylene polymerization with silica supported metallocenes and special attention will be given to the relation between heat transfer from the growing particle and catalyst performance. It will be seen how particle temperature evolution can be followed indirectly by measuring the gas phase temperature .In the second part of this work different metallocene complexes will be used to study the influence of process conditions, catalyst preparation method and support properties on the evolution of reaction rate, and polymer MWD during the first reaction seconds. Special attention will be given to the active site evolution during the transient phase and it will be shown that temperature excursions can be responsible for a local variation in active site behavior thus altering the properties of the formed polymer. The last section will be dedicated to the study of the peculiar crystallization behavior of the polymer chains in an evolving inorganic support. It will be shown how the melting and crystallization temperatures of the polymers can be used as “sensors” to measure the degree of fragmentation of the support particle. The results obtained in this work allow to gain a deeper understanding of the key parameters for the polymerization start-up and can be used as input for single particle models thus allowing to reduce the gap actually present between real catalyst behavior and model predictions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The availability and proper management of water represent fundamental aspects of the development of sustainable agricultural production systems, since it has direct impact on crop productivity. Maintaining crop residues on the soil surface reduces soil water loss by evaporation and soil temperature changes. Irrigation may be an efficient and safe tool to increase and support crop yields. The accuracy of crop evapotranspiration calculation is important for obtaining satisfactory results, in this context the use of dual crop coefficient allows for the accurate estimation considering separately evaporation soil and crop transpiration. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the influence of plant residues on the surface on the dynamics of water evaporation and soil temperature in the early stages of development of soybean plants. Moreover: (i) quantify plant residues effects on water evaporation, (ii) determine the effect of coverage on soil temperature and (iii) to compare the results obtained under field conditions with simulations performed with the dual crop coefficient methodology. A trial was done on a set of drainage lysimeters installed in a rain-out shelter, located in Las Brujas Experimental Station (34 ° 40 '19''S, 56 ° 20'24''W., altitude 45 m) of the National Research Institute of Agriculture (INIA), Uruguay. Design experimental was completely randomized, factorial with three replications. The factor A was composed of two levels of ground cover (0 and 4 Mg ha-1 of oat straw) and the factor B represented the area of soybean cultivation (with and without plants). Water losses were determined in soil drying cycles based on reference evapotranspiration (ETo). It was estimated by the Penman-Monteith equation.The soil water content was determined with TDR sensors installed at 0-10 cm and 10-30 cm depth. Soil temperature was measured with thermometers installed at 5 and 10 cm depths, records every 30 minutes. The evaporation rate of soil water was reduced 50% by plant residues on the soil surface. The soil cover resulted in maximum temperature 6 º C lower, minimum temperature 2 ° C higher and temperature range 40% lower. The soil water simulations using dual crop coefficient methodology resulted in good agreement with values measured in soil lysimeters without cover and on the ground covered by crop residues. / A disponibilidade e o manejo apropriado da água representam aspectos fundamentais para o desenvolvimento de sistemas de produção agrícola sustentáveis, visto que esta tem impacto direto na produtividade das culturas. A manutenção de resíduos vegetais na superfície do solo diminui as perdas de água do solo por evaporação e altera a temperatura do solo. A irrigação se apresenta como uma ferramenta eficiênte e segura de aumentar e estabilizar os rendimentos das culturas. A exatidão no cálculo da evapotranspiração das culturas é importante para a obtenção de resultados satisfatórios, nesse contexto o uso de coeficientes culturais duais permite realizar estimativas precisas considerando separadamente a evaporação do solo e a transpiração da cultura. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência dos resíduos vegetais na superfície sobre a dinâmica de evaporação de água e temperatura do solo nas fases iniciais de desenvolvimento de plantas de soja. Alem disso: (i) quantificar o efeito dos resíduos vegetais na evaporação de água; (ii) determinar o efeito da cobertura na temperatura do solo e; (iii) comparar os resultados obtidos em nivel de campo com simulações realizadas com a metodologia de coeficientes culturais duais. Foi realizado um experimento num conjunto de lisimetros de drenagem instalados em uma casa de vegetação móvel (rainout shelter), localizado na Estação Experimental Las Brujas (34°40´ 19´´ S., 56°20´24´´ W., altitude 45 m) do Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA), Uruguai. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, bifatorial com três repetições. O fator A foi constituido de dois níveis de cobertura do solo (0 e 4 Mg ha-1 de palha de aveia) e o fator B representou o cultivo da área com soja (com e sem cultivo). As perdas de água foram determinadas em ciclos de secagem do solo baseados na evapotranspiração de referência (ETo), estimada pela equação Penman Monteith-FAO. O conteúdo volumétrico de água foi determinado com sensores TDR instalados nas camadas de 0-10 cm e de 10-30 cm de profundidade. A temperatura do solo foi medida com termômetros instalados nas profundidades de 5 e 10 cm, com leituras a cada 30 minutos. A taxa de evaporação de água do solo foi diminuída em 50% pelos resíduos vegetais na superfície do solo. A cobertura do solo resultou em temperatura máxima 6 ºC menor, temperatura mínima 2 ºC maior e amplitude térmica 40% menor. As estimativas de água disponível no solo efetuadas com a metodologia dos Kc duais apresentaram boa concordância com valores medidos nos lisímetros tanto no solo sem cobertura como no solo coberto por residuos vegetais.

Statens fastighetsverk (SFV) är en förvaltarmyndighet som har i uppdrag att förvalta, vårda och utveckla det statliga kulturhistoriska arvet. SFV är i dagsläget inne en utvecklingsprocess efter att en omorganisation har ägt rum. Ett av utvecklingsområdena är byggprojekt inom fastighetsutveckling och där projektprocessen är under pågående utredning. Syftet med rapporten var att utreda hur SFV kan effektivisera projektprocessen med avgränsning till tidiga skeden. Under utredningen användes metoden benchmarking på övriga fastighetsverksamheter: Locum, Akademiska Hus, SISAB, Vasakronan, samt Fortifikationsverket, i syfte att erhålla kunskap som kan anpassas till SFV för att kunna utveckla verksamhetens befintliga arbetsmetoder. Under studien har det konstaterats att det finns utvecklingspotential hos SFV. Införande av en behovsanalys och rutiner kring denna samt implementering av strategisk styrning i tidiga skeden, är några av rapportens slutliga rekommendationer som kan leda SFV till att bli en mer proaktiv verksamhet. / The national property Board (SFV) is a managing authority which is responsible to manage, nurture and develop the State cultural and historical heritage. SFV is currently in a process of development after reorganization has taken place. One of the developments is building projects in property development and where the project process is under current investigation. The purpose of the report was to examine how SFV could streamline their project process with demarcation to the crucial early stages. During the investigation the benchmarking method was used on other real estate organizations: Locum, Akademiska Hus, SISAB, Vasakronan, as well as the Swedish fortifications Agency, with the purpose of obtaining knowledge that can be adapted to the SFV in order to develop the company's existing practices. Through benchmarking, it has been confirmed that there is potential for development in SFV. Introduction of a needs analysis, its’ surrounding procedures and the implementation of strategic management in the early stages, are some of the report's final recommendations that can lead SFV to become a more proactive organization.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify needs in the AEC industry of Generative Design as a process methodology in design processes in the initial stage, since the design process has not developed in line with digitalization. The aim is to compare Generative design as a process methodology in design processes with established methodology to investigate the need for a changed design process as well as its challenges in the AEC industry. Method: The study is executed as a field study and is based on a method triangulation between literature search, document study and qualitative interviews with five individuals semi-structured form. The informants have good experience in the subject area. Findings: The findings are of different ambiguity in individual perspectives, but if seen in combination a clearer result is shown. The study achieves following findings; A need for change in the AEC industry's design process exists and a multidisciplinary approach is sought. Implementation of needs begins with a parallel process between current methodology and GD, one need not exclude the other. An increased programming knowledge of architects and engineers is required. A clear strategy for valuing requirements and design alternatives is required. Today's (2020) established process tends to move towards projects of high complexity being sub optimized which gives generic consequences for design, but GD have the potential to break the trend. Implications: The authors believe that the study’s set goals answer the questions of concern with high reliability and validity based on the study's coordination. Potential for further and in-depth studies are considered and that the collected empiricism to a wider extent than initially desired. Limitations: The subject area studied is predominantly of a contextual nature, which is partly reflected in the results. Because the result is based on a small selection of informants, it cannot be assumed that the same results had been obtained from the perspective of other professional groups. The results can be perceived as subjective due statements are based on personal opinions and preconceived opinions. The collected empiricism can provide a basis for a deeper analysis but the study’s scope of 15 hp was limiting. / Syfte: Syftet med arbetet är att kartlägga behovet i AEC-branschen av Generativ Designsom processmetodik i designprocessens initiala skeden eftersom designprocessen idaginte följt den digitala utveckling som snabbt går framåt. Målet är att utreda behovet aven förändrad designprocess samt dess utmaningar i AEC-branschen genom att jämföraGenerativ design som processmetodik i designprocessen med vedertagen metodik. Metod: En fallstudie av kvalitativ ansats med metodtriangulering mellanlitteratursökning, dokumentstudie och intervjuer med fem individer av semistruktureradform. Informanterna har god erfarenhet av ämnesområdet. Resultat: Resultaten är av varierande entydighet i enskilt perspektiv men ses resultateni kombination ges en tydligare resultatbild. Studien kommer fram till följande; Ettbehov av förändring i AEC-branschens designprocess existerar och etttvärfunktionellt arbetssätt eftertraktas. En implementering behöver inledas med enparallell process mellan nuvarande metodik och GD, det ena behöver inte utesluta denandra. En ökad programmeringskunskap hos arkitekter och ingenjörer krävs. En tydligstrategi för värdering av kravställningar och designalternativ krävs. Dagens (2020) vedertagna process tenderar att gå mot att projekt av högre komplexitetsgradsuboptimeras vilket ger generiska konsekvenser för utformandet men att GD harpotential att bryta denna trend. Konsekvenser: Författarna anser att studien besvarar uppsatt mål och frågeställningarmed hög reliabilitet och validitet utifrån studiens omfattning. Potential till vidare ochdjupgående studier anses finnas och att insamlad empiri är av högre omfattning än vadsom initialt planerades. Begränsningar: Ämnesområdet som studeras är till övervägande del av kontextuellkaraktär vilket delvis avspeglas på resultatet. Eftersom resultatet är baserat på ettmindre urval av informanter kan det inte utgås från att samma resultat hade erhållitsutifrån andra yrkesgruppers perspektiv. Resultaten kan uppfattas subjektiva eftersominformanternas uttalanden är baserade på personliga åsikter och förutfattade meningar.Den insamlade empirin kan utgöra en grund för en djupare och grundligare analys menarbetets omfattning på 15hp var begränsande.

<p>From January, 1988, to December, 1993, 113 patients with FIGO stage IA-IIC epithelial ovarian carcinoma were treated with postoperative radiotherapy. The median follow-up period was 74 months. Tumor recurrences were recorded in 33 cases (30%). The cancer-specific survival rate was 72%. Tumor grade was a significant (P = 0.007) and independent prognostic factor in the multivariate analysis. In a smaller series of 106 patients, a number of prognostic factors (age, FIGO stage, histopathological type, and tumor grade) were studied in relation to regulators of apoptosis (p53, bcl-2, and bax) and growth factor receptors (HER-2/neu and EGFR). Immunohistochemical techniques were used. In a separate series of 103 patients, the DNA content (flow cytometry) and p53 status of the tumors were also studied and related to the same clinicopathological factors. P53 was associated with tumor grade (P = 0.007) and survival status (P = 0.046). In a Cox multivariate analysis, tumor grade (P = 0.0006), bax status (P = 0.020), and EGFR status (P = 0.018) were significant and independent prognostic factors. DNA ploidy of the tumors was strongly associated with tumor grade. </p><p>From January, 1994, to December, 1998, a series of 109 patients with ovarian carcinomas (FIGO IA-IIC) were treated with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. The same prognostic factors were studied in this series. The median follow-up was 48 months and the cancer-specific survival rate was 75%. Twenty-five (25%) tumor recurrences were recorded. The most favorable survival rate was seen in patients with tumors negative for p53 and positive for bcl-2 or bax. In a multivariate analysis, tumor grade (P = 0.014) and p53 status (P = 0.020) were independent prognostic factors.</p><p>Clinical, histopathological and biological prognostic factors should be combined in prognostic models to render patient-tailored therapy possible and to define different prognostic groups for future clinical studies of adjuvant therapy in early stage ovarian carcinomas.</p>

From January, 1988, to December, 1993, 113 patients with FIGO stage IA-IIC epithelial ovarian carcinoma were treated with postoperative radiotherapy. The median follow-up period was 74 months. Tumor recurrences were recorded in 33 cases (30%). The cancer-specific survival rate was 72%. Tumor grade was a significant (P = 0.007) and independent prognostic factor in the multivariate analysis. In a smaller series of 106 patients, a number of prognostic factors (age, FIGO stage, histopathological type, and tumor grade) were studied in relation to regulators of apoptosis (p53, bcl-2, and bax) and growth factor receptors (HER-2/neu and EGFR). Immunohistochemical techniques were used. In a separate series of 103 patients, the DNA content (flow cytometry) and p53 status of the tumors were also studied and related to the same clinicopathological factors. P53 was associated with tumor grade (P = 0.007) and survival status (P = 0.046). In a Cox multivariate analysis, tumor grade (P = 0.0006), bax status (P = 0.020), and EGFR status (P = 0.018) were significant and independent prognostic factors. DNA ploidy of the tumors was strongly associated with tumor grade. From January, 1994, to December, 1998, a series of 109 patients with ovarian carcinomas (FIGO IA-IIC) were treated with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. The same prognostic factors were studied in this series. The median follow-up was 48 months and the cancer-specific survival rate was 75%. Twenty-five (25%) tumor recurrences were recorded. The most favorable survival rate was seen in patients with tumors negative for p53 and positive for bcl-2 or bax. In a multivariate analysis, tumor grade (P = 0.014) and p53 status (P = 0.020) were independent prognostic factors. Clinical, histopathological and biological prognostic factors should be combined in prognostic models to render patient-tailored therapy possible and to define different prognostic groups for future clinical studies of adjuvant therapy in early stage ovarian carcinomas.

The motivation for development of energy efficiency and implementation of novel advanced materials applied in buildings can be traced to increasing energy costs in conjunction with an enhanced environmental awareness among people. This doctoral dissertation presents contributions towards sustainable building, where factors such as building technology, energy efficiency in buildings, workers' health issues during construction measures, and certain economic considerations for renovation of buildings have been considered. The research study aims to provide a knowledge base for motivating building owners to renovate buildings based on energy efficiency and improved indoor environment. The initial phase of the research study identifies a detailed description of common drivers, expected in renovation projects by building owners. In the second phase, an information base is identified which may facilitate the bidding processes for decision makers by means of technological, social and economic aspects. The aforementioned information base can also contribute to attentive decisions regarding sustainable renovation and energy saving measures. A strategy was developed within the Renovation Workshop of Riksbyggen, in order to promote energy saving measures concurrent with major renovations in residential buildings. This operational decision support process was applied in a tenant owners' cooperative in Sweden. The objective of this process was to showcase and more importantly to implement energy saving measures, based on knowledge transfer between different parties involved in the renovation project. For the conducted case study, this process was shown to be of great importance when decisions regarding energy saving measures in conjunction with scheduled renovations are being planned. A unique case study was conducted on two of the most commonly used environmental certification programs for buildings in Sweden; Environmental Building (Miljöbyggnad) and GreenBuilding. Following a granted access to a limited database of submitted applications to Sweden Green Building Council, the most common mistakes in these were identified and categorized. This study contributed to further understanding about the level of ability among building consultants, comprehension of environmental certification, and enhancement of the ability to produce high-quality calculations concerning building-related energy usage. In addition, this insight can provide a basis for planning of continuing education of consultants within the field of building technology. For a church building, a study was conducted subsequent to an exchange of an existing electric coil heating system to a hydronic ground source heat pump system. Analyses of the energy demand and energy signature, prior to and after installation were carried out. The replacement of the original heating system with a ground source heat pump system for the church building constitutes a reduced energy consumption level of approximately 66%, at the average outside temperature of -2.30 °C. This study demonstrated that data from a detailed electric bill can be utilized in order to obtain the energy signature of the building and henceforth assess the energy savings. One aspect of the research, examined the decision making process related to sustainable renovation and refurbishment in buildings. The utilized methodology identified three distinct phases in order to instigate an engagement in sustainable renovation, by means of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. In particular, the attitudes of stakeholders in Sweden, Denmark and Cyprus to sustainable building were studied through three separate case studies. Within the framework of this study, it was identified that building physics and durability are among the most important drivers for energy renovation. The results provided an insight into the renovation process in the aforementioned countries and identified that drivers such as improvement of indoor air quality and elimination of moisture in the building envelope are also of crucial importance. Another aspect of the conducted research highlights workplace accidents occurring within the Swedish construction sector. The purpose of this study was to serve as a useful tool to track the working environments of construction workers in order to reduce health and safety issues within the construction sector. The findings of this research suggest that despite laws, regulations or additional factors that seek to ensure a safe and healthy environment for construction workers, the Swedish construction work force still faces challenges. Moreover, it is identified that construction workers participating in the study call for additional measures to ensure occupational health and safety. Improved knowledge of economic performance and technical results of renovations can contribute to a snowball effect, with more property owners recognizing the value of energy aspects and thus provide an increased level of energy savings. / <p>QC 20140127</p> / A Concept for promotion of sustainable retrofitting and renovation in Early Stages (ACES)