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Loin d’être une simple enveloppe pour notre corps, la peau constitue une frontière mécanique, physique, chimique et immunologique d’une remarquable efficacité. Cette fonction est en grande partie assurée par la couche la plus superficielle de la peau, appelée stratum corneum. Néanmoins, dans la vie de tous les jours, le frottement répété de la peau contre des surfaces textiles peut engendrer l’apparition de sensations d’inconfort et d’irritation cutanée. En particulier, en période de rhume, les frottements à répétitions des mouchoirs en papier sur le nez fragilisent la peau et peuvent provoquer des irritations parfois douloureuses. Ce travail vise à répondre aux attentes des consommateurs en termes de confort à l’usage des papiers en cellulose. Pour cela, l’étude a été décomposée en deux grands axes. Actuellement, le confort à l’usage est évalué par des panels sensoriels couteux, chronophages et surtout subjectifs. La première partie a donc été dédiée à l’objectivation des qualités tactiles des papiers en cellulose grâce au développement d’un dispositif expérimental. La seconde s’est intéressée à l’interaction entre la peau et les papiers, et au potentiel effet « irritant » lors du frottement répété. Cette étude a été menée sur un panel de volontaires in vivo et avait pour but de trouver une méthode capable de reproduire le frottement répété de papiers en cellulose en laboratoire, dans un temps limité et avec des paramètres de frottement bien contrôlés. Dans le but de quantifier la qualité sensorielle des papiers en cellulose, nous avons développé un système de doigt artificiel capable de mimer le comportement du doigt humain. Ce dispositif permet de mesurer le coefficient de frottement à l’interface doigt/papier et les vibrations générées lors du toucher. D’une part, nos résultats ont montré que les vibrations générées étaient un bon indicateur de la douceur du papier en cellulose. D’autre part, nous avons démontré que le coefficient de frottement était relié à la pilosité surfacique du papier. Ces résultats majeurs nous ont permis d’avoir une méthode quantitative de la qualité tactile des papiers. Il s’agit d’une méthode simple, rapide et reproductible qui a tout son intérêt pour l’industrie papetière qui, jusque-là utilisait des panels sensoriels onéreux et chronophage pour évaluer la qualité sensorielle de ses papiers. Dans une seconde grande partie, nous avons étudié l’irritation cutanée induite par le frottement de papiers en cellulose de différentes douceurs sur un panel de 59 volontaires. Cette partie a nécessité le développement de deux dispositifs expérimentaux. Tout d’abord, un biotribomètre rotatif a été développé pour reproduire le frottement répété de papier contre la peau. L’avantage de ce dispositif est qu’il permet de contrôler les paramètres de frottement (force normale appliquée sur la peau, vitesse de frottement et durée du test). Pour évaluer les réactions cutanées et l’endommagement du stratum corneum, nous avons développé un système d’indentation sans contact capable de mesurer les propriétés mécaniques de la peau. Les résultats ont montré que l’irritation de la peau induite par le frottement répété de papier était plus importante pour des papiers moins doux. Cette irritation est visible à travers une augmentation de la perte insensible en eau de la peau, de la rougeur et du flux sanguin et une diminution de ses propriétés mécaniques. / Far from being a mere envelope around our bodies, the skin forms a mechanical, physical, chemical and immunological barrier. This protective task falls in large part in the outermost layer, the stratum corneum. However, in our daily lives, the repeated friction of cellulose tissues against the skin surface may induce discomfort feelings and cutaneous reactions. In particular, during colds, the repeated friction of tissues could compromise the skin around the nose and induce painful irritation. This work is about meeting consumer needs in terms of softness and user comfort of cellulose tissues. To this end, the study was decomposed into two main parts. The first part was devoted to the quantification of the tactile quality of the tissues. The second one was interested in the skin/tissue interaction and the potential irritant effect during the repeated friction. In order to quantify the sensorial quality of tissues, we developed an artificial finger that mimics the human touch. This device enables the measurement of the friction coefficient of the tissue against the skin surface, and the evaluation of the generated vibrations. On one hand, the results showed that the vibrations were a good indicator of the softness of a tissue. In another hand, we showed that the friction coefficient was related to the surface texture of the tissue. These key results allowed us to have a rapid, simple and reproducible method to evaluate the tactile quality of a tissue. This method is very useful for the paper industry which was previously using expensive and time-consuming sensorial panels. In the second part of the thesis, we studied the cutaneous reactions induced by the repeated friction of tissues with different softnesses. This study was performed in vivo, on 59 volunteers of the laboratory. Two innovative devices were developed. First, an in vivo rotary tribometer was developed to reproduce the repeated friction of the tissue onto the skin. The advantage of this device is the full control of the friction parameters such as the applied normal force, the sliding velocity and the duration of the test. In order to evaluate the cutaneous reactions, we developed a contactless indentation device which is able to measure the mechanical properties of the skin. The results showed that the cutaneous reactions were higher when the paper was unsoft. The cutaneous irritation was visible through the increase of the trans-epidermal water loss, the redness and the blood flow of the skin and through the decrease of its mechanical properties. Beyond the findings, during the thesis, we developed new innovative and effective methods to characterise the tactile quality of tissues and evaluate the cutaneous reactions induced by the repeated friction of them on the skin.

Videoinnehåll på internet är en populär källa för informationssökning och underhållning idag. YouTube är den största av de videoplattformar som finns tillgängliga och dess gratisversion finansieras genom reklam. Reklamen i sig innebär ett avbrott i tittarupplevelsen. Tidigare forskning har visat att sådan reklam är ett störande moment och kan orsaka irritation hos tittaren. Därtill väljer många idag att installera insticksprogram i sina webbläsare som blockerar reklamen och hindrar den från att visas. Eftersom att reklamen i dessa fall inte når mottagaren så fungerar inte reklamfinansieringen som tänkt. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vad hos reklamen som uppfattas som störande och/eller irriterande av tittaren samt hur videoreklam kan utformas för undvika detta. För att besvara frågeställningarna genomfördes en experimentell studie där tio studenter deltog. Resultatet visade att de störande aspekterna relaterar till reklamens tid, dess placering i en video och tittarnas personliga intresse av reklamens innehåll. Slutligen föreslås följande designimplikationer för utformandet av videoreklam: i) reklamklipp bör vara kortare än 15 sekunder för att undvika att uppfattas som irriterande; och att längre reklamklipp bör kunna skippas av användaren; ii) placering av reklamklipp mitt i en vald YouTube-video bör undvikas; iii) reklamklipp bör passa till innehållet av den valda huvudvideon och borde, om möjligt, vara av personligt intresse för tittaren; iv) funktioner såsom att få se kvarvarande tid för ett reklamklipp bör kunna anpassas av tittaren själv, genom dennes användarkonto. / Videos have become a popular source for information gathering and entertainment. YouTube is the biggest video platform available and its free version is funded by ads. The advertisements create an interruption from the viewer experience and research has shown that the ads are disruptive and can cause irritation among the viewers. Many users choose to use plugins in their browsers which block ads to avoid the distraction. Since ad-blockers hinder the ad from reaching the viewer they also hinder the funding of the video platform. This study aims to research what parts of the ads that the user finds disruptive or irritating, and how ads should be designed in order to avoid being perceived as a source of irritation for Swedish viewers. A suggestion will be made on how to design the video ads so that they are as non-disruptive as possible for the user and therefore allowed to be a part of the viewing experience. To answer the questions at hand an experimental study was conducted with ten students. The results showed that the irritating aspects of ads are related to the running times, its placement in a video and the viewers own interest in the content of the ad. Finally, the following implications are suggested for the design of video ads: i) ads should be shorter than 15 seconds to avoid being perceived as irritating; users should be able to skip longer ads; ii) ads showing in the middle of the video should be avoided; iii) ad content should match the content of the video and, if possible, be relevant to the viewer and their interests; iv) features such as showing the time remaining of the ad should be made customisable by the user, through their user account.

Background: With the adoption of smartphones, a new mean of communication emerged for businesses, calling for deep knowledge on how to leverage this profitable direct-link to consumers. However, previous literature has mainly studied the subject from a quantitative standpoint with a theoretical foundation built on traditional advertising, hence, not studying the subject on its own. It is therefore relevant to study the topic from the ground up, exploring users perspective on main factors driving their attitudes towards mobile advertising.Purpose: To explore consumer attitudes toward mobile advertising.Methodology: A qualitative exploratory study based on 4 focus groups, sampled through convenience sampling and analysed using direct content analysis.Conclusion: Findings indicate that, mobile advertising lack credibility, which drives negative attitudes and that entertainment was non-present in mobile advertising. Perceptions expressed a vast element of irritation and that informativeness depends on the relevance of ads forming the outcome of attitude. Additionally, personalization emerged as a component influencing the majority of the studied factors, and consequently suggested to be further studied as a factor on its own.

2 pp. / It is increasingly common for people to report symptoms of itching and skim problems which they attribute to bug bites even when no evidence of insects can be found. Potential causes for this phenomena are identified as well as a referral to a primary care provider for diagnosis and treatment.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different frequency irritation on growth, morphology or seedling mortality of Mimosa pudica. During preparation of the experiment were seeded 200 seeds of M. pudica but only 48 plants were used due to low germination of seeds . They were divided into three groups of equal number and these groups was placed one beside the other in a warm greenhouse with the same temperature and light conditions. The experiment started when sufficient size was reached (approximately 4 leaves per plant). The first ( control ) group was not irritated, the second group was irritated 5 times per day and the third group 15 times per day. Three times during the experiment (1. 9., 11. 9. and 21. 9. 2014) were measured length and counted the number of leaves. During the last measurement was cut and weighed aboveground part of the plants. Also number of internodes in all plants was recorded. During the experiment was also monitored the number of blossoms. All measured values were entered into tables and then statistically evaluated. In the experiment was found that the different frequency irritation affects the stem length and the final weight of the plants. The effect on the number of blossoms, leaves and internodes was not shown. There was no mortality in any of three groups.

Skin irritation is a common occupational hazard for employees engaged in the manufacture, transport, and use of industrial chemicals. The most common method used to evaluate dermal irritation and/or corrosion has typically been in vivo tests using rabbits (Draize method). Several in vitro test methods have been developed, with Corrositex being the first to gain approval by a regulatory agency (U.S. Department of Transportation). The purpose of this study was to compare the results of in vitro (Corrositex) assays of dermal irritation/corrosion to in vivo test data for several industrial chemical formulations and to determine the predictability and usefulness of the Corrositex assay for these types of products. Twenty-four (24) formulations were qualified, categorized, and evaluated using the Corrositex method and the results compared to available animal data for each of the formulations. The Corrositex assay accurately predicted a corrosive end point in 8 (57.1%) of the 14 formulations identified as corrosive by the in vivo evaluations. Corrositex accurately predicted a noncorrosive end point for 1 (10%) of 10 formulations determined to be noncorrosive in animal studies. The Corrositex assay overpredicted the packing group for 12 (50%) of the 24 formulations, and underpredicted the packing group for 7 (29.2%) of the 24 formulations. Compared to the in vivo results, Corrositex correctly classified as corrosive or noncorrosive 37.5% of the formulations tested. A concordance of 20.8% for the packing group assignments of the evaluated formulations was calculated. The Corrositex assay did not accurately predict a corrosive end point or packing group assignment for all of the formulations used in this study. Manufacturers should assess the relevance of this method to their products prior to relying on it for compliance with hazardous material and worker safety regulations.

The Acceptable Ads Standard is a set of guidelines developed by the biggest ad-blocker company AdBlock Plus as an attempt to alleviate the largest need for ad-blocking programs; ads being annoying, irrelevant, and too intrusive. The guidelines inflict rules regarding how ads can be presented in order to be acceptable, thereby not disturbing the consumer. If a website follows these guidelines, their ads will not get blocked. The terms ad-avoidance and ad-irritation has been established by Cho et al. and Baek et al. [4]. The term ad-noticeability was added to these in order to express the behavior of seeing an ad, but not necessarily understanding what it’s trying to mediate. This study aims to examine the Acceptable Ads guidelines’ effect on user experience and ad-noticeability through a quantitative and qualitative study. The two studies were conducted with the help of two specially made test suites in the form of two websites, one with acceptable and one with non-acceptable ads. All participants went through the same set of tasks on the websites. In the quantitative study, data regarding what ads the participants’ had seen and what their experiences’ had been like was collected. Through the qualitative study, it was possible to get more elaborate answers to why certain ads were seen or missed and to get more in-depth answers regarding the participants’ experiences. Through the study, it was found that there is a difference in ad-noticeability and the user experience of ads between websites that contain either acceptable or non-acceptable ads. The results suggest that the Acceptable Ads guidelines affect user experience positively, i.e. leading to less ad-irritation or annoyance, but also affect ad-noticeability negatively. It was also found that cognitive ad-avoidance was greatly affected by task-oriented focus, both in cases with and without ads following acceptable / The Acceptable Ads Standard är en samling med riktlinjer utvecklade av det största företaget inom ad-blockers, AdBlock Plus. Dessa riktlinjer utvecklades som ett försök att motverka de största anledningarna till att konsumenter installerar ad-blockers: att reklam är irriterande, irrelevant, eller för påträngande. Dessa riktlinjer skapar regler för hur onlinereklam ska presenteras för att vara acceptabelt, och därmed inte störa konsumenterna. Om en hemsida följer dessa regler är tanken att deras reklam inte ska bli blockerad av installerade ad-blockers. Termerna ad-avoidance (“reklamundvikelse”) och ad-irritation (“reklamirritation”) har blivit etablerade av Cho et al. och Baek et al [4]. Termen ad-noticeability (att notera reklam) har blivit tillagt till dessa för att uttrycka beteendet att se reklam, utan att nödvändigtvis förstå den. Denna studie riktar sig till att undersöka Acceptable Ads påverkan på användarupplevelse och hur mycket reklam som noteras genom en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ studie. Dessa två studier genomfördes med hjälp av två specialtillverkade testsviter i formen av två hemsidor: en hemsida med acceptabel reklam och en med oacceptabel reklam. Alla testdeltagare gick igenom samma uppgifter på dessa hemsidor. I den kvalitativa studien fanns ett fokus på att samla in data gällande vad testdeltagare sett och upplevt. Genom den kvalitativa studien var det möjligt att få mer djupgående svar på varför viss reklam hade missats och hur deltagarna hade upplevt reklamen. Genom studien hittade man att det var skillnad på hur mycket reklam som noteras och på hur testdeltagare upplever reklam på hemsidor med acceptabel kontra oacceptabel reklam. Resultaten föreslår att riktlinjerna från Acceptable Ads påverkar användarupplevelsen positivt genom att minska irritation men också att de har en negativ påverkan på hur mycket reklam som noteras. Det visade sig också att kognitiv reklamundvikelse var mycket påverkat av ett uppgiftsorienterat fokus, både i fall med och utan acceptabel reklam.

L'existence d'une contre-irritation dyspnée-douleur, c'est-à-dire l'inhibition d'une sensation douloureuse par une sensation de dyspnée, permet d'établie une analogie forte dyspnée - douleur. La dyspnée de type " effort inspiratoire excessif " inhibe le réflexe spinal de flexion, ce qui indique qu'elle est au moins en partie médiée par des fibres C. Cette thèse approfondit les connaissances dans ce domaine. Elle montre que la dyspnée de type soif d'air possède des propriétés analgésiques procédant de mécanismes centraux puisqu'elle interagit avec les potentiels évoqués laser qui sont le reflet des mécanismes corticaux mis en jeu au cours de stimulation douloureuse. Elle évalue l'effet d'un antalgique non opioïde de pallier 1, le nefopam, sur une dyspnée expérimentale de type " effort inspiratoire excessif " sans mettre en évidence d'interaction du nefopam avec la contre-irritation dyspnée douleur. / Dyspnea – pain counter – irritation, namely the inhibition of nociceptive sensation by dyspneic sensation, indicates that dyspnea and pain share some mechanisms. Dyspnea of the work/effort type inhibits the spinal flexion reflex, meaning that it involves C-Fibers. This thesis aims at improving knowledge in this field. It shows that dyspnea of the air hunger type has analgesics properties proceeding from central mechanisms: “air hunger” indeed inhibits laser evoked potentials that depends on the pain-related activation of cortical networks. It also evaluates the effect of a non-opioid first step analgesic, nefopam, on an experimental dyspnea of the “work-effort” type, and shows that although nefopam acts on C-fibers, it does not attenuate dyspnea and does not modify dyspnea-pain counter-irritation as evaluated by laser-evoked potentials. Finally, the thesis brings the first evidence of dyspnea-pain interactions in the clinical setting, by showing that ALS patients treated by non-invasive ventilation exhibit heightened pain sensitivity concomitant to the relief of dyspnea. These data advance the current understanding of dyspnea mechanisms and open new perspectives for treatment evaluation.