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Introduction: Viruses, extracellular vesicles (EVs) and endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are types of sub-micron particles which are known to be released from a vast range of cell types, across many species. There are many medically relevant sub-micron particles which can enter healthy cells and enable the intercellular delivery of functional host-derived and foreign products, through their enclosed lipid layers. While multiple particle subsets have been identified, many of the properties, behaviors and biochemical functions have not been fully described and have yet to be characterized. Materials and Methods: CD4⁺ naïve T-cells were isolated from female C57BL6/N mice and stimulated with varying concentrations of PMA/I. In addition to concentration, the length of PMA/I activation was assessed. Supernatants and cells were harvested, filtered, and stained to be subsequently analyzed by Nanoscale Flow Cytometry, Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis and Flow Cytometry. Particle populations were quantified and sorted by size, by NTA. Labelling dye CFSE was used in conjunction with fluorescently conjugated CD81 and CD9 antibodies to separate EVs, including exosomes, from background signal. Naïve T-cell purity, viability and levels of activation were assessed by flow cytometry using CD3, CD4 and CD62L antibodies and viability staining. Results: Increasing PMA concentration led to a global increase in particles by T-cells and a specific increase in smaller particle production and were demonstrated to be significant by Welch’s T-test, when compared to non-activated and DMSO controls (p<0.0001). In addition to concentration, activation length also correlated with increases in total particle counts and a specific increase in the secretion of smaller particles in comparison to non-activated and DMSO controls (p<0.0001). Labelling techniques by NFC revealed an increased presence of CFSE-CD81 positive and CFSE-CD9 positive particles secreted by T-cells, treated for 24 hours, compared to the 0- and 12-hour timepoints. Conclusion: This work demonstrates preliminary steps and outlines methods to begin assessing discrete particle populations and subsets secreted by murine naïve T-cells. Being able to identify patterns of particle secretions by naïve T-cells, especially under immune-stimulated conditions, may be the solution to uncovering the necessary information on EV physiology, that is required to understand the roles EVs play in pathology and how these conserved pathways may lead conditions to become exacerbated. This knowledge is essential to uncovering the roles EVs play in pathophysiology, and in the development of novel rapid diagnostic tests, to screen for cancers, infections, autoimmune disorders, and numerous other pathological conditions.

Tire-pavement interaction noise is one of the dominant sources of vehicle noise, and one of the most significant sources of urban noise pollution. One critical generation mechanism of tire-pavement interaction noise is tire tread excitation. The tire tread contributes to the tire-pavement interaction noise mainly through two mechanisms: (1) tread block impact, and (2) the compression and expansion of the air in the tread groove at the contact patch. The tread pattern is the critical part of the tire design since it can be easily modified. Hence, the main focus of this study is to quantify the tread pattern contribution in total tire-pavement interaction noise. To achieve this goal, the noise produced by the tread pattern is separated from the total tire-pavement interaction noise. Since the tread pattern excitation is periodic with tire rotation, the noise produced by the tread is assumed to be related to the tire rotation. Hence, the order domain synchronous averaging method is used in this study to separate and quantify the tread pattern contribution to the total tire-pavement interaction noise. The experiment has been carried out using an On-Board-Sound-Intensity (OBSI) system. Five tires were tested including the Standard Reference Test Tire (SRTT). Compared to the conventional OBSI system, an optical sensor was added to the system to monitor the tire rotation. The once per revolution signal provided by the optical sensor is used to identify the noise signals associate to each revolution. In addition to the averaging method using optical signals, other data processing techniques have been investigated for separating the tread-pattern noise without utilizing the once per revolution signal. These techniques are autocorrelation analysis, a frequency domain filter, principal component analysis, and independent component analysis. In the tread-pattern noise generation, the tread profile is the most important input parameter. To characterize the tread profile, the tread pattern spectral content and air volume velocity spectral content for all the five tires are computed. Then, the tread pattern spectrum and the air volume velocity spectrum are both correlated with the separated tread-pattern noise by visual inspection of the spectra shape. / Master of Science / Tire-pavement interaction noise is one of the dominant sources of vehicle noise, and one of the most significant sources of urban noise pollution. One critical generation mechanism of tirepavement interaction noise is tire tread (the part that is in contact with the ground on the surface of the tire) excitation. This type of noise is called the tread-pattern noise. This study is dedicated to separating the tread-pattern noise from the total tire-pavement interaction noise, which has not been reported in the open literature. The separation of the tread-pattern noise can provide critical criteria for the tread-pattern acoustic design, which is one of the most important factors in the tire tread pattern design. Hence, the acoustic design of the tread pattern can be evaluated directly from the tread-pattern noise measurement, thus improving the design efficiency. In addition, the standalone study on the tread-pattern noise can reveal more fundamental physical underpins how the geometry of the tread can affect the noise generated. This finding has the potential to inspire the design of the tires with higher acoustic performance over the tires being used currently.

The ability of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to differentiate into different types of cells has been regarded as a significant discovery in the development of cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetic patients. MicroRNAs can be transported to recipient cells via vesicles, so-called exosomes. Exosomal microRNA differ from those of the parent cells suggesting that cells possess an active selecting mechanism of exosomes and their contents. Therefore, microRNAs may directly or indirectly regulate the expression of pancreatic islet-specific transcription factors to control the differentiation and maturation of pancreatic islet cells. In this study, the dynamic expression of exosomal and intracellular microRNAs from human pancreatic islets were analyzed and were compared with that in stem cell-derived islet-like clusters. The study also aimed to analyze the expression levels of intracellular microRNA in human pancreatic islets and stem cell-derived islet-like clusters compared to exosomal microRNA extracted from human islet media and stem cell media, respectively. The primary method of exosome extraction was ultracentrifugation, followed by microRNA isolation using a kit. The exosomes were then characterized with NTA, and the isolated microRNAs were detected using RT-qPCR. The results showed that the expression of microRNAs was generally low in human islets compared to isolated exosomes. The microRNA expression levels in stem cell-derived islet-like clusters and their respective isolated exosomes were also analyzed and it showed that let-7a, miR-375 and miR-26a were more abundant in exosomes. The results can contribute to the generation of more functional stem cell-derived islet-like cell clusters prepared from hPSCs to some extent. However, continued research in this area is required.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att med utgångspunkt i aktör-nätverksteori undersöka relationerna genom vilka de forskningstexter (som används i kompetensutvecklingsinsatsen Läslyftet) tillsammans med andra aktörer producerar översättningsprocesser med förmågan att förändra och påverka pedagogernas sätt att tänka och prata om det vardagliga arbetet med läsning i förskolan. Tidigare studier om hur forskning och vetenskaplig kunskap används i utbildningspraktiker efterfrågar ytterligare kunskap som begreppsliggör forskningsanvändning i praktiken. Med utgångspunkt i aktör-nätverksteori undersöks i föreliggande studie i vilka relationer som forskningstexter och forskningsbaserade begrepp tillsammans med andra aktörer producerar en skillnad för pedagogers tankar och utsagor om det praktiska förskolearbetet. Genom observationer av planerings- och utvärderingsmöten samt en fokusgruppsintervju av och med deltagande pedagoger undersöks de relationer som upprättas mellan olika aktörer i praktiker inom Läslyftet. En spårande analys genomförs för att undersöka vilka relationer som upprättas och förändrar och påverkar varandra. Genom att följa fyra olika spår i det empiriska materialet synliggör studien att forskningstexterna deltar i relationer med andra aktörer så som specifika begrepp, barnböcker och dokumentationer som producerar översättningsprocesser som förändrar hur pedagogerna pratar om sin praktik. De huvudsakliga resultaten av studien visar att texternas (i egenskap av forskning) aktörskap uppstår och är beroende av de idéer, tankar och ord som pedagogerna uttrycker och som också förändras i sina sammankopplingar med varandra och andra aktörer. Resultatet synliggör ett nätverk som uppstår i och genom dessa relationer med förmågan att producera kraft och ge effekter för pedagogernas förändrade tal om förskolans praktik / The aim of this study is to examine the relations through which the research texts (used in Läslyftet) together with other actors produce translation processes with the ability to change and affect the educator’s way to think and talk about the everyday work of reading in preschool. Previous studies on how research and scientific knowledge is applied in educational practices inquire for additional knowledge that conceptualizes research used in practice. Based on actor-network theory this study examines the relations that research texts and research-based concept together with other actors produce a difference for educator’s thoughts and statements about the practical preschool work. Through observations of planning and evaluation meetings along with a focus group interview of participating educators, the study examines the relations established between different actors in practices within Läslyftet. A tracking analysis was performed to examine the relations established and transform and affect each other. By following four different traces in the empirical material, the study makes visible that the research texts participate in relations with other actors such as specific concepts, children books and documentations which produces translation processes that changes how the educators talks about their practice. The main results of the study show that the texts (in the capacity of research) ability to act occurs and is dependent on the ideas, thoughts and words that the educators express and that also changes in their interconnections with each other and other actors. The result highlights a network that is emerging in and through these relations with the ability to produce a force and give effects for the educators´ changed talk about preschool practice

This thesis focuses on ingestion of foreign objects into standard turboprop engine GE H80 situated in aircraft Let L-410 Turbolet. Aim of this study is to create methodology of numerical simulation of particle movement inside the engine, which could be used during design process of Inertial Particle Separator device. Thesis consists of backward-facing step benchmark study which validates used methodology. Second part describes flow field calculation and numerical setup. The last part is dedicated to particle tracking analysis. Simulated trajectories are visually investigated, and coordinates of particle impacts at 1st rotor of a compressor are correlated to position of real observed damage.

Předkládaná diplomová práce se zabývá extrakcí nanočástic oxidu titaničitého z produktů osobní péče, konkrétně opalovacích krémů a následnou charakterizací těchto částic. Počet komerčně dostupných produktů s obsahem nanočástic TiO2 se neustále zvyšuje a to se sebou přináší potřebu vyhodnotit potenciální osud a nepřímou expozici TiO2 nanošástic o různých velikostí a tvarů a zkoumat jejich celý životní cyklus. Bylo zkoumáno použití ultrafiltrace a ultracentrifugace jako extrakční metody. Dvě metody pro extrakci TiO2 nanočástic byly vyvinuty a aplikovány na vzorky opalovacích krémů. Extrahované částice mohou být použity pro ekotoxikologické studie, případně experimenty v mesokosmu. Velikost částic byla stanovena pomocí metody dynamického rozptylu světla a transmisní elektronové mikroskopie.

Nanopartiklar är partiklar med storlekar i området 1 till 100 nm, och som uppvisar nanospecifika egenskaper. Egenskaperna kan variera helt mellan olika typer av nanopartiklar, även bland partiklarna och deras respektive material i bulk format på grund av deras unika storlekar, former och strukturer. I denna studie har vi analyserat storlekarna och den kolloidal stabiliteten på tre nanopartiklar, Co, Y2O3, CeO2 i färskvatten och färskvatten med naturligt organiskt material med hjälp av sonifikation, NTA, AAS och ICP analys. Nanopartiklarna lät vara utsatta i lösningarna i upp till six timmar, där analys med hand av NTA skedde efter den nollte, första och sjätte timmen. Partiklarna uppvisade olika egenskaper, och alla tre partiklar varierade i storlek under experimentet. Kobalt hade tendensen att minska i storlek i bägge lösningar, medan storlekarna på yttrium- och cerium oxid tenderade att variera. För att främja vår förståelse av nanopartiklar, behövs fler studier för att få en full förståelse för de unika egenskaperna hos dessa partiklar. / Nanoparticles are particles with sizes in the range of 1 to 100 nm, which also have nanospecific properties. Their properties vary wildly between different types of nanoparticles, even among nanoparticles and their respective particles in bulk format heeding to their highly individual shapes, sizes and structures. In this study we analyzed the sizes and colloidal stability of three different nanoparticles, Co, Y2O3 and CeO2 in freshwater and freshwater with natural organic matter solutions using sonication, NTA-, AAS-, and ICP analysis. The nanoparticles were exposed to the solutions for up to six hours, with analysis being performed at the zero, first and sixth hour. The particles indeed showed different properties, as all three particles varied in size throughout the experiment. Cobalt had the tendency to decrease in size as time progressed in both solutions, while the mean size of yttrium- and cerium oxide varied. To further our understanding of nanoparticles, more studies need to be performed to properly understand the individual properties of these nanoparticles.