Den 11 mars 2011 inträffade en kärnenergiolycka i Fukushima, Japan. Jag har gjort en diskursanalytisk innehållsanalys av fyra svenska dagstidningars artiklar om kärnenergi från de 90 dagarna innan kärnenergiolyckan i Japan, de första 90 dagarna efter den samt de därefter följande 90 dagarna. Jag har även jämfört de tendenser som framkommer i rapporteringen med Sveriges befolknings attityder till kärnenergi för att se om det finns något samband mellan dessa. Syftet var att utifrån mina resultat, tidigare forskning och teorin från forskningsfältet ”communication of science” analysera den eventuella påverkan medias rapportering om kärnenergi och allmänhetens syn på kärnenergi kan ha på varandra. Analysen visar att det finns ett samband mellan tidningarnas rapportering och allmänhetens åsikter och att det är troligt att parterna påverkar varandra. Vidare studier skulle dock krävas för att säkert kunna uttala sig om hur parterna påverkar varandra.

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to C1-inhibitor deficiency, type I and II, is a rare disease with an estimated prevalence of 1/50,000. Angioedema in the larynx can be life threatening and angioedema in the abdomen and skin can give severe and disabling pain. Data on patients with HAE in Sweden were scarce before our study. Aim: To study the prevalence of HAE, and to investigate clinical manifestations, treatments, and Health-Related Quality of Life (HR-QoL) in adults and children in Sweden. Method: In studies, I and II, all patients received a written questionnaire followed by a phone interview with questions about clinical manifestations, medication, sick leave and QoL. In study III the patients completed EuroQol 5 Dimensions 5 Levels (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaires for both the attack-free state (EQ5D today), and the last HAE attack (EQ5D attack). Questions were also asked about sick-leave. In study IV all adults received questionnaires with EQ-5D-5L and RAND-36, Angioedema Quality of Life instrument (AE-QoL), and Angioedema Activity Score (AAS) form, and questionnaires on sick leave and prophylactic medication. Results: We identified 146 patients, 110 adults and 36 children with HAE, type I (n=136) or II (n=10), giving a minimal HAE prevalence of 1.54/100,000. For adults, the median age at onset of symptoms was 12 years and median age at diagnosis was 22 years. Median age at onset of symptoms for children was 4 years and at diagnosis 3 years. During the previous year, 47% of adults experienced at least 12 attacks, 21% 4-11 attacks, 11% 1-3 attacks, while 22% were asymptomatic. For children, the corresponding figures were about the same. The median number of attacks in those having attacks was 14 in adults and 6 in children last year. Adult females reported on average 19 attacks the previous year versus nine for males. Irrespective of location nine out of 10 reported pain. Trigger factors were experienced in 95 % of adults and 74 % of children. Plasma-derived C1-inhibitor concentrate (pdC1INH) had a very good effect on acute attacks. Long-term prophylaxis with androgens and pdC1INH reduced the annual attack frequency by more than 50 %. Of the children’s parents, 73% had been on parental leave to care for the child due to HAE symptoms. Health and QoL were generally rated as good. In study III 103 of 139 responded and reported an EQ5D today score that was significantly higher than the EQ5D attack score. Attack frequency had a negative effect on EQ5D today. Children had significantly higher EQ-5D-5L than adults. Forty four percent had been absent from work or school during the latest attack. In study IV 64 of 133 adults responded. The most affected HR-QoL dimensions in EQ-5D-5L were pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression, in RAND-36 energy/fatigue, general health, health transition, pain, and in AE-QoL fears/shame and fatigue/mood. Females had significantly lower HR-QoL in RAND-36 for general health and energy/fatigue. There was an association between AAS and EQ-5D-5L/RAND-36 (except physical function) /AEQoL. There was no significant difference in HR-QoL in patients with and without prophylactic medication. Conclusion: The minimal prevalence of HAE type I and II in Sweden is 1.54/100,000. Median age at onset was 12 years. Adult females had twice as many attacks as males, adults had also twice as many attacks as children. For acute treatment, pdC1INH had a very good effect. For long term prophylaxis, androgens and pdC1INH had good effect. The most affected HR-QoL dimensions in EQ-5D-5L were pain/discomfort and anxiety/ depression, in RAND-36 energy/fatigue, general health, health transition and pain, and in AE-QoL fears/shame and fatigue/mood. Children reported better HR-QoL than adults. AE-QoL is more disease-specific in HAE than the generic instruments EQ-5D-5L and RAND-36. However, the latter highlights the pain aspect, whereas AE-QoL does not. Patients with high disease activity should thus be considered for more intensive treatment to improve their HR-QoL.

Biology is a broad subject within the frame of natural science education. It includes the study of the smallest components of the cell to the process of energy movement between ecosystems. This study intended to examine how students in upper secondary school perceive biology education with their interest for the subject as a starting point. The study aimed toward the questions regarding what parts of the subject the students experience as meaningful and in what degree the contents of the syllabus are achieved into manageble knowledge and skills through the teacher. The study found that students experience high degree of learning interest the more the subject matter is relateble with their daily life out of school. The transmission of understanding was also fascilitated by the discourse of laboratory work, since its workflow visually verify many processes in biology. Students' approach to biology are influenced by their degree of intrerest towards the different parts of the subject. This varied commitment therefore require didactic skills from teachers, as well as awareness regarding what and how students wish to learn.

Sweden has through its membership of the EU, an obligation to strive that the wolf population should be both long and short time viability. The signed Convention on Biological Diversity means that the wolf population must meet a favorable conservation status, which has required a great need for scientific facts about what a sustainable status is. The relationship between science and decision making can be difficult, especially in complex environmental problems with many uncertainties. The purpose of this study is to examine the various scientific uncertainties and find out how they influence decision-making within the Swedish wolf policy. The focus is on the impact of the scientific advice for decision-makers. The study is a case study in which the results are based on five interviews with experts in the field as well as a deeper text analysis of the reports and regulations used in the decision-making process. In conclusion, the study indicates that research and scientific findings have had a major role in the decision-makers in wolf management. To some extent, it has also complicated the issue because of the lack of consensus among researchers. The attitude around Sweden's wolves extends far back in time and the conflict today is a contentious question that seems to act much about values ​​and not just scientific contradictions. / Sverige har genom sitt medlemskap i EU en skyldighet att sträva efter att vargens population ska vara både kortsiktigt och långsiktigt livskraftig. Den undertecknade konventionen om biologisk mångfald medför att vargstammen måste uppfylla en gynnsam bevarandestatus, vilket har krävt ett stort behov av vetenskapliga fakta kring vad en hållbar status är. Sambandet mellan vetenskap och beslutsfattande kan vara svår, särskilt i komplicerade miljöproblem med många osäkerhetsfaktorer. Syftet med studien är att granska de olika vetenskapliga osäkerheterna och ta reda på hur de påverkar beslutsprocessen inom svensk vargpolitik. Fokus ligger på den inverkan de vetenskapliga råden har för beslutsfattarna. Studien är en fallstudie där resultatet bygger på fem intervjuer med experter inom området, samt en djupare textanalys av de rapporter och förordningar som använts i beslutsprocessen. Sammanfattningsvis tyder studiens resultat på att forskning och vetenskapliga resultat har haft en stor roll för beslutsfattarna inom vargförvaltningen. Till viss del har den också försvårat frågan på grund av avsaknaden av konsensus bland forskarna. Attityden kring Sveriges vargar sträcker sig långt bak i tiden och konflikten är idag en laddad fråga som inte bara handlar om vetenskapliga motsättningar, utan även om värderingar.

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has been extensively used to produce qualitative maps of distributions of proteins, peptides, lipids, neurotransmitters, small molecule pharmaceuticals and their metabolites directly in biological tissue sections. Moreover, during the last 10 years, there has been growing demand to quantify target compounds in tissue sections of various organs. This thesis focuses on development and application of a novel instrument- and manufacturer-independent MSI software suite, msIQuant, in the open access format imzML, which has been developed specifically for quantitative analysis of MSI data. The functionality of msIQuant facilitates automatic generation of calibration curves from series of standards that can be used to determine concentrations of specific analytes. In addition, it provides many tools for image visualization, including modules enabling multiple interpolation, low intensity transparency display, and image fusion and sharpening. Moreover, algorithms and advanced data management modules in msIQuant facilitate management of the large datasets generated following rapid recent increases in the mass and spatial resolutions of MSI instruments, by using spectra transposition and data entropy reduction (at four selectable levels: coarse, medium, fine or superfine) before lossless compression of the data. As described in the thesis, implementation of msIQuant has been exemplified in both quantitative (relative or absolute) and qualitative analyses of distributions of neurotransmitters, endogenous substances and pharmaceutical drugs in brain tissue sections. Our laboratory have developed a molecular-specific approach for the simultaneous imaging and quantitation of multiple neurotransmitters, precursors, and metabolites, such as tyrosine, tryptamine, tyramine, phenethylamine, dopamine, 3-methoxytyramine, serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and acetylcholine, in histological tissue sections at high spatial resolution by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) MSI. Chemical derivatization by charge-tagging primary amines of analytes significantly increased the sensitivity, enabling mapping of neurotransmitters that were not previously detectable by MSI. The two MSI approaches have been used to directly measure changes in neurotransmitter levels in specific brain structures in animal disease models, which facilitates understanding of biochemical mechanisms of drug treatments. In summary, msIQuant software has proven potency (particularly in combination with the reported derivatization technique) for both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Further developments will enable its implementation in multiple operating system platforms and use for statistical analysis.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a complex disorder with multiple pathophysiological processes contributing to the initiation, progression and development of the disease state. AUD is a chronic relapsing disease with escalation of alcohol-intake over time in repeated cycles of tolerance, abstinence and relapse and hence, it is very difficult to treat. There are only a few currently available treatments with narrow efficacy and variable patient response. Thus it is important to find new, more effective medications to increase the number of patients who can benefit from pharmacological treatment of AUD. The research presented in this thesis work focuses on the critical involvement of central neuropeptides in alcohol-related behaviors. The overall aim was to evaluate the nociceptin/orphanin FQ (NOP) receptor, the neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y2 receptor and the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) receptor 1 as novel and potential pharmacological treatment targets for AUD by testing the NOP receptor agonist SR-8993, the NPY-Y2 receptor antagonist CYM-9840 and the MCH1 receptor antagonist GW803430 in established animal models. In the first study (Paper I), the novel and selective NOP agonist SR-8993 was assessed in rat models of motivation to obtain alcohol and relapse to alcohol seeking behavior using the operant self-administration (SA) paradigm. Firstly, treatment with SR-8993 (1 mg/kg) showed a mildly anxiolytic effect and reversed acute alcohol withdrawal-induced “hangover” anxiety in the elevated plus-maze (EPM). Next, it potently attenuated alcohol SA and motivation to obtain alcohol in the progressive ratio responding (PRR) and reduced both alcohol cue-induced and yohimbine stress-induced reinstatement of alcohol seeking, without affecting the pharmacology and metabolism of alcohol nor other control behaviors. To extend these findings, SR-8993 was evaluated in escalated alcohol-intake in rats.  Treatment with SR-8993 significantly suppressed alcohol-intake and preference in rats that were trained to consume high amounts of alcohol in the two-bottle free choice intermittent access (IA) paradigm. SR-8993 also blocked operant SA of alcohol in rats that showed robust escalation in operant alcohol SA following chronic IA exposure to alcohol. In the second study (Paper II), SR-8993 was further evaluated in a model for escalated alcohol-intake induced by long-term IA exposure to alcohol. The effect of previous experience on operant alcohol SA on two-bottle free choice preference drinking was evaluated and sensitivity to treatment with SR-8993 was tested in rats selected for escalated and non-escalated alcohol seeking behavior. We found that rats exposed to the combined SA-IA paradigm showed greater sensitivity to SR-8993 treatment. In addition, acute escalation of alcohol SA after a three-week period of abstinence was completely abolished by pretreatment with SR-8993. In the third study (Paper III), the effects of the novel, small molecule NPY-Y2 antagonist CYM-9840 were tested in operant alcohol SA, PRR which is a model for motivation to work for alcohol and reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behavior. Treatment with CYM-9840 (10 mg/kg) potently attenuated alcohol SA, progressive ratio responding and stress-induced reinstatement using yohimbine as the stressor, while alcohol cue-induced reinstatement was unaffected. Moreover, a range of control behaviors including taste sensitivity, locomotor and pharmacological sensitivity to the sedative effects of alcohol remained unaffected by CYM-9840 pretreatment, indicating that its effects are specific to the rewarding and motivational aspects of alcohol-intake and related behaviors. CYM-9840 also reversed acute alcohol withdrawal-induced “hangover” anxiety measured in the EPM and reduced alcohol-intake in the 4 hour limited access two-bottle free choice preference drinking model. Finally, in the fourth study (Paper IV), the selective MCH1-R antagonist GW803430 was tested in rat models of escalated alcohol-intake. Pretreatment with GW803430 (effective at 10 & 30 mg/kg) dose-dependently reduced alcohol and food-intake in rats that consumed high amounts of alcohol during IA, while it only decreased food-intake in rats that consumed low amounts of alcohol during IA, likely due to a floor effect. Upon protracted abstinence following IA, GW803430 significantly reduced operant alcohol SA and this was associated with adaptations in MCH and MCH1-R gene-expression. In contrast, GW803430 did not affect escalated alcohol SA induced by chronic alcohol vapor exposure and this was accompanied by no change in MCH or MCH1-R gene expression. Overall, these results suggest that the MCH1-R antagonist affects alcohol-intake through regulation of both motivation for caloric-intake and the rewarding properties of alcohol. In conclusion, our results suggest critical roles for these central neuropeptides in the regulation of anxiety and of alcohol reward, making them potential pharmacological targets in the treatment of AUD.

There are currently two types of drug formulation in clinical use in the locoregional treatment of intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the emulsion LIPDOX, the cytostatic agent doxorubicin (DOX) is dissolved in the aqueous phase, which is emulsified with the oily contrast agent Lipiodol® (LIP). In the microparticular system DEBDOX, DOX is loaded into the drug-eluting entity DC Bead™. The overall aim of the thesis was to improve pharmaceutical understanding of the LIPDOX and DEBDOX formulations, in order to facilitate the future development of novel drug delivery systems. In vivo release of DOX from the formulations and the disposition of DOX and its active metabolite doxorubicinol (DOXol) were assessed in an advanced multisampling-site acute healthy pig model and in patients with HCC. The release of DOX and disposition of DOX and DOXol where further analysed using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) and biopharmaceutical (PBBP) modelling. The combination of in vivo investigations and in silico modelling could provide unique insight into the mechanisms behind drug release and disposition. The in vivo release of DOX from LIPDOX is not extended and controlled, as it is from DEBDOX. With both formulations, DOX is released as a burst during the early phase of administration. The in vivo release of DOX from LIPDOX was faster than from DEBDOX in both pigs and patients. The release from DEBDOX was slow and possibly incomplete. The in vivo release of DOX from LIPDOX and DEBDOX could be described by using the PBBP model in combination with in vitro release profiles. The disposition of DOX and DOXol was modelled using a semi-PBPK model containing intracellular binding sites. The contrast agent Lipiodol® did not affect the hepatobiliary disposition of DOX in the pig model. The control substance used in this study, cyclosporine A, inhibited the biliary excretion of DOX and DOXol but did not alter metabolism in healthy pigs. The disposition of DOX is similar in healthy pigs and humans, which was shown by the ease of translation of the semi-PBPK pig model to the human PBBP model.

Denna kandidatuppsats berör hur Pompeji är framställd i vetenskapliga och populärkulturella källor genom böcker och artiklar. Skillnaden är även något som kritiskt diskurs analyseras. Mängder av populärkulturell- och vetenskaplig information finns om Pompeji och dess invånare. Är vetenskapliga och populärkulturella böcker från vitt skilda världar? Skriver vetenskapliga och populärkulturella författare olika? Svaret är att skillnaden inte är så stor men att den finns. Gränsen mellan populärkultur och vetenskap kan bli otydlig. / The bachelor thesis concerns how Pompeii is written about in scientific and popular culture sources through books and articles. The differences between them is also something that is critical discourse analyzed. A great deal of popular culture- and scientific information is written about Pompeii and it's citizens. Are scientific and popular culture books from different worlds? Does scientific and popular culture writers write differently? The answer is that the difference is not big but it's present. The line between popular culture and science can be ambiguous.

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The purpose of this study is through the research librarians, to shed light on their perceptions, competencies and strategies related to open science at the Swedish research libraries. The transition to open science is ongoing nationally and globally and research librarians at research libraries at universities have extensive knowledge while constantly facing major challenges in the field which develops their competencies and strategies in open science. A valuable aspect in order to develop open science for the future is studying the individuals behind. Semi-structured interviews with five research librarians at two main research libraries at two stateowned Swedish universities were conducted, and the interviews were analyzed thematically. The theory of fenomenology is applied to the study for the purpose of throughly examine every individual – every research librarians perceptions, competencies and strategies related to open science. The analysis maps the empirical material and a selection of previous ones research on librarians and open science to put the study in a relevant context. Also the empirical material helps to identify the possibilities for the development of open science for the future. The study identifies several areas of interest. The results show that Swedish research librarians perceive open science as comprehensive, with many different challenges, unclear and transparent – overall open science is complex. Research librarians acquire skills in open science, primarily when they collaborate, read as well as when they apply open science. The open science strategies that are particularly prominent are partly the work with research support, partly the strategic work. The prerequisite for the development of open science is the human aspect in the life world of research librarians. Findings reveal that research librarians mainly educate themselves in open science. The prerequisite for selfeducation and to develop strategies is their driving force. The study also show that Swedish research librarians have a potential to influence the development of open science. It is important to highlight that open science needs to be supported and developed within the research community so that open science becomes a natural part of contemporary and future research culture. In the unstable situation of the world in times of permacrisis, it is even more urgent to share research. Open science can provide opportunities to change human rights such as equality, democracy, social development, climate and health for the better – naionally and globally. This is a two-year master´s thesis in Library and Information Science.