n this dissertation a comparison of two evolutionary methods for evolving ANNs for robot control is made. The methods compared are SANE with enforced sub-population and delta-coding, and marker-based encoding. In an attempt to speed up evolution, marker-based encoding is extended with delta-coding. The task selected for comparison is the hunter-prey task. This task requires the robot controller to posess some form of memory as the prey can move out of sensor range.

ABSTRACTBackgroundWhen faced with an unexpected cardiac arrest the ambulance nurse is in responsible for taking advanced actions to create a clear airway. Two accepted methods for this is endotracheal intubation and application of laryngeal mask.AimThe purpose of this study was to examine the use of endotracheal intubation compared to application of the laryngeal mask in unexpected cardiac arrest.MethodLiterature study with quantitative approach. A systematic search of 21 articles comparing the laryngeal mask with the endotracheal intubation has been made using Pub-Med and CINAHL. A quality review according to Forsberg and Wengström has been made.ResultsLaryngeal mask had a higher rate of successful applications compared with endotracheal intubation. Time for applying the laryngeal mask was shorter in seven out of ten of the studied articles.

Leber´s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a disease affecting vision, is caused by several point mutations in mitochondrial DNA. Mutations leading to a defect NADH ubiquinone oxidoreductase protein will affect the respiratory chain and cause a disturbed ATP production. It is still unknown why this defect leads to the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells and cells in the opticus nerve as well as demyelination of axons in these areas. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA is an important tool in the diagnosis of the disease. At the present time analysis is based on cleavage by restriction enzymes, which only detects two of the most frequent mutations: m.3460G>A and m.11778G>A.

This study concerns congenital defects in pigs; umbilical and scrotal hernia, cryptorchidism, kyphosis, splay legs, anal atresia, intersexuality and congenital tremor. The aim was to describe and estimate the prevalence of these defects and estimate the heritability for the most frequent defects, scrotal hernia and cryptorchidism in purebred Swedish Hampshire, Landrace and Yorkshire populations. Furthermore, information and opinions from herdsmen in commercial herds was collected and analysed. A low proportion of congenital defect pigs is of importance both from animal welfare and economic point of view. The accuracy of registration of the presence of defects in the litters has a decisive role for the ability to select against these defects.

Complex Vertebral Malformation (CVM) is an autosomal recessive inherited defect in the Holstein breed. The defect has lead to structurally malformed calves and losses of pregnancies. To determine the effect of CVM on fertility in the Swedish Holstein Breed 375 Holstein bulls used in breeding by Svensk Avel and Skånesemin were assigned to this study. 228 bulls matched the criteria of birth year, 1995-1999, > 75 inseminations and a known CVM-status. Of the total 228 bulls 53 of them were CVM-carriers and 175 were non-carriers. The SAS-programme was used to determine the effects of CVM-status, the bull?s father and birth year on Non-return rates (NRR) for 28, 56 and 168 days.

During the years 2005-2007 several cases of abnormal bleeding were seen after surgery in Bengal cats on veterinary clinics and animal hospitals in Sweden. In this study we have examined if the observed bleedings are due to an inherited defect of the coagulation cascade. Ten Bengal cats were tested for activated partial thromboplastin time (P-APT-time) and one-stage protrombin time (P-PK), and nine of these cats were tested for fibrinogen quantity (P-fibrinogen). Four of the tested cats had shown signs of an abnormal bleeding after surgery, and five of the cats were genetically related to these cats. One cat had a small bleeding wound at the internal base of the right auricle.

AbstractThe purpose with this essay is to get knowledge about the consequences that speech-defects bring for children in pre-school ages. I got interested in this matter when I, during my teaching practice, got in touch with children carrying this specific disorder. I chose to apply qualitative interview as a method to investigate this and as a starting-point I used these aspects: How does speech-defects affect learning, understanding, friendship relations, and development in general?I interviewed three pre-school teachers in two different schools. One school in a smaller district and the other one in a middle-sized town, in the middle of Sweden.

Breakdowns of welded structures are usually a consequence of fatigue loading. Fatigue fractures are commonly initiated in the region close to the weld toe but can also initiate from the weld root and from discontinuities inside the weld. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the weld quality of welded joints produced at Volvo Wheel Loaders factory in Arvika. The goal of the investigation is to give a clearer insight regarding factors influencing the fatigue strength of the welded joints and thereby give a better foundation for fatigue strength calculations.The investigation is including examination of the weld geometry, weld discontinuities and the effects of shot peening. Mainly three different methods for collecting test data have been used: Plastic replicas cast on the weld profile, weld specimens from a rear frame belonging to a wheel loader of model L110E/120E and Almen testing of the shot peening.The results showed that it is not possible to control even transition between the weld material and the base material without after treatment.

During the 1970?s the interest for quality management and the concept of quality costs increased considerably. Business leaders noticed that there was a great potential for reducing costs of poor quality. Since up to 10-30% of a company?s total turnover may consist of poor quality costs some consider them as an unexploited goldmine.

Latent heat storage is a way to store thermal energy when a phase change material undergoes a phase change. The advantage of latent heat storage is the capability to store more energy per mass unit than other heat storage methods. The most commonly used phase change in latent heat storage is the transition between solid and liquid. Phase change materials can be divided into organics, inorganics and eutectics.In the Nordic electricity market the price of electricity is set every hour by Nordpool spot, which leads to price fluctuations because of changes in demand. The main goal of this report is to create a latent heat storage system in a single-family home and investigate the possibility to save money by charging the latent heat storage system when the price of electricity is low, and discharge when the price is high.The thermodynamic model consisted of a ?tube-in-tube? heat exchanger with phase change material in the outer tube and water as the heat transfer fluid in the inner tube.

Society has seen a tremendous increase in threats, violence and especially unprovoked violence perpetrated by youths. Violence and more seriously unprovoked violence has become a major problem for many service corporations as it gives them bad image and reputation. Corporate Social Responsibility CSR encourages many companies to engage in social activities as they realize that the company is part of the society and the environment. What affects society may sooner or later affect the corporate. For any business to prosper and create a long-term relationship with its customers, it needs a safe environment both for the customers and staff.Feedback from customers and staff is survival and these two (customer and staff) are the most vital assets any firm could have.

Bilsäkerhet är en viktig fråga i dagens samhälle. Det enklaste sättet att skydda sig vid en bilfärd är genom att använda säkerhetsbälte. En säkerhetsbältesrulle är uppbyggd av flera olika komponenter, en av dessa kallas torque tube som tar energi när kroppen fångas upp av bältet vid en eventuell kollison. Säkerhetsbältet ska skydda passagerarna i bilen i många år och vid olika temperaturer. Torque tuben är i detta fall gjuten i en zinklegering som heter Zamak5 som förändrar sina materialegenskaper i åldrat och kylt tillstånd.

The purpose of this master?s thesis was to find problems that occur in the production line at Atlas Copco Rocktec Division, in order to decrease the costs of defect in quality. When the problems were distinguished, the authors ought to choose the problem with the highest improvement potential. One request from the constituent at Atlas Copco Rocktec Division was to connect the improvement to the document The Way We Produce. The document provides information and values about Atlas Copco and consists of 10 principles to be able to reach their vision.

Sköldkörteln (tyroidea) är ett endokrint organ som påverkar ämnesomsättningen. Tyreoidea stimulerande hormon (TSH) frisätts från hypofysen och stimulerar syntes och frisättning av tyreoideahormonerna trijodtyronin (T3) och tyroxin (T4). Tyreoidea hormonerna har i sin tur en negativ påverkan på frisättningen av TSH. TSH, T3 fritt och T4 fritt analyseras på serum med immunokemiska metoder. Becton Dickinson (BD) har tagit fram ett snabbkoagulerande provrör för analys av serum.

Sandvik AB är en högteknologisk verkstadskoncern som omfattar affärsområdena Tooling, Mining and Construction och Materials Technology (SMT). Sandvik Materials Technology är världsledande inom rostfria och höglegerade stål, specialmetaller, motståndsmaterial samt processystem. Inom SMT drivs ett inköps- och råvaruoptimeringsprojekt (IRO) som har målet att minska lagernivåerna av köpskrot och legeringar i råvarulagret på skrotgården. Kapitalbindningen anses i dagsläget vara för hög. Därför är det viktigt att ta reda på hur det interna flödet av returstål ser ut, för att på det sättet kunna förbättra lagerstyrningen.