The aim of this thesis was to develop an objective and automatic method for identifying capillaries in microscope images of the skin. Furthermore, statistical data about the identified capillaries and the capillary distribution should be computed and stored in a database. The method was implemented using the platform independent programming language Java. An analysis of microscope improvement using various polarization filter setups and wavelength filtershas also been performed, as well as a pilot study of the effect of applying a local anaesthetic cream on the skin. The method is developed and aimed at research on various pathological skin conditions affecting the capillary distribution.

Abstract I vår studie har vi intervjuat arbetsförmedlare som arbetar med etableringssamtal på Arbetsförmedlingen. Syftet med vår studie var att undersöka hur etableringssamtal går till och vilka faktorer påverkar samtalets utgång. Med hjälp av etableringssamtal så skall de nyanlända etablera sig snabbare och denna insats är frivillig. Vi genomförde kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer med åtta arbetsförmedlare som arbetar på etableringskontoret och som utför etableringssamtal. Resultatet analyserades utifrån samtalsmodellen The Skilled Helper av Gerard Egan, Vance Peavys konstruktivistiska vägledningsmodell samt begreppet gap som är taget från Cognitive Information Processing teori.

The presence of the absentMy project is based on the idea that we all leave something behind, traces which tell stories about us for others to read.I wanted to give these traces a value by collecting them in a book. My aim was to create pictures open enough so others can fill in their own stories.I used different methods to find ways to describe the absence: such as illustrations, installations and photos, oftendescribed in a sensitive way. I also changed the character of everyday objects to add a kind of awareness left by an earlier user of the object.By using my own imagination with inspiration from people I talked to, I created lyrics and pictures for the book. It has resulted in a 112 paged book containing my own interpretationsof other opinions about absence, along with short lyrics of various characteristics.Hopefully the book will make others more aware of the traces left in their own surrounding and bring up questions about human contact and how it can be identified.My question at issue was following:What kind of traces do we leave noticable for others?How can I translate an emotion to a picture?How will the choice of method affect the feeling of the absent?.

The aim of this project was to create an interior design for a children?s hospital patient room with the concept to adapt the room for the wide target group from 0-18 years of age. The analysis in the project is based on the hospital ward 322 at Drottning Silvias Children?s and Youth Hospital in Gothenburg. It?s an oncology ward where the children are very sensitive for infections and therefore need to be isolated in their rooms for 3-4 weeks.The main goal for the project was to create a room that works as a template and gives the people who lives in it the opportunity to create thier own room based on the personal things they bring into it, and how they decide to furnish and use the room.The result of the project is a template room with fixed furniture that can be transformed due to screens in the room.

This degree project has been carried out in cooperation with Enertech AB in Ljungby and is pilot study to automating all current manual soldering. The soldering process accounts for a large part of the processing cost in the production of a heat pump. The process is also a quality risk and has a major impact on the lifetime of the final product.The Main task of this project has been to evaluate automation of the soldering process, to develop automation solutions and a principle layout, to draw the design changes required for the automation and to calculate the supposed solution.This pilot study has resulted in a suggested automation solution using laser as a heat source for soldering. Calculations of the solution show that a automating a laser soldering cell is very profitable..

The aim of this study was to investigate nurse?s experience of working from the philosophy of palliative care in end of life at home. The study had a qualitative design. Semi-structured interviews were performed with nine nurses working in advanced palliative home care. The analysis of the material revealed four categories and two subcategories.

The efficacy of screening for breast cancer with mammography has been a subject of controversy during the last decades. However, the general opinion is now that screening reduces mortality in breast cancer (Zackrisson, 2006). It is nevertheless important to weigh the efficacy against the harm and costs associated with screening. Cost-utility and cost-effectiveness analysis of screening have generally failed to incorporate side effects such as anxiety and discomfort related to screening tests and the following diagnostic tests (Gyrd-Hansen, 2000). This study seeks to include such side effects in a cost-utility analysis.

AbstractThe ability to read and write is a very important skill in today?s information based society. Most of us learn how to read and write, but not everyone is blessed to do this without struggle. Dyslexia is a very common learning disability and therefore I found it interesting to study how teachers teach students with dyslexia.By studying the literature and by interviewing teachers, I found that dyslexia is a very complex disability. The teachers have to adapt their way of teaching in a way that a student with dyslexia can participate.

The purpose of this project was to further develop and complete a quadcopter that had been built in an earlier course at KTH, so that it could be used for demonstration and education at the school. The quadcopter was at the beginning of the project completed when it came to hardware, and there was some software functionality implemented but no system for automatic stabilization. The main goal of the project was to implement such a system, and to combine it with the previous functionality to make the quadcopter operable and able to fly. To create a functioning and stable ground multiple basic software features has been implemented, and on top of that additional software to improve the safety, stability and functionality. The most important part is the control system that is responsible for converting sensor and control signals to suitable motor values.

AbstractDrinking water is an important resource on Earth both for humans and animals. Although most of the surface is covered by water only a small quantity is available as drinking water. Our manner of living creates a lot of pollution which has an environmental impact. Groundwater has a protracted turnover time in the soil and it can take many years before the effects of human impact are detected. The Swedish environmental object is ?Good groundwater quality? which aims to provide a safe and sustainable supply of drinking water today and in the future.

AbstractThe purpose of the study was to examine if manual signs used as support to spoken and written language can be a god mnemonic for learning of word-pictures. I performed my study as an experiment in which I made a Memory game with word-pictures. I played the game with the children twice. The first time, we played without manual signs and the second time I used sign as a support. I observed the children and noted the words they learned to read with and without the support of manual signs.

With knowledge of how the southern Swedish forests have been affected by storms the past years, this study intended to find out which factors affect the storm firmness of a stand the most. The study was based on data from stands in the, by the storm Gudrun, affected area. The results of the analyses that tested the stand factors that influence the amount of storm damage to the greatest extent showed that the storm sensitivity of Norway spruce stands were largely due to previous management actions. The factors that could be controlled by thinning and had relevance of storm damage standpoint, according to the results were; the dominant height, volume, basal area weighted mean diameter and stand age at last thinning. In this study, these results are not as clear for Scots pine.

In the process of globalization, identity has become one of the central factors.An understanding of the difference that makes up our society has made thequestion of weather is it possible to envision a society where difference is thecommon ground, one that has been up for contest. To answer this we need to seeif this kind of democracy is possible at all. For this I?m turning to the socialmovments who while they are working close to the reality also can give us somereal answers. Therefore I have looked at how social movements adress identity,difference and conflict and concluded that three things are crucial in organizing ongrounds of difference.

The purpose of this particular study was to examine the client relationship as described by social workers during the ongoing process of addiction treatment in conjunction with the effects on creating these relationships as affected by government stipulations. As a basis for the study, qualitative interviews were conducted with five separate social workers in the course of their work within addiction treatment. Results from the study were analyzed by means of power and dramaturgically roll theory. The social workers stated that it was of the utmost importance to create a good relationship in order to effectively help the client. The social workers further stated that a good relationship was characterized by the virtues of cooperation, trust, and confidence.

This thesis describes a method of measuring axial magnetic leakage flux in an operational hydropower generator. Axial magnetic leakage flux is the magnetic flux at the ends of a rotating generator, which goes through the stator parallel to the rotor axis. This flux can cause circulating currents in the stator iron, giving rise to losses, and can in the worst case overheat a generator, causing it to melt down. To measure the axial flux, and how it affects the generator temperature, a measurement system was constructed on behalf of Vattenfall. The system consists of search coil sensors and a signal-processing unit with amplifiers and active filtering.  To confirm the behaviour of the axial leakage flux and the functionality of the measurement system, a test installation was made.