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Climate change together with anthropogenic eutrophication have led to, and will lead to, shifts in a number of abiotic factors in the oceans, such as temperature, carbon dioxide [CO2], pH, oxygen saturation and salinity. These stressors will act simultaneously on marine organisms and may have synergistic, additive or even antagonistic effects on physiological performance and tolerance. As such, multiple stressor experiments are crucial to gain a better understanding of future vulnerability of species, populations and ecosystems. Early life stages of invertebrates are generally considered most vulnerable to environmental stress, but only a few studies have concerned brooding species such as the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), which is a benthic species, of great ecological and commercial importance. The benthic stages (adults, juveniles and embryos) spend most of their time in soft sediment burrows where they may be afflicted by low pH, hypoxia and in turn an increased Mn2+ concentration while the subsequent pelagial stages (Zoea I-III) are exposed to elevated seawater temperature and fluctuations in salinity. This poses the question: Is the Norway lobster already at it tolerance limit or can it tolerate additional climate change related stress? This thesis comprises four studies primarily on embryonic development but also on larval, juveniles and eggbearing female Norway lobsters. In Paper I, a potential combined effect of long-term (4 months) exposure to ocean acidification (OA) and elevated temperature on embryonic physiology was investigated. Although the Norway lobster embryos rarely encounter the highest temperature tested (18°C) naturally, they were found to be tolerant to the treatment with no combined effects on development rate, metabolic rate or the level of oxidative stress. In Paper II an easy-to-use quantitative tool for the development staging of the Norway lobster embryos was described. Qualitative variables was fitted to the quantitative scale of amount yolk and tested against elevated temperature and OA. There was an insignificant trend of the morphological characters appearing at a lower amount yolk in the OA and 18°C combination. In Paper III, climate change impacts of salinity and OA tolerance in zoea larvae were studied. Tolerance to hyposalinity treatment decreased quickly with age as newly hatched zoea I larvae were more tolerant than older. However, when allowed to acclimate, tolerance and thus survival to low salinity increased. The surviving larvae of the lowest longer-term salinity treatment (17 PSU) were lighter than those exposed to higher salinities >21 PSU. Exposure to OA affected survival in some broods of zoea larvae negatively but not others, indicating genetic variation in OA tolerance. When larvae were starved, the mortality was also greater in OA indicating differences in energy usage. In Paper IV a higher level of OA was tested for 2 months, together with 1 week of exposure to hypoxia or manganese, on different life stages. Hypoxia drastically reduced oxygen consumption rate in all life-stages tested. Hypoxia in combination with OA also reduced metabolic rate further in embryos. Heart rate was however higher in embryos exposed to hypoxia, independent of OA but exhibited a more regular rhythm when exposed to the combination of hypoxia and OA. Females exposed to OA had a slightly increased oxygen consumption rate, but this effect was only significant in the combination with Mn2+. Conversely, the combinations of OA and Mn2+ reduced metabolic rate of embryos. Despite the decreased metabolic rate, we found no significant effect on embryonic development rate in the combinational treatments. However, development rate was significantly lower in the control than in hypoxia and Mn2+. This contradiction need to be further investigated. In conclusion, all life stages tested seemed relatively resilient to OA alone but life-stage dependent effects were seen when treatments were combined, such as the opposite response to OA and Mn2+ in embryo and female metabolic rate. Previous research has shown brooding females to sense and adjust ventilation of their eggs in unfavorable conditions. If the responses seen in Paper IV was a result of an elevated fanning was not in the scope of this thesis but should be investigated. The synergistic effects observed in this thesis would have been overlooked in a single stressor experimental set-up, which emphasise the great need for additional multiplestressor studies. Finally, the highest increase in pCO2 (600 μatm) tested (Paper IV) still represents a moderate scenario for the end of this century, since different models predict an increase of between 500-1000 μatm pCO2 (IPCC, 2013). Thus, the effects observed could be an underestimation of the future impact of OA. In many places the Norway lobster currently lives close to the tolerance limit of the early life stages. As such, the geographic area of suitable abiotic habitat for the Norway lobster may be severely affected in a near future.

Malnutrition is a common finding in patients with liver cirrhosis. Malnutrition has been shown to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Its pathogenesis remains unclear but both poor dietary intake and increased energy expenditure have been reported. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is an important clinical problem in cirrhotics. It may occur as a consequence of repeated access of bacteria from the intestinal lumen (translocation) to the mesenteric lymph nodes. One of the mechanisms proposed to explain bacterial translocation in cirrhosis includes increased intestinal permeability. The aims of the present study were to evaluate GI symptoms in cirrhotic patients and their possible relation to nutritional status, to assess whether gastric sensorimotor dysfunction or metabolic disturbances are associated with reduced food intake, and to investigate the role of ascites in intestinal permeability in patients with liver cirrhosis. Gastrointestinal symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were assessed with the aid of two questionnaires. Gastric sensorimotor function was measured by means of an electronic barostat. Food intake, as assessed with a food diary, was related to fasting and postprandial glucose, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin concentrations. Intestinal permeability was evaluated by a 51Cr-EDTA permeability test. Cirrhotics were found to have increased severity of GI symptoms compared with reference values from the general population. A relationship between GI symptoms and compromised HRQOL as well as weight loss was observed. Proximal stomach relaxation to a meal was increased in patients with liver cirrhosis as compared with healthy controls but the relation between gastric accommodation and energy intake was found to be disturbed in these patients. Gastric sensitivity to distension was shown to be related to GI symptom severity and to liver cirrhosis severity scores. Patients with liver cirrhosis exhibited higher postprandial insulin and glucose concentrations compared to controls. Cirrhotics had higher fasting leptin that fell significantly postmeal and they showed an attenuated increase of ghrelin before the next expected meal. Altered glucose and hormonal levels in patients with cirrhosis were associated with poor food intake. Only a few patients with cirrhosis had increased intestinal permeability, as assessed by a 51Cr-EDTA test, which was not influenced to a major extent by ascites. Conclusions: In patients with liver cirrhosis GI symptom severity is high and it is associated with impaired HRQOL and weight loss. Gastric accommodation is not involved in the poor food intake observed in cirrhotics and gastric sensitivity seems to be a relevant factor for GI symptom generation in these patients. Altered postprandial glucose, leptin, and ghrelin levels are correlated to reduced energy intake in this patient group. Increased intestinal permeability is probably of limited importance in the pathophysiology of bacterial infections in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites.

As a consequence of a fast-paced technological evolution along with the acknowledgment of utilizing clean and renewable energy resources over fossil fuels, the importance of energy storage devices is widely recognized. The electrochemical capacitor (EC), commonly known as a supercapacitor or ultracapacitor, is an energy storage device that is already being used in portable consumer electronics, electrification of transportation, and grid-level applications. High power density and long cycle life are the two most prominent properties of ECs, thanks to the electrostatic nature of their charge storage mechanism. These properties are well utilized in a system where ECs are used as a backup power-boosting device to rechargeable batteries. By providing the peak power required, they eventually prolong the battery lifetime. However, the relatively low energy density of ECs compared to rechargeable batteries limits their application as a standalone device. In addition, low operating voltage, adverse self-discharge rate, severe leakage current, elevated temperature incompatibility are some of the crucial issues that are preventing the widespread application of ECs. Besides a general discussion about ECs, the main objective of this thesis is to identify and address the above-mentioned critical challenges, and to propose and demonstrate corresponding solutions. Firstly, it is revealed that utilizing a redox-active KBr electrolyte can enhance both operating voltage and capacitance, and hence increases energy density without sacrificing power density or cycle life. Secondly, an evaluation of elevated temperature influence on the capacitive performance of ECs containing ionic liquid (IL) electrolyte demonstrates a high working temperature beyond 120 °C. Thirdly, a systematic investigation of ECs containing IL at elevated temperatures shows a significant increase of the self-discharge rate with temperature and pinpoints the underlying mechanisms; at lower initial voltages the self-discharge rate is dominated by diffusion of electrolyte ions rather than charge redistribution. Fourthly, the addition of a small amount of liquid crystals (LC) in neutral electrolyte shows a reduction of self-discharge and leakage current due to slower diffusion of ions in the device, which is proposed to originate from the anisotropic properties of LC. Finally, by utilizing the thermocapacitive effect, a thermal charging of ECs containing IL is demonstrated, where a high voltage of more than 900 mV could be recovered when two devices in series are exposed to a 60 °C temperature environment.

This paper studies the relationship between the amount of rainfall and the probability of adolescent marriage in two countries where marriage payments are prevalent: dowry in Nepal and bride price in Uganda. Dowry is a marital payment from the bride’s family to the groom, whereas bride price is the transfer from the groom to the bride’s family. Adolescent marriage is a short-term decision that has long-term consequences, as it often leads to domestic violence, lower educational attainment and early childbearing. We show that an increment of rainfall affect adolescent marriage and that the marital payment decides the sign of the effect. In Nepal, the relationship between rainfall and adolescent marriage is convex, whereas the relationship is concave in Uganda. In addition, the relationship between rainfall and the transition into secondary education is concave in both countries, indicating that the marginal effect of more rainfall is increasing at a decreasing rate. MSc in Economics

This dataset is the result of nation-wide surveys conducted in Italy and Sweden between August 5th and August 19th 2020. The survey explores the respondents' risk perception, preparedness, knowledge, and experience regarding a set of hazards, namely: epidemics, floods, droughts, earthquakes, wildfires, terror attacks, domestic violence, economic crises, and climate change. The survey is expected to be repeated in 2021 to investigate how responses change over time. The data files include the questionnaire survey (the Italian and Swedish versions as well as the English translation) and the dataset of all the answers to the survey. Each column in the dataset refers to an item in the survey (e.g. a question or a sub-question), and each row represent a single respondent. For additional information on the dataset, see Mondino et al. (2020). The dataset will be updated after the second round of surveys.

Sweden’s approach to managing the coronavirus crisis was dominated by a series of nonbinding guidelines and recommendations that served as the framework for contagion mitigation measures throughout 2020 (Ludvigsson 2020, Petridou 2020), that is, “nudges against pandemics” (Pierre 2020). This approach attracted considerable attention, since it departed from most national approaches, including the ones by the country’s geographically proximate and culturally similar Nordic neighbors. Conversely, the rate of deaths due to the pandemic has been higher in Sweden than in many European countries.

This degree project examines the feasibility of implementing a community of practice within the contract education course ”Sustainable Transport Systems” offered at KTH Royal Institute of Sweden in collaboration with Scania. This degree project aims to investigate if it would be possible to increase participation in the course by creating study circles led by circle leaders who have completed the course. Four interviews were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis, leading to the identification of four themes. A beta test was then conducted with 15 Scania employees who had yet to take the course, in which they participated in two condensed modules led by a circle leader. Results suggest a potential for implementing a community of practice, as circle leaders and employees saw value in the format and appreciated the opportunities for discussion and reflection on sustainability. The proposed concept is that the course serves as an introduction to a community of practice focusing on sustainability at Scania, where an attitude towards sustainability is developed and concrete improvement proposals for sustainability work are created through the course’s projects. Detta examensarbete undersöker genomförbarheten med att implementera en praxisgemenskap inom uppdragsutbildningskursen ”Hållbara transportsystem” som erbjuds vid Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan i samarbete med Scania. Syftet medarbetet är att undersöka om det skulle vara möjligt att öka deltagandet i kursen genom att skapa studiecirklar som leds av cirkelledare som genomfört kursen.Fyra intervjuer genomfördes och analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys, vilket ledde till att fyra teman identifierades. Därefter genomfördes ett betatest med 15 Scania-anställda som ännu inte hade gått kursen, där de deltog i två kompakta moduler ledda av en cirkelledare. Resultaten tyder på en potential för att implementera en praxisgemenskap, eftersom cirkelledare och medarbetare såg värde i formatet och uppskattade möjligheterna till diskussion och reflektion kring hållbarhet. Det föreslagna konceptet är att kursen fungerar som en introduktion till en praxisgemenskap med fokus på hållbarhet hos Scania, där en attityd till hållbarhet utvecklas och konkreta förbättringsförslag för hållbarhetsarbete skapas genom kursens projekt.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common systemic autoimmune disorder and a debilitating disease affecting 1% of the world population. The etiology of RA is an unresolved issue. Environmental factors such as alcohol intake and cigarette smoke have been described as contributing to the pathogenesis of RA. These assumptions are based on epidemiological studies, while experimental proof on this issue is limited. This thesis studies the effect of common environmental toxins on experimental arthritis induced by collagen type II (collagen-induced arthritis, CIA), an established murine model closely resembling human RA. We propose biological mechanisms behind the anti-inflammatory properties of environmental stimuli such as ethanol and nicotine, and provide new insights into the pathogenesis of RA. Paper I shows that a continuous intake of ethanol delays the onset and halts the progression of CIA in mice. This anti-arthritic effect is mediated by increased testosterone secretion leading to (i) decreased activation of transcription factor NF-κB, (ii) down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cyto- and chemokines and (iii) down-regulation of leukocyte migration into the joints. Paper II studies the effect of cigarette smoking and nicotine exposure in CIA mice. Results show that mice exposed to cigarette smoke develop a significantly milder arthritis with reduced destruction of joints. Nicotine-exposed mice show a tendency to decreased inflammation. Notably, exposure to cigarette smoke reduces antigen response and decreases the level of CII-specific antibodies. Paper III handles intervention with ethanol-sensitive glutamate receptors. CIA mice subjected to the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine show significantly decreased severity of arthritis and reduced destructive disease. We show that memantine up-regulates transcription factor Foxp3 and enhances formation of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, which may be a potential reason for the anti-arthritic properties of the NMDA receptor blockade. In conclusion, our results provide new insights into the anti-inflammatory properties of environmental toxins such as ethanol and nicotine, as well as of blockade of the ethanol-sensitive NMDA receptor. Our findings from experimental studies need further validation in the population of RA patients.

Alcohol abuse and dependence make up the most prevalent categories of substance use disorders in the world. Converging evidence from the current research group has identified two receptor populations, the glycine (GlyRs) and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the mesolimbic dopamine system, as two potentially important targets for the development of new medication to treat alcohol dependence. It is suggested that ethanol primarily acts via GlyRs in the nucleus accumbens (nAc) with a secondary and indirect effect on nAChRs in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), subsequently activating dopaminergic neurons leading to an increase of extracellular dopamine in the nAc. Pharmacological modulation of these receptors alters the activity of the suggested nAc-VTA-nAc circuitry with prominent effects on ethanol-induced dopamine elevations as well as ethanol intake. The general aim of this thesis was to further investigate the role of these receptors for regulating ethanol-induced dopamine and consummatory actions, by using ethanol and substances with possible anti-alcohol effects in the rat. Measurements of extracellular dopamine and amino acid levels in the nAc were made using in vivo brain microdialysis in awake, freely-moving male Wistar rats. In addition, a voluntary ethanol consumption paradigm with limited access was used to measure ethanol intake. The results indicate that the anti-relapse substance acamprosate has a similar dopamine-modulating profile as previously observed with ethanol and the endogenous GlyR ligand taurine. The acamprosate-induced dopamine elevation was demonstrated to be inhibited by pre-treatment with GlyR or nAChR-antagonists (Paper I). At a behavioral level, the ethanol intake-reducing effect of acamprosate was reversed by GlyR antagonism in the nAc (Paper II). In addition, the loss of the ethanol intake-reducing effect of chronic administration of acamprosate is potentially linked with its’ dopamine-modulating property (Paper III). The influence of acamprosate-related substances, the metabotropic glutamate type 5 receptor (mGluR5) antagonist MPEP and taurine, were also investigated. We found that mGluR5 and GlyR may have a joint mechanism to activate the dopamine output (Paper IV). Also, an augmentation of extracellular taurine levels is required in order to obtain an ethanol-induced dopamine increase (Paper V). The findings of this thesis have revealed a new mechanism of action for the anti-relapse agent acamprosate. But, most importantly, the results have further confirmed the relevance of the nAc-VTA-nAc neuronal circuitry for alcohol addiction.

This thesis investigates the distribution of slippery roads in Sweden and the UK for the present climate and how this may be affected by climate change for the rest of the century. It also addresses future scenarios for traffic accidents and winter road maintenance. The purpose of this thesis is to get a better understanding of winter road conditions and relationships to motor vehicle accidents. A variety of scales are studied in this thesis ranging from nationwide studies in Sweden to smaller scale case studies in Sweden and the UK. The Swedish Road Weather Information System (RWIS) is one of the most extensive in the world with a total of 720 outstations. Air and road surface temperatures are measured at each outstation along with relative humidity, precipitation and wind. In this thesis four different types of slipperiness are considered: Slippery conditions due to moderate hoarfrost (HR1), severe hoarfrost (HR2), road icing (HT) and rain or sleet on a cold road (HN). These four slipperiness types can be combined to form a winter index (WI). However, other types of precipitation are studied where appropriate. Four papers are included in this thesis. The first aims of these papers include an analysis of the geographical distribution of different slipperiness types in Sweden and how these different types of slipperiness relate to traffic accidents. Further on the impact of climate change on road surface temperatures is also considered and in particular, what impact a changing climate would have on the number of traffic accidents, both in the Gothenburg area, Sweden and West Midlands, UK. In Sweden, the frequency of occasions with road slipperiness increases towards the north, with the exception for the slipperiness type road icing (HT), which actually decrease towards the north. When a mild winter was compared to a winter with a temperature marginally warmer than the baseline winter (1961-1990), slippery roads caused more accidents in the mild winter where as snow was the cause of most accidents in the colder winter. Climate change scenarios show that the number of days with temperatures below zero degrees will gradually decrease over the next century. By the 2080s (2070-2100), there will be a 22% reduction of the number of days in the Gothenburg area (Sweden) and a 48% reduction in the Birmingham area (UK). By using derived statistical relationships with traffic accidents, this translates to a theoretical reduction in the number of accidents occurring when the temperature is below zero degrees by 20% respectively 43%. Winter maintenance costs are likely to be reduced by at least 15% in the Gothenburg area until the 2080s. This can be compared with a decline of 38% per annum in the Birmingham area. There may be a disadvantage with a warming climate at least when considering accidents. Since the temperature is rising the number of days with temperatures above zero degrees increases quite rapidly until 2080s. If the ratio between accidents and number of days at each degree will remain unchanged there will be an increase in the number of traffic accidents with as much as 88% at temperatures above zero degrees. Despite this great increase, the total amount of accidents will only increase by 2%.