Bakgrund: Långvarig smärta är ett komplext tillstånd med biologiska, psykologiska och sociala dimensioner som påverkar funktion, vardag och livskvalitet. Behandling inkluderar läkemedel, multimodal rehabilitering och psykologiska metoder. Digitala interventioner och smärtskolor erbjuder flexibel, evidensbaserad vård som kan förbättra smärtupplevelse, funktion och livskvalitet, även på distans.

Syfte: Utforska patienternas upplevelser och tankar avseende den digitala smärtskolan i ett länsövergripande projekt inom primärvården, samt undersöka vilka verktyg patienterna anammat vid egen hantering av långvarig smärta.

Metod: Kvalitativ intervjustudie med genomfördes med åtta informanter med en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Data analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats. 

Resultat: Analysen identifierade tre huvudkategorier: användarupplevelse och tillgänglighet, lärande och förbättrad egenvård, samt förväntningar och personliga perspektiv. 

Konklusion: Studien visar att den digitala smärtskolan bidrog till beteendeförändringar, förbättrad egenvård samt ökad kunskap, med stöd av avslappningsövningar, anpassad aktivitet och patientberättelser. Den digitala formen upplevdes som flexibel och tillgänglig, även om vissa saknade socialt utbyte och vissa moment kändes stressande.  Resultatet visar att informanterna i det stora hela är nöjda med vad den digitala smärtskolan har bidragit med. Både möjlighet till en mer tillgänglig form av kunskap och stor bredd i nya insikter, verktyg och inspiration. Fortsatt utveckling av interaktivitet, socialt stöd och individanpassning kan öka engagemang och nytta. 

Combinations of electric and hydraulic machines, also known as e-pumps or electro-hydraulic energy converters, are essential for the electrification of mobile working machinery. Currently, these machines are typically combined by axial stacking, and the electric machine directly drives the hydraulic machine. Alternatively, the hydraulic machine can be radially integrated within the core of the electric machine, or a gearbox in combination with a downsized electric machine can be used. However, to the authors’ knowledge, no systematic comparison of these different concepts has been published. This paper uses analytical methods to determine the dimensions of the active parts of hydraulic machines, electric machines, and gearboxes in order to compare different design concepts based on volume, aspect ratio, total mass, copper mass, magnet mass, electromagnetic efficiency, and inertia. Axially stacked concepts can yield the highest compactness. However, they achieve this compactness at low aspect ratios, with their lengths being several times greater than their outer diameters. For balanced aspect ratios, where the outer diameter and total length of the machine are similar, the radially integrated, direct-driven concept is most compact.

In Sweden, substantial volumes of municipal solid waste are currently incinerated in combined heat and power (CHP) plants, leading to the loss of potentially recyclable materials and the generation of fossil-based carbon dioxide emissions. In response, Tekniska verken in Linköping is establishing a material recovery facility (MRF) designed to extract plastics, paper, biowaste, as well as ferrous and non-ferrous metals from residual household waste for further material recycling and biogas production.This master’s thesis aimed to assess the climate implications of the MRF within the broader waste management system. A life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was applied to encompass both the energy recovery from waste incineration and the new material flows introduced by the facility. Recovered materials were modelled to displace the production of virgin materials, while biogas generated from biowaste was assumed to replace fossil fuels in heavy transport, and digestate was assumed to substitute mineral fertilizers. As the sorting process reduces the amount of waste available for incineration, imported industrial waste and biofuel are utilised as substitute fuels.Since the facility is not yet operational, key parameters such as sorting performance, recycling rates, market absorption of recovered materials, and the composition of substitute fuels remain uncertain. Scenario-based sensitivity analyses were therefore conducted. The results show that the MRF has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly, particularly under conditions of high material recovery efficiency and effective substitution of virgin materials. However, the climate benefits may be marginal if market outlets for recovered fractions are lacking, recovery rates are low, and industrial waste with high plastic content is used as replacement fuel.The study concludes that the climate performance of implementing a mechanical MRF is highly dependent on the degree of material separation, recycling efficiency, market conditions for secondary materials, and the properties of the substituted fuel. To realise the system’s climate mitigation potential, it is critical to achieve high recovery rates and strengthen the market demand for recycled materials.

This essay discusses the Italian renaissance poet Gaspara Stampa with focus on the negative reception her poetry received due to her gender. The discussion concerns an anonymously written poem that slander her, which is an imitation of one of Stampa's own poems. The parallels to the internet trolls of our own time are clear, as is the misogynous values behind this kind of slander. However, Stampa and other norm breaking poets, caused problems since they did not fit the neat categories of virgin/whore, but positioned in a third androgyne space between the binary configurations of feminine and masculine domains.

Bakgrund: Multipel skleros (MS) och Parkinsons sjukdom (PS) är vanliga neurologiska sjukdomar som drabbar miljontals människor globalt. Trots olika patofysiologi är fatigue ett gemensamt och ofta framträdande symptom som orsakas av inflammatoriska komponenter. Aerob träning har visat positiva effekter på fatigue vid flera sjukdomar genom frisättning av antiinflammatoriska cytokiner, men evidensen för dess påverkan på fatigue vid MS och PS är begränsad. 

Syfte: Att sammanställa och värdera det vetenskapliga underlaget och evidensen för effekter av aerob träning på fatigue vid Multipel skleros och Parkinsons sjukdom.

Metod: En systematisk litteraturöversikt genomfördes med sökningar i PubMed och CINAHL. Randomiserade kontrollerade studier samt kliniska studier inkluderades. Studiernas kvalitet granskades med Fowkes & Fultons granskningsmall och evidensstyrkan bedömdes enligt GRADE.

Resultat: Tio artiklar inkluderades där aerob träning utgjorde interventionen, vilka jämfördes med kontrollgrupper utan intervention samt med aktiva eller passiva kontrollinterventioner. Samtliga studier visade en positiv riktning för effekter av aerob träning på fatigue. Den metodologiska kvaliteten varierade mellan studierna och den sammanlagda evidensen bedömdes som låg.

Konklusion: Det finns låg evidens för positiv effekt av aerob träning på fatigue jämfört med ingen eller annan passiv intervention. Otydliga resultat avseende effekt jämfört med annan aktiv intervention och tillförlitligheten av det vetenskapliga underlaget är otillräckligt.

Bakgrund: Omkring 200 000 personer i Sverige beräknas leva med en ätstörning, exklusive det stora mörkertalet. Fysioterapeutisk behandling är en värdefull komponent inom den multidisciplinära behandlingen. I dagsläget föreligger dessvärre bristfällig och låg evidens avseende effekter av fysioterapeutisk behandling. Kvalitativ forskning avseende patienters erfarenhet och upplevelse av fysioterapi är desto mer begränsad. 

Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva patienters upplevelser och erfarenheter av fysioterapi och deras tankar om fysioterapins roll vid behandling för ätstörning. 

Metod: En kvalitativ intervjustudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Sex informanter som genomgått fysioterapi som en del av deras ätstörningsbehandling deltog i studien. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys tillämpades som analysmetod av insamlad datamaterial. 

Resultat: Analysen resulterade i fyra huvudkategorier; Fysioterapi som stöd för inre förändring. Fysioterapi – såväl ett andrum som en utmaning. Bemötandets betydelse för upplevelsen av fysioterapi. Fysioterapins viktiga men begränsade roll inom ätstörningsvården. 

Konklusion: Fysioterapi är betydelsefullt vid behandling för ätstörning, såväl för patienters behandling och tillfriskande som i det multiprofessionella teamet inom ätstörningsvården. Fysioterapins kroppsliga fokus och behandlingsmetoder främjar relationen till kroppen, ökar medvetenhet om tankar, känslor och beteenden samt förbättrar emotionell självreglering. Fysioterapeuternas bemötande upplevs positivt genom empatisk förmåga, lyhördhet och öppenhet. I kontrast bör överdrivet kost-och viktfokus samt träningsförbud undvikas. Potentiella utvecklingsmöjligheter inom fysioterapeutisk behandling avser inkludering av guidad träning, beröring och kunskap om fysisk återhämtning. 

Bakgrund: Rörelsesjuka är ett tillstånd som kan orsaka betydande besvär hos drabbade individer, men vestibulär rehabilitering kan bidra till symtomlindring. De bakomliggande mekanismerna för förbättring är väl dokumenterade, men det saknas en systematisk kritisk litteraturgranskning och evidensgradering av effekterna. 

Syfte: Att systematiskt sammanställa, analysera och värdera evidens för effekter av vestibulär rehabilitering på subjektiva rörelsesjukesymtom och posturalt svaj hos individer med rörelsesjuka.

Metod: En systematisk kritisk litteraturgranskning genomfördes där databaserna PubMed och CINAHL användes. Studierna granskades med stöd av Fowkes & Fultons granskningsmall och bedömdes enligt GRADE för evidensgradering. 

Resultat: Urvalet resulterade i inkludering av fyra randomiserade kontrollerade studier, två studier med frisk kontrollgrupp och två studier utan kontrollgrupp. Studierna uppvisade en heterogenitet avseende studiedesign, typ av vestibulär rehabilitering och utvärderingsinstrument. Flertalet studier visade signifikanta resultat både vad gällde subjektiva utfallsmått för upplevda rörelsesjukesymtom och objektiva utfallsmått för posturalt svaj. Den metodologiska kvaliteten varierade, med såväl mindre som mer omfattande brister inom olika aspekter. Sammantaget bedömdes det vetenskapliga underlaget ha låg tillförlitlighet för båda typerna av utfallsmått enligt GRADE.

Konklusion: Det vetenskapliga underlaget för effekterna av vestibulär rehabilitering som behandling vid rörelsesjuka bedömdes som lågt, vilket främst kan tillskrivas det begränsade antalet tillgängliga studier av god metodologisk kvalitet. 

Bakgrund: Hos personer med multipel skleros (PmMS) är yrsel ett vanligt förekommande symtom, där cirka 75% rapporterar någon form av yrselproblematik. Vestibulär rehabilitering (VR) har visat sig ha god effekt vid andra sjukdomar med vestibulär dysfunktion, men evidensläget för VR vid yrsel relaterad till multipel skleros är osäkert. Enligt författarnas vetskap saknas systematiska litteraturöversikter som granskar effekten av VR på yrsel hos PmMS.  Syfte: Att sammanställa evidens och bedöma evidensstyrkan för effekten av vestibulär rehabilitering på yrsel, hos personer med multipel skleros. Metod: Systematisk sökning av artiklar i PubMed och CINAHL. Urval enligt PICO-modellen. Granskning av metodologisk kvalitet med Fowkes & Fultons granskningsmall och graderings av evidens enligt GRADE.  Resultat: Åtta studier inkluderades med totalt 367 deltagare. Interventionerna varierade i upplägg, frekvens och duration (6-16 veckor). Fem studier rapporterade signifikanta förbättringar i Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) efter VR, varav fyra av dessa också uppnådde minsta kliniskt viktiga förändring. Tre studier rapporterade förbättringar, dock var dessa inte signifikanta. Metodologiska begränsningar förekom bland studierna.  Konklusion: Översikten tyder på att VR kan minska självupplevda yrselbesvär hos PmMS. Evidensstyrkan bedöms som måttlig, variation i träningsupplägg och begränsning av generaliserbarhet försvårar slutsatser. Fler välstrukturerade studier med större populationer och standardiserade protokoll behövs för att stärka evidensläget. 

Today’s preschool teacher students are described as different compared to previous generations, especially regarding their participation in various components of the preschool teacher education program. To better understand the underlying factors and to support these students more effectively, this study adopts a student perspective on who the preschool teacher student is. Using positioning theory to analyze interviews with both highly motivated and less motivated students from different universities, the study explores the common narratives students use to describe their experiences and actions. The study identifies seven key narratives that highlight the students’ backgrounds, their motivations for becoming preschool teachers, and their roles and engagement as students. The results indicate that preschool teacher students often position themselves as dedicated and active co-creators of their education, while occasionally perceiving their peers as less engaged. The article also discusses how age and life experience influence students’ positioning and participation, and how relationships between students and teachers can foster a greater sense of belonging and purpose in their studies. Lastly, pedagogical implications are outlined to enhance preschool teacher education.

Development and grade dialogues are recurring meetings, central for both educational governing and students’ perceptions of themselves and their abilities. This thesis examines development and grade dialogues with students who receive grades in Years 4–6. The aim is to contribute to knowledge about the actions of students, teachers and parents in these meetings and their implications for students and school. The focus is on how these dialogues shape students within a performativity-driven school system. The research questions address how narratives are formed, how students are positioned, how national assessment policies and local conditions interact, and how notions of students are constructed in relation to broader educational goals. The thesis uses an interaction-oriented narrative approach combined with perspectives on positioning, policy enactment and performativity. The data consists of audio recordings of development and grade dialogues in five schools, analysed through positioning analysis. The included articles show how participants (I) construct narratives about students’ paths, (II) negotiate expectations about students’ verbal participation and (III) construct grades as an emotional concern. The findings are discussed using the concepts of individualisation and temporality, illustrating how the students’ responsibility and progress are negotiated, understood and valued over time. The thesis also introduces the concepts of student performativity and assessment narratives. Student performativity refers to expectations for students to present themselves as responsible and strategic in line with school objectives. Assessment narratives demonstrate how participants, in interaction with assessment policies, form stories about students and their performance. The thesis demonstrates that development and grade dialogues function as mechanisms that can stabilise, challenge or negotiate assessment narratives, shaping how students understand themselves and their abilities in school. 

This article highlights the urgent need to explore how transformative planning can be put into practice and what competencies urban and regional planners need to facilitate this transition. There is a consensusthat traditional planning, with its rigid and structured approaches, isinadequate to address the challenges of climate change. Instead, moreproactive, transformative planning practices are needed. This study presents the results of a questionnaire conducted among planning managers in Swedish municipalities, aiming to deepen the understanding of how municipalities can achieve climate neutrality by identifying the necessary competencies among planners. The results identify five competence categories: technical knowledge (including climate adaptation), broad knowledge in various areas, analytical skills, coordination and cooperation, and communication. Our findings thus suggest that current planning practices in Swedish municipalities are largely traditional rather than transformative, but also that the focus is on adaptation rather than mitigation. We argue that this can partly be explained by the concept of obduracy, and how frames and persistent traditions affect the way planning managers think of the future, making it difficult to envision a future beyond current challenges and demands, but also the importance of thinking more visionary about planning to achieve climate neutrality and transformations.  

Introduction: Hypertension is linked to endothelial dysfunction, but causality and direction is not entirely known. The aim was to study the cross-sectional associations between home, office, and central BP and microcirculatory peak oxygen saturation (OxyP). Methods: In the observational Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) Linköping subsample, office and home BP were measured using an oscillometric device and OxyP was measured in forearm skin after a 5-min occlusion of the brachial artery. A linear regression was fitted to evaluate the mean change in OxyP per SD increase in BP. A logistic regression was fitted to evaluate the associations between BP above the median and OxyP below the median. Results: Of participants, 3,291 were included in the analyses. Per SD increase in systolic home BP, the adjusted mean (95% CI) difference in OxyP was −0.4 (−0.6 to −0.1%). In subgroup analyses, the association remained for women but not men, although the interaction by sex was not statistically significant. Also, in women but not in men, OxyP was lower in those with white coat hypertension vs. sustained normotension, i.e., mean (95% CI) 88.8 (88.2–89.4%) vs. 89.6 (89.3–90.0%), and in those with masked hypertension vs. sustained normotension, i.e., 87.5 (85.9–89.1%) vs. 89.6 (89.3–90.0%). Conclusion: Home BP, which better predicts cardiovascular disease than office BP, was inversely associated with OxyP. This correlation remained in subgroup analyses of women but not men, suggesting possible sex-dependent microcirculatory dysfunction or that masked hypertension could be a more important cardiovascular risk marker in women, despite its higher prevalence in men.

This thesis analyzes the design and effects of carbon pricing in the national and international freight transport sector, with a particular focus on maritime shipping. It brings together four papers that examine both short- and long-term behavioural responses and welfare effects of carbon pricing. The responses studied include reductions in sailing speed, changes in freight demand, investments in research and development (R&D) and learning-by-doing to reduce abatement costs through technological development, abatement of carbon emissions (e.g. alternative fuels), modal shifts, and adjustments in shipment sizes. The thesis also investigates the role of international cooperation and the incentives created by unilateral carbon pricing and carbon-intensity limits on marine fuels.

The first paper investigates short-run responses in the shipping sector and shows that ships reduce their sailing speed when fuel costs increase, indicating that carbon pricing can lower emissions even in the short run. The second paper studies carbon pricing in international shipping under the constraint that participating countries should be better off with the policy than without it. The results suggest that bilateral agreements can reduce emissions when countries differ in their willingness to pay, though their effectiveness is limited in static settings with high abatement costs. The third paper extends this analysis by considering the dynamic effects of unilateral carbon pricing. It shows that such policies can foster investments in research and development, thereby lowering future abatement costs and increasing the likelihood that other regions will adopt complementary policies.

The fourth paper broadens the perspective beyond shipping sector. Using a calibrated mode- and route-choice model for domestic freight transport in Sweden, it examines the welfare-optimal internalization of external costs from carbon emissions, air pollution, accidents, noise, and infrastructure. Internalizing external costs increases shipment sizes and shifts freight from waterborne and road transport to rail. However, the effects are modest, implying that the potential for large-scale modal shift from road to rail or waterborne transport is limited.

In summary, the thesis shows that reducing carbon emissions in the shipping sector is challenging for two main reasons: abatement is very costly, and reductions in freight volumes entail welfare losses. Moreover, shipping is an inherently international sector, where efficient carbon pricing would need to be globally coordinated, but this is hampered by large differences in the willingness to price carbon emissions across countries.

Overcoming these difficulties, the thesis underlines the importance of accounting for both short- and long-term behavioral responses, the role of international cooperation, and the dynamic incentives created by unilateral policies. The thesis is relevant for policymakers seeking to align maritime and freight transport policy with broader climate and welfare objectives.