Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Skull'

16 pp.
Animal skulls can tell us many things about creatures and how they once survived in their natural environment. This publication explains some of the characteristics of skulls that we use to tell us about how the animals lived. Topics include skull diagrams, activity lesson plans, suggestions for future learning activities and sources of animal skulls.

In this study, we present a shape completion approach to skull reconstruction. Our final goal is to reconstruct the complete mesh of a skull starting from its defective point cloud. Our approach is based on an existing deep neural network, opportunely modified, trained to reconstruct a complete 3D point cloud from an incomplete one. The complete point clouds are then processed through a multi-step pipeline in order to reconstruct the original skull surface. Moreover, we analyze and refine the Sant'Orsola skull dataset, designing functional pipelines for its processing. On the test set, the proposed approach is able to complete missing areas effectively, reaching high accuracy in terms of the predicted point locations and a good qualitative approximation of the complete skull.

I samma ögonblick som du läser denna mening är sannolikheten stor att en svensk soldat patrullerar på en bakgata i Liberiashuvudstad Monrovia. Senare i år, eller under nästa år, utanför Afrikas ostkust, är det möjligt att en svensk sjöman embarkerarett misstänkt smuggelfartyg som blivit prejat av HMS Gävle. Samtidigt över Irak under ett Air Policing uppdrag i FN:s regiblir ett flygplan ur SWAFRAP JAS 39 belyst av ett fientligt luftvärnssystem. Vid samtliga dessa tre händelser är det tryggt attveta att den svenska materielprocessen, ingående organisationsenheter, strukturer och metoder är optimerade för att dessa soldater,sjömän och flygare skall kunna lita 100 % på sin utrustning. För visst är det så, eller …?De tre olika exemplens trovärdighet kan säkerligen diskuteras men faktum kvarstår. Idag har vi ett stort antal enheter utanförSveriges gränser och ytterligare förband står i beredskap för internationella insatser. Förutom övergången från ett invasionsförsvartill ett insatsförsvar blir också kraven allt högre på snabbare materielprocesser och mindre produktionsserierStäller dessa förändringar krav på validering av system under utvecklingsfasen, på annat sätt än vad som genomförs idag?Internationellt använder flera länder sig av en Operational Test and Evaluation organisation (OT&E) där en mycket viktig delär operationell validering (OPEVAL). Denna organisation och process innebär att deras försvarsmakter tar en mycket tydligareroll inom materielprocessen än vad vi i Sverige gör. Vad beror detta på? Är det dags för en revidering av det svenska sättet attvalidera militära materielsystem?Författaren har valt att belysa materielprocessen rörande flygsystem JAS 39 Gripen och söker svaren på frågorna inom densvenska försvarsindustrin, Försvarets materielverk och Försvarsmakten. Svaren pekar mot ett håll. Idag, i Sverige, finns detinte någon OT&E organisation med OPEVAL processer likt exempelvis det amerikanska flygvapnets. Dessa utgår främst utifrånkrigarens (slutanvändarens) perspektiv. I Sverige och särskilt inom de svenska luftstridskrafterna är TU enheterna och dåsärskilt TU JAS 39 den enhet som närmast liknar de amerikanska enheterna. Skillnaderna är dock markanta i organisation,uppgifter och mandat.Rollfördelningen mellan FM – FMV – industrin rörande verifierings- och valideringsverksamheten har förändrats de senareåren vilket inneburit att industrin tar ett allt större ansvar. Detta innebär förändrade roller och uppgifter för exempelvis FMVVerifierings- och Valideringscentrum rörande provning av enskilda materielsystem. Idag genomförs ingen OPEVAL av materielsystemi Försvarsmaktens regi. Orsakerna till detta finns främst att finna i det historiskt nära samarbetet inom materielprocessenmellan aktörerna. Uppsatsen visar på ett behov av en ny syn på validering av militära materielsystem. Denna måsteoundvikligen utgå från krigarnas krav och bör ske i Försvarsmaktens regi. Sammanfattningsvis är alltså inte frågan om enOPEVAL skall ske eller inte. Det sker alltid en OPEVAL! Frågan är om den ska ske i ordnade former under materielprocesseneller av en ensam svensk flygare, sjöman eller soldat i en mission någonstans långt utanför Sveriges gränser.
The purpose of this essay has been, through empiric research, to analyseevaluation methods and responsibilities when the Swedish Armed Forces arechange from a counter invasion defence towards forces with more flexible anddeployable capabilities with an international focus. This is done mainly by interviewingkey-personnel in three different organizations working in the Swedishdevelopment and procurement procedures. By a theoretical frameworkaround Bolman & Deals perspective model and a scientific method built upon aqualitative perspective and a hermeneutic view, the essay answers three mainquestions; To start the essay determines what OT&E processes and especiallyOPEVAL is about. This is done by introducing the USAF views in this area.Then the essay tries to answer if we are doing something similar in Sweden andhow the responsibilities within test & evaluation are distributed between thedefence industries; the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration and theSwedish Armed Forces. If the conclusions were to be that there weren’t anyOPEVAL in Sweden the essay intends to shed light on the reasons and alsoexamine any future needs. After analysis’s of interviews and documents theanswers were:The main characteristics of the USAF OT&E processes are the focus on thewarfighter. The warfighter are in the development and procurement proceduresrepresented by an OT&E organization. Closest to this kind of organization inSweden, although there are lot of differences, would be the Swedish AirForce’s “TU organizations”. However OPEVAL isn’t carried out in Swedenand the Armed Forces have just a supporting role in the validation process.The primary reason that there aren’t any OPEVAL being conducted in Swedenis the historical closeness between the organizations, our principle of selfsupportdue to our non-alignment and our limited economical means. The essay’smain conclusion is that today and tomorrow new needs must be met bynew tasks, organization structures and processes in the development and procurementprocedures. One task is to perform a credible OPEVAL similar to thekind USAF performs. Doesn’t this succeed there’s a risk that expected operationaleffects does not occur in for example peace support operations. In theend we risk the safety and the lives of our warfighters.
Avdelning: ALB - Slutet Mag 3 C-upps.Hylla: Upps. ChP 02-04

Syftet med undersökningen är att observera några samlingar på en integrerad förskoleavdelning för att se om det finns likheter och skillnader i bemötandet av dragarbarn jämfört med barn i behov av särskilt stöd. Undersökningen syftar också till att jämföra det bemötande dragarbarn får på en integrerad avdelning jämfört med barn med typisk utveckling på ordinarie avdelning. Den teori som undersökningen bygger på är sociokulturell teori (Vygotskij, sv. övers. 2001; Wood, Bruner & Ross, 1976; Säljö, 2014). Tidigare forskning kring kamrateffekter, samlingens betydelse samt språk ur ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. Det förväntade kunskapsbidraget är att ge underlag för diskussioner och reflektioner bland pedagoger kring barn med typisk utveckling, dragarbarn, i förhållande till barn i behov av särskilt stöd.För att belysa fenomenet ur olika perspektiv har triangulering använts. Videoobservationer av två olika förskoleavdelningar samt ostrukturerade intervjuer med pedagoger utgör studiens empiri. Empirin analyseras kvantitativt och kvalitativt med ett hermeneutiskt angreppssätt där pendling mellan tidigare forskning och resultat har skett.Undersökningen visar att dragarbarnen i den integrerade gruppen hade signifikant färre turer än barnen med typisk utveckling i den ordinarie gruppen. Den visar även skillnader på samlingarnas upplägg och innehåll. Pedagogerna i den integrerade gruppen hade en större andel turer än pedagogen i den ordinarie gruppen vilket får konsekvenser för barnen. En slutsats är att pedagogerna i sin reflektion och planering kring samlingen bör ta hänsyn till alla barn, såväl dragarbarn som barn i behov av särskilt stöd. Syftet med samlingen bör tydliggöras för att få en bättre kvalité på förskolorna. Undersökningen ger underlag för vidare reflektioner bland pedagoger under handledning där specialpedagogen har en viktig roll. Fokus för specialpedagogen blir en vidgat seende där alla barns rättigheter uppmärksammas.

Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(理学)
甲第7674号
理博第2059号
新制||理||1094(附属図書館)
UT51-99-G268
京都大学大学院理学研究科地球惑星科学専攻
(主査)教授 瀬戸口 烈司, 教授 増田 富士雄, 教授 大野 照文, 国立科学博物館・部長 馬場 悠男
学位規則第4条第1項該当

Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka hur arbetet kring pedagogiska utredningar ser ut i förhållande till vad styrdokument och teorier säger, och därmed synliggöra betydelsen av pedagogiska utredningar på individ-, grupp- och organisationsnivå. Vi belyser hur några utvalda specialpedagoger arbetar med pedagogiska utredningar av elever i behov av särskilt stöd inför upprättande av åtgärdsprogram, samt ger en bild av ett par rektorers uppfattningar om pedagogiska utredningar. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ undersökning med intervjuer av specialpedagoger som arbetar i skolan, specialpedagoger inom elevhälsan samt rektorer. Arbetet ger en översikt över tidigare forskning om pedagogisk utredning. Vi har delat in vårt resultat i teman; specialpedagogens uppdrag, uppmärksamhet, orsaker, utredning, dokumentation, svårigheter och rektors uppdrag. Resultatet visar att den huvudsakliga orsaken till att elever anses vara i behov av stöd är att de inte når målen i kursplanen. Vi ser även en skillnad mellan skolans specialpedagoger och elevhälsans specialpedagoger på vilka nivåer de lägger fokus. Elevhälsan betonar skolans organisation, kultur och värdegrund i en pedagogisk utredning medan skolan lägger större vikt på individ och grupp.

The results of evolution can be inferred from comparative studies of related organisms. In this doctoral thesis, I use phylogenetic comparative methods along side geometric morphometrics to analyse shape variation in order to infer evolution of the caecilian skull. Caecilians are elongate, limbless amphibians that superficially resemble snakes or earthworms, and use their head as a locomotory organ. I characterise large-scale patterns of cranial morphological diversity and quantify variation across the main family-level clades by describing patterns relating to phylogeny, disparity and ecology. Then I examine the origins and evolution of morphological variation in the skull by describing patterns relating to morphological integration and modularity. This thesis demonstrates a variety of existing statistical techniques that can be used to infer processes from large-scale evolutionary patterns in morphological data using non model organisms. Throughout the thesis, I show that the evolution of the caecilian skull to be multifaceted. On the patterns of diversity, the most striking is a "starburst" arrangement in shape space, which suggests that early in caecilian evolution ancestral lineages traversed greater expanses of the shape space, while subsequent phylogenetic divergence within the main clades entailed less morphological diversification. This may be related to early diversification into different ecological-niches, yet more data are needed to test this. The clades differ considerably in their cranial disparity, but there appears to be no unified pattern across the whole order that indicates disparity is coupled with clade age or speciation events. I show that aquatic species are more diverse than their terrestrial relatives, and that there is convergence of cranial shape among dedicated burrowers with eyes covered by bone. On the patterns of morphological integration and modularity, another remarkable finding is the caecilian cranium is modular with respect to two functional regions, the snout and the back of the cranium. Modularity is important for understanding the evolution of this structure. The main elements of the caecilian anterior skeleton, the cranium, mandible and atlas vertebra, reveal different patterns of morphological integration, suggesting different developmental and evolutionary processes are involved in sorting and maintaining new variation of each structure. Allometry is an important component of integration in each of the structures. Covariation of the cranium-mandible after size correction is significant and follows the same direction of shape change across all levels and as shown for allometry. In contrast, covariation of the cranium-atlas follows different directions at each level. These results suggest the two main joint of the caecilian skull differ substantially in their origin and evolution. I discuss the contribution made in this thesis to caecilian and evolutionary biology and offer an outlook of how theses findings can be used to initiate future studies to better understand of the evolution of the caecilian skull.

This thesis deals with archiving morphological data utilizing a three dimensional coordinate system. Morphological reference points are archived via rectangular position coordinates, rectangular position vectors, and spherical position vectors. The concepts of translation trajectories, translation vectors, and relative position vectors are developed. Analysis of three dimensional coordinate data utilizing translation trajectories and translation vectors is described. In order to test the methodology developed, the method is applied to an analysis of harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena L., skull morphology. (Key words: morphology, ontogenetic trajectories, allometry, position coordinates, position vectors, translation trajectories, translation vectors, relative position vectors, and harbor porpoise).

Inledning Detta arbete kommer att belysa vad begreppen kränkande behandling och mobbning har förinnebörd hos pedagoger i förskolans verksamhet. Kränkande behandling och mobbning är ett problem som förekommer i alla delar av skolväsendet. Vi vill belysa att pedagoger är medvetna om att problemet redan finns i förskoleåldern. Vi anser att detta bör synliggöras mer för alla i samhället. Syfte Vårt syfte är att undersöka vilka uppfattningar pedagoger har om arbetet mot kränkandebehandling och mobbning. Vi har valt att belysa hur pedagogerna förhåller sig till begreppen kränkande behandling och mobbning i förskolan. Metod I vår undersökning har kvalitativa intervjuer använts som metod. Dessa intervjuer har skett på två olika förskolor, med åtta pedagoger. Resultat Resultatet av denna studie har visat att pedagoger är medvetna om vad som kan ske inom förskolans verksamhet när det gäller kränkande behandling och mobbning. De använder sig av olika arbetssätt för att motverka kränkande behandling och mobbning mellan bådepedagoger och barn och barn och barn, men även pedagoger och pedagoger. De flesta avpedagogerna anser att det är viktigt att se till barnens känslor, och att vara lyhörda införbarnen. De förklarar att barnens tolkningar av situationen är det viktigaste samt att barnensupplevelser är det som pedagogerna bör ta till vara på. Det är även viktigt för pedagogerna att inte tala över eller om barnen i verksamheten. Att kommunicera med pedagoger i sittarbetslag och även med barnen är en stor del av ett arbete som ska motverka kräkningar och mobbning. Ett förebyggande arbete är av stor vikt för att barnen ska få en bra upplevelse påförskolan.

Intressenters efterfrågan på CSR har ökat, då näringslivet till stor del står till svars för den exploatering som sker av människan och miljön. Organisationers behov av legitimitet från omgivande intressenter, för att blir framgångsrika på marknaden, har därför lett till att allt fler organisationer väljer att frivilligt hållbarhetsredovisa. Studier visar dock att det ibland förekommer en särkoppling mellan organisationers externt redovisade CSR och deras praktiskt utförda CSR-arbete, vilket kan bli problematiskt då det kan leda till att en skev bild av hållbar utveckling presenteras. Föreliggande studie ämnar kritiskt granska särkoppling i relation till hållbar utveckling för att undersöka om och i så fall varför en organisations externa hållbarhetskommunikation kan leda till tröggående hållbar utveckling. Detta genom att utforska vad en förebildsorganisation externt kommunicerar gällande hållbarhet och hur det korresponderar med verkligheten. Urvalet utgörs av organisationen Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) då det går att argumentera för att organisationen är en förebild inom den globala textil- och konfektionsmarknaden. Genom en kritisk diskursanalys analyseras H&M:s hållbarhetsredovisning i syfte att se vilka diskurser organisationen externt kommunicerar samt hur dessa diskurser korresponderar med verkligheten. Resultatet/diskussionen utmynnar i att de diskurser som H&M externt kommunicerar främst villkoras av marknadsrationella ideal, varför en ”marknadisering” av kommunikationen går att argumentera för. Troligtvis kommuniceras detta av strategiska skäl då marknadsrationella ideal går i linje med den dominerande samhällsideologin nyliberalism, vilket kan leda till att organisationen erhåller legitimitet. Då en ”marknadisering” av H&M:s CSR-kommunikation identifieras i studien och detta vidare argumenteras för möjliggör ett sätt för organisationen att ta ett mer distanserat ansvar gällande hållbar utveckling i den sociala verkligheten, så skapas även argument för att H&M som förebild är med och bidrar till tröggående hållbar utveckling. Detta kan förstås utifrån nyinstitutionell teori som bland annat gör gällande att organisationer tenderar att efterlikna andra organisationer vars koncept är legitimitetsskapande och framgångsrika.

I studien undersöks det hur teorier från slow food och slow fashion genom olika designprocesser kan överföras till nya produktkategorier, i detta fall har möbler valts ut som kategori. Syftet med denna studie har varit skapa medvetenhet och synliggöra möjligheter för produktdesigners att arbeta med slow principer i kombination med kritisk design på nya produktkategorier. Detta för att främja hållbar utveckling och vår miljö. Det teoretiska ramverket ligger som grund för studien och innefattar slow fashion, Slow food, kritisk design och slow design. Som metoder har det bland annat samlats in information genom funktionsanalys, fokusgrupper och intervjuer.Resultatet blev en hylla vars hyllplan monteras på i takt med att dess ramar i form av träd växer. Detta ska skapa ett kritiskt tänkande hos betraktaren angående snabb produktion och miljön.
The study examines how theories of slow food and slow fashion can be transferred to new product categories through different design processes. In this case furniture has been selected as a category. The purpose of this study is to create awareness and make opportunities visible for product designers to work with slow principles in combination with critical design on new product categories. This is to encourage sustainable development and benefit our environment. The theoretical framework forms the basis of the study and includes slow fashion, slow food, critical design and slow design. As methods, among other things, information has been collected through function analysis, focus groups and interviews.The result is a shelf whose shelves are mounted on progressively as its frame in the form of trees grows. This should create a critical thinking on the part of the viewer regarding fast production and the environment.

The main aim of this project was to develop a model for predicting skull fractures of a 50th percentile male, using a finite element head model developed at the Neuronics department of KTH, Royal Instituteof Technology. The skull bone is modeled as a three layered bone, where the outer and inner tables are modeled as shell elements, while the diploë is modeled by two layers of solid elements. The material model of the tables was changed from the material model MAT_PLASTIC_KINEMATIC to a material model including a damage parameter to soften the damaged material and to enable ploting of the damage of the skull bone. Due to the coarse mesh of the FE head model the material model was not allowed to include any erosion, deleting element as they reach their ultimate strain. With these requests, two materials from the LS-DYNA material library seemed appropriate: material 81,MAT_PLASTICITY_WITH_DAMAGE and material 105, MAT_DAMAGE_2. To evaluate these materials and adjust the input parameters a dog bone FE model was developed and tension tests were simulated with this model, equivalent to tension tests performed on equally shaped skull bone specimens. The material simulating a behavior most similar to the behavior from the tension tests turned out to be material 81. This material model was then implemented in the full FE head model for further input parameter adjustment and validation. Four different cadaver experiments were simulated, with different impacting objects: sphere, box, cylinder and flat cylinder surface, and impacted areas of the head: vertex, temporo-parietal and frontal. The forces obtained in the simulations were compared to the forces of the cadaver experiments. The fracture prediction was based on the damage parameter, which could be plotted to visualize the areas where the ultimate strain was exceeded and thereby the area most likely to be fractured. This parameter was then compared to the documented fractures from the cadaver experiments. The result showed that using material 81 with the input parameter EPPFR=0.05 gave the overall most accurate forces and fracture predictions. The breaking stress, σB, did not affect the fractures significantly but a reduced σB resulted in reduction of the peak forces. The thickness of the diploë did not have any significant impact on the fracture occurrence, but a thinner diploë had a reducing impact on the peak forces as well.

Over the last decade, physicians have noted a rise in the prevalence of plagiocephaly. This sudden increase combined with the variability in presentation of infant head deformities makes the management of these cases often difficult. Currently, assessment for treatment is solely based largely on subjective determination of the severity of the patients skull malformation. Existing cephalometric techniques, such as external caliper measurements are commonly used, however these technique still contain inaccuracies, due to movement of an infant during measurement, soft tissue compression by the calipers, and lack of precise defined landmarks. (10) Given that no type of normalized measurement exists to identify objectively the severity of a patients skull deformity, the grading and selection of treatment modality has been relegated largely to experienced plastic surgeons and neurosurgeons. We report of a novel measurement that utilizes both CT scan and digital images combined with basic geometry to determine, objectively, the severity of an infants skull deformity, enabling all physicians to better decide what therapeutic intervention to employ.

Maniraptoriformes, the speciose group of derived theropod dinosaurs that ultimately gave rise to modern birds, display a diverse and remarkable suite of skeletal adaptations. Apart from the evolution of flight, a large-scale change in dietary behavior appears to have been one of the main triggers for adaptations in the bauplan of these derived theropods. Amongst the different skeletal specialisations, partial or even complete edentulism and the development of keratinous beaks form a recurring and persistent trend in the transition from derived nonavian dinosaurs to birds. Therizinosauria is one of the most enigmatic and peculiar clades among Maniraptoriformes, exhibiting an unusual suite of characters, such as lanceolate teeth, a rostral rhamphotheca, long manual claws and a wide, opisthopubic pelvis. This specialised anatomy has been associated with a shift in dietary preferences and an adaptation to herbivory, making therizinosaurs prime candidates to assess the functional significance of these morphological characters. Centered on the skull of the therizinosaur Erlikosaurus andrewsi from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia, a wide range of computational techniques (including computed tomography, digital reconstruction and biomechanical modelling using finite element analysis) has been utilised in this thesis to investigate the skull form and function in therizinosaurs and to elucidate their palaeobiology. Evidence from hard- and soft tissue reconstructions of Erlilcosaurus andrewsi demonstrate that teeth had lost their importance and function in derived therizinosaurs. Rather a keratinous rhamphotheca was developed early in Therizinosauria to replace rostral teeth as a main device to procure and manipulate food. The results of a highly detailed biomechanical model of Erlikosaurus andrewsi further suggest that a keratinous rhamphotheca represent an evolutionary innovation developed early in the transition from non-avian dinosaurs to birds to enhance cranial stability, distinct to postulated mass-saving benefits associated with the origin of flight.

Ämnet sponsring är ett stort och brett område som vuxit under senaste åren och som många företag tillämpar. Just sponsringen har i synnerhet blivit stor i och med sportevenemang och olika idrottsföreningar som bildar samarbete med företag och arbetar tillsammans. Idrotten har blivit världsledande när det kommer till uppmärksamhet och reklam på TV och nyheter och detta vet förstås företagen om och man ser en investering i att bilda sponsringssamarbete i dessa sammanhang.Som företagare kan man välja att sponsra ett stort fotbollslag som får mycket tid i media och TV och detta medverkar till att företaget också syns i en större utsträckning och får mer uppmärksamhet. Som företagare kan man också sponsra ett mindre fotbollslag som man har en relation till eller som man tycker gör ett vettigt arbete för ungdomar osv. I vår studie undersökte vi just denna typ av sponsring och vi har arbetat med två olika fotbollsföreningar som jobbar på helt olika villkor och nivåer. Vi har tittat till deras största sponsorer och har i vår studie kommit fram till om företagen sponsrar idrottsföreningar för relationernas skull?Vi har varit och studerat IF Elfsborg och Borås AIK och gjort en kvalitativ undersökning i form av personliga intervjuer med de högst uppsatta personerna inom föreningarna när det kommer till sponsring. Vi har även gjort personliga intervjuer med de två klubbarnas stora sponsorer och det är Swedbank Sjuhärad, AB Bostäder, NetonNet och V/S/B. Vi anser att de empiriska material vi har använt och fått ut av intervjuerna har varit tillräckligt för att besvara vårt syfte med denna studie och vi känner oss nöjda med det vi har lärt oss och kommit fram till.De slutsatser som vi har kommit fram till när det kommer till föreningarna vi har arbetat med är att de inte bara skiljer i storlek utan även i arbetssätt. IF Elfsborg är en av Sveriges största idrottsföreningar och det är naturligt att företagen sponsrar de för att förknippas med föreningen och stärka sitt varumärke. Där av kan man säga att det är en investeringsfråga ur företagens synvinkel vad gäller att sponsra IF Elfsborg.Borås AIK är en mindre förening än IF Elfsborg i alla avseenden och det enda man egentligen har tillsammans är att båda hör till fotbollen. Företagen ser ingen investering i att sponsra Borås AIK då klubben aldrig är på TV och väldigt sällan i tidningen. Här handlar det nästan enbart om relationsbaserad sponsring och att man vill klubben väl. Borås AIK arbetar i ett väldigt utsatt område med mycket invandring och kriminalitet och man utbildar många ungdomar på området vilket många företag tycker om och vill vara med och stötta.
Program: Dataekonomutbildningen

Mestrado em Sistemas de Informação
Esta dissertação apresenta uma nova abordagem para realizar análises craniométricas com base em modelos 3D de crânios. Atualmente o procedimento usado pelos antropólogos assenta no recurso a craniometria tradicional, i.e. medições manuais, o que implica variados problemas tais como dificuldade em assegurar repetibilidade das medições, erros na mesmas e possível dano nos crânios inerente ao seu manuseamento. A abordagem proposta passa por fazer a aquisição dos crânios recorrendo a um scanner 3D de luz estruturada (realizada por terceiros) e posterior análise recorrendo a uma aplicação especificamente desenvolvida para tal, e na qual assenta o trabalho descrito neste documento. Vários métodos serão abordados, tais como análise de malhas 3D, estudos de normais e curvaturas, obtenção de pontos de interesse e respectivas medidas e, por fim, serão apresentadas conclusões sobre o trabalho, bem como sugestões de trabalho futuro.
This dissertation presents a new approach to conduct craniometric analysis based on 3D models of skulls. Nowadays procedures used by anthropologists are based in traditional methods, i.e. manual measurements, which may imply a set of problems such as difficulty in ensuring repeatability of the measurements, measurement errors and can skull damage inherent to the handling. The new approach lies on the acquisition of the skulls using a structured 3D light scanner (done by a third party entity) and subsequent analysis using an application specifically designed for that purpose. Is on the latter that this work is based. Several methods are going to be addressed, such as analysis of 3D meshes, studies of normal vectors and curvatures, obtainment of points of interest (landmark points) and measurements. Finally, conclusions about the developed methods, results and future work.

I denna studie jämförs 15 företags uppförandekoder. Målet med studien var att undersöka om globala företag med stark koppling till svenskt näringsliv har uppförandekoder som är lika till innehållet och vad som kunde förklara resultatet. Studien var starkt inspirerad av en amerikansk studie som undersökt likhet mellan 66 företag i USA, men även studier beträffande affärsetik och undersökningar om företags hantering av en global marknad. Tidigare studier har resonerat kring legitimitet som potentiell förklaring av fenomenet. I vårt resultat baserat på en innehållsanalys och intervjuer finner vi inte samma tendens till plagiering av uppförandekoder som studierna baserat på amerikanska företags uppförandekoder presenterar. En majoritet av de likheter som identifieras kopplas till begreppet hypernormer, en typ av normer som är gränsöverskridande. I studien diskuteras möjliga orsaker till att uppförandekoderna vi undersökt inte i allmänhet ser lika ut. En del av svaren går att utläsa från de intervjuer som vi haft med några av de största aktörerna inom industribranschen på den svenska och globala marknaden. I studien finner vi bland annat att företagen behandlar anpassning till lokala normer och kulturer olika. Vi finner även att företag valt att hantera specifika verksamhetsfrågor på ett diversifierat sätt via uppförandekoderna. Eftersom studien fokuserat på upplevt syfte och likheten mellan uppförandekoder föreslås vidare studier som kan se hur företag implementerar sina uppförandekoder eller om det finns en ”best practice” att kommunicera sin uppförandekod till medarbetare och andra intressenter.

This thesis presents two studies related to head injury. The study presented in Chapter 1 reviewed findings of cranial movement in animal and human specimens and evaluate the validity of cranial movement due to manual manipulation in humans through engineering analysis. The study had two parts. In Part I, the literature was reviewed to determine the cranial motion in animals and humans. Engineering analysis was done in Part II to determine the amount of force necessary to cause cranial motion in the studies from Part I using skull stiffness values from published studies. Chapter 2 explored data collection methodologies used in frontal sled tests. Several data collection methodologies exist for collecting kinematic data, such as Vicon motion analysis, video analysis, and sensors. Head trajectories from motion data and accelerometer data were plotted up to maximum forward excursion of the head for eight frontal sled tests, four conducted at Virginia Tech and four at the University of Virginia. In addition, the percent difference between maximum forward excursion values from sensor and motion data were calculated. Finally, Chapter 3 discusses the literary contributions of each study and to which journals they will be submitted.
Master of Science

Les récents progrès de la génétique du développement et de l'analyse du phénotype ont engendré un regain d'intérêt considérable pour l'étude de l'évolution du développement (evo-devo). Cette thèse présente une étude des relations entre ontogénèse et phylogénèse dans le sous-ordre des primates strepsirrhiniens. Ici, on s'intéresse au complexe cranio-mandibulaire, dont la croissance et le développement sont analysés à l'aide d'un ensemble d'outils dédiés de géométrie morphométrique. Une analyse comparative de l'ontogénie du crâne et de la mandibule est conduite sur un ensemble de dix espèces de strepsirrhiniens et de deux espèces d'haplorrhiniens. Les haplorrhiniens et les strepsirrhiniens diffèrent largement dans la direction, la position, et la longueur de leurs trajectoires ontogénétiques. Chez les lémuriens malgaches, il y a une plus grande diversité de direction, de position et de longueur des trajectoires ontogénétiques que chez les loriformes. De plus, on observe des différences importantes de grade allométrique parmi les espèces de lémuriens, et une plus faible variabilité au sein des loriformes. Une analyse comparative est conduite sur un échantillon de primates Eocènes adapiformes et de strepsirrhiniens actuels. Au sein des adapinés, une augmentation de taille via transposition allométrique caractérise la lignée des Leptadapis. Enfin, les adapiformes adapinés et notharctidés ont des trajectoires ontogénétiques plus longues en terme de quantité de changement de forme que les espèces de strepsirrhiniens actuels. Une tendance au raccourcicement des trajectoires ontogénétiques caractérise l'évolution des strepsirrhiniens. Ceci est lié à un contexte général d'augmentation de l'encéphalisation au cours de leur histoire évolutive
Due to recent advances in developmental genetics and phenotypic analysis, evolutionary developmental (evo-devo) studies regained considerable interest, and led to fundamental changes in our understanding of how ontogeny and phylogeny are related. This thesis investigates the relationship between ontogeny and phylogeny in strepsirrhine primates. Here, the focus is on cranial diversity, which is analyzed from a developmental perspective, and with a new set of geometric morphometric tools. A comparative geometric morphometric analysis of cranio-mandibular development is conducted in ten strepsirrhine and two haplorrhine species. Haplorrhines and strepsirrhines differ widely in ontogenetic trajectory direction, length and position. Within the strepsirrhines, divergence between taxon-specific ontogenetic trajectories and allometric grade shifts are more pronounced in lemurs than in lorises. The insights obtained from the evolutionary developmental analysis of extant taxa are used for a comparative analysis of Eocene fossil strepsirrhine taxa belonging to the infraorder Adapiformes. Among the adapine adapiforms, an increase in size via allometric grade shift has occurred in the Leptadapis lineage, which suggests phyletic gigantism in this genus. Adapiforms exhibit longer ontogenetic trajectories than extant strepsirrhines. A trend toward a shortening of ontogenetic trajectories has occurred in the evolutionary history of strepsirrhines. This can be related to a context of general increase in encephalization in this lineage

Sverige har sagts ha blivit allt säkrare, säkerhetspolitiskt, under 1990-talet. Samtidigt har det, undersamma tid, talats alltmer om ett vidgat säkerhetsbegrepp. Ett sådant skulle kunna innebära enutökad flora av hot och, därmed, en potentiellt ökad osäkerhet. Denna uppsats analyserar hur densvenska riksdagens diskurs avseende statens säkerhet har utvecklats under perioden 1991-2001.Undersökningen består av en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av de regeringsförklaringaroch därpå följande partiledardebatter som avgivits under perioden. Den teori dessadokument analyseras utifrån är Buzans, Wævers och de Wildes socialkonstruktivistiska teori omett vidgat säkerhetsbegrepp och säkerhetisering av politiska frågor, ”säkerhetiseringsteorin”.Analysen visar att frågor inom de militära, ekologiska och ekonomiska områdena är säkerhetsmässigtladdade i periodens början, men att dessa områden sedan avsäkerhetiseras alltmer. Frågorinom de politiska och samhälleliga områdena får däremot ökad säkerhetsmässig laddning underperioden. Tre sakfrågor som kan illustrera detta, och som särskilt lyfts fram såsom säkerhetshotunder perioden, framtonar i den kvalitativa delen av analysen: Miljöförstöringen och Kronkriseni periodens början och Rasism/Främlingsfientlighet i dess slut. EU-medlemskapet i periodensmitt visar sig också ha stort säkerhetsmässigt genomslag. Utifrån analysen konstateras att Sverigeunder perioden har blivit säkrare avseende externa och konkreta hot men osäkrare avseende interna,mer abstrakta. Dessa hot och de åtgärder man sätter in emot dem är svårare att kvantifiera,varför Sveriges osäkerhet (eller, mer specifikt: Riksdagens upplevda osäkerhet) ur denna synvinkel,och i motsats till vad som refereras i första meningen ovan, har ökat under perioden.Avslutningsvis diskuteras två möjliga implikationer för tiden efter den studerade:antalet sakfrågor som av statsmakterna betraktas som säkerhetsfrågor kan visa sig öka och,parallellt med detta, svensk säkerhetspolitik kan visa sig få legitimeringsproblem hos folket.
Sweden has been said to have become increasingly safe, security policy-wise, during the 1990s.At the same time there has been an increased focus on a widened security concept, which couldwell mean an enlarged variety of threats and, thus, a potentially larger insecurity. This essayanalyses the evolution of the Swedish Parliament´s discourse on state security during the period1991-2001. The documentary research of the essay is carried out through a quantitative as well asa qualitative content analysis of the government declarations with their successive party leaderdebates from the period. The theoretical framework this analysis is performed within, is thesocial constructivist theory of Buzan, Wæver and de Wilde on a widened security concept and“securitization” of political issues.The analysis shows that issues within the military, ecological and economical sectors aresecurity laden at the beginning of the period but that these sectors are subsequently desecuritized.Issues within the political and societal sectors are on the other hand given an enhanced value,security wise, during the period. Three points of issue illustrating this are specifically pointed outas threats to security during the period and are, consequently, also sifted out in the qualitativepart of the analysis: The environmental pollution and the financial crisis at the beginning of theperiod and racism/xenophobia towards the end of it. The EU membership in the middle of theperiod also manifests itself as having substantial impact on security.Sweden is, in the analysis, shown to have become safer in respect of external and tangiblethreats but increasingly unsafe in respect of internal, more abstract, ones. Since these threats, andthe measures taken against them, are more difficult to quantify, Sweden’s overall security as astate (or, more specifically: the security perceived by the Parliament) from this perspective, andin contradiction to what was referred in the first sentence of this abstract, has de-creased duringthe period.Two possible future implications have, by way of conclusion, been identified:- The amount of issues that the Swedish Government authorities, in explicit terms, regard asthreats to state security may prove to increase as the definition of its reference objects widensfrom the national state and its citizens, and, parallel to this;- Swedish security policy may, for much the same reasons, get problems of legitimacy among itspeople.
Avdelning: ALB - Slutet Mag 3 C-upps.Hylla: Upps. ChP 01-03

Nöjeslivet är ett viktigt område när det gäller att göra en stad attraktiv för dess invånare och besökare. Efter en besöksundersökning av centrumföreningen Centrala Stadsrum visade det sig att det finns invånare och besökare som inte är helt nöjda med dagens nöjesliv i Falun. Utifrån detta och en nyfikenhet från vår sida valde vi att göra en kartläggning av Faluns nöjesliv och undersöka nöjesverksamheternas profilering. Utifrån vår definition av nöje, ”en upplevelse där en individ gör ett tidsfördriv utan praktiskt syfte och då känner tillfredsställelse, vällust och/eller glädje”, genomfördes en teoretisk litteraturstudie av Faluns historia, attraktiva städer och våra utvalda nöjeslivsområden: mat & fika, bar & klubb, handel, kultur, sport och evenemang. Slutligen gjordes en enkätundersökning av nöjesverksamheterna som ligger i Faluns stadskärna, denna ligger till grund för kartläggningen och undersökningen av nöjesverksamheternas profilering. Resultaten av vår enkätundersökning visar att många av de tillfrågade respondenterna varken marknadsför sin nöjesverksamhet och inte heller har någon tydlig marknadsprofilering.

Introduzione. I cordomi della base cranica sono tumori rari e a lenta crescita derivanti dalla notocorda. La loro morbilità è principalmente legata alla loro invasione locale e alla resistenza ai trattamenti. A causa del loro aspetto eterogeneo e del loro comportamento clinico-molecolare non completamente compreso, l'obiettivo principale del presente lavoro è quello di identificare marcatori clinici e bio-molecolari come fattori prognostici specifici che potrebbero essere utilizzati per la corretta gestione di tali pazienti. Il raggiungimento di una firma prognostica dettagliata dei cordomi del basicranio è di fondamentale importanza per poter personalizzare il trattamento di ciascun paziente. Inoltre, l'analisi degli sfingolipidi sta emergendo come un nuovo approccio in molti tumori e non è mai stata applicata nei cordomi. L’obiettivo principale è lo studio del comportamento biologico del cordoma e il ruolo della produzione di ceramidi in questo contesto di proliferazione e invasione locale. Pazienti e Metodi. È stata eseguita una revisione retrospettiva di tutti i pazienti diagnosticati e trattati per cordoma della base cranica presso la Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico "Carlo Besta" tra il gennaio 1992 ed il dicembre 2017. Sono stati raccolti dati clinici, radiologici, chirurgici e patologici. È stata eseguita una raccolta prospettica di campioni chirurgici congelati per analizzare le specie di ceramidi. Gli sfingolipidi sono stati estratti dai tessuti congelati; i ceramidi e i diidroceramidi sono stati valutati mediante cromatografia liquida e spettrometria di massa. L'analisi di sopravvivenza è stata eseguita secondo il metodo di Kaplan-Meier. I confronti univariati sono stati condotti usando i test di Mann-Whitney, Chi-square e il test esatto di Fisher. Sono state condotte analisi di regressione e correlazione lineari. Utilizzando un modello di regressione logistica, i predittori statisticamente significativi sono stati pesati sulla base dei loro odds ratio al fine di sviluppare una scala personalizzata - la Peri-Operative Chordoma Scale (POCS). Risultati. Ottantasette pazienti sono stati trattati chirurgicamente per cordoma del basicranio. Settantotto pazienti sono stati dichiarati eleggibili per la revisione. I pazienti erano 38 maschi (48.7%) e 40 femmine (51.3%). Il follow-up medio era di 69 mesi (intervallo, 3-233). Sono stati eseguiti centoquattordici interventi chirurgici. La presenza di deficit motori si è rivelata essere un fattore prognostico significativo correlato a una PFS peggiore (p=0.0480). La presenza di calcificazioni ha mostrato una correlazione con risultati migliori di OS rispetto al tumore privo di calcificazioni (p=0.0420). Il grado di impregnazione contrastografica alla RM si è rivelato essere un fattore prognostico significativo in termini sia di OS che di PFS (p≤0.0001 e 0.0010, rispettivamente). Il coinvolgimento del forame giugulare e delle cisterne anteriori al tronco encefalico si sono rivelati due fattori prognostici significativi correlati con una riduzione di PFS (p=0.0130 e p=0.0210, rispettivamente). La dislocazione del tronco cerebrale rappresentava un fattore prognostico significativo correlato a peggiore OS e PFS nella coorte di cordomi recidivi (p=0.0060 e 0.0030, rispettivamente). L'estensione della resezione tumorale rappresentava un forte fattore prognostico secondo la PFS nella coorte di cordomi primari (p=0.0200). I pazienti operati da un chirurgo esperto (definito come il chirurgo che ha eseguito più di 10 procedure chirurgiche per cordoma del basicranio nella presente serie) hanno avuto un outcome migliore in termini di PFS nella coorte di pazienti primari (p=0.0340). Lo sviluppo di complicanze post-operatorie in pazienti con cordoma primario rappresentava un importante fattore prognostico correlato sia ad OS che a PFS (p≤0.0001 e 0.0360, rispettivamente). Nella coorte di cordomi recidivi, ∆KPS correlava sia a OS che a PFS (p=0.0010 e 0.0180, rispettivamente). Inoltre, il trattamento radioterapico postoperatorio correlava ad un aumento di OS e PFS (p=0.0020 e p=0.0100, rispettivamente). I seguenti fattori si sono rivelati predittori statisticamente significativi sia di PFS che di OS nel modello di regressione logistica: il grado di impregnazione contrastografica alla RM (intenso o lieve/nessuno), la presenza di deficit motori preoperatori (si o no) e lo sviluppo di complicanze post-operatorie (si o no). Una scala è stata sviluppata con score compresi tra 0 e 17 (Nagelkerke’s pseudo R2=0.656). Le specie totali di ceramidi e diidroceramidi nei cordomi primari erano 808.4±451.4 pmol/mg di proteine (522.5-1760.2) e 30.7±16.4 pmol/mg (17.6-62.4), rispettivamente. Le specie totali di ceramidi e diidroceramidi nei cordomi recidivi erano 1488.1±763.8 pmol/mg (540.7-2787.5) e 67.2±45.5 pmol/mg (9.0-145.6), rispettivamente. Le specie totali di ceramidi erano significativamente più elevate nei cordomi recidivi sottoposti a precedente resezione chirurgica e radioterapia rispetto ai cordomi primari (p=0.0496). Le specie totali di ceramidi e diidroceramidi nel gruppo "intensa impregnazione contrastografica" erano 1597.6±737.8 pmol/mg (592.7-2787.5) e 69.1±45.0 pmol/mg (17.8-145.6), rispettivamente. Le specie totali di ceramidi e diidroceramidi nel gruppo "nessuna o lieve impregnazione contrastografica" erano 664.7±120.4 pmol/mg (522.5-826.0) e 31.5±13.6 pmol/mg (17.6-53.6), rispettivamente. Ceramidi e diidroceramidi totali erano significativamente più alti nei cordomi ad “intensa impregnazione contrastografica” rispetto ai cordomi "nessun o lieve impregnazione contrastografica" (p=0.0290 e p=0.0186, rispettivamente). Analizzando l'associazione tra livelli di ceramidi e MIB-1 all'interno di ciascun paziente con cordoma della base cranica, i livelli di ceramidi totali hanno mostrato un'associazione forte (r=0.7257, r2=0.5267) con la colorazione MIB-1 (p=0.0033). Analizzando l'associazione tra i livelli di diidroceramidi e MIB-1 all'interno di ciascun paziente con cordoma della base cranica, i livelli totali di diidroceramidi hanno mostrato anche un'associazione forte (r=0.6733, r2=0.4533) con MIB-1 (p=0.0083). Tra le singole specie di ceramidi, Cer C24: 1 (r=0.8814, r2=0.7769, p≤0.0001), DHCer C24: 1 (r=0.8429, r2=0.7104, p=0.0002) e DHCer C18:0 (r=0.9426, r2=0.8885, p≤0.0001) hanno mostrato una correlazione significativa con il MIB-1. Conclusioni. L’analisi clinica ha dimostrato che la sintomatologia preoperatoria (deficit motori e a carico dei nervi cranici), la posizione anatomica (forame giugulare, dislocazione del tronco encefalico), le caratteristiche chirurgiche (estensione della resezione tumorale ed esperienza del chirurgo operatore), la presenza di complicanze postoperatorie e il declino del KPS si sono rivelati fattori prognostici significativi. Inoltre, il grado d’impregnazione contrastografica alla RM è stato significativamente correlato sia a OS che a PFS. È stata sviluppata in via preliminare la Peri-Operative Chordoma Scale (POCS) per aiutare il clinico nella gestione personalizzata del paziente che si sottoporrà a potenziali terapie adiuvanti. L’analisi di sfingolipidi, invece, ha evidenziato come i ceramidi possano rappresentare un promettente bio-marcatore nei cordomi. In particolare, i ceramidi a catena lunga e molto lunga, come Cer C24:1 e DHCer C18:0, possono concorrere ad una prolungata sopravvivenza del tumore, aggressività e l’effettiva comprensione del loro ruolo biologico potrà far luce sui possibili meccanismi di radio-resistenza, tendenza a recidivare del cordoma e allo sviluppo di agenti che possano avere come target il metabolismo dei ceramidi. Tali risultati dovrebbero essere validati in futuri studi clinici, in vitro e in vivo più ampi per confermare questo intricato legame tra il comportamento aggressivo del cordoma e dei ceramidi.
Introduction. Skull base chordomas are rare slow-growing neoplasms that arise from notochord. Their morbidity is mainly related to highly aggressive local invasion and resistance to treatments. Due to its heterogeneous appearance and not fully understood clinical and molecular behaviors, the main goal of the present work is to identify clinical and bio-molecular markers as specific prognostic factors that could be used for the management of skull base chordoma patients. Achieving a detailed prognostic signature of skull base chordomas is of paramount importance to personalize the treatment to each specific patient. Moreover, sphingolipids analysis is emerging as a new approach in many cancers and it has never been applied in chordomas. Our aim is to investigate chordoma biological behavior and the role of ceramides production in this context of proliferation and invasion. Patients and Methods. A retrospective review of all the patients diagnosed and treated for a skull base chordoma at the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico “Carlo Besta” between January 1992 and December 2017 has been performed. Clinical, radiological, surgical and pathological data have been collected. A prospective collection of frozen surgical specimens has been performed to analyze ceramides species in chordomas. Sphingolipids were extracted from frozen tissues and total ceramides and dihydroceramides were evaluated by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Survival analysis was performed according to Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate comparisons were conducted using Mann-Whitney, Chi-square and exact Fisher test. Simple linear regression and correlation with computation of Pearson coefficients analyses were conducted. Using a logistic regression model, statistically significant predictors were rated based on their odds ratios in order to build a personalized grading scale – the Peri-Operative Chordoma Scale (POCS). Results. Eighty-seven consecutive patients were surgically treated for a skull base chordoma during the period of recruitment. Seventy-eight patients were eligible for the retrospective review. There were 38 males (48.7%) and 40 females (51.3%). The mean follow-up was 69 months (range, 3–233). One-hundred-fourteen surgical operations were performed in the initial recruitment or recurrent setting. The presence of motor deficits in skull base chordoma revealed to be a significant prognostic factor correlating with a worse PFS (p=0.0480). Calcification on KM analysis showed a correlation with better outcomes (OS) compared with tumor lacking any calcification on CT scan (p value=0.0402). The degree of MR contrast enhancement revealed to be a significant and strong prognostic factor in terms of OS and PFS (p≤0.0001 and 0.0010, respectively). Jugular foramen involvement represented a significant prognostic factor with a worse PFS in the cohort of primary skull base chordomas (p=0.0130). The presence of chordoma in the pre-brainstem cistern revealed to be a significant prognostic factor with a worse PFS in the cohort of recurrent skull base chordomas (p=0.0210). Brainstem dislocation represented a significant prognostic factor correlating with a both worse outcome in terms of OS and PFS in the cohort of recurrent skull base chordomas (p=0.0060 and 0.0030). Extent of resection represents a strong prognostic factor according to PFS in the cohort of primary skull base chordomas (p=0.0200). Patients operated by an experienced chordoma surgeon did better in terms of prolonged PFS in the cohort of primary patients (p=0.0340). Development of post-operative complications in primary skull base chordoma patients represented an important prognostic factor related to both OS and PFS (p≤0.0001 and 0.0360, respectively). In the cohort of recurrent chordomas, ∆KPS correlated to both OS and PFS (p=0.0010 and 0.0180, respectively). Moreover, post-operative radiation treatment correlated with prolonged OS (p=0.0020) and PFS (p=0.0100). The following factors were found to be statistically significant predictors of both PFS and OS in the logistic regression model: MR contrast enhancement (intense vs mild/no), preoperative motor deficit (yes vs no) and the development of any post-operative complications (yes vs no). A grading scale was obtained with scores ranging between 0 and 17 (Nagelkerke’s pseudo R2=0.656). The mean total ceramides and dihydroceramides species in primary chordomas were 808.4±451.4 pmol/mg (522.5-1760.2) and 30.7±16.4 pmol/mg (17.6-62.4), respectively. The mean total ceramides and dihydroceramides species in recurrent chordomas were 1488.1±763.8 pmol/mg (540.7-2787.5) and 67.2±45.5 pmol/mg (9.0-145.6), respectively. Total ceramides species were significantly higher in recurrent chordomas that underwent previous surgical resection and radiation therapy in comparison to the primary chordomas (p=0.0496). The mean total ceramides and dihydroceramides species in “intense enhancement” group were 1597.6±737.8 pmol/mg (592.7-2787.5) and 69.1±45.0 pmol/mg (17.8-145.6), respectively. The mean total ceramides and dihydroceramides species in “no or mild enhancement” group were 664.7±120.4 pmol/mg (522.5-826.0) and 31.5±13.6 pmol/mg (17.6-53.6), respectively. Total ceramides and dihydroceramides were significantly higher in “intense enhancement” chordomas in comparison to the “no/mild enhancement” chordomas (p=0.0290 and p=0.0186, respectively). Analyzing the association between ceramides level and MIB-1 within each skull base chordoma patient, total ceramides level showed a strong association (r=0.7257, r2=0.5267) with MIB-1 staining (p=0.0033). Analyzing the association between DHCer level and MIB-1 within each skull base chordoma patient, total DHCer level showed also strong association (r=0.6733, r2= 0.4533) with MIB-1 staining (p= 0.0083). Among the single ceramides species Cer C24:1 (r=0.8814, r2=0.7769, p≤0.0001), DHCer C24:1 (r=0.8429, r2=0.7104, p=0.0002) and DHCer C18:0 (r=0.9426, r2=0.8885, p≤0.0001) levels showed a significant correlation with MIB-1 staining. Final candidate predictive factors that well fitted the regression model were: cer24:1 (r=0.824, p≤0.001), and DHCer C18:0 (r=0.748, p=0.002). Conclusion. Our clinical analysis showed that pre-operative clinical symptoms (motor and cranial nerve deficits), anatomical location (jugular foramen, pre-brainstem cisterns and brainstem dislocation), surgical features (extent of tumor resection and surgeon’s experience), development of post-operative complications and KPS decline represent significant prognostic factors. The degree of MR contrast enhancement significantly correlated to both OS and PFS. We also preliminarily developed the Peri-Operative Chordoma Scale (POCS) to aid the practitioner in the personalized management of patients undergoing potential adjuvant therapies. Our lipid analysis showed ceramides as promising tumoral bio-markers in skull base chordomas. Long and very long chain ceramides, such as Cer C24:1 and DHCer C24:1, may be related to a prolonged tumor survival, aggressiveness and the understanding of their effective biological role will hopefully shed lights on the mechanisms of chordoma radio-resistance, tendency to recur and use of agents targeting ceramide metabolism. Such results should be validated in future larger clinical, in-vitro and in-vivo studies to confirm such intricate link between ceramides and chordoma aggressive behavior.

As craniossinostoses são malformações do crânio decorrentes da ausência ou do fechamento precoce de uma ou de múltiplas suturas cranianas. O tratamento tem por objetivo a correção dos defeitos estéticos e controle da pressão intracraniana. Os distratores ósseos internos são uma opção cirúrgica interessante, pois possibilitam a movimentação óssea em determinada direção, e, consequentemente, uma modificam [sic] a conformação craniana. Esta dissertação descreve o desenvolvimento de um protótipo de distrator ósseo craniano de acionamento magnético percutâneo submetido a testes de bancada. O distrator desenvolvido foi prototipado em resina, contendo as seguintes partes: o cursor, a base, o mecanismo de trava unidirecional em cremalheira e o invólucro de proteção. O sistema de ativação apresenta uma peça ferromagnética interna, um imã externo de ativação e dois parafusos de fixação. O modelo de bancada elaborado simulou as forças necessárias para a distração das placas ósseas cranianas. Os testes de bancada demonstraram que o acoplamento magnético entre o imã externo e os discos ferromagnéticos internos foi capaz de promover um deslocamento máximo de 28 mm entre as placas, equivalente a uma força de 10,88 N. O mecanismo de trava em cremalheira para deslocamento unidirecional foi eficaz ao bloquear o retrocesso do cursor e desta forma manteve a distração.
Craniosynostosis occurs as a result of the absence or premature closure of one or multiple cranial sutures. Its treatment aims at correcting the esthetic defects as well as to control the intra-cranial pressure. The use of internal bone distractors is a valuable surgical option, promoting direct bone movement, and thus modifying the skull contours. This dissertation includes the description of the development and bench testing of a magnetic calvarial bone distractor remotely activated. The distractor is made out of four parts, all prototyped using resin: the cursor, the base, the one-way locking system and the protection cap. The activation system is composed by one internal iron-magnetic plate, one external activation magnet and two fixation screws. The test bench was designed to simulate the expected forces to which the distractor should counteract. The bench testing showed that the magnetic coupling between the external magnet and the iron-magnetic plate was strong enough for the distractor to carry out a maximum 28-mm distraction, being equivalent to a 10.88 N force. The one-way locking system was efficient in preventing the distractor cursor to recede, maintaining the gap between the two plates stable.

Orientador: Paulo Henrique Ferreira Caria
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba
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Resumo: Introdução: As tensões mastigatórias são absorvidas pelos processos alveolares e são dissipadas do pilar zigomático para o restante do crânio. A análise por elementos finitos é útil para avaliar a dissipação da tensão e simular o comportamento mecânico de estruturas biológicas. Objetivo: O Objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a dissipação da tensão principal máxima na região do Pilar Zigomático de um crânio humano, ao simular a oclusão dos molares. Material e Método: Um modelo dos ossos faciais foi construído a partir de imagens tomograficas computadorizadas com 0,25 mm de espessura de um crânio humano dentado pertencente ao Departamento de Morfologia da FOP - UNICAMP. O modelo geométrico foi construído com base na modelagem por meio do software Rhinoceros 4,0 (modelagem tridimensional por superfícies NURBS), utilizando a técnica de BioCAD e software MSC / Nastran ® 4.5 para Windows (The Corporation MacNeal-Schwendler, Savannah, GA, E.U.A.) que reproduziu o modelo de elementos finitos com as propriedades mecânicas da estrutura original. Resultados: Durante a aplicação da carga nos molares superiores, surgiram na superfície interna do seio maxilar duas linhas tensão máxima principal a partir do assoalho do seio maxilar, a primeira em direção ao pilar zigomático e a segunda para a região póstero-lateral do seio maxilar. Na região de transição entre a maxila e a crista zigomático maxilar foi observado uma área de tensão máxima principal nula. Conclusão: A tensão máxima principal durante a oclusão molar não é transferida diretamente ao pilar zigomático, mas sim para estruturas adjacentes.
Abstract: Introduction: Masticatory stress are absorbed by the alveolar processes and dissipated from the Zygomatic Pillar for the hole skull. The finite element analysis is useful to evaluate the stress dissipation and simulate the mechanical behavior of biological structures. Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the dissipation of maximum principal strain in the region of the Pillar Zygomatic of a human skull during molars occlusion. Material and Methods: A model of the facial bones was constructed from computed tomography images with 0.25 mm thickness of a dentate human skull from the Department of Morphology, FOP - UNICAMP. The geometric model was built based on modeling using the Rhinoceros 4.0 software (three-dimensional modeling by NURBS surfaces), using the technique of BioCAD and MSC / Nastran for Windows ® 4.5 software (The MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation, Savannah, GA USA) which reproduced the finite element model with the mechanical properties of the original structure. Results: During application of the load on the upper molars two lines of maximum principal strain appeared on the inner surface of the maxillary sinus from the maxillary sinus floor, the first toward the Zygomatic Pillar and the second to the posterior of the maxillary sinus. Conclusion: The maximum principal strain during molar occlusion is not transferred directly to the Zygomatic Pillar, but to adjacent structures.
Doutorado
Anatomia
Doutor em Biologia Buco-Dental

Orientador: Paulo Henrique Ferreira Caria
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba
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Resumo: O tecido ósseo do crânio humano é organizado para estabelecer adaptação à função mecânica. Os ossos que compõem o esqueleto facial formam os pilares de sustentação das forças mastigatórias, sendo que o pilar na região anterior é denominado pilar canino. Teoricamente as tensões mecânicas nesta região se originam no dente canino superior e se dissipam em direção à glabela. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os locais de dissipação e a intensidade das tensões mecânicas no dente canino superior e pilar canino por meio da análise de elementos finitos tridimensional. A partir de cortes tomográficos de 0,25 mm de espessura de um crânio humano, masculino e de aproximadamente 38 anos, foi construído um modelo de elementos finitos formado por 135072 nós e 84157 elementos pelo software Ansys v12. Sobre a margem inferior do osso e arco zigomáticos foi aplicada uma força mastigatória de 200N, simulando a ação do músculo masseter e o suporte foi aplicado no contato oclusal do dente canino superior. Foram analisadas as tensões de Von-mises e máxima principal. As tensões de Vonmises determinaram a dissipação pelo pilar canino, com áreas concentradas na eminência canina e no processo frontal da maxila. A tensão máxima principal mostrou as áreas de compressão no corpo da maxila, processo frontal da maxila, próximo à sutura frontomaxilar e no osso nasal e, tração no processo alveolar e base do processo frontal da maxila. Conclui-se que as tensões se dissipam pelo pilar canino conforme os fundamentos teóricos da biomecânica, de maneira não uniforme com concentração de tensões de tração e compressão em diferentes áreas.
Abstract: The bone tissue of the human skull is organized to provide adaptation to mechanical function. The bones of the facial skeleton form the pillars of support of the masticatory forces, and in the anterior region is called canine pillar. Theoretically, the mechanical stresses in this region originate in the upper canine tooth and dissipate toward the glabella. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sites of dissipation and the intensity of mechanical stresses in the upper canine and canine pillar by tridimensional finite element analysis. From CT images with 0.25 mm thickness of a male human skull, with approximately 38 years, was generated a finite element model, which consists of 13,5072 nodes and 84,157 elements, through of the software Ansys v12. On the inferior margin of the zygomatic bone and zigomatic arch was applied a masticatory force of 200N, simulating the action of the masseter muscle, and a support was applied in the occlusal contact of the upper canine tooth. Were analyzed the Von-mises and maximum principal stresses. The Von-mises stresses determined the stress dissipation in the canine pillar, with areas concentrated at the canine eminence and frontal process of maxilla. The maximum principal stress showed compression areas at the body of the maxilla, frontal process, close to the frontomaxillary suture and in the nasal bone. Tensile stress located on the alveolar process and the base of the frontal process. In conclusion, the stresses were dissipated by the canine pillar as the theoretical principles of biomechanics, not uniformly and with concentration of tensile stress and compression in different areas.
Mestrado
Anatomia
Mestre em Biologia Buco-Dental

Some cases of infant skull fracture fall under the category of forensic study where it is not obvious whether the head trauma happened due to an accident or abuse. To be able to determine the cause of the head trauma with sufficient accuracy, biomechanical analysis using finite element modeling of the infant cranium has been established. By simulating the trauma, one may be able to obtain the fracture propagation of the skull and from it determine if the scenario narrative is plausible. Geometry of skull, sutures, scalp and brain of a 2 month old infant head was obtained using CT images and meshed using voxel hexahedral meshing. Simulation of an impact to the head from a fall of 0.82 m height, to a rigid floor, was carried out in the non-linear finite element program LS-Dyna. Two scenarios were simulated: an impact to the occipitalparietal bones and an impact to the right parietal bone. The fracture propagation was obtained using the Chang-Chang Composite Failure Model as a constitutive model for the skull bones. The amount of material parameters gathered in the present study to predict fracture of the infant skull has not been obtained before, to the best knowledge of author. Validation of the models’ ability to show relatively correct fracture propagation was carried out by comparing the obtained fracture pattern from the parietal-occipital impact against published fracture patterns of infant PMHS skulls from a free fall onto a hard surface. The fracture pattern was found to be in good compliance with the published data. The fracture pattern in the parietal bone from the impact was compared against a fracture pattern from a previously constructed model at STH. The patterns of the models show some similarities but improvements to the model and further validations need to be carried out.
Några skallskador hos spädbarn ger grund till kriminaltekniska studier där det inte är självklart om skallskadan skett på grund av en olycka eller misshandel. För att kunna fastställa orsaken till skallskadan med tillräcklig noggrannhet har biomekaniska analyser med finita element modeler av barns huvud genomförts. Genom att simulera traumat kan man kunna få sprickpropagering I skallbenet och från den avgöra om scenariot är rimligt. Geometrin för skallen, suturer, hårbotten och hjärnan hos ett 2 månader gammalt spädbarns huvud erhölls genom CT-bilder och Voxel hexahedermeshning. Simulering av påverkan på huvudet från ett fall på 0,82 m höjd mot ett hart golv simulerades i det icke-linjära finita element programmet LS-Dyna. Två scenarier simulerades: ett islag mot nack-hjässbenet och ett mot det högra hjässbenet. Sprickpropagering simulerades med en Chang-Chang Composite konstitutiv frakturmodell för skallbenet. Den omfattande mängd materialparametrar som sammanfattades i denna studie för att prediktera skallbensfrakturer hos spädbarnets har, enligt författarens kännedom, inte erhållits tidigare. Validering av modellernas förmåga att visa relativt korrekt sprickpropagering genomfördes genom att jämföra det erhållna frakturmönstret från simuleringarna med publicerade frakturmönster från spädbarn för fritt fall mot en hård yta mot nack-hjässbenet. Frakturmönstret befanns vara i god överensstämmelse med publicerade data. Brottmönstret i hjässbenet jämfördes med frakturmönstret från en tidigare konstruerad modell på KTH. Brottmönstren från modellerna visar vissa likheter men förbättringar av modellen och ytterligare valideringar måste genomföras.

The Swedish compulsory education system is not seen as high quality according to the (OECD, 2015). Instead eyes are turning towards Finland and Singapore for best practice. Sweden's results are falling in international assessments such as PISA and TIMMS (Skolverket, 2016a/2016b), despite high expenditure per capita and several education reforms lately, such as a new curriculum and new teacher training education. The Swedish Schools Inspectorate scrutinizes schools with the objective to ensure a good education in a safe environment and to sustain nationwide equity. The authority therefore has a decisive role in judging the quality of schools in Sweden. The objective of this thesis is to study the criticism of Swedish Schools Inspectorate towards schools that have received a penalty for not abiding the law. The data consists of six school inspection reports seen as a case. Qualitative analysis is used building on discourse analysis theory. The findings of the research are that discipline and value-based issues are two of the areas discussed most in the criticism of the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. The inspectors also seem to look for discrepancies between documents and school staff. Different groups have the power to express themselves on various issues, such as special educators in student health. The pupils are also given a strong voice and space to define their school in the reports.

Denna studie undersöker hur det står till med musikämnet i dagens förskola. Musik kan enligt förskolans läroplan utgöra både metod och innehåll men även om musik har en stark traditionsbunden roll i förskolan som sällan ifrågasätts finns det möjligheter att utveckla användandet av musik inom förskolan, exempelvis via en ökad didaktisk medvetenhet. Forskning visar också på att musikaliskt innehåll i förskolan minskat på senare år. Verksamma pedagoger i förskolan får i denna studie svara på hur de upplever och har upplevt sina egna och andras musikaliska aktiviteter genom sina yrkesliv. Detta i syfte att öka kunskapen om musikens närvaro, ställning och utveckling inom förskolan samt hur förskollärare kan utveckla musikpedagogiken ytterligare. Det inhämtade materialet består av fyra intervjuade pedagogers svar. De mest centrala aspekterna som framkommer rör pedagogens roll i utformningen av förskolans musikaliska inslag, en motsägelsefull bild av hur musikens ställning i förskolan har förändrats samt ett behov av fortbildning i syfte att inspirera och förnya.

Many phylogenetic relationships based on morphology were rejected following the molecular revolution, yet there is a need for phylogenetic analysis of morphology that reliably infers phylogenetic relationships so that we can understand the evolutionary relationships of extant and fossil taxa. I use geometric morphometric and distance-based phylogenetic methods to study the phylogenetic signal in the skull of a clade of primates, the platyrrhines or New World monkeys, and re-examine congruence between molecular and morphological analyses. I collected digital anatomical landmark data from around 1400 specimens belonging to 16 genera and 50 species of New World monkeys, and nine primate outgroup taxa. I take a modular approach, inferring phylogenies based on the whole skull, face and cranial base, with a range of outgroups and outgroups combinations, and repeat analyses for male, female, pooled sex and separate sex data. Inferred relationships are compared to the most recent platyrrhine molecular phylogeny and past morphology-based analyses. Strepsirrhine outgroups performed slightly better as outgroups, as platyrrhines and Old World monkey or ape outgroups often shared homoplasy that interfered with accurate phylogenetic analysis. Phylogenetic analysis of all platyrrhines recovers a weak phylogenetic signal, but phylogenetic analysis of each of the three major molecular clades, atelids, pitheciids and cebids, finds greater congruence between molecular and morphological analyses. The atelids have a strong phylogenetic signal in the face, the pitheciids in all regions of the skull, and the cebid skull and face support three molecular lineages for callitrichines, cebines and owl monkeys, but infer molecular incongruent relationships within the callitrichines. Phylogenetic analysis of the face holds a stronger phylogenetic signal than expected, whereas the cranial base was more plastic and had a weak phylogenetic signal. In platyrrhines, phylogeny, diet, allometry and encephalization all have an important role in shaping craniodental morphology.

Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is a medical imaging technique routinely employed for diagnosis and treatment of patients with cranio-maxillo-facial defects. CBCT 3D reconstruction and segmentation of bones such as mandible or maxilla are essential procedures in orthodontic treatments. However, CBCT images present characteristics that are not desirable for processing, including low contrast, inhomogeneity, noise, and artifacts. Besides, values assigned to voxels are relative Hounsfield Units (HU), unlike traditional Computed Tomography (CT). Such drawbacks render CBCT segmentation a difficult and time-consuming task, usually performed manually with tools designed for medical image processing. We introduce two interactive two-stage methods for 3D segmentation of CBCT data: i) we first reduce the CBCT image resolution by grouping similar voxels into super-voxels defining a graph representation; ii) next, seeds placed by users guide graph clustering algorithms, splitting the bones into mandible and skull. We have evaluated our segmentation methods intensively by comparing the results against ground truth data of the mandible and the skull, in various scenarios. Results show that our methods produce accurate segmentation and are robust to changes in parameter settings. We also compared our approach with a similar segmentation strategy and we showed that it produces more accurate segmentation of the mandible and skull. In addition, we have evaluated our proposal with CT data of patients with deformed or missing bones. We obtained more accurate segmentation in all cases. As for the efficiency of our implementation, a segmentation of a typical CBCT image of the human head takes about five minutes. Finally, we carried out a usability test with orthodontists. Results have shown that our proposal not only produces accurate segmentation, as it also delivers an effortless and intuitive user interaction.
Tomografia Computadorizada de Feixe Cônico (TCFC) é uma modalidade para obtenção de imagens médicas 3D do crânio usada para diagnóstico e tratamento de pacientes com defeitos crânio-maxilo-faciais. A segmentação tridimensional de ossos como a mandíbula e a maxila são procedimentos essências em tratamentos ortodônticos. No entanto, a TCFC apresenta características não desejáveis para processamento digital como, por exemplo, baixo contraste, inomogeneidade, ruído e artefatos. Além disso, os valores atribuídos aos voxels são unidades de Hounsfield (HU) relativas, diferentemente da Tomografia Computadorizada (TC) tradicional. Esses inconvenientes tornam a segmentação de TCFC uma tarefa difícil e demorada, a qual é normalmente realizada por meio de ferramentas desenvolvidas para processamento digital de imagens médicas. Esta tese introduz dois métodos interativos para a segmentação 3D de TCFC, os quais são divididos em duas etapas: i) redução da resolução da TCFC por meio da agrupamento de voxels em super-voxels, seguida da criação de um grafo no qual os vértices são super-voxels; ii) posicionamento de sementes pelo usuário e segmentação por algoritmos de agrupamento em grafos, o que permite separar os ossos rotulados. Os métodos foram intensamente avaliados por meio da comparação dos resultados com padrão ouro da mandíbula e do crânio, considerando diversos cenários. Os resultados mostraram que os métodos não apenas produzem segmentações precisas, como também são robustos a mudanças nos parâmetros. Foi ainda realizada uma comparação com um trabalho relacionado, gerando melhores resultados tanto na segmentação da mandíbula quanto a do crânio. Além disso, foram avaliadas TCs de pacientes com ossos faltantes e quebrados. A segmentação de uma TCFC é realizada em cerca de 5 minutos. Por fim, foram realizados testes com usuarios ortodontistas. Os resultados mostraram que nossa proposta não apenas produz segmentações precisas, como também é de fácil interação.