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Despite its OECD membership and transformation from aid recipient into a major donor of official development assistance (ODA), Japan has long been criticized for pursuing commercial interests through its infrastructure-focused ODA, which has heavily relied on its own corporate private sector for implementation. Throughout the last two decades, institutional reforms have altered the structure and p

When selecting the least biased exposure surrogate, for example, the concentration of a biomarker in a urine sample, information on variability must be taken into consideration. We used mixed-effects models to estimate the variability and determinants of urinary cadmium (U-Cd) excretion using spot urine samples collected at six fixed times during 2 days about 1 week apart, from 24 healthy non-smok

Background: Arsenic is mono- (MMA) and dimethylated (DMA) in humans and the methylation pattern demonstrates large inter-individual differences. The fraction of urinary MMA is a marker for susceptibility to arsenic-related diseases. Objectives: The impact of polymorphisms in five methyltransferase genes on arsenic metabolism was evaluated in two populations, one in South America, one in southeast

Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is today considered a novel specific vascular inflammatory biomarker. The general aim of this thesis was to study the role and impact of Lp-PLA2 as cardiovascular (CV) risk marker in an epidemiologic perspective. Specific aims were to explore the cross-sectional association of Lp-PLA2 with traditional CV risk factors, to asses the genetic influence

Popular Abstract in Swedish Hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar är idag den vanligaste dödsorsaken i stora delar av världen för både män och kvinnor. I Sverige är hjärtinfarkt den vanligaste dödsorsaken för kvinnor över 55 år och för män över 45 år. Det vill säga kvinnor drabbas cirka 10 år senare. Tidigare forskning har baserats i huvudsak på män varvid forskning på kvinnor med hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar har Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the sleading cause of mortality in men and women in Western society. Few studies of CHD have been performed on women or with a focus on cardiac risk factors in women’s lives. Results from studies of men have been generalized to women, which may be inappropriate or even dangerous. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to describe women’s experience of a

The mystacocarid crustacean Derocheilocaris typica Pennak and Zinn, 1943 lives in sand interstices and is less than one mm long. It is unique among Arthropoda. It has sensory cells in the mandible, which lack cilia. The function as mechano- and/or chemo-receptors has been replaced by dendrites, the sensory cell protrusions carrying cilia. The dendrites swell, flatten, and fill the endite- a medial

The extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission from few-times ionized tungsten atoms has been experimentally studied at the Livermore electron beam ion trap facility. The ions were produced and confined during low-energy operations of the EBIT-I electron beam ion trap. By varying the electron-beam energy from around 30-300 eV, tungsten ions in charge states expected to be abundant in tokamak divertor plas

The complement system is important for protection from invading pathogens, removal of waste products and guidance of the immune response. Furthermore, complement can be also targeted to cancer cells. However, membrane-bound inhibitors over-expressed by certain types of tumor cells restrict the cytotoxic activity of complement. Herein we report that non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells produce

We have conducted a detailed investigation of the broadband spectral properties of the gamma-ray selected blazars of the Fermi LAT Bright AGN Sample (LBAS). By combining our accurately estimated Fermi gamma-ray spectra with Swift, radio, infra-red, optical, and other hard X-ray/gamma-ray data, collected within 3 months of the LBAS data taking period, we were able to assemble high-quality and quasi

This doctoral thesis is a psychoanalytic interpretation of the novels of the Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, and it explores these novels from three different perspectives, here called readings. The first perspective focuses on the literary techniques and the importance these may have for the interpretation of the content of the novels. This first reading includes a summary of the reception of

The McStas neutron ray-tracing simulation package is a versatile tool for producing accurate neutron simulations, extensively used for design and optimization of instruments, virtual experiments, data analysis and user training. In McStas, component organization and simulation flow is intrinsically linear: the neutron interacts with the beamline components in a sequential order, one by one. Histor

Contingent self-esteem, where one’s self-value is staked on success and competence, is a particularly vulnerable disposition with impact on well-being. This study compared physiological and behavioral reactivity between individuals self-rated as high and low in competence based self-esteem (N = 61), in a performance situation. To assess reactivity we used a traditional overt measure of blood press

The main aim of this project was to explore whether the pine trees in Glen Affric (GAF), one of the more extensive pine woodlands in the northern Scottish Highlands, are, on average, reaching a senescent stage which could ultimately be detrimental to the sustainability of the pine woodland in this region under present management conditions This aim was realized by (1) comparing the mean stand age

One-dimensional nanostructure arrays can show fascinatingly different, tunable optical response compared to bulk systems. Here we study theoretically and demonstrate experimentally how to engineer the reflection and absorption of light in epitaxially grown vertical arrays of InAs nanowires (NWs). A striking observation is optically visible colors of the array, which we show can be tuned depending

The main focus of this thesis is the analysis of the interactions between antennas and channels where electromagnetic fields play a central role. Our goal has been to devise a general framework to enable a clear separation of the properties of the propagation channel from the influence of the antennas at the same time as it provides a common ground for a joint characterization of their properties.