The effects of micro and nanoparticles on the innate immune system have been widely investigated and a general lack of agreement between in vivo and in vitro assays has been observed. In order to determine the origin of these discrepancies, there is a need for comparing the results of in vivo and in vitro phagocytosis assays obtained using the same particles and same immune cells. Here, we establi

This project looks into the perception of the benefits and drawbacks of Internet usage by elderly people, born from the mid 1920s to the early 1940s, also known as the ‘silent generation’ (Lustria et al. in Health Informatics Journal 17(3):224–243, [1]). As governmental services are gradually becoming online, elderly people are required to use the Internet in order to complete the compulsory task(

In this study, we examine the diversity of sustainable business models adopted by the largest global corporations — those listed in the S&P 500 index — over the period 2005–2014. We examine press release communications during this period, which represent public data about business-relevant events. We expect that examining this communication can reveal longitudinal patterns in the adoption of s

In this paper we report upon some results of an empirical study involving employees from 32 SMEs in the UK on how they approach socio-technical principles in the design of their work systems. We are particularly interested in what extent employees are engaged with decision making, change in work practices and job satisfaction. Our findings reveal that employees would prefer more responsibilities,

Climate change impacts are a key challenge for sustainable urban development. To address this challenge, ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), i.e., the use of ecosystem services and biodiversity to help people adapt to climate change, is increasingly being considered as an alternative or complement to traditional, engineering-based approaches (increasingly also known as nature-based solutions). Howev

We present a new, quantification-driven proteomic approach to identifying biomarkers. In contrast to the identification-driven approach, limited in scope to peptides that are identified by database searching in the first step, all MS data are considered to select biomarker candidates. The endopeptidome of cerebrospinal fluid from 40 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, 40 subjects with mild cognitiv

Old age care will become an increasing task in all societies as population aging gives an increasing number of elderly that will need help with daily activities. In this article different means – and their costs – of old age care are discussed. There are three ways of organizing old age care, the family, the market and the state, each one with its pros and cons. Irrespective of form, old age care

Svensk sammanfattningAvhandlingens syfte har varit att studera utvecklingen av en könskromosom i realtid genom att simulera dess framväxt i en hermafroditisk plattmask i laboratoriet. Jag gjorde detta genom att selektera på dels honlig fitness (fitness via ägg), dels hanlig fitness (fitness via spermier) med hjälp av en genetisk markör, som agerade som en könsbestämmande gen. Detta ska efterlikna Sex chromosome evolution in a hermaphrodite ancestor starts with the establishment of a sex-determining region (SDR). Over time, sex-specific genes, and/or sexually antagonistic alleles will become linked to the SDR. Sexually antagonistic alleles are a type of genetic variation that increases fitness for one sex while being detrimental for the other sex. Recombination arrest around the SDR and gen

The disease burden of failing skin repair and non-healing ulcers is extensive. There is an unmet need for new diagnostic approaches to better predict healing activity and wound infection. Uncontrolled and excessive protease activity, of endogenous or bacterial origin, has been described as a major contributor to wound healing impairments. Proteolytic peptide patterns could therefore correlate and

Lubricin, a heavily O-glycosylated protein, is essential for boundary lubrication of articular cartilage. Strong surface adherence of lubricin is required given the extreme force it must withstand. Disulfide bound complexes of lubricin and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) have recently been identified in arthritic synovial fluid suggesting they may be lost from the cartilage surface in o