Filetype
The antioxidant quercetin was extracted from yellow onion waste and converted to its aglycone form by a combination of subcritical water extraction and enzymatic hydrolysis. The hydrolytic step was catalysed by a double residue (N221S, P342L) mutant of the thermostable beta-glucosidase (TnBgl1A), isolated from the thermophile Thermotoga neapolitana and cloned and produced in E. coli. The activity
The role of the mitochondrial protein frataxin in iron storage and detoxification, iron delivery to iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis, heme biosynthesis and aconitase repair has been extensively studied during the last decade. However, still no general consensus exists on the details of the mechanism of frataxin function and oligomerization. Here, using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and X-ray
Evaluating potentially analgesic effects of drugs and various treatments is critically dependent on valid animal models of pain. Since primary somatosensory (SI) cortex is likely to play an important role in processing sensory aspects of pain, we here assess whether monitoring SI cortex nociceptive C fibre evoked potentials can provide useful information about central changes related to hyperalges
Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is diagnosed at the metastatic stage and despite extensive diagnostic work-up the primary tumor often remains unidentified. Limited population-based survival data are available for metastatic location and none are available that link the location with the cause of death, which might give clues about the tissue of origin. A total of 9,306 CUP patients with extranodal
Popular Abstract in Swedish Jag har i denna avhandling studerat konflikter mellan könen hos en art som är fakultativt polygyn. Hanar har högre reproduktionsframgång ju fler honor de kan attrahera medan honor som parar sig med polygyna hanar har sämre reproduktionsframgång än monogama honor. Detta skapar en konflikt mellan hane och hona över parningssystem och jag har studerat denna konflikt hos stIn this thesis, I have investigated conflicts of interest in the facultatively polygynous European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) with a focus on female reproductive strategies. The extent to which males provided parental care was a key issue in understanding the mating system of the starling. The amount of male parental care affected the quality of offspring. Polygynous males did not invest more in
Popular Abstract in Swedish Trots att kroppen skyddas av ett hudlager på utsidan och av epitelceller i kroppens inre organ utsätts vi hela tiden för infektioner. När en vävnad blir infekterad börjar cellerna utsöndra inflammatoriska mediatorer som bland annat orsakar svullnad och rodnad. En inflammation kan också orsakas av till exempel slag eller brännskador. De inflammatoriska mediatorerna signaThis thesis describes early inflammatory responses involving interactions between leukocytes and the endothelial lining of the blood vessel wall. An adhesion molecule, E-selectin, which is upregulated on interleukin-1 activated endothelium, was found to mediate rolling between leukocytes and endothelial cells in vivo. Immunohistochemistry revealed that E-selectin was preferentially expressed in ve
This thesis presents development of new analytical methods using antibodies and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in binding assays: 1) The high specificity of antibodies and the wide variety of efficient labels make immunoassay one of the most popular analytical techniques today. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is most widely used, since the enzyme label can be used as a catalyst t
The subject of this thesis is complement inhibitor C4b-binding protein (C4BP), on which we have performed both structural and functional studies. Complement is part of the innate immune defence and eliminates microbes, solubilises immune complexes and is involved in the clearance of apoptotic cells. The actions of the complement system must be carefully controlled by proteins such as C4BP to avoid
Deterioration of concrete structures is a worldwide problem. Environmental exposure is known to affect concrete strength in structures. While moisture affects rebound values by lowering them, carbonation does the opposite. The aim of the study was to determine the in-situ concrete strength of three bridge elements, namely, pier, abutment and deck and evaluate the environmental conditions such as m
In this thesis, I have focused on five main research areas: 1). A new type of imprinted polymer has been developed, namely the amide MIP. The amide functional monomers showed better hydrogen bonding capabilities in polar organic solvents and the resulting polymers exhibited good enantiomeric recognition properties in organic media. Furthermore, by using the amide monomers instead of the carboxyl m
In chlorophyll biosynthesis, insertion of Mg2+ into protoporphyrin IX is catalysed in an ATP-dependent reaction by a three-subunit (BchI, BchD and BchH) enzyme magnesium chelatase. In this work we present the three-dimensional structure of the ATP-binding subunit BchI. The structure has been solved by the multiple wavelength anomalous dispersion method and refined at 2.1 A resolution to the crysta
An ability to interact with plasminogen or plasmin could provide micro-organisms with a mechanism for invasion. Thus, group A, C and G streptococci secrete streptokinase which binds and activates plasminogen. Some streptococci also express surface structures which bind plasminogen without causing its activation. Plasminogen-binding surface proteins were extracted from one group C and one group G s
Background: Little is known regarding vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in African populations and in tuberculosis (TB) patients. VDD has been shown to be associated with TB. Objective: We aimed to compare the degree of vitamin D insufficiency (VDI) and VDD in TB patients and healthy adult controls in a West African population. Design: An unmatched case-control study was performed at a Demographic Survei
Context. Manganese is an iron-peak element and although the nucleosynthesis path that leads to its formation is fairly well understood, it remains unclear which objects, SN II and/or SN Ia, that contribute the majority of Mn to the interstellar medium. It also remains unclear to which extent the supernovae Mn yields depend on the metallicity of the progenitor star or not. Aims. By using a well stu
The Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola f. falcinellus is a little studied European wader species with unfavourable conservation status. We describe the migration of the Broad-billed Sandpiper at Ottenby, southeast Sweden, from 1950-2000 using data from ringing activities and field observations. Numbers of ringed and observed Broad-billed Sandpipers varied considerably between years. There was no tren
Oxygen consumption, lactate production and tissue contents of ATP, phosphocreatine (PCr) and lactate were measured following readdition of K+ to K+-depleted rat portal veins, in order to study the energy turnover associated with Na+/K+ pumping. During incubation in K+-free medium at 37 degrees C spontaneous contractions disappeared in 10-20 min. Readdition of K+ (5.9 mM) after 40 min K+-free incub
During the last decades a striking decline has been observed for wild bees throughout central and north-western Europe, including Sweden. in an area of 64 km' in the parish of Stenbrohult, southern Smaland Andrena hattorfiana, Andrena humilis, Nomada armata and Panurgus hanksianus were studied (in Sweden red-listed as VU, EN, EN and VU). We present occurrence patterns in relation to habitat types
Popular Abstract in Swedish Bakgrund När en kärlskada uppstår är det viktigt att blödningen snabbt kan stoppas. Detta åstadkomms genom att koagulationssystemet bildar en blodpropp vid skadestället. Von Willebrand faktorn (VWF) är ett stort protein som cirkulerar i blodet. Detta protein ingår, tillsammans med blodplättarna, i koagulationssystemets första fas. När ett kärl skadas binder VWF (som se
