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The Ugandan Government has aimed at creating a needs-based and cost-effective health care system. The means to carry out this aim have been 1) a decentralization of the health sector in order to increase lower-level responsibility, accountability, and participation, and 2) a strong national policy formulation capacity, facilitating needs assessment and cost-effective prioritization. Aim The aim
Liposuction and controlled compression therapy in the treatment of arm lymphedema following breast cancer About one-third of all women treated for breast cancer develop arm lymphedema. The cancer itself is a worry, but the swollen and heavy arm is an additional handicap for the patients, both physical and psychosocial. Previous surgical and conservative treatments have not always given satisfacto
Polymer gel dosimetry has been used since the 1990s, and several studies have shown that this detector system can be used for verification of static absorbed dose distributions in three dimensions (3D). Its unique properties, such as high resolution, normal tissue equivalence and independency of energy, field size and direction of the incident radiation, should also be advantageous for dosimetric
By building a strong brand that is favourably perceived by target customers, a firm can establish a competitive advantage that enables greater revenues and profitability. This is at least what the branding literature always has assumed, and something few marketing and brand managers seem to disagree with. When asked how exactly a brand can be charged with such great value, however, neither academi
Asthma is a common disease, characterized by periods of bronchoconstriction of unclear origin. This thesis examines a specific behavior of airway smooth muscle, the so-called spontaneous airway tone. It was suspected that a defect regulation of this tone may be a cause of asthmatic bronchoconstriction. The experiments shows that tracheal preparations can display two types of spontaneous tone. In t
Soluble derivatives of cellulose have become increasingly important in industrial products e.g. in pharmaceutical applications and in technical dispersions. The polymer characteristics of modified celluloses are to a high degree determined by the substituent distribution along the polymeric backbone. The distribution will be more or less heterogeneous both due to the fact that polymers from renewa
In nuclear microprobe experiments, high resolution maps of the measured parameter, e.g. element- or mass distribution, in a sample can be produced with a variety of ion beam analytical techniques. The principle underlying all the techniques is that ions at MeV energies are used as projectiles to cause interactions with the target material. Because of the limited range of ions in matter, there is a
ABSTRACT Telomerase activity is a potential molecular marker for cancer and primitive cells in regenerative tissues. The most commonly used method to measure telomerase activity in cells is the telomerase reverse amplification protocol (TRAP) assay, where the protein extracts derived from homogenized cells are analysed. In this thesis we focused on developing a method where telomerase activity co
In this thesis, methods for automated analysis of myocardial perfusion single photon emission computer tomography (myocardial perfusion SPECT, MPS) images have been successfully developed and evaluated. MPS images show the perfusion of the myocardium and are used for diagnosing patients with suspected ischemic heart disease. The disease is characterized by reduced perfusion to a region of the myoc
A brief period of sublethal ischemia in the brain induces resistance to a subsequent, otherwise lethal ischemic insult. This phenomenon is known as ischemic tolerance or preconditioning. A model of ischemic preconditioning in the rat brain using the two-vessel occlusion model of global cerebral ischemia was established. Using this model we have demonstrated that ischemic preconditioning protects t
Malaria and tuberculosis are two of the most deadly infectious diseases that exist. Both diseases predominantly affect the most vunerable parts of society. Additionally the treatment of both diseases are complicated by growing and spreading resistance against the drugs used to treat them. Chloroquine was once described as a wonder drug for its combination of efficacy, low price and tolerable side
The effect of different additives on protein stability was studied, and the basis for stabilization was investigated at molecular level. The addition of sorbitol enhanced thermal stability of hen egg white lysozyme in aqueous solution. NMR spectroscopy revealed changes in the relaxation properties of Ala and Thr methyl groups in lysozyme, indicating compression of the enzyme as a consequence of pr
Amperometric enzyme based biosensors were designed, developed and characterised in flow systems. Solid graphite and carbon paste electrodes were used as support for enzyme immobilisation. Both mediated and direct electron transfers between redox enzymes and electrodes were utilised for biosensor construction, as well as coupled enzyme systems. Special emphasis was placed on the optimisation of bio
The modern world is increasingly dependent of the use of chemicals. The chemical industries have greatly contributed to the high standard of living in industrialised societies, and chemical compounds surround us in everyday life. Unfortunately, a vast number of chemicals cause adverse effects on the environment and human health. One such concern is chemical hypersensitivity, which is a state cause
This thesis presents spectroscopic studies of single self-assembled InP quantum dots (QDs). The electronic properties of these QDs have been studied by photoluminescence (PL) and scanning tunnelling luminescence (STL). The QDs were grown in the Stranski-Krastanow mode and were embedded in GaInP. This material is slightly n-type, giving a Fermi-level close to the conduction band edge at low temper
Evolutionary theory predicts a disadvantage to sexual reproduction. This manifests itself either by the higher growth rate of asexual females in a dioecious species, or by the higher transmission rate of a gene conferring asexual female function to its carriers in a hermaphrodite species. The disadvantage to sexual reproduction may be as high as two-fold provided all else is equal. This phenomenon
In children, it is often desirable to minimize allogenic blood transfusion, and this thesis explores the physiology of an alternative method of managing perioperative blood loss: hemodilution with Ringer´s dextran. Methods Clinical studies: Arterial pressure, superior caval venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) and blood lactate concentration (L) were studied during bone marrow harvesting (BMH) on 23
This Ph.D. thesis is about how the design of measurement systems may influence-or even drive-the integration of firms in supply chains, and is based on research presented in my licentiate thesisR. The research aims at providing a conceptual framework for designing measurement systems in supply chains, and at supporting firms in their quest for ways of developing closer relationships with suppliers
This thesis focuses on contemporary organ improvisation in Western European musical culture. The aim of the study is to explore organists’ descriptions, constructions and definitions of improvisation in words and music, with an interest in the interaction between receptivity, creativity and change. As a research object, the art of organ improvisation is defined as a source for exploring learning a
In the hippocampus, dendritic spines are compartmentalized postsynaptic micro-domains in the excitatory synapse. Subsets of bigger and mushroom-shaped hippocampal dendritic spines contain tubules and cisterns of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that are connected to the soma and dendrites of the neuron. These ER containing spines differ in their ability to retain ER. We hypothesized a functional couplin
