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Stroke is the most common life-threatening neurological disease and ranks as the third leading cause of death in major industrialized countries. It is also the leading cause of serious long-term disability and about sixty percent of survivors have disabilities in their extremities. Recovery of certain neurological functions occurs over time, which has been attributed to endogenous restorative proc
The Malmö Preventive Project, a preventive, case-finding programme for cardiovascular risk factors and alcohol abuse was created in 1974 at the Department of Preventive Medicine of Malmö University Hospital. Between 1974-1992, a total of 22 444 men (mean age 44 years range 27 - 61) and 10 902 women (mean age 50 years, range 28 - 58) attended the programme, with an overall attendance rate of 70% (r
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG-triplet expansion in the gene encoding the protein huntingtin. The disease typically starts in mid-life and progresses for 15-20 years. To date no effective treatment is available for curing the disease. HD primarily affects the striatum, cerebral cortex and hypothalamus. At later stages cell death is evident in the striatum
In this thesis, retinal function in general, as well as central retinal function and structure are described in selected forms of acquired and hereditary retinal disorders, in order to improve our understanding of underlying pathogenic mechanisms. This comparison has been made possible during the last years, through the relatively recent development of multifocal ERG (mfERG) and optical coherence
Poor ergonomics in production systems can compromise performance and cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which pose a huge cost to society, companies, and afflicted individuals. This thesis presents a research trajectory through the problem space by: 1) Identifying and quantifying workplace risk factors for MSDs, 2) Identifying how these risks may relate to production strategies, and 3) Develo
The human neutrophil is the most abundant granulocyte and the major type of cell involved in an acute inflammatory response. Neutrophils are armed with various systems of enzymes, that can find and kill pathogens, but unfortunately, these "weapons" cannot distinguish between the host tissues and the "invaders." Therefore, an extensive neutrophil reaction leads to continuous release of toxic metabo
14C-labelled substances have been used in biomedical research and clinical medicine for over 50 years. Physicians and scientists however, often hesitate to use these substances in patients and volunteers because the radiation dosimetry is unclear. In this work detailed long-term biokinetic and dosimetric estimation have been carried out for four clinically used 14C-breath tests: 14C-triolein (exam
This study focuses on various aspects of costs of reproduction and the evolution of energetic breeding tactics. It emphasizes the distinction between demographic costs of reproduction expressed already before current offspring have reached independence (prebreeding costs), and costs expressed only after offspring independence (postbreeding costs). Prebreeding costs have only rarely been appreciate
A new and simple method for the repair of nerve defects, in which sutures alone are used to guide regeneration between the nerve endings, was developed. Bilateral seven to 17 mm rat sciatic nerve defects were bridged by continuous longitudinal sutures with or without different modifications, by conventional autologous nerve grafts or direct repair under tension as controls. Evaluation was performe
Ultrafast nano-optics is a new and quickly evolving research field centred around the control, manipulation, and application of light on a nanometre and femtosecond scale. This can lead to improved electro-optical devices, more sensitive spectroscopy, and real-time control of chemical reactions. However, understanding the simultaneous nanometre and femtosecond evolution of nano-optical fields requ
During the last decade it has been shown that nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) are produced in our own body, and that they constitute a novel class of messenger molecules. In 1992 a constitutive NO-producing NO-synthase (cNOS) was found in the islets of Langerhans, and in 1997 we could show for the first time that the islets also contained a CO-producing constitutive heme oxygenase (HO-2
The aim of this thesis was to investigate and describe different aspects of variation in the Dactylorhiza maculata complex and to relate the variation patterns to underlying biological processes such as Quaternary migration history, hybridization and polyploid evolution. The variation patterns were analysed at various geographic levels using molecular markers (plastid DNA and ITS of nrDNA), cytolo
Exposure to isocyanates may induce disorders in the airways of workers. Therefore, application, development and validation of methods for exposure assessment is of great importance. In the present study, we have determined the personal air and biomarker levels of isocyanates for a group of occupationally exposed workers (n=170) in different types of industrial processes. Also, the biomarker levels
The technology of cDNA microarrays has given us the possibility to monitor the state of cells by measuring the activity of thousands of genes simultaneously. This high-throughput techniqe has in cancer research allowed exploratory studies of molecular mechanisms behind for example metastasis and response to therapy. This increased knowledge can hopefully result in new therapies and improved progno
HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumour cells), a protein-lipid complex originally isolated from human milk, induces programmed cell death selectively in tumour cells. It consists of partially unfolded alpha-lactalbumin in complex with oleic acid. It was previously not known if the unfolding of alpha-lactalbumin alone accounts for the activity of HAMLET or if the lipid adds biologica
The inhibitory neuromuscular control of the human and cat lower oesophagus was investigated by morphological, functional, and biochemical methods. A supply of nerve fibres and myenteric cell bodies, containing nitric oxide synthase (NOS), haem oxygenase (HO)-2, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP) was observed. The highest density of nerve
Proteolytic enzymes are enzymes that hydrolyze peptide bonds in peptides and proteins. This ability to carry out protein degradation is essential for many cellular and extracellular processes that occur in all living organisms. Cysteine peptidases constitute a class of proteolytic enzymes. Among these, papain-like (C1) peptidases are the mostly studied ones. Inhibitors regulate proteolytic activit
Mature blood cells are crucial for life, but they have a short lifetime and thus have to be replaced. These mature blood cells are produced by lineage restricted progenitors, which themselves are generated by rare multipotent hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a highly dynamic process called hematopoiesis. In addition to the ability of HSCs to generate all blood cell lineages, they possess the uni
A highly dealuminated form of zeolite FAU, ultra-stable zeolite Y (USY), was used as an adsorbent matrix in the purification of proteins. Undesired proteins were removed from a crude preparation by adsorption on USY, increasing the purity of an unadsorbed protein (horse radish peroxidase), or the protein of interest was adsorbed on the zeolite and subsequently eluted through changes in the solutio
Specific language impairment (SLI) is commonly described as a condition where a child with otherwise normal development and hearing does not acquire language as expected. Children with SLI often have a family history of language disorders. The aetiology is poorly understood. In the first two studies, event-related brain potentials(ERPs)evoked in response to tone- and to speech stimuli were record
