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In this work the lateral heterogeneity of the thylakoid membrane was investigated by quantifying the amount of photosystem I (PSI), photosystem II (PSII) and some PSII complexes and PSII proteins in different domains of the thylakoid. Grana, grana core, grana margins and stroma lamellae + end fractions were obtained by sonication and separation in a non-detergent, aqueous polymer two-phase system
This thesis describes the structure and interactions of a novel extracellular matrix protein - PRELP (proline arginine-rich end leucine-rich repeat protein). The amino acid sequence of PRELP showed that it belonged to the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) protein family in connective tissues. The main part of PRELP is composed of 10 LRRs flanked by disulfide bridges at the amino- and carboxy-terminal end
In order to deliver optimal paediatric care, we need to know what children and their parents need, expect, and experience. Thus, the general aim of the studies upon which this thesis is based was to elucidate different aspects of parental participation in the care of their child during hospitalisation for paediatric surgery, a specific aim being formulated for each of the four studies. The aim of
The aim of this thesis was to use cosmogenic exposure dating to investigating whether highly weathered landscapes in the Northeast Greenland fjord zone have developed during prolonged ice free conditions or have been preserved beneath cold-based ice. Previous work along the Northeast Greenland coast has presented two conflicting hypotheses for the extent of the Greenland Ice Sheet during the last
Extracts from the bark of the vine Uncaria tomentosa have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antimutagenic and antioxidant effects. In this study, we evaluate the effects of an Uncaria tomentosa extract, denoted C-Med 100, on the cellular level of the immune system both in vivo and in vitro. Our results indicated that lymphocytes had significantly prolonged half life after in vivo supplementation with
In this work, the morphology and crystal structure of epitaxial semiconductor nanowire structures grown by metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) are studied by electron microscopy methods. In particular, the three-dimensional structure of nanowires and nanotrees has been characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and multi-sli
In order to improve the treatment and care of patients with chronic diseases, controlled studies have to be performed continuously. It is widely believed that giving education/information to patients will increase their knowledge and compliance, which will decrease medical events and cost. Most educational activities in clinical practice are not based on evaluated models of effective disease manag
Papillomaviruses are a diverse, epitheliotropic group of viruses. Some genotypes are the main cause of anogenital cancer in humans; others can induce skin lesions. In order to investigate the occurrence of subclinical skin infections with human papillomavirus (HPV), a pair of degenerate primers (FAP59/64) was designed. Moist cotton-tipped swabs were used as a gentle method of sample collection. Di
Psychoacoustic experiments have been conducted for schizophrenic patients with auditory hallucinations in their case history and for reference subjects. The aim of the thesis has been to assess differences between the two groups of subjects. The experiments consisted of tests on perceptual grouping mechanisms measuring how sound with high and low pitches is separated into perceptual streams (Study
Patients suffering from the deadly progressive neurodegenerative disease Friedreich's ataxia have reduced levels of expression of the protein frataxin. Yeast frataxin has been extensively studied in vitro, and has been shown to deliver iron to heme and iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis, as well as to oligomerize in the presence of iron. In this dissertation metal-dependent oligomerization of fratax
This thesis deals with methods for extracting robust and relevant information from high-dimensional data sets, and statistically guided visualization methods for representing the data in an informative and easily accessible way. High-dimensional data sets are becoming increasingly prevalent in many different scientific disciplines. In this thesis, we focus particularly on so called "omics" data. T
The thesis deals with the further development of pure rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (RCARS) for improving the capabilities of gas phase thermometry. The main effort has been to make the technique more robust when employed under a wide range of temperatures and operational conditions. A primary aim has been to investigate the impact of collisional broadening on N2 RCARS thermom
The studies in this doctoral thesis report aspects of cognitive and socio emotional development in a group of teenagers and young adults with dyslexia. The 75 subjects, between 14 and 25 years of age, had been diagnosed in the latter half of the 1990s, and the collection of quantitative and qualitative data was performed in 2003-04. Study I investigated the stability of intelligence. Earlier rese
Sphingomyelin (SM) is a major component of mammalian cell membranes. Due to its widespread occurrence it is a dietary component, occurring mainly in milk, eggs, meat and fish. In the cell membrane SM was earlier considered to be only a structural element, which interacts with cholesterol and forms a system for bilayer stabilization. In the last decade there has been an increasing interest in sphin
Atherosclerosis is one of the major causes of death in the world. It is an inflammatory disease in the arteries which causes a gradual increase in arterial wall thickness and stiffness. Eventually a plaque could be formed, protruding into the artery and partially occluding the blood flow. Rupture of such a plaque could cause cardiac infarction or stroke. This dissertation revolves around finding b
The metabolic syndrome (type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, dyslipidaemia, and hyperinsulinaemia), is increasing in prevalence world-wide. The progression of this syndrome proceeds through a step-wise deterioration of metabolic events where deterioration of insulin sensitivity appears to have a key role in a ?vicious circle? of hyperinsulinaemia/hypergly
In this thesis four new algorithms are presented for automatic segmentation in cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR); automatic segmentation of the left ventricle, myocardial infarction, and myocardium at risk in two different image types. All four algorithms were implemented in freely available software for image analysis and were validated against reference delineations with a low bias and hig
This thesis describes studies of the structure and tissue distribution of alpha-1-microglobulin (a1-m), a member of the lipocalin protein superfamily with immunosuppressive properies. It was shown that a1-m appears in human plasma in five major forms. These were identified as monomeric a1-m and covalent complexes between a1-m and IgA, prothrombin, albumin and a1-m. In addition to blood, both monom
The role of dietary fibre (DF) in disease prevention has been extensively investigated and prospective studies observed that increased DF intake decreased the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), reduced the risk of weight gain as well as the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Also a diet characterized by low glycaemic index (GI) has been shown to reduce the risk of T2D and CVD. More recently, eviden
Parkinson’s disease is characterized by progressive degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopamine system, which results in tremor, rigidity, akinesia and postural abnormalities. New therapeutic strategies are aimed at halting the neurodegenerative process or restoring the system by transplantation of fetal dopamine neurons. We have investigated the potential of the neurotrophic factors glial cell lin
