Filetype
This thesis deals with Maya religion and history. The Books of Chilam Balam is the collective title of a body of texts ascribed to the Jaguar Prophet. They are written in the Yucatec Maya language, and tell the reader about Yucatec Maya cosmology, rituals, prophecies, calendars, medicine and they are as well considered as Yucatec Maya emic historiography. These manuscripts are considered enigmatic
The neutrophil constitutes the first line of defence against invading organisms and its primary function is to recognize, phagocytose and kill intruding microorganisms. In this thesis, the membrane traffic in neutrophils and neutrophil-like cells was studied. Non-opsonised S. pyogenes bacteria was shown to induce a rapid and localised pinosome formation in neutrophils. The pinocytosis was not an i
FASTING DURING THE holy month of Ramadan is both a joy and a jihad for the Islamic community in Java, and it is arguably the most highly esteemed Muslim ritual in Indonesia (and beyond). To be given the opportunity to abstain from food, drink and sexual relations from the early morning hours until sunset during an entire month in a tropical climate - only to fill the nights with additional and sup
Mathematical modelling and simulation are important tools when dealing with engineering systems that today are becoming increasingly more complex. Tightly integrated production and process optimization are trends that give rise to heterogeneous systems, which are difficult to handle without expertise in several engineering disciplines. Model libraries provide an excellent way to package engineerin
The aim of this thesis was to define and develop the concept of health promotion in mental health services as well as to develop a questionnaire to measure patients? subjective experiences of health promotion intervention in mental health services. The samples consisted of 12 patients in study I and 12 nurses in study II as well as 135 patients in mental health services in study III and IV. Data w
In this thesis the overall aim is to analyse conceptions of change with the point of departure being texts developed within the framework of three development partnerships financed by the European Social Fund's Equal Programme 2001-2007. The development partnerships, consisting of collaborating parties from both the public and private sector, aimed at developing new methods and ideas in order to c
This dissertation consists of five papers concerned with the estimation and analysis of financial price processes. The first paper develops a stock price model and analyzes the impact of the US and the regional European stock markets on the local European countries’ stock markets. Among several things, we find that the dependencies among the stock markets do not increase during periods of distress
Drum sound is the sound produced when an object, such as a foot, hits the flooring in the room in which the receiving ear is located. Drum sound has attracted interest in recent years, particularly due to an increased use of thin floating floor constructions, such as veneer or laminate flooring, which can produce loud and sharp walking sound. A prediction model of the subjective response, in a pai
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are a ceramic type of fuel cell operating at elevated temperatures. By utilising the thermal energy from the SOFC in a heat engine, a hybrid cycle with high performance can be achieved. One promising concept is a pressurised SOFC in combination with a recuperated gas turbine cycle. The fuel cell, being the more efficient power generator of the two, represents the maj
The aim of this thesis is to contribute to our understanding of health care utilisation and its determinants in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This is done by explicitly focusing on health care expenditures and its determinants as well as the choice to seek health care to cure the illness. Firstly, the focus is on a household’s expenditures for health care. The aim of this
The Early Middle Ages, comprising the period ca. 1000-1250, is usually described as a dynamic and eventful time, when many spheres of society underwent radical changes. The aim of this dissertation is to link these processes together in an overall holistic description of medieval society. The intention is thus to provide a "total historical" account of early medieval Denmark by means of a broad in
Methods are needed for accurate measurement of acetabular cup migration and wear after hip replacement. The EBRA (Ein Bild Röntgen Analyse) method was recently introduced as a computerized method for radiographic assessment of acetabular cup migration. In this study, various standard methods for measuring migration were evaluated and compared to radiostereometry (RSA), which has proved to be high
Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most common bacterial infection in children. The clinical course varies from spontaneous recovery to life-threatening complications, and this variability mainly depends on the causative pathogen. Bacteria usually invade the middle ear from the nasopharynx, where they are carried frequently, both during sickness and health. The most common bacterium to cause AOM, and
The focus of this work is on the development of new random field models and methods suitable for the analysis of large environmental data sets. A large part is devoted to a number of extensions to the newly proposed Stochastic Partial Differential Equation (SPDE) approach for representing Gaussian fields using Gaussian Markov Random Fields (GMRFs). The method is based on that Gaussian Matérn fie
The increasing demand for high data rates in wireless communication systems is increasing the requirements on the transceiver front-ends, as they are pushed to utilize more and wider bands at higher frequencies. The work in this thesis is focused on receiver front-ends composed of Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), Mixers, and Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCOs) operating at microwave frequencies. Tra
Despite advances in material science, computers and building technology, building failures related to building physics continue to occur. These failures range from a building not meeting its energy use target to a building causing people to become ill from exposure to various chemicals or biological organisms. These failures cost society considerable amounts of money each year and many of these fa
Since the introduction of the transistor and the integrated circuit, the semiconductor industry has developed at a remarkable pace. By continuously fabricating smaller and faster transistors, it has been possible to maintain an exponential increase in performance, a phenomenon famously described by Moore’s Law. Today, billions of transistors are integrated on a single chip and the size of a transi
HCCI is an advanced combustion concept, using premixed fuel and air with a diluted charge. This is thermodynamically favorable, leading to high efficiency and therefore lower CO2 emissions. The well-premixed and diluted fuel charge gives lower cylinder temperatures than conventional diesel compression ignition and spark ignited gasoline combustion, resulting in low engine out emissions of both nit
A feasibility study of reliability theory as a tool for the assessment of present safety and residual service life of damaged concrete structures has been performed in order to find a transparent methodology for the assessment procedure. It is concluded that the current guidelines are open to interpretation and that the variation in the results obtained regarding the structural safety is too grea
The purpose of this thesis is to develop an increased understanding of strategic alliance processes. A specific aim has been to explore the trust processes involved, and to better understand the dynamics of the strategic alliance processes. The study includes socio-cultural elements and captures both the manager´s and the employee´s perspectives in everyday life. The theoretical discussions were b
