Non-motor symptoms and signs such as metabolic and psychiatric disturbances have been reported to occur early in Huntington’s disease (HD), a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by an expanded CAG repeat in the huntingtin gene. However, there is a lack of understanding of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms responsible for the early non-motor features. The hypothalamus has emerged as an

Asthma is a chronic disorder of the lower airways, characterized by inflammation and hyperreactivity. Pro-inflammatory cytokines like tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) are known to play important roles in the pathogenesis, but our knowledge how these cytokines contribute to the development of airway hyperreactivity is limited. The aims of the present study

The standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the most commonly used methods for diagnosing heart disease. Standard ECG is not always optimal, however, and new ECG methods can provide additional information. Analysis of high-frequency QRS components (HF-QRS) has been shown to increase the diagnostic performance of the ECG. Since the amplitudes of the HF-QRS are low compared with those vis

The main aim of this work, was to lay the foundations for the experimental realisation of a quantum mechanical controlled NOT gate in rare-earth-metal-ion-doped crystals. Small amounts of rare-earth elements, added during the growth of some inorganic crystals, will become substituted into the crystal lattice as trivalent ions. The trivalent rare-earth-metal ions between cerium, with atomic number

This thesis contains four separate papers in the field of monetary economics. The common basis for all the papers is that they deal with money and network effects in one way or another. Although the common basis is the same in all the articles, different approaches are used: theory, econometrics and history of economic thought. This first essay focuses on the network effect in the use of money an

This study treats the textual tradition of the Epistle of Jude. After an introductory survey of earlier text-critical research, the two main purposes of this investigation are formulated: to gather and to analyze the complete textual evidence of the Epistle of Jude. The first task, to gather the evidence, involves the collation of all Greek continuous text MSS of the Epistle of Jude. The evidence

The adult brain constantly produces new neurons from endogenous neural progenitor cells located in at least two regions, the subgranular zone (SGZ) in dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, and the subventricular zone (SVZ). Major efforts are underway to discover the functional significance of new neurons in the adult brain. Several studies have indicated a relationship exists between newborn hippoca

In many developing tropical countries, rapid urban growth leads to several problems, including increased thermal stress. This has negative consequences for people's health and well-being, and affects social and commercial outdoor activities negatively. Consequently, the creation of thermally comfortable microclimates in urban environments is highly important. The main aim of this thesis is to dee

Over the last 25 years a number of new anaesthetic drugs have been introduced on the market to allow for better patient satisfaction and faster recovery after anaesthesia and sedation. Propofol (2,6-di-isopropylphenol), one of our most common iv anaesthetics, is associated with pleasant sleep and rapid recovery with little postoperative nausea. When used for anaesthetic induction propofol causes s

There is an ongoing controversy regarding how to take care of patients with mild primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Some recommend surgical treatment at diagnosis, others just follow-up as long as there is no evidence of disease progression. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate cardiac and skeletal risk factors related to the duration of mild PHPT. Fifty patients with mild PHPT were randomized

The aims of this research was to compare different risk score algorithms with regard to their validity to predict 30-day and one-year mortality after open-heart surgery, to evaluate if the preoperative risk stratification model EuroSCORE predicts the different components of resource utilization in cardiac surgery, and to systematically evaluate the accuracy and performance of artificial neural net

N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) belong to a growing family of endogenous signalling molecules acting on a variety of receptors and ion channels. In 1992, it was reported that the N-acylethanolamine anandamide is present in the brain and activates the central cannabinoid (CB) receptor. Anandamide and other NAEs are considered to be generated on demand following receptor activation or cell stress. The ti

Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a congenital erythroid aplasia that usually presents as macrocytic anemia during infancy. Linkage analysis suggests that at least four genes are associated with DBA of which two have been identified so far. The known DBA genes encode the ribosomal proteins S19 and S24 accounting for 25% and 2% of the patients respectively. This study shows that RPS19 gene transfer

The aim of this thesis is to describe and explain independent declarative clauses in German which have the finite verb in absolute clause-initial position. They are called verb-first declarative clauses. It is shown that this type of clause can be found in a variety of Germanic languages. There is evidence suggesting that this is a very old type with roots in ancient Indo-European. It has thus ex

High body mass index (BMI) is associated with cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. Obesity is also an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and can cause structural as well as functional changes in the heart. High BMI is associated with increased mortality in the population. Weight-loss from a state of overweight or obesity may

Until recently, the islets of Langerhans were thought to harbour four main cell types characterised with respect to principal hormone product. Here we show that the novel hormone ghrelin is expressed in a fifth islet cell type, the islet ghrelin cell, in humans and rodents. The cells are developmentally regulated in that they are numerous around birth and fewer in the adult. The islet ghrelin cell

Abstract This thesis presents the results of an investigation of the influence of ageing on the salt-frost resistance of concrete. The ageing mechanisms investigated were hydration, drying and carbonation. Specimens of ‘micro’-concrete, either with OPC alone as the binder or with silica or slag as part of the binder, were freeze/thaw tested at different ages after casting. Prior to testing, the sp

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a cancer treatment modality relies on the simultaneous presence of three components; light, photosensitiser and oxygen. Once excited by the light, the photosensitiser can interact with oxygen, leading to the formation of toxic oxygen species. These reactive substances induce cellular damage within the irradiated tissue volume. PDT has been investigated for treating ma

The goal in this thesis is development of gene therapy for malignant infantile osteopetrosis (IMO), a rare but severe genetic bone disease. The concept of osteopetrosis implies dysfunction or lack of osteoclasts, the bone resorbing cells in our body, resulting in failure of normal bone breakdown. Although involved in bone remodeling, osteoclasts are of hematopoietic origin and may potentially be t

This work has been aimed at developing and applying laser-induced incandescence (LII) for flame soot characterization. The basic principle of LII is rapid heating of the soot particles to temperatures of 3500-4000 K by short laser pulses. Thereby the intensity of the soot incandescence is increased. By detection of this increased incandescence and analysis of the detected signal, the volume fracti