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The thesis consists of an introductory chapter and three essays, considering sickness insurance, social norms and absence certification. The first essay, Group-Specific Social Norms and Economic Incentives in a General Welfare System, investigates the interaction between economic incentives and social influences in a general welfare system. We relate the results to sickness insurance. The model i
Shape stability, the ability of the wood to retain its shape, is one of the most important parameters when using timber as a building material and for other applications. Generally, timber undergoes changes in dimensions and shape when its moisture content is changed. However, this can often not be tolerated in constructions and thus, methods to improve the shape stability have to be found. In th
This dissertation deals with the subject of altars in the churches of the medieval diocese of Lund. The main work on altars in the Catholic church is Joseph Braun´s Der christliche Altar in seiner geschichtlichen Entwicklung (1924). However, despite its extensive content it does not deal with the conditions in Northern Europe. The general aim of this dissertation is to broaden our knowledge about
The endothelial glycocalyx is the carbohydrate rich inner layer of the blood vessels. Important components of the glycocalyx are the proteoglycans with their attached glycosaminoglycans. At this location these molecules contribute to the adhesion and transport of leucocytes to inflamed tissue, the anticoagulation as well as the transport of fluid across the vessel wall. All these functions are dis
The use of cardiotomy suction during open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has a long tradition and often regarded as mandatory. Recently, studies have described potentially negative effects of cardiotomy suction with activation of the complement system, enhanced inflammatory response, hemolysis and coagulopathy. Emboli of various matters has also been studied. Whether they affect t
In this thesis, the effect of alternative gaseous fuels, with high hydrogen content and lower calorific value, on gas turbine combustion was investigated experimentally. The aim of the investigation was to find operational limitations for an experimental burner and to supply data for validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Before examination of the actual burner, the laminar flame speed
The thesis consists of three essays on currency markets, equilibrium and expectations. The first essay examines currency markets in the setting of a temporary equilibrium model with two currencies and two central banks, where consumers have one-point expectations. Assuming that both central banks use floating exchange rate policies it is shown that if consumers have common expectations the curren
The triumphal procession staged Roman conquest and supremacy, featuring the defeated ‘other’ as opposed to the victorious ‘self’ in a rather fixed role-playing. This thesis takes as its theoretical premise that these ritually recurrent and visually emphatic processions both conveyed and constructed Roman views of the self and the other, and that they can be studied as formative expressions of such
The overall aim of this project was to investigate the drop break-up process in milk homogenisers. This was done by measurements and calculations of the flow fields in the gap region and by visualisation of drops being broken up. To make visualisation and measurements possible, two scale models of a homogeniser gap were developed. The full-scale model was a direct copy of the gap in a production-
A specific group of heat shock proteins, the so called small heat shock proteins (sHsps), exists in all organisms but are especially abundant in plants. The sHsps prevent aggregation of other proteins (substrate proteins) during transient heat and oxidative stress. Molten globule forms of the substrate proteins are kept in a re-folding competent state by binding onto the outer surface of the sHsp.
This thesis presents results from experimental studies of the interfacial behaviour of surfactants and enzymes at model surfaces. The main technique used throughout the work was ellipsometry. Studies of surfactant adsorption in static and dynamic wetting situations were performed to investigate adsorption behaviour close to the three-phase contact line (tpl) during dynamic wetting. It was demonst
Parkinson's disease is characterized by a progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, leading to a loss of dopamine in the target structure striatum and development of motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia, rigidity and tremor. New experimental treatment strategies for Parkinson's disease are aimed at either preventing the degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons, or a
Radionuclide therapy (RNT) is a generic term for treatment modalities that use a radionuclide labeled to a target-specific molecule. This so-called radiopharmaceutical accumulates in the target, where the ionizing radiation damages the cells. At sufficient levels of radiation, the cells cannot repair themselves. The quantity of the energy deposited in a target region is referred to as the absorbed
In sociology shock is often seen as emblematic of modernity. However, while Benjamin and Simmel famously portray the big city crowd - and by extension modernity itself - as an arena of shock, shock sensations are notable for their absence in depictions of the crowd as well as of modernity as a whole in much contemporary literature. This is evident in depictions involving streets, trains, technolog
The presence of genes in food, encoding some virulence factors, was studied by PCR, and species of Enterobacteriaceae, associated with food, were studied by the DNA-based methods of TTGE, ribotyping and sequencing. The flora of fresh and chill-stored pork were analysed by a culture-independent approach, using specific amplification of 16S rRNA genes followed by cloning and sequencing. No evidence
Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) is not infrequent in the clinical situation and the intestinal barrier plays an important role in gut barrier function, preventing not at least septic complications and potentially the development of the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Mechanisms of intestinal I/R induced gut epithelial and endothelial barrier dysfunction and remote organ dysfunction
Psychological processes involved in moral cognition were examined in three studies, taking as their starting point the assumption that the cognitive-developmental perspective commonly taken is too narrow and that individual differences and implicit processes need to be taken into consideration. Study I focused on the role of defense mechanisms in moral thinking. A self-report questionnaire was co
Kliniska och experimentella studier av nickelallergi Nickelallergi är vanligt, särskilt hos kvinnor. Nickelallergi leder ofta till periodiskt eller kroniskt eksem, främst på händerna. Dessa eksem kan vara svårläkta och leda till långa sjukskrivningsperioder. Nickel finns överallt i omgivningen och det går inte att helt undvika exposition för denna metall. Clinical and experimental studies in nic
Most cells are crowded with solutes, enzymes, nucleic acids, structural proteins and membranes. Crowding promotes macromolecular interactions and determines major properties of the cellular environment such as viscosity, diffusion and inhomogeneity. Macromolecular interactions that involve enzymes can affect the kinetic and regulatory properties of these, hence the interactions are part of the met
The aim of this investigation has been to study mechanisms by which glucocorticoids inhibit inflammatory processes in vitro. Type IV cytosolic 85 kDa phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) is an important modulator of inflammatory responses that is present in macrophages as well as in other cell types. In macrophages, the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (dex) was found to reduce the expression of cPLA2 a
