Proteins are found on the inside, in the membrane, on the surface and on the outside of cells. They form complicated structures and they interact with other molecules and proteins. Protein complexes and protein-protein interactions are challenging to investigate and in the beginning of protein research most studies were done with single proteins, often in water. Although, in vivo proteins rarely f

The research presented in this thesis investigates sea and aviation transport safety culture, with a focus on perceptions and attitudes. A safety culture reflects the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and values that individuals share in relation to safety. Safety culture is often identified as being essential to an organization's ability to manage safety-related aspects of its operations. The aims

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside in the bone marrow (BM) of adult individuals and are ultimately responsible for the continuous production of blood cells throughout life. The regulation of HSCs in vivo is tightly regulated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The Smad-signaling pathway is an evolutionary conserved signaling circuitry with critical functions during embryogenesis and throu

This work concerns techniques for improvement of the coherence properties of diode lasers so that they may be used in two specific medical applications: (Interstitial) photodynamic therapy (PDT) and laser-induced fluorescence diagnostics. In the first application, spatial coherence is crucial, since the treatment light should be delivered through relatively thin optical fibers to optimize treatmen

There are two major types of diabetes mellitus, Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), however a number of subtypes have been defined and classified. Maternally Inherited Diabetes and Deafness (MIDD) and Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) are monogenic forms, whereas Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) is thought to be a polygenic subtype similar to T1D. Mutations in the

Dizziness is a common reason for visits to primary health care, especially among elderly patients. From a physiotherapeutic perspective, this thesis aims to study the assessment and treatment of dizzy patients in primary health care. Interventions in papers I, III and IV comprised a vestibular rehabilitation programme. In paper I, patients with multisensory dizziness were randomized to interventi

All hematopoietic cells are derived from the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a continuous and dynamic process, regulated by a network of transcription factors in different combinations and extrinsic signals from growth factors (GFs) and other factors in the microenvironment. In the initial stages of hematopoiesis HSCs differentiate to progenitor cells with gradually more restricted lineage pote

The overall aim of this work was to study the influence of surgery on energy expenditure (EE) during working capacity measurements and during walking. In the first study the aim was to investigate whether two different devices were sensitive enough to reveal differences in energy expenditure during treadmill walking, and if the measurements were reproducible. It was shown that an airflow of 42.5

Macrophages play an essential role in the defense against infection by phagocytosis and by production of inflammatory mediators. Such mediators are TNF? and eicosanoids. Many microbial agents elicit arachidonate release in macrophages that lead to the formation of eicosanoids. This thesis is based on studies performed with the use of microbial constituents which induce arachidonate release or/and

The treatment of flow in the area of traffic safety has a long tradition. The influence flow has on the number of accidents is, however, often considered so obvious that it tends to be trivial. In this thesis I can show that the relation between flow and accidents holds interesting information. In order to compare countermeasures, or conduct other types of traffic safety comparisons where the flo

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder where the midbrain dopaminergic neurons are lost. Presently there is no cure for PD, and the most common treatment is to replace the lost dopamine pharmacologically by administration of the dopamine precursor L-DOPA. This works very well during the initial treatment period, but unfortunately a majority of the patients develop abnormal involu

The investigations presented in this thesis have evaluated different strategies to prevent thrombosis in an experimental model of deep arterial injury in rats. Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is often used to prevent thrombosis in microvascular surgery and in other vascular interventions, but a major drawback of UFH is increased bleeding. In the first paper the low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) da

In this study simultaneous videoradiography and intraluminal manometry (videomanometry) have been used in combination in three studies to analyze how different therapeutic strategies affect the physiology of swallowing in healthy volunteers and in patients with pharyngeal dysfunction. Analyses of healthy volunteers showed few significant measurable effects on the pharyngeal swallow. Some decreased

P2 receptors mediate the actions of the extracellular nucleotides ATP, ADP, UTP and UDP regulating several physiological responses including cardiac function, vascular tone, smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, platelet aggregation, and the release of endothelial factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mRNA and protein expression of P2 receptors in human SMCs, endothelial c

Thermoelectricity is being intensively researched as it is believed to hold great promise for applications in power generation and cooling. One way to quantify the electrical power output of a thermoelectric material is the power factor, a function of electrical conductivity and thermopower. There are relationships between these relevant material properties that make efficient thermoelectric mater

A new type of Bioelectronic Nanosensor Device with potential applications in medicine,biotechnology and environmental analysis was designed. The nanosensor is based on RISFET (Regional Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor) technology. The design of the nanosensor involves use of a set of nano-sized electrodes on the surface of a silicon chip, giving the chip the ability to sense extremely low con

Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor nanocrystals with quantum confinement. This thesis uses various time-resolved spectroscopic techniques to study ultrafast charge carrier dynamics in colloidal CdSe quantum dots that are important both from a theoretical point of view and for their relevance for solar cell applications. Using 2D electronic spectroscopy, we follow charge carrier relaxation and tr

Incorporation of the triamine, bis(2-diethylaminoethyl) amine as a side chain substituent on triphenylphosphine, (2S,4S)-4-diphenylphosphino-2-diphenylphosphino-methylpyrrolidine (PPM) or (R,R)-3,4-bis(diphenylphosphin)pyrrolidine (Pyrphos) gives the three new amphiphilic ligands N3P, N3PPM and N3-Pyrphos respectively. Because of the triamine functionality the distribution of the ligands and their

This project deals with questions related to generic diesel combustion research and optically accessible engines are used to study the combustion process. Images of the combustion are analyzed together with in-cylinder pressure and exhaust gas emission measurements. The results can be divided into two main categories: one about evaluations of optically accessible engines and one about studies of e

Transient absorption laser spectroscopy and resonance Raman spectrscopy have been used to study conjugated polymers and oligomers. To extract more information the measurements have been compared to computer simulations and calculations. In order to obtain a better understanding of the role of conformational disorder in the photophysics of light-emitting, conjugated polymers the ultrafast transient