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Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, characterized by the accumulation of lipids and fibrous tissue in the wall of medium and large-sized arteries. The characteristic culprit of the disease is the atheroma, or atherosclerotic plaque, a patchy thickening of the arterial wall which affects the lumen, inducing various degrees of stenosis. The rupture of the atherosclerotic plaques, foll

In this thesis we explore and further develop several techniques used in the animal laboratory as well as in the clinical setting. In particular, we expand the understanding and usefulness of plethysmographic techniques in small rodents. Study I shows that the pressure signal from an un-restrained plethysmograph (UP) depends largely on heating and humidification of the inhaled air. This brings int

In this thesis, I have studied nitrogen turnover processes in watermeadows. A watermeadow is a wetland where water infiltrates through the soil of a grassland field. It is hypothesized that infiltration of water through the soil matrix promotes nutrient transformations compared to surface flow of water, by increasing the contact between water, nutrients, soil organic matter and bacteria. I have st

This thesis consists of three self-contained empirical studies on international financial economics. The common economic theme is that all three studies deal with international stock market return and risk. The common econometric theme is that all estimations are performed using simulated annealing, a stochastic optimization algorithm in the Markov Chain Monte Carlo family, in an attempt to solve

The planning and design of street networks in cities influence driving behaviour and give rise to variations in driving patterns (i.e., speed and acceleration profiles) that affect exhaust emissions and fuel consumption. The primary objective of this study has been to use real-life driving patterns to investigate how the characteristics of street networks influence fuel consumption and vehicular e

Local anaesthetics provide excellent pain relief after central and peripheral nerve blocks. However, in many clinical situations there is an insufficient duration of action to allow effective treatment of long-term pain with single injection techniques. This problem became the focus of the present studies. The natives in South America used to chew the leaves from Erythroxylon Coca and were well aw

The aim was to compare radiography of the tibiofemoral joint (TFJ) and the patellofemoral joint (PFJ), as well as bone scinigraphy with MR imaging in middle-aged individuals with chronic knee pain in the format of a prospective study of knee osteoarthritis. Individuals aged 35-54 years with chronic knee pain were identified. The prevalence of chronic knee pain was 15% (279/2000). Within this grou

Protein kinase C (PKC) is a serine/threonine kinase family with 10 identified isoforms. The contribution of PKC isoforms to cell growth and differentiation, with focus on neurite outgrowth, was investigated, using neuroblastoma and immortalised neural cells as model systems. In neuroblastoma cells one or several of the classical PKC isoforms are of importance for driving proliferation, protecting

ABSTRACT In humans, synthetic vascular grafts heal with a limited ingrowth of endothelium. This fact might be responsible for inferior performance of synthetic grafts compared with native artery.Endothelial cells can be autotransplanted (seeded) into the graft in an effort to improve graft function. The attachment of endothelial cells to different graft materials was investigated in vitro (I). In

The vascular wall is an active, elastic and integrated organ made up of cellular and extracellular matrix (ECM) components. It is not a static organ; the components dynamically change and reorganize in response to physiological and pathological stimuli. Vascular injury induces a complex healing process, analogous to generalised wound healing. Subsequent to the inflammatory response, proliferation

My thesis focuses on magnetic orientation in migratory birds, i.e. how they can perceive information from the Earth’s magnetic field and use it for orientation. To examine magnetoreception and the function of the light-dependent magnetic compass in birds, I performed behavioural orientation experiments with European robins, Erithacus rubecula, under different spectra and intensities of light. The

Glucocorticosteroids (GCS) are potent anti-inflammatory drugs, probably due to inhibitory effects on cytokine production. However, a small number of asthma patients seem GCS-resistant. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-2(IL-2) and IL-4, produced during allergic airway inflammation have been proposed to induce the resistance to GCS. IL-2 and IL-4 also induce GCS resistance in mononucl

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the role of growth factors and the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) system in human endometrial angiogenesis. Growth factors as well as progesterone increased expression of the main inhibitor of uPA (PAI-1) in primary cultures of endometrial stromal cells. EGF, TGF-beta1 and bFGF increased gene transcription whereas progesterone increased mRNA stabili

The bacterial surface can be thought of as the interface where pathogenic bacteria encounter the human host. Interactions between bacterial surface proteins and human proteins are important determinants of the eventual outcome of infection. A bacterial protein, Protein F1, that binds the human plasma and connective tissue protein fibronectin, was found to reduce the virulence of Streptococcus pyog

Intracellular Ca²⁺ is a key regulator of vascular contractility, and thereby of blood perfusion and pressure. Ca²⁺ signals are essential also for cell migration, proliferation and regulation of numerous enzymes. Besides producing vascular contraction smooth muscle cells may also modulate to a synthetic phenotype and proliferate as an initial stage in the atherosclerotic proce

Sphingomyelin (SM) is present both in eucaryotic cells and the diet. Sphingomyelinase (SMase) hydrolyses SM and generates ceramide that has been implicated in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Previously a SMase with alkaline pH optimum was identified in the intestinal tract. The thesis studied the distribution pattern, the species difference and the clinical implicatio

Group A streptococcus (GAS) is one of the most common of bacterial pathogens infecting humans, frequently causing throat and skin infection. Some GAS strains have surface-expressed virulence factors called M proteins that bind human plasminogen with high affinity. Plasminogen is a central component of the human fibrinolytic system, and is bound by an M protein termed PAM through defined binding mo

This thesis is concerned with the swelling behavior of polyelectrolyte gels. The thesis can be divided into two parts. Part one deals with the modeling and computer simulation of the gel swelling. The second part contains experimental results from the binding of oppositely charged surfactant to a polyacrylate network and a theoretical model for the swelling in the presence of a "skin" around the g