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What is the relation between the words in language and our everyday actions? Are linguistic structures dependent on our actions, or does language function on its own? This thesis deals with the pragmatic foundations of language and proposes a model of meaning in language that is based on our expectations about the world and about other people. On this view, language is seen as composed of three f
Fine airborne particles are associated with adverse health effects in the human population. The aim of this research was to develop and evaluate methods for in-situ characterisation of fine and ultrafine particles and to determine their deposition in the human airways. The aim was also to increase knowledge about health and environmentally relevant properties of aerosols from biomass combustion an
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
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
Herein a method that uses acoustically resonating glass capillaries and enables non-contact capture of micron-sized bioparticles, i.e. acoustic trapping, is described. A miniaturized ultrasonic transducer is used to locally actuate a cross-sectional resonance in the capillary. A 2000×200 µm2 capillary is typically operated around a resonance frequency of 4-MHz. Optimal design of the transducer for
Microbial attachment to host cells plays a central role in the induction of inflammatory responses and the production of the disease. Uropathogenic Gram negative bacteria carry surface lectins that specifically recognize oligosaccharide receptor epitopes expressed on glycolipids or glycoproteins. The resulting attachment may facilitate the action of other virulence factors, but may also activate t
The modern world is increasingly dependent of the use of chemicals. The chemical industries have greatly contributed to the high standard of living in industrialised societies, and chemical compounds surround us in everyday life. Unfortunately, a vast number of chemicals cause adverse effects on the environment and human health. One such concern is chemical hypersensitivity, which is a state cause
Antibodies are part of the immune system where their purpose is to recognize and neutralize foreign species such as viruses and bacteria, thus preventing and curing infections. The trend of using antibodies in the treatment of, for example, cancer is increasing. These antibodies are produced in bioreactors, but the production stream from the bioreactors also includes impurities such as viruses and
Since the end of the Cold War, international politics and international law have not only become increasingly intertwined, but their mutual implications have also become increasingly recognized by scholars. Yet research explicitly addressing the question of how political factors affect the emergence of legal rules is still limited. This doctoral dissertation aims to take a step in the direction of
Liposuction and controlled compression therapy in the treatment of arm lymphedema following breast cancer About one-third of all women treated for breast cancer develop arm lymphedema. The cancer itself is a worry, but the swollen and heavy arm is an additional handicap for the patients, both physical and psychosocial. Previous surgical and conservative treatments have not always given satisfacto
Polymer gel dosimetry has been used since the 1990s, and several studies have shown that this detector system can be used for verification of static absorbed dose distributions in three dimensions (3D). Its unique properties, such as high resolution, normal tissue equivalence and independency of energy, field size and direction of the incident radiation, should also be advantageous for dosimetric
By building a strong brand that is favourably perceived by target customers, a firm can establish a competitive advantage that enables greater revenues and profitability. This is at least what the branding literature always has assumed, and something few marketing and brand managers seem to disagree with. When asked how exactly a brand can be charged with such great value, however, neither academi
Fatigue implies repeated loading and unloading of a structure, and components subjected to fatigue might experience nucleation of cracks, and subsequent crack propagation. This might lead to catastrophic consequences, such as complete failure of a structure. In order to accurately dimension against fatigue it is of uttermost importance to have a thorough understanding of the mechanisms behind the
The thesis was intended to fill gaps in the knowledge regarding the normal development of lung volumes and lung mechanics in children, from young infancy to the mid-teens. In particular, data were previously lacking regarding pre-school children. The studies were done during anesthesia and muscle relaxation. Measurements: · Absolute lung volume was obtained with a tracer gas method (sulfur hexaf
Many individuals spend a substantial portion of their waking time thinking about topics unrelated to current activities and surroundings (mind wandering). This dissertation sought to contribute to our knowledge of why some people mind wander more than others. Mind wandering in cognitive tasks is more common in individuals with poor executive cognitive control (working memory updating, inhibiting t
Using computer-assisted sequence homology searches we identified three genes encoding proteins similar to certain fusion partner proteins in cancer. The novel APRIL gene was localized to 15q25 and encodes a protein, containing an acidic amino-acid region similar to that/those of leukemia-associated fusion partner proteins DEK and SET. The N-terminus of APRIL contains leucine-rich repeats. The mous
This thesis presents spectroscopic studies of single self-assembled InP quantum dots (QDs). The electronic properties of these QDs have been studied by photoluminescence (PL) and scanning tunnelling luminescence (STL). The QDs were grown in the Stranski-Krastanow mode and were embedded in GaInP. This material is slightly n-type, giving a Fermi-level close to the conduction band edge at low temper
Predicting the probable survival for a patient can be very challenging for many diseases. In many forms of cancer, the choice of treatment can be directly impacted by the estimated risk for the patient. This thesis explores different methods to predict the patient's survival chances using artificial neural networks (ANN). ANN is a machine learning technique inspired by how neurons in the brain fu
