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Telomeres are the end-structures of linear chromosome which are crucial for maintaining genome integrity. The telomeres prevent the DNA-repair machinery from recognizing the chromosome ends as double-strand breaks and from end-to-end fusions. The telomeres are composed by short repetitive units of TG-rich DNA and associated specialized telomere-binding proteins. Due to that replication only can
This thesis focuses on electron transport in semiconductor InAs/InP and InSb nanowire quantum devices. However, first the temperature dependence of classical charge transport in InSb nanowire field-effect transistors, FETs, is characterized, using InAs nanowire FETs as a reference. We find that the InSb FETs, in the same way as InAs FETs, are n-type with good current saturation and low voltage ope
It is a contested question in contemporary theories of religion whether the concept of religion can be defined in a sound way or not. Many theorists maintain that a universal but delimiting definition is impossible. In this study, by contrast, it is argued that a conceptual analysis of religion that holds universally is perfectly possible because the following thesis can be seen as a necessary and
During development, information about the three-dimensional shape and mechanical properties of the body is laid down in the synaptic connectivity of sensorimotor systems through adaptive mechanisms. In spinal reflex systems, this enables the fast transformation of complex sensory information into adequate correction of movements. In this thesis, it is shown, in a computer simulation, that an unsup
The present thesis deals with various types of palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes and their use in homogeneous catalysis. The focus has been devoted to mechanistic investigations concerning the Stille and Heck reactions and studies under both catalytic and stoichiometric conditions were conducted. As a stoichiometric probe for studying the transmetallation step in the Stille reaction the pl
This thesis aims to elucidate the link between abiotic and biotic effects and biogeographical contingencies, eco-evolutionary assembly processes, and community structure in a spatially explicit metacommunity framework. To this end, we used structure analysis of naturally sampled and experimentally manipulated marine bacterial communities and mathematical eco-evolutionary modeling and simulations o
The work presented in the thesis “RNA in model lipid membranes- interactions in bulk and at surfaces” aims to characterize the interaction between RNA and model membranes with different properties as well as to determine if ssRNA associate with model membranes in different ways. Several techniques have been used to characterize these systems, including quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation
T cells constitute a heterogenous population of lymphocytes. Their unifying property is that they express surface bound antigen-receptors, called T cell receptors (TCRs). The TCR is a heterodimer composed of either TCRalpha and beta chain proteins (alphabeta TCR) or gamma and delta chain proteins (gammadelta TCR). Depending on which TCR isotype that is expressed, the T cells are divided into alpha
Analysis of high-frequency QRS components (HF-QRS) is one of the emerging methods for increasing the diagnostic performance of the electrocardiogram (ECG). The overall objective of the thesis is to investigate whether analysis of HF-QRS has the ability to provide information about ischemic heart disease and so serve as an adjunctive diagnostic tool in several clinical situations. Investigation of
It is well-known that dietary fibre can have a positive effect on the development of lifestyle-dependent diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. However, the effect may be different for different kinds of fibre and different sub-populations at risk. Therefore, the effects of three different kinds of fibre on postprandial and long-term response in healthy subjects were investig
Theoretical accounts and models of calibration typically explain the degree of realism (validity) in confidence and frequency judgments in terms of different cognitive and methodological factors. The present thesis demonstrates that also social factors are of importance for the degree of realism in these types of metacognitive judgments. The results of Study I showed improved realism in pairs’ con
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is among the most common bacterial infections in humans and the majority are caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli). Abundant evidence indicates that nitric oxide (NO) produced by the inducible NO synthase (iNOS) plays an important role in host defense against infection. This thesis examines iNOS expression in experimental UTI models. The rat and pig bladder urothelium
Abstract. This thesis describes factors that are rate limiting for the folding of two small proteins, U1A and CI2 which fold without accumulating intermediates. The [GdnHCl] dependencies of the unfolding- and refolding kinetics of U1A display downward curvatures. However, as the curvatures are precisely matched and no indications of formation of partially structured intermediates are seen, the fol
Membrane proteins are particularly important to characterize, since they are involved in cellular processes of utmost importance in control and regulation of cells, such as transport across membranes, signal transduction and photosynthesis. The word "proteome" means all proteins expressed by a e.g. a cell or a tissue, at a certain time point and "proteomics" is the large scale study of these prote
Proteoglycans (PGs) is a class of highly anionic macromolecules that consist of one or more linear polysaccharide chains (glycosaminoglycans, GAGs) covalently attached to a core protein. The biological functions of PGs are mainly due to the interactions of GAG chains with various protein ligands and regulatory factors, such as cytokines and growth factors. PGs and GAGs are critical for a diverse s
Mucosal infections trigger an inflammatory response that includes the secretion of cytokines and the recruitment of neutrophils to the infected site. This thesis describes studies examining the molecular mechanisms of neutrophil migration to sites of mucosal bacterial infection. Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection of epithelial cell layers stimulates chemokine secretion and chemokine receptor ex
The aim of this thesis work was to study phase diagrams, microstructure and phase separation in alkylglucoside systems. Both alkyl glucoside/water systems and microemulsions with alkyl glucosides have been studied. The phase diagram of the ternary n -nonyl-beta-glucoside (C9G1)/ n -decyl-beta-glucoside (C10G1)/water system has been determined and is dis
An introduction into the theory and experimental background of particle physics and the ATLAS detector is given. The transition radiation tracker (TRT) which is vital to the particle tracking and identification is then described giving particular creedence to the calibration. The automation of this calibration is explained. The second half of this thesis and the central part dwells on the analyses
TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which binds to two cell surface receptors, TNF-R55 and TNF-R75. The receptors undergo proteolytic cleavage and release a fragment (soluble TNF-receptors or TNF-Binding Protein), TNF-R55-BP and TNF-R75-BP. Soluble TNF-receptors are able to bind and inactivate TNF. The release of soluble TNF-receptors was measured with ELISA. TNF binding cap
In the studies of this thesis, a method for automated classification of myocardial perfusion images was successfully developed and evaluated. The results show that the method, based on artificial neural networks, was equally good, or even better than human experts. It was also found that physicians interpreting myocardial perfusion images benefit from the advice of the artificial neural networks.
