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Some of the main factors affecting the biological removal of nutrients in wastewater treatment plants have been investigated. The influence of low concentrations of dissolved oxygen and the redox potential on the denitrification, activity of activated sludge was studied in batchwise experiments. Oxygen was found to have a negative effect on denitrification even when present at concentrations lower
The anaesthetics we use today dose-dependently decrease the mean arterial pressure partly due to direct or indirect effects on the blood vessels. In the present thesis human omental arteries and veins and rat femoral arteries were investigated in vitro concerning the effects of the intravenous anaesthetic propofol and the volatile anaesthetic sevoflurane on the function of the perivascular sympath
Proliferation, differentiation, and survival of hematopoietic stem cells and multipotent progenitor cells are regulated by cytokines and cell-cell interactions. Kit ligand (KL) and Flt3 ligand (FL) have pleiotropic effects, promotes survival, but are nonredundant. Using myeloid progenitor cell lines and mouse bone marrow-derived Lin- progenitors, we demonstrate that inhibition of phophatidylinosit
N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) is an organic solvent widely used in the industry. Irritation of the eyes and in the respiratory system has been reported after occupational exposure to low air levels of NMP. The EU has also classified it as a developmental toxicant. NMP is easily absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and airways and through skin. The general aim of this thesis was to develop
Cell-signalling via cytokines modulates the local response to surgical trauma, directs the immunologic response and initiates the healing process. Surgical trauma induces a systemic cytokine response and a down-regulation of the antigen presentation capacity of monocytes (HLA-DR expression), which is associated with a poor prognosis if pronounced. The aims with the studies in this thesis were to i
Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the vessel wall contract to regulate blood flow and pressure, a function essential for normal circulation through tissues. On the other hand, migration and proliferation of SMCs are important factors in vascular disease, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis following surgical dilatation. The conversion of the SMC to this role is marked by a modulation from contracti
Cholecystokinin (CCK) and the related hormone gastrin have been claimed to exert trophic effects in the pancreas and gastrointestinal tract. Two types of receptors for CCK and gastrin are known to exist, the CCK-A and the CCK-B receptor. They differ in their affinty for CCK and gastrin. The CCK-A receptor has about 500 times higher affinity for sulfated than for non-sulfated CCK and gastrin, while
The studies in this doctoral thesis investigated the concept of touch avoidance. Touch avoidance indicates a person’s negative affect toward physical contact/touch. In study 1 the aim was to develop a questionnaire that measures the level of touch avoidance. The results showed that touch avoidance can be measured along five different dimensions. The results are discussed in relation to attachment
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
In this thesis different aspects of baseband implementation of mobile communication systems is treated. The content is focused on symbol detection and channel estimation in MIMO and OFDM. The thesis deals with the complete chain from algorithm to silicon implementation within these areas. The main contribution of this thesis is described in the included papers. The first paper handles symbol dete
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) promotes wound healing through several mechanisms, e.g., altered periwound blood flow, mechanical deformation of the wound edge tissue, and drainage of excess fluid and debris. The general aim of this thesis was to study the impact of different levels of negative pressure, different wound filling materials (foam or gauze), and different ways of applying the n
