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Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common childhood diseases and the most common causes of antibiotic treatment in small children. Most children will experience one or two episodes of AOM during preschool age but some will suffer from repeated attacks, they will become otitis-prone. Complications with severe, sometimes fatal infections such as acute mastoiditis and meningitis are nowadays
Uppsatsen syfte är att undersöka om den nuvarande lagstiftningen i Sverige är tillräcklig för att hålla svenska transnationella företag ansvariga för barnarbete som förekommer hos deras underleverantörer och om dessa företag samt den svenska staten kan ses som ansvariga utifrån ett juridiskt kontra ett moraliskt perspektiv. Uppsatsens avgränsningar är Sveriges lagstiftning om barnarbete och svensk
Personlig integritet är ett begrepp som har fått en allt viktigare innebörd i arbetslivet de senaste åren. Frågan om drogtesters plats i arbetslivet är en av de mest framträdande frågorna, då det av många anses vara en kränkning av den personliga integriteten. Det är därför av stor vikt att bedöma när och för vilka syften ett drogtest kan anses vara befogat. Det uppstår därmed en situation där arb
Neutrophil elastase (NE) has important roles in innate immunity, killing pathogens and controlling the immune response; but how NE is targeted to developing granules is not understood. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to investigate the sorting of NE. Transfection experiments in a leukemic cell line, which were confirmed in normal hematopoietic cells, showed that a population of proNE was ta
Thyroid hormones and breast cancer-prospective studies on incidence, mortality and prognostic factors The aim of this thesis was to investigate in a prospective design, thyroid hormones in relation to breast cancer risk, mortality and prognostic factors. The association between total triiodothyronine (T3) levels and breast cancer risk was studied in 2185 women with146 incident breast cancer case
Generation of long-lived plasma cells and memory B cells of high affinity takes place in germinal centers and depends on help from a specialized CD4+ T cell subset termed T follicular helper (Tfh) cells. These processes are crucial for long-term protection upon natural infection or in settings of vaccination, however they are also responsible for development of antibody-mediated autoimmune disease
Both the global economy and the society in general are dependent on the availability of reliable transportation. Most transportation technology involves the use of internal combustion engines in one way or another. Because of the large numbers of internal combustion engines in use around the world, their emissions have a significant environmental impact. Therefore, considerable efforts have been i
The background of this thesis is related to the steadily increasing demand of higher bandwidth and lower power consumption for transmitting data. The work aims at demonstrating how new types of structures, at the nanoscale, combined with what is referred to as exotic materials, can help benefit in electronics by lowering the consumed power, possibly by an order of magnitude, compared to the indust
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is an autoimmune disease with a wide range of disease manifestations with respect to severity and magnitude of organ involvement. An increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with the general population causes both morbidity and mortality in SLE patients. Consequently prevention, early detection and treatment of arteriosclerotic manifestations are of high
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of motor disability in children and adolescents with a prevalence of 2-3/1000. CP is characterized by disorders of posture and movement with impairments ranging from mild to severe. The ability to control posture is an important prerequisite for all voluntary movements. A sustained asymmetric posture predisposes to progressive deformities in people with
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth cause of cancer-related death with a 5-year survival rate less than 5%. Two of the risk factors are chronic pancreatitis and type 2 diabetes (T2D), which are believed to promote the tumour progression. Pancreatic cancer and its tumour microenvironment is characterised by a dense stroma, immune cell infiltration and poor vascularisation. This creates a favourable env
The work reported here includes experimental studies of lean premixed swirling flames. Various laser-based optical diagnostic techniques were used to collect information under different operational conditions. Combined flow- and scalar field measurements were performed at high repetition rates for detailed studies of the turbulent flames. A large part of the work presented concerns experimental
Asthma and allergies are common diseases in adolescents and have increased during the last few decades. All elite level sports activities result in increased risk of asthma and rhinitis regardless of sport practised. Physical activity is at the same time regarded as a health-promoting factor and is recommended both for the prevention and treatment of diseases. The aim of this study was to explore
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been widely adopted for the treatment of deep sternal wound infections due to its excellent clinical outcome. However, the mechanisms of action and effects on hemodynamics have not been thoroughly elucidated. The aims of the work presented in this thesis were, therefore, to examine the effects of NPWT on sternotomy wounds and on the intrathoracic organs.
Allergic and infectious rhinitis are prevalent conditions that besides a direct morbidity also causes exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The immune mechanisms associated with various forms of rhinitis are not fully understood. The principal aim of this thesis was to examine innate immune mechanisms relevant to allergic and viral rhinitis focusing on the mediators tu
Current models of pain in conscious animals usually scores nocifensive responses. However, it is still unclear to what extent these responses are related to, for instance, the sensory discriminative or affective aspects of pain. This touches upon an intriguing question on how the nervous system processes nociceptive information in the conscious brain, a matter of which little is known. In order to
Estrogen effects are mediated either through genomic action involving the classical estrogen receptors, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and beta (ERß), which function as transcription factors in the nucleus, or through rapid non-genomic action via receptors associated with plasma membrane. Recently, a member of the G protein-coupled receptor family was ascribed estrogen receptor properties and propo
HIV and tuberculosis (TB) remain the two most common infectious causes of death worldwide. During the recent decade antiretroviral treatment (ART) has become available for millions of people living with HIV (PLHIV) globally; yet more than half of PLHIV have not yet initiated ART. In order to achieve universal access, further decentralization of care is needed. This is a major challenge to health s
Sepsis and subsequent organ failure remain the major cause of mortality in intensive care units in spite of significant research efforts. The lung is the most vulnerable organ affected by early hyper-inflammatory immune response in septic patients. On the other hand, the septic insult induces immune dysfunction in later phases of sepsis which in turn increases susceptibility to infections. The aim
