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The aim of this work was to get a more detailed basis for planning of local public transport. With more knowledge of how segments of travellers assess different parts of a journey, bus routes can be planned to fit either all passengers or selected groups better. It will also be possible to evaluate perceived travel utility separately for each category of passengers. Stated Preference questionnaire

Control of the upright stance and locomotion is a complicated process of muscular activity. The muscular activity is dependant on afferent information from the different sensory organs and interpretation in the central nervous system. Age-related degenerative changes exist in all the domains concerned with control of posture. The aims of the studies were to investigate if suspected age-related de

Breast cancer is a heterogenous disease which can be divided in subgroups of distinct biology with disparate prognosis and response to treatment. The overall aim of this thesis was to delineate subgroup specific behaviour in breast cancer cells with focus on proliferation, migration and stem-like cell activity. In addition, we have studied the functional retinoblastoma tumour suppressor (RB) prote

Association to specific host tissue structures allows pathogenic bacteria to establish an infection and facilitates the spread within its host. Interactions between bacterial surface structures and human proteins might determine the outcome of the infection. Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes), is a human pathogen mostly causing localized infections of the skin and respiratory tract, but it is al

In order to identify integral and peripheral proteins associated with the plasma membrane (PM), highly purified Arabidopsis PMs were analyzed by mass spectrometry. In total, 238 putative PM proteins were identified, of which 114 were predicted to have transmembrane domains or to be PM-anchored. Identified proteins were involved in transport, signal transduction, membrane trafficking and stress res

The kinetics and mechanism for interactions of the anticancer active platinum(II) complexes cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2)], cis-[PtCl2(NH3)(c-C6H11NH2)], and trans-[PtCl2-(NH3)(quinoline)] with DNA have been studied using a combination of HPLC, circular dichroism (CD), UV/vis spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Reactions of the monoaqua forms (charge = +1) of these complexes with single

To ensure the beam with an ultralow emittance and high current the possible effects deteriorating the beam stability must be investigated. When ultrarelativistic particles travel in the vacuum chamber they induce electromagnetic fields which can act back on them and the following particles. The interaction of the beam with the surrounding environment can be described by wakefields in time domain a

Aim: To non-invasively detect and explore the changes in atrial fibrillatory cycle length (i.e. changes in the atrial refractory period) in humans with chronic atrial fibrillation (CAF) following autonomic modulation and pharmacological intervention. Furthermore we investigated if the value of the atrial fibrillatory cycle length could predict outcome following DC-cardioversion. Methods: The stud

This thesis deals with the haemorheological aspects of cardiovascular diseases. The resistance of blood to flow is determined by the rheological properties of blood as well as by organic stenoses and regulatory tonus changes in the vessels. Three idiopathic cardiovascular diseases with a reduced ability to increase blood flow in response to demand were studied. Blood rheology was impaired in a wa

β-Mannoside hydrolases are enzymes that are involved in conversion of the major soft-wood hemicellulose O-acetyl-galactoglucomannan, an important renewable biomass resource. They belong to clan A of glycoside hydrolases and share a common (β/α)8-TIM barrel fold. For their catalysis, they use a two-step retaining double displacement mechanism, and may in addition to hydrolysis also perform transgly

Hypertensive individuals, even non-obese, have been shown to be resistant to the insulin-mediated glucose uptake in peripheral tissues {mainly skeletal muscle}. The aim of this study was to investigate hypothetical pathophysiological mechanisms for the development of hypertension with regard to insulin sensitivity in normotensive men with a family history of hypertension (RELs) as compared to men

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a multifactorial disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia resulting from pancreatic dysfunction and insulin resistance. It is a common disorder with a complex pattern of inheritance, likely to reflect the influence of multiple genetic and environmental factors on the diabetes risk. The aim of thesis was to identify genetic risk factors for type 2 diabetes. In a g

External fixation has been more commonly used during the last decades for correction of bone and soft tissue deformities and in frcture healing. The most common complication of external fixation is pin site infection. Two hundred and nineteen younger and/or physically active patients (mean age 53 (18-75) years) suffering from knee osteoarthritis (OA) or knee deformities operated on by hemicallota

Heart diseases in children cause different combinations of myocardial hypertrophy, increased intra-ventricular pressures, volume overload and decreased oxygen saturation. This may affect basal coronary flow and the ability of the heart to maximally increase coronary flow. Transthoracic and intracoronary Doppler techniques were used to register coronary flow and coronary flow reserve (CFR) in norma

Important aspects of family burden, participation in care and needs for support among a total of 422 relatives to severely mentally ill patients, voluntarily and compulsorily admitted to hospital, were investigated in a study performed between 1986-1997. The results showed high levels of both external and internal experienced burden among the relatives. The level of burden remained on an almost eq

In natural photosynthesis, solar energy is converted to chemical energy by photosynthetic reaction centers. In green plants and algae, Photosystem II (PSII) and Photosystem I (PSI) absorb light and utilize the charge separation reactions to convert solar energy to chemical energy. The energy is later stored in form of energy- rich substances formed in reductive biosynthetic reactions. The electron

Communities are composed of organisms that interact with each other and with the non-biological environment. There are also anthropogenic pollutants in the environment that also interact with the organisms. Estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds, for example 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2, the active compound in contraceptive pills), released into surface waters can have negative effects on the orga

Variation in growth conditions during ontogeny may result in permanent differences in individual quality. This thesis focuses on how starlings are affected by environmental variation during the nestling period. Both landscape differences in food availability and experimental food supplementation affected survival and growth of nestlings. During benign conditions, nestlings reached a larger morphol

Mechanisms of Mitochondria-Induced Brain Damage Following Ischemia and Hypoglycemia Following prolonged disruption of blood flow to the central nervous system (CNS), or energy deprivation by other means, such as hypoglycemia, some cells will inevitably degenerate. It has been, and still is, the subject of considerable debate and intense research on brain ischemia, as to the mode of cell death, i.