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A new approach to the study of aqueous mixtures of oppositely charged polymers and surfactants has been introduced. Pure polyion-surfactant ion complex salts have been synthesized and used as the point of departure. The elimination of the simple ions reduces the number of components in the mixtures, thus greatly simplifying the system. By mixing the complex salt with either the polyelectrolyte or

Effective insulin-stimulated storage of excess glucose after a meal, and its rapid mobilisation in the fasting state provide basis of glucose homeostasis. Glycogen is the macromolecular storage form of glucose and glycogen synthase (GS) is the rate-limiting enzyme in glycogen synthesis. Skeletal muscle and liver are the major depots of glycogen. The present studies were undertaken to isolate and c

Abstract The number of cancer and autoimmune disease diagnoses increases in our society, which place high demands on the health care system. Being able to tailor treatments for each individual patient is called "Personalized medicine", and could revolutionize the care in the future. This type of medicine requires biomarkers that could be used for diagnosis, prognosis and choice of therapy. In our

Transplantation of embryonic human neural tissue can restore function in patients with Parkinson’s disease, but there is a severe shortage of donor tissue which limits the applicability of the technique. Embryonic neural tissue from other species, xenogeneic tissue, would provide a readily accessible donor tissue with the potential to help patients if the immunological reactions in the host could

This dissertation contains seven studies exploring novel instrumentation for ion and electron spectroscopy, including their applicability at storage ring light sources. The studies focus on instrumentation to study decay, dynamics and dissociation of photoexcited molecules, and the possibility to host such instruments at MAX~IV. Commissioning of an instrument for negative-ion/positive-ion coincid

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) susceptibility is a rare inherited muscular disorder, which may cause a lethal increase in metabolism during anaesthesia with certain commonly used anaesthetic. Susceptible individuals are without any signs or symptoms. It is important to identify individuals at risk, since the MH reaction is preventable. Susceptibility to MH is diagnosed with an in vitro contracture te

Clinical cytology is a rapid method to detect malignancy in effusions of the serous cavities, but the morphological characteristics of the cells do not always allow diagnosis and a specific marker for malignant cells would improve the diagnostic performance. Telomerase adds telomere repeats to the chromosome ends. It is the most promising universal indicator of malignancy and the project focuses o

Inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain is mostly mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors. These receptors are involved in both phasic inhibition (point-to-point inhibition, synaptic transmission) and tonic inhibition (diffuse form of inhibition, brain homeostasis). In this thesis the functional and pharmacological properties of GABAA receptors expressed in brain slices or i

The aim was to evaluate first trimester nuchal translucency (NT) measurement for detection and risk assessment of fetal malformations and fetal loss. 39 572 pregnant women were randomised to either a routine ultrasound scan at 12-14 weeks including NT measurement or to a routine scan at 18-20 weeks. Prenatal diagnosis of major congenital heart malformations was compared between the two groups. In

The aim was to explore possible areas and sources that could inform the care for people with dementia. These were the people with dementia themselves, nurses reflective discussions about caring, nurse-patient interaction together with information from close family members, and the previous personality and sense of coherence of people with dementia in relation to behaviour during the disease as rel

Optimal foraging and prey preference in top predators may affect population and community dynamics and structure. Also, optimal foraging and prey preference may shift with prevailing conditions, and therefore create changes in the effect of predation. In this thesis, I examine the effects of intraspecific interactions among northern pike on pike predatory behaviour, prey preference, and subsequent

This thesis focuses on the pedagogue as a social being and how she or he experiences the social life in preschools and schools in Tallsten. In 1996, the child-care and education authorities in Tallsten introduced a new manner of thinking and working based on the communicative pedagogy. The idea of communicative pedagogy was origanlly put forth by the Danish teacher Lars Rokkjaer. One of the goals

The neutrophil granulocytes have a critical role in innate immunity in particular through phagocytosis of microorganisms. Their cytoplasmic granule subsets store digestive enzymes and antibiotic proteins that are released during this event. During the passage in the secretory pathway the granule proteins are retrieved from constitutive secretion to become sorted for storage. The aim of this thesis

Adipose tissue is the main site of energy storage of the body and an important endocrine organ. Knowledge of the regulation of fat metabolism and the endocrine factors secreted by the adipocyte is crucial for the understanding of diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Insulin is the main antilipolytic hormone. Protein kinase B (PKB) and phosphodiesterase 3B (PDE3B) are both phosphorylated and acti