Over the last decades the ongoing work in the fields of Lab-on-a-Chip and Micro-Total-Analysis-Systems has led to the discovery of new or improved ways to handle and analyse small volumes of biofluids and complex biosuspensions. The benefits of working on the microscale include: miniaturization of the analysis systems with less need for large sample volumes; temporal and spatial control of suspend

Marketization of society has gradually transformed health care at the end of the 20th century. The conditions of possibility for this transformation have been the social impact of the market discourse and the discourse on patient rights. These discourses brought about a displacement of the discursive order in health care. One effect of this discursive break was that the view of the sick person was

For a long time microorganisms were assumed to have unlimited dispersal due to their small size and high cell numbers. Most microbial species can be transported by water currents, in water droplets by wind and attached to other organisms. Environmental conditions alone were supposed to affect the distribution of species and the community composition. Therefore, microorganisms were assumed to consi

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common human infections, and febrile UTI with bacteremia the most severe form. The relation between bacteria and host decides disease severity. The dominating uropathogen is Escherichia coli (E. coli). P fimbriae are the virulence factor of E. coli most clearly associated to severe disease. P fimbriated E. coli predominated in bacteremic febrile UT

An energy system that relies on fossil fuel is not sustainable. Emissions, such as carbon dioxide, nitric oxide and corpuscles, affect the climate and pollute the air. Furthermore, the supply of oil, coal and natural gas is located a few places worldwide, which can give provide incentive to geopolitical conflicts for access to these areas. This is not a local issue for Tjörn, nor even a national i

The South American golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) was intentionally introduced to aquacultures in South East Asia to produce snails for human consumption, but the aquatic snails soon escaped and started to consume large amounts of rice seedlings. The aim of this thesis was to quantify the effects of this invasive herbivore on aquatic plants in natural wetlands since previous research h

Chronic atrial fibrillation (CAF), with a prevalence progressively increasing with age, is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias in man and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have shown that, in animals as well as in man, experimental atrial fibrillation is based on different types and dimensions of intra-atrial electrical re-entry. However, there is a lack of

In clinical situations with raised intracranial pressure (ICP) and impending insufficient cerebral blood flow (ischaemia), bedside information about energy metabolism in the brain would be helpful. Microdialysis is a technique that makes it possible to monitor the interstitial concentrations of various compounds in an organ. Intracerebral microdialysis with bedside analysis of metabolites related

The main objective of this thesis is to study the response and development of permanent deformation in unbound granular materials, theoretically and experimentally. A testing box technique is used here to more closely simulate the behaviour of unbound aggregates subjected to external vertical loading. A small box device (800×800×800 mm) is employed to test both the response and permanent deforma

The chapter gives a short description of the INS-investigation, its methods and results. The investigation tested 1800 pupils in secondary education in the three Scandinavian languages and English. The results show that youngsters in the Nordic countries are better at understanding English than their neighbouring languages. The results also indicate a deterioration in the comprehension of neighbou

Nordic noir is an emerging crime genre that draws on crime fiction, feature film, and television drama. The term Nordic noir is associated with a region (Scandinavia), with a mood (gloomy and bleak), with a look (dark and grim), and with strong characters and a compelling narrative. Such is the popularity of Nordic noir as a brand for crime that it can also, and somewhat confusingly, be associated

BACKGROUND: The 65-kD isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) is a major autoantigen in type 1 diabetes. We hypothesized that alum-formulated GAD65 (GAD-alum) can preserve beta-cell function in patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes. METHODS: We studied 334 patients, 10 to 20 years of age, with type 1 diabetes, fasting C-peptide levels of more than 0.3 ng per milliliter (0.1 nmol per li

Aim: It has been suggested that experiencing serious life events may promote Type 1 diabetes in children. Studies in adults are lacking, as are studies on the interaction of life events with genetic factors. We aimed to investigate life events and the risk of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) and Type 2 diabetes while taking into account HLA genotype. Methods: Analysis was based on 425 i

Research in service management and marketing has in the past decade highlighted the concept of value creation. In service organizations value creation is described as a process in which the customer uses a company's value proposition in a meaningful way. However, research has tended to ignore the contextual meaning, and few empirical studies have shown how context is relevant. Therefore, the aim o

A suicide attempt is one of the most powerful predictors of eventual suicide. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the social situation, including social support of suicide attempters. One part of the investigations concerned patients admitted to a psychiatric ward following a suicide attempt. Another part concerned significant others (SOs) of suicide attempters, interviewed directly after th