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The use of energy gases with renewable origins will become important with diminishing fossil resources. This as the infrastructure of the gaseous fuels is well built out and the distribution networks already exist. LPG is one of the most versatile fuels around, perfect for rural areas and in many other applications. The fossil origin of the fuel will, in today’s climate and environmental debate, h
The aims of this thesis were to 1) compare different methods for detection of antibodies against thyroglobulin (TgAb) and thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb), particulary in children with chronic autoimmune thyroditis (AIT), 2) investigate if maternal enterovirus infection is a risk factor for development of AIT in offspring, 3) ascertain the prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies in cord blood sera from chi
This thesis presents a study on performance analysis and optimal design of heat exchangers and heat exchanger networks. The study includes an experimental investigation of steam condensation in plate heat exchangers, optimal design of plate heat exchangers and plate-fin heat exchangers, and optimization of heat exchanger networks. In the experimental investigation of steam condensation in plate h
Male sex development and reproductive function is regulated by androgens acting via the androgen receptor (AR). The AR harbours two polymorphic repeats of CAG and GGN triplets, encoding glutamines and glycines, respectively. Both polymorphisms affect the AR transactivation ability, although the function of the GGN repeat was virtually unknown at the start of this project. Thus, the main purpose wi
ABSTRACT: We plan to conduct a case-control study to investigate whether exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) increases the risk of stroke. In case-control studies, selective participation can lead to bias and loss of efficiency. A two-phase design can reduce bias and improve efficiency by combining information on the non-participating subjects with information from the participating subjects. In ou
Exposure to organic dust originating from biofuels can cause adverse health effects. In the present study we have assessed the dustiness in terms of microbial components and particles of various biofuels by using a rotating drum as a dust generator. Microbial components from straw, wood chips, wood pellets and wood briquettes were quantified by several methods. Excellent correllations (r greater t
The fundamental question posed in this study is how to approach the construction sector in order to cover its wide scope of activities, its great variety of actors and the external influences on it from the market and institutional environment. Construction includes such diverse economic activities as new production and as repair/maintenance, itinerant production and stationary manufacture, the pr
The use of topographical data in hydrological and agricultural applications has increased with GPS data availability and the concept of precision agriculture. This thesis investigates the relationships between topography and in one case simulated soil moisture and in the other case yield. The yield was recorded with a new optical sensor, which uses a digital camera to detect objects and records th
Reconstructions of palaeomagnetic secular variation (PSV) in sediment cores can be compared to well-dated regional PSV master curves to infer deposition age. The existing PSV master curve for Fennoscandia, "Fennostack" (Snowball et al., 2007), is limited to the past 10 ka. In this study, we construct a deglacial (for the interval 14-11 ka) PSV master curve for Fennoscandia by including data from a
AimsWe recently identified a metabolic signature of three amino acids (tyrosine, phenylalanine, and isoleucine) that strongly predicts diabetes development. As novel modifiable targets for intervention are needed to meet the expected increase of cardiovascular disease (CVD) caused by the diabetes epidemic, we investigated whether this diabetes-predictive amino acid score (DM-AA score) predicts dev
Objective: To evaluate whether the duration of the active phase of labor is associated with maternal body mass index (BMI), in nulliparous women with spontaneous onset of labor. Study design: Historical prospective cohort study including 63,829 nulliparous women with a singleton pregnancy and a spontaneous onset of labor, who delivered between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2009. Data were colle
Aim: To assess the relationship between serum total osteocalcin and measurements of adiposity, glucose tolerance, lipid profile, adipokine and chronic low-grade inflammation in middle-aged and elderly Chinese subjects. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional community-based study in central Shanghai. Serum total osteocalcin was measured by radioimmunoassay in 783 men and 946 post-menopausal wo
Purpose - The purpose of this article is to argue that consumers experience conflict not only when in identity transitions or social status transitions but also in-between these two, and that the relationship between these two is becoming increasingly important to address. First, this is done by identifying how status transitions (vertical movements) overlap but differ in some important respects f
To compare the efficacy and safety of weekly albiglutide with daily sitagliptin, daily glimepiride, and placebo.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients with type 2 diabetes receiving metformin were randomized to albiglutide (30 mg), sitagliptin (100 mg), glimepiride (2 mg), or placebo. Blinded dose titration for albiglutide (to 50 mg) and glimepiride (to 4 mg) was based on predefined hyperglycemia c
