Environmental pollution is a significant concern for scientists, practitioners, authorities and the society. Among the various pollutants, chlorinated solvents pose a considerable risk to our groundwater resources. These hazardous chemicals, often used in industrial processes, can contaminate soil and water, posing a threat to both human health and ecosystems. Detecting and tracking the spread of

Projection neurons in the anteriolateral part of entorhinal cortex layer II are the predominant cortical site for hyper-phosphorylation of tau and formation of neurofibrillary tangles in prodromal Alzheimer's disease. A majority of layer II projection neurons in anteriolateral entorhinal cortex are unique among cortical excitatory neurons by expressing the protein reelin. In prodromal Alzheimer's

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) detection and treatment are key elements to reduce recurrence risk in cryptogenic stroke (CS) with underlying arrhythmia. The purpose of the present study was to assess the predictors of AF in CS and the utility of existing AF-predicting scores in The Nordic Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke (NOR-FIB) Study.METHOD: The NOR-FIB study was an international prospectiv

Det övergripande temat i denna avhandling är hur normbrott (breaches) kan användas för att belysa blinda fläckar inom designfältet, samt hantera och förvalta den potentiella friktionen som uppstår på ett konstruktivt sätt. Forskningsprojektet som presenteras här består av två delar: Bling?-studierna, som redovisas i licentiatavhandlingen, bifogad i sin helhet i Appendix 2 och Breach!-studierna.I BThe overall theme of this thesis is norm deviations, i.e. breaches, as an approach to illuminating blindspots in the design field in order to handle potential friction that arises constructively. The research presented consisted of two parts: the Bling? studies, which are part of the licentiate thesis, attached in Appendix 2, and the Breach! studies.The Bling? studies present how planned provocati

Purpose: Tru-cut biopsy is a minimally invasive technique used to obtain tissue samples for the diagnosis of tumors, especially in patients where primary surgery is not indicated. The aim of this study was to assess the adequacy, accuracy and safety of the tru-cut biopsy for diagnosis in gynecological cancer.Methods: A retrospective population-based review of 328 biopsies was conducted. The indica

Increasing aridity is one major consequence of ongoing global climate change and is expected to cause widespread changes in key ecosystem attributes, functions, and dynamics. This is especially the case in naturally vulnerable ecosystems, such as drylands. While we have an overall understanding of past aridity trends, the linkage between temporal dynamics in aridity and dryland ecosystem responses

The immune microenvironment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is heterogeneous, which impedes the prediction of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. We have mapped the expression of 49 proteins to spatial immune niches in 33 NSCLC tumors and report key differences in phenotype and function associated with the spatial context of immune infiltration. Tumor-infiltrating leukocytes (TIL), ide

Objectives: The risk of cardiovascular disease is associated with the echo intensity of carotid plaques in ultrasound images and their cardiac cycle-induced intensity variations. In this study, we aimed to 1) explore the underlying origin of echo intensity variations by using simulations and 2) evaluate the association between the two-dimensional (2D) spatial distribution of these echo intensity v

Background: Advances in sports medicine, rehabilitation applications and diagnostics of neuromuscular disorders are based on the analysis of skeletal muscle contractions. Recently, medical imaging techniques have transformed the study of muscle contractions, by allowing identification of individual motor units’ activity, within the whole studied muscle. However, appropriate image-based simulation

Objective: In this study, the aim was to compare the performance of four spatiotemporal decomposition algorithms (stICA, stJADE, stSOBI, and sPCA) and parameters for identifying single motor units in human skeletal muscle under voluntary isometric contractions in ultrafast ultrasound image sequences as an extension of a previous study. The performance was quantified using two measures: (1) the sim

Skeletal muscles are functionally regulated by populations of so-called motor units (MUs). An MU comprises a bundle of muscle fibers controlled by a neuron from the spinal cord. Current methods to diagnose neuromuscular diseases and monitor rehabilitation, and study sports sciences rely on recording and analyzing the bio-electric activity of the MUs. However, these methods provide information from

The central nervous system (CNS) controls skeletal muscles by the recruitment of motor units (MUs). Understanding MU function is critical in the diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases, exercise physiology and sports, and rehabilitation medicine. Recording and analyzing the MUs’ electrical depolarization is the basis for state-of-the-art methods. Ultrafast ultrasound is a method that has the potential

The central nervous system coordinates movement through forces generated by motor units (MUs) in skeletal muscles. To analyze MUs function is essential in sports, rehabilitation medicine applications, and neuromuscular diagnostics. The MUs and their function are studied using electromyography. Typically, these methods study only a small muscle volume (1 mm3) or only a superficial (

Objective. Ultrasound can detect individual motor unit (MU) activity during voluntary isometric contractions based on their subtle axial displacements. The detection pipeline, currently performed offline, is based on displacement velocity images and identifying the subtle axial displacements. This identification can preferably be made through a blind source separation (BSS) algorithm with the feas

Reconfigurable transistors are an emerging device technology adding new functionalities while lowering the circuit architecture complexity. However, most investigations focus on digital applications. Here, we demonstrate a single vertical nanowire ferroelectric tunnel field-effect transistor (ferro-TFET) that can modulate an input signal with diverse modes including signal transmission, phase shif

Environmental impacts from passenger transportation continue to increase globally due to a rise in kilometers traveled and a shift to emission-intensive transportation modes (from public transportation and active modes such as walking and cycling to motorcycle and car ridership). The electrification of the passenger fleet, coupled with low-carbon energy sources, is expected to decrease some of the

The present status of particle physics is that the Standard Model has been completed with the discovery of theHiggs boson in 2012, but there is a multitude of phenomena in nature which is not accounted for by this model.Researchers are investigating possibilities for detecting new physics at the current particle physics facilities, withthe Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the frontier. As no signifiThe present status of particle physics is that the Standard Model has been completed with the discovery of theHiggs boson in 2012, but there is a multitude of phenomena in nature which is not accounted for by this model.Researchers are investigating possibilities for detecting new physics at the current particle physics facilities, withthe Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the frontier. As no signifi

The use of disposable and reusable packaging is a hot topic in policy and practice, but different studies have come to different conclusions on when each packaging type is the more sustainable alternative. The purpose of this paper is to map and review scientific literature that compares disposable and reusable packaging for food, beverages and e-commerce from a sustainability perspective. The met

Det här avhandlingsprojektet handlar om självmedvetande och hur det förhåller sig till medvetande i stort. Mer specifikt handlar det om jagupplevelse, känslan av att vara ett jag, och om denna känsla med nödvändighet finns med i alla våra upplevelser eller inte. Vad betyder det då att ha en känsla av att vara ett jag? Det kan betyda flera saker, exempelvis känslan av att vara samma person över tidThe present dissertation project concerns the relationship between self and consciousness. Specifically, it concerns the phenomenal sense of self and if this is a necessary component of all experience or not. What is it to have a sense of self? This can refer to several things, such as the sense of being a continuous person through time, the sense of having a body, the sense of being in control of