Hemicellulose is the second largest polysaccharide group available in nature after cellulose. Hemicellulose is present in plant cell walls along with cellulose and lignin. It is an abundant and biodegradable material that could potentially replace fossil-based products. The focus of this thesis is the properties and valorization of softwood hemicellulose (galactoglucomannan).In the first part of t

AIM: To study school outcomes of adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) compared with a matched comparison group from the general population, and to observe to what extent sociodemographic and disability-specific factors are associated with school outcomes.METHOD: This was a register study of persons with CP in Sweden, born between 1990 and 1999, with a matched comparison group. Logistic regressions

BACKGROUND: Dermoscopy is a widely used technique, recommended in clinical practice guidelines worldwide for the early diagnosis of skin cancers. Intra-European disparities are reported for early detection and prognosis of skin cancers, however, no information exists about regional variation in patterns of dermoscopy use across Europe.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the regional differences in patterns of

BACKGROUND: The incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) continues to increase in most countries worldwide and the majority are diagnosed with thin tumours (≤ 1 mm).OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate the melanoma-specific survival (MSS) as well as conditional MSS (CMSS) in patients with thin CMM in Sweden.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Clinical and histological parameters we

Background: Melanomas that arise on mucosal surfaces and the glans penis are rare. Methods: A retrospective study of the Sydney Melanoma Unit experience with 69 patients treated since 1956 for these types of melanomas was undertaken to determine primary lesion site, sex, age at diagnosis, symptoms, clinical stage at first presentation, histopathology, treatment and outcome. Results: Primary lesion

BACKGROUND: Gleason grading is the standard diagnostic method for prostate cancer and is essential for determining prognosis and treatment. The dearth of expert pathologists, the inter- and intraobserver variability, as well as the labour intensity of Gleason grading all necessitate the development of a user-friendly tool for robust standardisation.OBJECTIVE: To develop an artificial intelligence

The Tibetan Plateau is the highest and largest plateau in the world, hosting unique alpine grassland and having a much higher snow cover than any other region at the same latitude, thus representing a “climate change hot-spot”. Land surface phenology characterizes the timing of vegetation seasonality at the per-pixel level using remote sensing systems. The impact of seasonal snow cover variations

Across the world, economic interests and state-making interventions have converged to dispossess small-scale farmers, rural and urban dwellers – often through violent means. Situated in the sugarcane plantation landscape in the Cauca Valley in western Colombia, this dissertation explores how life is lived after dispossession. The research is based on ethnographic fieldwork in the Afro-descendant v

Objectives: To find possible predictive factors to predict the failure of conservative treatment of non-tubal ectopic pregnancy. For that purpose, we assessed the rate of failure, complications and need for additional interventions of the different primary treatment regimens in non-tubal ectopic pregnancies that occurred in our center. Study design: Retrospective single-center study conducted at H

This study examines the function of exaggeration for thinking beyond the current concepts of God and the human. An example of thinking beyond in philosophy is the exaggeration “beyond being” in Plato’s Republic. In the philosophy of religion, generally, we deal with the questions of God. The present study discerns as an instance of thinking beyond the thinking about God and the human. The study ai

'Arena' is the story of the resource struggle of a small Afro-descendant village in western Colombia. Surrounded by sugarcane plantations to all sides, the villagers base their livelihoods on manual sand extraction in the nearby river, supplying materials to local and regional construction markets. The river constitutes a fundamental pillar in the village; it is from this that they draw meaning an

We describe the details of a silicon–tungsten prototype electromagnetic calorimeter module and associated readout electronics. Detector performance for this prototype has been measured in test beam experiments at the CERN PS and SPS accelerator facilities in 2015/16. The results are compared to those in Monte Carlo Geant4 simulations. This is the first real-world demonstration of the performance o

At a large tunnel project in Southern Sweden a number of geoelectrical and IP imaging were carried out. The tunnel is drilled through a horst with a complex geology which includes fractures, high water content and weathered zones. The measurements where carried out to compile a geologic model to use in the further planning of the project. The resistivity and IP complements each other very well sin