Filtyp
Streptococcus pyogenes of the M1 serotype can cause streptococcal toxic shock syndrome commonly associated with acute lung injury. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of neutrophils and their secretion products in M1 protein-induced lung damage. The degranulation of neutrophills by M1 protein was studied in whole blood using marker analysis for individual granule subsets. In m
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) derived from aquatic and terrestrial vascular plants provide a major energy and nutrient source for freshwater and coastal marine biota. The bioavailability of this material may to a large extent depend on plant species. In this study, we have compared the bioavailability of DOC and DON sampled in two distinct stands of Typha domingensis and Eleoch
In the Silurian, Baltica and Laurentia collided to form the Caledonian orogenic belt. During this process, nappes derived from the pre-collisional Baltic margin, from outboard terranes of Baltica, and from exotic terranes of probable Laurentian origin, respectively, were thrust upon the indenting Baltica. The Middle Allochthon is a tectonostratigraphic level inferred to represent the rifted Neopro
The dioecious weed Silene latifolia Poiret is thought to have spread northwards through Europe from separate southern source populations and shows a pronounced east–west pattern of differentiation in seed morphology. We used crossing experiments to investigate whether patterns of interfertility in S. latifolia are consistent with a scenario of ongoing speciation (reflected by outbreeding depressio
Chlorophyll biosynthesis is a process involving approximate to 20 different enzymatic steps. Half of these steps are common to the biosynthesis of other tetrapyrroles, such as heme. one of the least understood enzymatic steps is formation of the isocyclic ring, which is a characteristic feature of all (bacterio)chlorophyll molecules. In chloroplasts, formation of the isocyclic ring is an aerobic r
Future adaptation to changes in the environment depends on the existence of additive genetic variances within populations. Recently, considerable attention has also been given to the non-additive component, which plays an important role in inbreeding depression and bottleneck situations. In this study, I used data from a North Carolina II crossing experiment, analysed with restricted maximum-likel
The viscoelastic behavior of the two different liquid crystalline lamellar phases and the liquid crystalline cubic phase of the mixed soybean lecithin/DDAB system in water was studied through rheology, with mechanical parameters studied as a function of composition. The swollen or diluted lamellar region is formed by vesicles, and its characteristic flow curve presents two-power law regions separa
Several strains of group G streptococci (GGS) form aggregates when grown in vitro. Aggregating strains interact with fibrinogen, and this study reports the isolation of a novel self-associating and fibrinogen-binding protein of GGS, denoted protein FOG. Sequencing of the fog gene revealed structural similarity with M proteins of both GGS and group A streptococci (GAS). Analogous to GAS, GGS were f
Amphibian larvae often face two major sources of mortality: pond desiccation and predation. Tadpoles of seven anuran species with different preferences for type of breeding habitat, on a hydroperiod scale, were tested for responses to the presence of predators by raising them experimentally in the presence and absence of a separately caged invertebrate predator that was fed on conspecific tadpoles
Low-molecular weight aromatic compounds were extracted from aqueous samples in a packed high-pressure stainless steel column with supercritical carbon dioxide. A countercurrent flow approach was utilised to remove several phenolic and two non-phenolic compounds with similar aromatic structures directly from aqueous standard solutions as well as a real sample (a lignocellulose dilute-acid hydrolysa
Bone marrow resident hematopoietic stem cells differentiate into all different types of lymphoid populations, there among mature naive B cells expressing IgM and IgD. During the maturation, the B cells are subjected to several steps of selection to ensure proper development of the antigen receptor. The mechanisms regulating the selection are to great extent unknown. In paper I of this thesis, we d
Popular Abstract in Swedish Under en termin vid universitetet i Lausanne skrev jag det som kom att bli en forskarförberedande uppsats i religionsfilosofi om John Hick (f. 1922) och hans religiösa pluralism. Hicks religiösa pluralism handlar om att kristendomen inte kan eller bör betrakta sig som "den enda sanna religionen". Det blev allt klarare för mig under arbetets gång att frågor om religiös pHow to judge religions other than one's own when the means are lacking due to linguistic mobility? In the present thesis this question is mainly analysed in a Christian setting through a reading of the theologians Paul Knitter and Harold Netland. It is, however, claimed that the same question could be asked in other religious settings, also with regard to one's own tradition, and could be treated
In recent years, the formation of thin, well-ordered but complex surface oxides on late transition metals has been discovered. The driving force for this line of research has been the strong incentive to increase the partial pressure of oxygen from ultra-high vacuum to conditions more relevant for heterogeneous catalysis. Here we review the present status of the research field. Compared to oxygen
This study was aimed to optimize glucose level at different stages of buffalo in vitro embryo production procedure. Three glucose levels (1.5, 5.6 and 10 mm) along with a control (0 mm) were used at three phases of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedure viz. in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro culture (IVC-I) (12-72 hpi) and IVC-II (72 hpi to 7 dpi). Maturation rate of oocytes was found different
The mutation status of the immunoglobulin heavy chain variable regions (IgVH) has been found to be a good prognostic indicator for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) because unmutated VH genes are associated with rapid disease progression and shorter survival time. To study the differences in gene expression between the Ig-unmutated and Ig-mutated CLL subtypes, we performed gene expression
Benchmarking is an effective tool to compare the performance of full-scale wastewater treatment plant operation. In this study, 29 wastewater treatment plants from eight countries were surveyed with the aim of developing some key performance indicators, which may be used for benchmarking purposes. The level of utilisation of instrumentation, control and automation (ICA) has also been measured. The
The successful planning, design and management of a traffic system is impossible without knowledge of how the traffic environment affects the behaviour of road users and how the behaviour is related to the main qualities of the traffic system (e.g. safety, efficiency). Automated video analysis is a promising tool for traffic behaviour research in that it enables collection of micro-level behaviour
