Filtyp
The work in this thesis concerns polymer gels, especially their swelling and mechanical properties modelled using a coarse-grained model of polyelectrolytes. The method used to study polymer gels was molecular simulation utilising the simulation package MOLSIM. Particular focus is on the effect of salt, macroions and network topology effects (polydispersity, loose-ends and interpenetrating network
Temperature-dependent structure and function of group A streptococcal M proteins.This thesis describes the temperature-dependent structure of the members in the group A streptococcal M protein family. M proteins are cell-surface proteins that are important for the bacterial virulence and bind to a diverse set of human plasma proteins. The proteins are dimeric coiled-coil molecules, but temperature
Just as all other organisms, plants adapt to various environmental conditions. This work focuses on the role of chloroplast light harvesting complex II, LHCII, in adaptation of photosynthesis to changed light conditions. The two photosystems of oxygenic photosynthesis, photosystem I and II, use light of slightly different wavelengths for photochemistry. Since the photosystems are coupled in serie
The present study deals with the works of John Rufus, disciple of Peter the Iberian at Gaza. There are three works preserved from him, composed in Greek at the turn of the sixth century, and preserved in Syriac: the Life of Peter the Iberian, the Commemoration of the Death of Theodosius, and the Plerophories. This study reads the hagiographic works of John Rufus in search for the basic ideological
Most terrestrial vertebrates have colour vision, some perceive a less colourful world and others actually discriminate a wider colour spectrum than humans do. Still, we can all make use of the valuable colour information, which is more rigid than just brightness. However, at night when the light is dim, the lack of photons makes colour vision difficult. Nevertheless, some hawkmoths and bees can se
CD40 is a cell surface receptor of pivotal importance that is expressed on several of the cells in the immune system. It is critical for many important events, such as T cell dependent B cell activation, isotype switching, somatic mutation and generation of B cell memory. The central role of CD40 in the immune system makes it an ideal target for antibody based immunotherapy. This led us to charact
Airborne particles are everywhere around us, and have always been. Particles generated by human activities has increased drastically since industrialization, and several epidemiological studies have shown that inhaled particles can cause adverse health effects. The concern about health effects have during the last decade shifted towards fine and ultrafine particles, not least due to the emerging f
The interaction between an intense laser pulse and a gas medium leads to the emission of coherent bursts of light in the extreme ultraviolet range. This process, known as high-order harmonic generation, has today, almost three decades after its discovery, developed into a reliable source of extremely short (on the order of 100 as) pulses of electromagnetic radiation, with a wide range of applicati
The available bandwidth in wireless communication systems, such as the 802.11 family, is very limited. Together with the ever increasing data traffic, this causes problems. New possibilities are, however, available thanks to wide license-free bandwidth allocated at higher frequencies. Increased available bandwidth enables higher data rates in future radio systems that will be capable of Giga-bit/s
This thesis concerns a numerical investigation on heat transfer in internal combustion engines, with the aim of increasing engine efficiency. The efficiency gains are to be extracted from reduced heat transfer losses, by increasing the knowledge on how the heat transfer process is affected by various hardware and operational parameters in the engine. The engines concerned are both conventional die
Vision is an important source of information for many animals. The lens plays a central role in the visual pathway and hence the ecology of these animals. Fish have spherically shaped crystalline lenses that contain a gradient of refractive index. Like all refracting elements, lens performance depends on the wavelength of the refracted light. This wavelength dependent focusing leads to chromatic a
A sustainable treatment of organic wastes, generation of renewable energy, reduction of green house gas emissions, limiting the eutrophication and closing the nutrient cycles are several environmental challenges for which anaerobic digestion may be a suitable solution. There is today a large amount of available organic waste materials that could serve as potential feedstock for biogas production.
The cells of higher organisms exist in a complex protein network, the extracellular matrix (ECM), which has a wide variety of different components such as glycoproteins, proteoglycans and carbohydrates. As well as being the physical scaffold on which the cells are dependent for their positioning and mobility, the ECM exercises control over the cells, and changes in the matrix will affect the adhes
Central venous catheters are mainly being used for reliable infusion of fluids and potentially irritant drugs, for haemodialysis, and for assessment of right atrial or central venous pressure (RAP/CVP). Current guidelines state that central venous catheterization should be followed-up by immediate anterior-posterior chest X-ray to confirm appropriate positioning and to detect iatrogenic pneumothor
This thesis focuses on electron transport in single and double quantum dots defined in low-dimensional, narrow-band-gap III-V semiconductor materials. Fabrication schemes are presented for defining single and double quantum dots in lateral InGaAs/InP heterostructures, either by a combination of etching and local gating or solely by local top gating. The quantum dots are here electrostatically conf
Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity was studied in cytosolic and particulate fractions in reproductive organs from rabbit (uterus and vagina) and rat (uterus, vagina and cervix). NOS was found predominantly in cytosolic fractions in all tissues and the activity of NOS in both fractions was highly Ca2+ dependent. NOS activity in vagina and cervix were much higher (3-6-fold) than in the uterus. Est
Macroporous hydrogels are regarded as interesting materials both within biotechnology and biomedicine due to their properties. These materials can be prepared from a wide range of synthetic or naturally occurring compounds using a number of different techniques for their production. For this thesis, cryostructuring was used to prepare macroporous hydrogels, often named cryogels. The work utilized
Chlorinated fatty acids (ClFAs) are the major contributors of extractable, organically bound chlorine in fish lipids. A known anthropogenic source of ClFAs is chlorine bleached pulp production. Additional anthropogenic sources may exist, e.g., chlorine-containing discharge from industrial and house-hold waste and they may also occur naturally. ClFAs have a wide geographic distribution. They have,
This thesis deals with large eddy simulations (LES) of turbulent combustion processes in direct injection internal combustion (IC) engines. Modeling of direct injection IC engine combustion involves modeling of turbulent spray/gas two-phase flow, modeling of chemical reactions of large hydrocarbon fuels and coupling of chemistry with turbulent flows. LES is chosen in this thesis for it capability
The human genome contains genetic elements which are more or less similar to infectious retroviruses. These are called human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) and are thought to be remnants of infections in the primate lineage. Most of them have been inserted 10 to 60 million years ago but have at different time points spread in the genome via intracellular retrotransposition and make up as much as
