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Radicular pain is in the majority of cases caused by a disc herniation with a coexisting inflammation. It is characterized by positive neural tension tests, such as the Slump test, and by decreased range of motion (ROM) in the straight leg raising test (SLR) and lumbar flexion (Fingertip-to-floor test[FTF]). This may suggest that improvement in ROM correlates to reduction of self-reported disabili
The road to maturity – how do hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) differentiate into mature blood cells? The pathways of lineage commitment during normal hematopoiesis are of great significance in order to understand the underlying events that lead to leukemia, and to the design of proper treatments for prevention and remission of the disease. The route of hematopoiesis can be thought of as a hierarchi
Industrial companies supply products intended to satisfy customers’ needs and requirements. To be competitive and to maintain good economic performance, efficient systems are needed to communicate information and exchange knowledge. Such systems are often referred to as quality systems as they intend to support development as well as standardized work regarding the quality of the product and incre
The availability of short-pulse, high-intensity lasers has opened doors to new areas in atomic and plasma physics. The short pulses (a few femtoseconds), that are available today, enable unprecedented temporal measurements, while the high peak power accessible (several terawatts) allows physicists to study the interaction between light and relativistic plasmas. The aim of this work was twofold: i)
This thesis consists of three distinct articles that can be read separately. Each one has been awarded a chapter of its own. The independence of these chapters should not be taken as meaning that they are unrelated. Besides belonging all to the subfield of macroeconomics, they share the common feature of being inherently economic policy oriented. The title of the first article is "Fiscal Policy a
Smooth muscles are components of several physiologically important organs and often involved in disease. Smooth muscle contraction is regulated by variations in intracellular [Ca2+]; increased levels activate the myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) which phosphorylates myosin and initiates contraction. Myosin phosphatase (MLCP) dephosphorylates myosin and promotes relaxation. Several cellular signali
This thesis aims at shedding light on three important issues related to intra-industry trade (IIT); the relevance of demand patterns, horizontal versus vertical IIT, and the measurement of IIT. Chapter two analyses IIT between high and low-income countries, and uses a theoretical model that explains the exchange of similar products of different qualities. We are particularly interested in the rol
This work addresses the phenomenon of long-term, so-called ‘independent’ travelling, or backpacking, often to destinations described as the ‘third world’. It regards backpacker journeys as arenas for identity work, for expressing individuality and a ‘strong character’. Rather than merely being a parenthetic detour in time and space a backpacker’s trip to the tropics can be understood as a creative
The expression of surface adhesion molecules on white blood cells (WBC) and platelets, and the release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) after incubation with expanded-polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE)- or woven Dacron grafts was determined. Both graft-materials induced alteration of the WBC adhesion molecule receptor and caused release of TNF-a and IL-6, higher for wov
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor deficits. Levodopa treatment provides marked symptomatic relief. However, within 5-10 years after the start of Levodopa treatment, most PD patients display a gradual loss of drug efficacy. Importantly, the neuropathology of PD is dominated by a marked loss of dopaminergic neurons located in the substantia nigra.
Is it possible to understand a society and a certain place that is long since gone? The aim of this thesis is to study and analyse a historic period and its people through the remains of their material culture, the social relations and how these were materialized in an urban setting. The main subject of the empirical study, the medieval episcopal town of Linköping, has shifted out-look, function a
he hematopoietic development is a highly dynamic but tightly regulated process. The flexibility to produce blood cells through more than one route will allow the blood system to respond rapidly in stress situations such as infections. On the other hand, regulation of the blood system is required to prevent blood cells from uncontrolled proliferation that could result in leukemia or bone marrow fai
This thesis is based on five papers, which all analyse different aspects of splitting schemes when applied to nonlinear parabolic problems. These numerical methods are frequently used when a problem has a natural decomposition into two or more parts, as the computational cost may then be significantly decreased compared to other methods. There are two prominent themes in the thesis; the first co
The MAX II and MAX III synchrotron light sources at MAX-lab provide synchrotron radiation for experiments in a wide variety of research fields. The synchrotron radiation is emitted by ultra-relativistic electrons circulating in electron storage rings. In this thesis the transverse and longitudinal electron beam sizes and the electron beam lifetime limitations in electron storage rings are discusse
The DEK gene is upregulated in a growing number of cancers and translocated to form the DEK-NUP214 fusion gene in a subset of acute myeloid leukemia. In this thesis, we studied the cellular and molecular functions of the DEK and DEK-NUP214 proteins. We found that the expression of DEK is increased by the leukemia-associated fusion protein NUP98-HOXA9, suggesting that DEK may be a downstream mediat
Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a remarkably proficient colonizer of the human respiratory tract. The aim of this thesis has been to characterize currently known, and identify novel, bacterial factors involved in the key processes of colonization and pathogenesis, namely adherence to host tissue and evasion of the host innate immunity. We have shown that the NTHi virulence factor Pr
Outer membrane vesicles (OMV) have the size of nanoparticles and are released from the outer membrane of most Gram-negative bacteria. The OMV reflect the composition of the bacterial outer membrane, including lipids and virulence factors specific for the pathogen, and are involved in pathogenesis and bacterial survival. Moraxella catarrhalis and Haemophilus influenzae are Gram-negative bacterial s
One of the major determinants of the final infarct size during an acute coronary occlusion is the size of the myocardium subjected to ischemia. Identification and quantification of this so-called myocardium at risk in the acute phase of ischemia has been difficult in patients with conventional methods, such as myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or electrocardio
The adaptation of geophysical methods for civil engineering purposes represents an important contribution to the development of geotechnical site investigation methodology. The term geotechnical site investigation here refers to all investigations performed prior to or during construction; i.e. investigations to support and refine a conceptual geological model as well as to provide a model of geot
This work contributes to our understanding of mitochondrial responses to changing environmental conditions in plants. The first part of this thesis is focused in the study of redox regulation of mitochondrial gene expression. By using inhibitors, the redox state of the components of the mitochondrial respiratory chain was selectively affected. Effects of the altered redox state of these components
