Filtyp
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors act by decreasing production of angiotensin II and by potentiating the effects of bradykinin by inhibition of its breakdown. Bradykinin exerts part of its effects via vasodilating prostaglandins. Since the cyclooxygenase (COX)-inhibitors, e.g. aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs, block the formation of prostaglandins patients may
Fuelled by the current demands of the biological sciences, there is today a growing interest in microscale analysis. Miniaturisation of analytical instruments has become a long-standing trend. Miniaturisation offers several advantages, including rapid separation times, high performance and throughput, reduced costs, etc. But the increased surface area to volume ratio can sometimes be a disadvantag
Possible selves are conceptions or images of ourselves in future states or situations. The theory about possible selves used in the present thesis was developed in a social cognitive tradition of research on the self, where the self is seen as a knowledge structure (Markus & Nurius, 1986). Possible selves are parts of this knowledge structure and possible selves are of importance for motivatio
The study of the protein complement of a genome is called proteomics. Proteomics can be defined as identification, quantification and characterization of a total set of proteins expressed at different time-points or under different cellular states to provide global information about biological processes. The study of membrane proteins is a challenging area in the development of proteomic research.
This thesis presents the results from a study of the first four years of diabetes in 879 patients aged 15-34 years at diagnosis. The aims of this study were to compare clinical classification with the presence of autoantibodies, to study the natural course of beta cell function during the first years of disease and to define predictive factors for the remaining beta cell function after diagnosis.
Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is believed to be an important cause of cerebral hypoperfusion, leading to chronic fatigue, blurred vision, unsteadiness, dizziness and sometimes syncope. It may also result in episodes of confusion, falls and fractures. The coupling between OH and organic dementia is not clear. Our findings in a large group of patients with Alzheimer's disease, vascular- and frontotem
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of some tumor suppressor gene products (with emphasis on the retinoblastoma suppressor gene product) in the regulation of differentiation and proliferation in leukemic and normal hematopoietic cells. For this purpose, the expression of the tumor suppressor genes RB, p53 and p16 were artificially altered. Cells used were human leukemic cell lines an
The vascular endothelium is an important regulatory organ in circulatory physiology and plays a central role in the response to acute inflammation and ischemia/reperfusion. Activation and dysfunction of the pulmonary vascular endothelium are closely related to clinical findings of pulmonary dysfunction. The endothelial-derived relaxing factor, nitric oxide (NO), is a gas, which can be administered
Hemicellulose is the second most abundant group of renewable polysaccharides. Mannans can be found as the major hemicellulose in softwood and as storage polysaccharides in a range of plants. In this work, structural and functional characterisations of family 5 and 26 endo-1,4-b-mannanases (b-mannanases) have been performed. These families belong to the large and diverse glycoside hydrolase clan A,
HERA-B is a high-energy physics experiment at HERA. It is a fixed-target experiment with a forward spectrometer to benefit from the strong boost of beauty hadrons. The main goal of HERA-B is to detect and measure the degree of CP violation in exclusive B-decays, with emphasis on the {em golden} decay, $golden$. A computer simulated study on this decay is presented and the accuracy of the measureme
It has been suggested that the cerebellar mossy fibre afferents transmit the conditioned stimulus (CS) information to the cerebellum. Several studies are consistent with this suggestion but alternative explanations have not been excluded. In conditioned ferrets, the forelimb CS was replaced by a direct stimulation of the cerebellar mossy fibre afferents. It was found that true conditioned response
The aim was to explore the inherent meaning of total fat and to examine the associations between relative fat intake and postmenopausal breast cancer. Furthermore, the impacts of the alterations in dietary assessment routines are discussed. This thesis uses data from the Malmö Diet and Cancer study, a prospective cohort study. Information on dietary habits, lifestyle, and socioeconomic factors wa
Controlled-release formulations reduce the frequency of injections and better maintain plasma concentrations within the therapeutic window. Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) is currently the most frequently used biodegradable polymer for this application. In order to be able to control the release rate, it is vital to know the underlying release mechanisms. A novel method for measuring the diff
Contraction of blood vessels for the regulation of blood flow and pressure is dependent on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) located in the medial layer of the vascular wall. Adult, differentiated VSMC have a well developed contractile system and a low rate of proliferation. Under the influence of hormones, growth factors, inflammatory mediators and tissue factors, cells may modulate to a ”synth
There is an intensive interest in characterising the structure and function of galectins, which is not surprising given their many important cellular functions and strong implications in human disease. Understanding the mechanisms involved in galectin functions will help to find selective and novel strategies for disease treatment and diagnosis. A key to this lies in their carbohydrate binding spe
Abolition of enteral nutrition is sometimes required in severe illness. The primary aim of the present work has been to elucidate possible changes in intestinal morphology and motor function in absence of enteral nutrition. Total absence of enteral nutrition in an isolated intestinal segment was created by bypassing the distal ileum in a rat model. Intestinal bypass causes marked circumferential a
Background and Methods: Signal-averaging ECG (SAECG), a bioelectrical processing method, is a further development of the conventional ECG. SAECG can detect voltage potentials in the microvolt range and provide a noise-reduced determination of QRS duration. Extended frequency spectra can be analysed. In adult patients after myocardial infarction it is used to predict the risk for arrhythmias and su
Cardiovascular diseases constitute the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western World. To increase our knowledge of cardiovascular diseases, it is important to find methods, preferably non-invasive ones, to study very early manifestations of vascular disease. Changes in the mechanical properties of the arteries can be an early manifestation of vascular disease. Further, changes in the
This thesis focused on an examination of human agency and strategies for responding to rapid social and economic change. Fieldwork was carried out in the community of Visaginas town that was built during the Soviet period in Lithuania. The town is situated next to the Ignalina nuclear power plant. The majority of the town's inhabitants are Russians who immigrated to Lithuania from other areas of t
Infectious diseases remain a major health problem, where sepsis and other severe bacterial infections are common causes of morbidity and mortality, and are associated with high costs for the community. The importance of early and appropriate treatment of sepsis and severe bacterial infections has been underlined by many and since sepsis is more prevalent and has a higher mortality rate than for in
