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N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) belong to a growing family of endogenous signalling molecules acting on a variety of receptors and ion channels. In 1992, it was reported that the N-acylethanolamine anandamide is present in the brain and activates the central cannabinoid (CB) receptor. Anandamide and other NAEs are considered to be generated on demand following receptor activation or cell stress. The ti
Brandvägg describes how a group of firefighters, who consistently maintain that they are “practitioners and not theorists”, relate to various forms of language based knowledge and language based “knowledging” in their vocational training, which is based on problem based learning. From a sociocultural perspective to learning, and within the parameters of a didactic perspective with the focus on the
Increased attention is nowadays devoted to waste management. The objective of this work is to analyse how commonly known business economic models and methods, as well as the Polluter-Pays Principle, can be applied to waste management in general and to waste fractionation in particular, so as to facilitate environmental optimisation of industrial and construction waste fractionation. In discussing
In all higher organisms, there is a need for intercellular communication. G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), located on the cell surface, play an important role in this communication. Cells synthesize and release signalling molecules (ligands), which produce a specific response only in those cells that have a receptor for that ligand. The total number of GPCRs is estimated to be around 800 where
This thesis focuses on molecular changes occuring during terminal B cell differentiation as well as on somatic hypermutation and the generation and maintenance of B cell memory. During T cell dependent immune responses the average affinity for the eliciting antigen increases with time. This affinity maturation is generated by somatic hypermutation and selection for B cells carrying a high-affinty
In plants, 14-3-3 proteins are key regulators of primary metabolism and membrane transport. It was previously thought that the 14-3-3 isoforms were not very specific with regard to target proteins, but more recent data suggest that the specificity may be high. Therefore, identification, localization, and characterization of all 14-3-3 isoforms in the model plant Arabidopsis are important. We ident
A gait re-education programme, combining physiotherapy with a psychologically conscious therapeutic approach, was applied to nine unilateral transfemoral amputees, whose amputation was caused by trauma or tumour. The participants trained once a week for a mean 10 months. The median age was 33 years (range 16– 51). They had worn a prosthesis for more than 18 months and had completed conventional re
The new generation of high resolution astronomical instruments such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) or the Very Large Telescope (VLT) has renewed the demand for accurate atomic parameters like wavelengths, oscillator strengths and line profiles accompanied by reliable uncertainty estimates. Fourier transform spectroscopy has proven to be a powerful tool when measuring these parameters. In this
Angiotensin II (Ang II) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) induce strong vasoconstriction via activation of receptors on vascular smooth muscle cells. In this thesis, the contractile Ang II and endothelin receptors were examined in endothelium-denuded human coronary arteries and in bypass grafts (the left internal mammary artery and the saphenous vein), with focus on receptor alterations in cardiovascular di
In this thesis, I have investigated conflicts of interest in the facultatively polygynous European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) with a focus on female reproductive strategies. The extent to which males provided parental care was a key issue in understanding the mating system of the starling. The amount of male parental care affected the quality of offspring. Polygynous males did not invest more in
Attosecond science refers to physical processes that occur on the natural timescale of electron motion in atomic and molecular systems. Attosecond time resolution can be obtained experimentally through a process called high-order harmonic generation where sharp attosecond pulses are formed in the time domain. Attosecond pulse trains contain many attosecond pulses with a constant pulse-to-pulse s
Children born before 32 gestational weeks have a high incidence of neuropsychological deficits. The structural and functional correlates of such impairments in preterm infants are incompletely understood, and early diagnostic tools are needed, but still lacking. Auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) are neurophysiological measures of cortical sound detection, encoding, discrimination, and atte
This thesis presents spectroscopic studies of single self-assembled InP quantum dots (QDs). The electronic properties of these QDs have been studied by photoluminescence (PL) and scanning tunnelling luminescence (STL). The QDs were grown in the Stranski-Krastanow mode and were embedded in GaInP. This material is slightly n-type, giving a Fermi-level close to the conduction band edge at low temper
ABSTRACT Telomerase activity is a potential molecular marker for cancer and primitive cells in regenerative tissues. The most commonly used method to measure telomerase activity in cells is the telomerase reverse amplification protocol (TRAP) assay, where the protein extracts derived from homogenized cells are analysed. In this thesis we focused on developing a method where telomerase activity co
In this thesis, methods for automated analysis of myocardial perfusion single photon emission computer tomography (myocardial perfusion SPECT, MPS) images have been successfully developed and evaluated. MPS images show the perfusion of the myocardium and are used for diagnosing patients with suspected ischemic heart disease. The disease is characterized by reduced perfusion to a region of the myoc
A brief period of sublethal ischemia in the brain induces resistance to a subsequent, otherwise lethal ischemic insult. This phenomenon is known as ischemic tolerance or preconditioning. A model of ischemic preconditioning in the rat brain using the two-vessel occlusion model of global cerebral ischemia was established. Using this model we have demonstrated that ischemic preconditioning protects t
Malaria and tuberculosis are two of the most deadly infectious diseases that exist. Both diseases predominantly affect the most vunerable parts of society. Additionally the treatment of both diseases are complicated by growing and spreading resistance against the drugs used to treat them. Chloroquine was once described as a wonder drug for its combination of efficacy, low price and tolerable side
The effect of different additives on protein stability was studied, and the basis for stabilization was investigated at molecular level. The addition of sorbitol enhanced thermal stability of hen egg white lysozyme in aqueous solution. NMR spectroscopy revealed changes in the relaxation properties of Ala and Thr methyl groups in lysozyme, indicating compression of the enzyme as a consequence of pr
