Filtyp
Replacing fossil fuels by biofuels such as ethanol is considered a promising alternative to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate climate change. Biofuels produced from lignocellulosic biomass, so-called second generation biofuels, result in decreased GHG emissions and limit competition with food and animal feed production. Interest in producing ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass ha
Population dynamics in space and time are manifested as changes in the distribution and abundance of organisms. To couple such patterns to the underlying processes is a central question in ecology and also key to successful management. In this thesis, I use theoretical models as well as time series data to analyze population dynamics in environments that are variable in space or time. An example o
In this thesis I have investigated the effects of pesticide exposure on the ecosystem level using various types of experimental ecosystems, i.e. microcosms. The direct effect of exposure to cyperemthrin, a pyretroid insecticide, was a rapid decrease of crustancean zooplankton in enclosures in a lake. In the exposed enclosures the biomass of algae, heterotrophic nanoflagellates, ciliates and bacter
Pharmaceutical tablets and pellets are often covered with a coating. There is a need for methods that enable monitoring of the growth of such films during processing. Such analyses can be performed using process analytical chemical methods based on near infrared (NIR) diffuse reflectance spectrometry. It provides with analyses that take only ca. 8 seconds in total analysis time, including physical
The kidneys play a pivotal role in the adaptive physiology of the pregnant woman, presenting some changes at term similar to the changes found in preeclampsia – a state of increased risk of fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. The aim of these investigations was to explore possible similarities in blood pressure regulation, renal function and structure in normal term and preeclamptic pregna
This thesis emanates from considerations about the inter-regional variation of the sales of antidepressive drugs, and how general practitioners may contribute to that variation. The thesis comprises two data collections utilized for five separate studies. The first data set emerges from interviews with seventeen general practitioners and is used for papers I and II. The first paper reports on gene
The influence of added colloidal particles on the phase behaviour of a polymer solution was investigated. Binary, quasi-binary and mixed polymer solutions were used in the study, where at least one of the polymers had an affinity for the surfaces of the colloidal particles. Experimentally, silica and polystyrene latex particles were used as colloidal particles. Theoretical calculations have been p
The aim of the thesis is to investigate experiences of and ways of relating to environmental issues and towards their profession among a group of graduates in environmentla science. The respondents were either in the end of or had completed an educational program in Environmental sciences with a social science perspective offered at Malmö University. Those who hade completed the program have recen
The local deposition, pharmacokinetics, and systemic activity of inhaled and intranasal glucocorticosteroids in different formulations and devices(ICSs) has been investigated. After nasal administration of the ICS budesonide (Bud), the systemic availability (F) was found to be significantly higher from an aqueous pump spray and from the powder inhaler Turbuhaler, than from a pressurized metered do
In this thesis, semiconductor nanowires are studied from the point of view of growth and electrical properties. The growth of nanowires is done by chemical beam epitaxy (CBE), an ultra-high vacuum technique allowing a precise control of precursor deposition and low growth rates. In conventional epitaxy, growth is usually two or three- dimensional, depending on growth conditions and material combin
The investigations presented in this thesis have evaluated different strategies to prevent thrombosis in an experimental model of deep arterial injury in rats. Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is often used to prevent thrombosis in microvascular surgery and in other vascular interventions, but a major drawback of UFH is increased bleeding. In the first paper the low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) da
Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is still the leading cause of mortality in the surgical intensive care unit. The effect on among others endothelial barrier permeability, reticuloendothelial function, organ function and protease-antiprotease activities was studied following a variety of challenges, especially over-activation of macrophages induced by intraperitoneal administration of zym
According to the theory of sexual selection, traits can evolve because they confer a mating advantage in competition with members from the same sex. In animals, sexual selection is considered as an important evolutionary force. In this thesis I have investigated the potential for sexual selection in plants. I have concentrated on the phase of reproduction that occurs after pollinators have deposit
The aim of the present thesis was to define and evaluate a strategy for identification of children who are at risk of developing progressive renal lesions after acute pyelonephritis. Tc-DMSA renal scintigraphy is widely accepted as the most sensitive method for detecting parenchymal lesions and diagnosing acute pyelonephritis. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation standards were elaborated to i
We have studied protein motions with nanosecond time-resolved crystallography. The release of carbon monoxide from its complex with myoglobin (MbCO) was triggered by nanosecond laser pulses. X-ray data were collected with time delays ranging from 4 ns to 1.9 ms using the Laue method, at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble. For the first time point, X-ray pulses of 150 ps durati
In this study simultaneous videoradiography and intraluminal manometry (videomanometry) have been used in combination in three studies to analyze how different therapeutic strategies affect the physiology of swallowing in healthy volunteers and in patients with pharyngeal dysfunction. Analyses of healthy volunteers showed few significant measurable effects on the pharyngeal swallow. Some decreased
P2 receptors mediate the actions of the extracellular nucleotides ATP, ADP, UTP and UDP regulating several physiological responses including cardiac function, vascular tone, smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, platelet aggregation, and the release of endothelial factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mRNA and protein expression of P2 receptors in human SMCs, endothelial c
Eicosanoids are known to be involved in many different aspects of eukaryotic physiology and pathology. Notably, over the past 10 years much attention has been given to cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) due to its involvement in colorectal cancer. Less is known about the other major branch of arachidonic acid metabolism, namely the lipoxygenases (LO). The cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) are a family of met
Structure- property relationships and thickening mechanism in aqueous solution of two hydrophobically modified polymers (HM-P) with different architecture have been investigated. The two polymers, hydrophobically modified ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (HM-EHEC) and hydrophobically modified polyethylene glycol (HM-PEG), are commonly used as associative thickeners in the paint industry. The strength
HAMLET (Human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells) is a molecular complex of alpha-lactalbumin and oleic acid, that induces programmed cells death in tumor cells but leaves healthy differentiated cells unaffected. It has a broad anti-tumor activity as more than 40 cell lines from different origin are sensitive. The cell death activity of HAMLET is retained in vivo. HAMLET limits the progr
