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How well can we explain natural occurrences of cognitive behaviours given the theoretical frameworks available to us today? The thesis explores what has to be assumed in cognitive theory in order to provide such an explanation, in contrast to being able to predict behaviour under controlled circumstances. The behaviours considered are all of the type described as involving higher level cognition
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, is manifested by chronic airflow limitation due to inflammation and tissue destruction in the lungs. COPD is caused primarily by smoking and with increasing cigarette consumption in the world, the prevalence for COPD will most probably increase in the future. The chronic inflammation in the lungs of these patients is thought to drive the pathogenesis fo
A route from epoxy alcohols to cis- and trans-trisubstituted vinylaziridines has been developed. The vinylaziridines have been used as substrates in the base induced aza-[2,3]-Wittig rearrangement to substituted 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridines. The influence of the anion-stabilising group on the reaction outcome has been investigated and it was found that tert-butyl ester enolate promotes a clean conv
Three main themes are outlined in this thesis: Polyelectrolytes/DNA : In a living cell, DNA molecules have a compact conformation in order to fit in, while in a test tube they will take on an expanded cylindrical shape, due to the negative phosphate groups along the DNA molecule. With the help of computer simulations it has been shown that like-charged monomers of a poly- electrolyte can attract
The purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between support and control. The purpose is reached by a study of the probation service as an organization and the practical side of its work The thesis is based on two empirical studies. One is a study of records and published texts from the period 1820-2000. The second is an interview study, in which twenty probatio
In order to produce fuel ethanol from lignocellulose, it is necessary to hydrolyse the sugar-containing constituents hemicellulose and cellulose. During acid hydrolysis, a number of compounds are formed or liberated in addition to the fermentable monomeric sugars. Several of these compounds might act as inhibitors during the fermentation of the sugars to ethanol. Thus, in order to obtain high etha
This thesis is based upon four original papers in which human dendritic cells (DCs) and B cells have been analyzed in terms of how they influence the character of adaptive immune responses. DCs isolated from human tonsils were found to possess a capacity to directly regulate proliferation, isotype switching, and antibody production in B cells. DC-produced cytokines, including IL-13, were identifie
Plasticity induced damage evolution is considered using a thermodynamical approach. Different postulates on how to include the effects of damage in the constitutive equations have been studied. The results reveal that a mapping, similar to that of the stress, of both the kinematic and isotropic hardening variables is to be preferred. The undesired property that, irrespectively of the postulate emp
The aim of this dissertation is to address a paradox: government control and social freedom on China's Internet are growing simultaneously. The study, which is based on fieldwork conducted between 2002 and 2006, and 48 interviews, seeks answers to the following two questions: 1. How can Internet use contribute to an unlocking of the public sphere, making it more independent from party-state contro
It is important to replace fossil resources such as oil, coal and natural gas with renewable raw materials for the production of materials and fuels in order to reduce environmental impact. Furthermore, these raw materials should preferably be residues, e.g. agricultural or forest residues, in order not to compete with the production of human food and animal feed. High molecular weight arabinoxyla
In this thesis, I present both theoretical and empirical work where we have studied how humans and animals use information in situations where they need to continually update their information on the density of a resource. We have found that the amount of information, and the way the information is presented, are important factors for how well decisions are adapted to current circumstances. In an
This thesis consists of three theoretical essays on Bargaining and Social Choice. The first essay addresses the problem of retaining the uniqueness of equilibrium when extending the Rubinstein model to accommodate more than two players. We achieve a unique subgame perfect equilibrium in a bargaining model with three players by assuming that the players make demands in a clockwise order and practic
The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the role of visibility in the production and contestation of belonging to political communities. On the basis of an empirical enquiry of Russian media during the 2010s, a theoretical conceptualization of the relation between visibility and belonging is suggested, starting in the idea that what becomes visible to publics and how, and what is rendered i
The xanthophyll cycle involves the light-dependent and reversible conversion of violaxanthin to zeaxanthin. The enzyme, violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE) catalyses the conversion of violaxanthin to zeaxanthin, via the intermediate antheraxanthin. VDE is a membrane-hosted enzyme during its activity. Low lumenal pH, violaxanthin, ascorbate and monogalactosyldiacylglycerol are required for activity. Th
Understanding of the growth of fatigue cracks is of utmost importance since such growth often has a profound influence on the life of components subjected to cyclic loading. Thus, reliable fatigue life models enable a more efficient use of materials and improve the performance and efficiency in many applications. This thesis deals with the growth of fatigue cracks subjected to high load amplitude
During moisture uptake in polymers, the diffusion of the water molecules is believed to occur via unoccupied voids. These voids are called free volume cavities and their sizes are continuously altered when the moisture content in the polymer is enhanced. Not only the free volume cavity sizes, but also other polymer properties such as the degree of crystallinity, are changed as a consequence of moi
The concept of run-o triangles is widely used within the actuarial eld. Its purpose is to estimate Incurred But Not Reported claims for insurance portfolios, in order to set appropriate reserves that are in compliance with regulatory requirements as well as the company's risk appetite. In this thesis, a parametric approach is proposed, where the portfolios are modeled using non-stationary dist
Sedan januari 2017 bedriver Riksbanken ett projekt vars syfte är att utreda huruvida digitala kontanter vore ett lämpligt komplement på den svenska betalningsmarknaden. Inom ramen för Riksbankens projekt kallas dessa digitala kontanter för e-kronor. Eftersom en övervägande andel av svenska betalningar redan idag görs elektroniskt kan det framstå som obegripligt varför Sverige alls skulle vara i b
The purpose of this thesis is to compare motivational differences and similarities between non-profit and for-profit organizational employees. Additionally, our purpose is to compare self-perceived and assigned motivation in employees to find potential discrepancies. Finally, to compare working motivation between employees working in Luxembourg and Sweden. In order to reach the purpose, a qualitat
Valuating a company is traditionally a finance subject that requires a deep analysis of a company’s financial history and projections about its future potential to generate revenue. When it comes to technology startups, valuation becomes difficult. Startups are, by definition, newly established companies with insufficient historical data. Future revenue is typically problematic to forecast as they
