This dissertation deals with young men who in the mid 1990s made their military service at a cannon company at Wende’s artillery regiment in the scanian town Hässleholm. ”Cannon” refers not only to cannons, but also to haubitses, grenade-throwers and other heavy arms. The focus, however, is on cultural and social aspects of everyday military service. What does actually happen in the encounter betw

This PhD thesis reports on investigations of the atomic scale structure of model catalysts relevant for the catalytic oxidation of CO and methane over Pd, and NOx reduction over silver-alumina, important reactions in automotive catalysts. By using complementary experimental techniques such as X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, High Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Surface X-ray Diffractio

The subject of the thesis is the narratives in medieval mural paintings in southern Scandinavia c 1100-1530. Its aim is to examine their relationship to texts, to the viewer and to the church space, where the viewer looks at the murals. Two different subjects have been chosen for study: S Christopher and the Nativity of Christ. From the corpus of preserved mural paintings with these subjects in so

We wanted to improve tendon healing by adding a growth factor. Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) are well known to stimulate bone healing and bone formation. The local environment is of major importance for cell differentiation after a BMP has been added. Cartilage Derived Morphogenetic Proteins (CDMPs) -1, -2 and -3 (BMP 14, 13 and 12 or GDF 5, 6 and 7) form a subgroup in the BMP-family and are

This study is based on dialogic readings of two of John Cowper Powys´s major novels, A Glastonbury Romance and Porius. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the interrelationship in the examined texts between the chain of narrative displacements and the frequent changes of voice and genre. Powys´s cornucopian writing with its wide employment of characteristics from various genres makes it parti

The present thesis examines differences in post-decision processes between members of groups and individual decision makers. The empirical studies employed a decision theoretical framework based on Differentiation and Consolidation (Diff Con) Theory. Diff Con theory proposes that decision makers strive to achieve sufficient differentiation in their evaluation of one alternative versus competing al

PHENIX is one of four experiments at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider, RHIC. The high-energy heavy-ion collisions provided by this accelerator offer the possibility to study nuclear matter at high temperature and density. The high multiplicity of particles produced in these collisions puts high demands on detector performance. Providing space points along particle trajectories, the Pad Chamber

To understand the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases we have to consider the problem from different angles. Animal models provide a tool to further understand these complex diseases, as the influence of genetic and environmental factors could be limited. Moreover, modern transgenic techniques have made it possible to study the role of certain genes and gene products in the development of diseases

Various metal complexes have been used in medicine traditionally, although their use was often connected with mystery and with a lack of empirically (clinically) proven effect. In modern times, the development of biochemistry, bioinorganic and bioorganometallic chemistry allows us more in-depth understanding of biological action of metal containing substances. Among metal-containing drugs used tod

This thesis deals with the central carbohydrate metabolism and exopolysaccharide (EPS) formation in two different lactic acid bacteria (LAB): Lactobacillus reuteri and Pediococcus parvulus. LAB are traditionally used as starter cultures in the food industry. In general, LAB harbours one glycolytic pathway converting carbohydrates into lactic acid. However, L. reuteri ATCC 55730 was proven to use t

Ectomycorrhiza are a symbiosis between trees and soil inhabiting fungi. The fungal hyphae ensheath the fine roots creating a mantle and grow in between root cells to create the Hartig net, where the exchange of carbon and mineral nutrients occurs. The ectomycorrhizal fungus is dependent on the host tree to receive the carbon it needs to grow. Trees with different nutrient deficiencies differ in t

Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain, resulting in the characteristic motor symptoms: resting tremor, rigidity, akinesia and postural instability. Symptomatic treatment is based on reconstituting the loss of dopamine in the brain, primarily by oral administration of its precursor L-DOPA. Although this drug is effective in the early y

Correct interpretation of medical imaging is based upon the interpreter’s experience and image quality. Depending on the report given the clinician decides how to use the result of the study. For many years a large number of image technologies including myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) have been acquired in digital format and the development of the imaging modalities are progressing rapidly

Within the science and technology centre (STC) movement there exists explicit aims and ambitions to enhance visitors’ interest in and knowledge about science. Meanwhile, several researches question the choice of the scientific content in exhibitions when arguing that a too unproblematic view of science commonly is presented. But what images and aspects of science are visitors actually confronted w

Hematopoiesis is the process of blood formation from a limited pool of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These rare stem cells can both self-renew to maintain the HSC pool, and differentiate to continuously replenish lost blood cells. The mechanisms of HSC regulation are not fully known. The aim of this thesis was to study the role of the Hippo signaling pathway in HSCs. The Hippo pathway is a newl

Acid-base status in umbilical cord blood is an objective measure of the fetus’ exposure to and ability to handle hypoxia. The objective of this thesis was to clarify some of the methodological pitfalls in interpreting umbilical cord blood gases and lactate values at birth. Study I pinpoints the methodological confounding in calculating base deficit (BD) with algorithms used in different brands of

The main pathological feature in Parkinson's disease is the progressive loss of dopamine neurons in the midbrain, which in turn leads to the appearance of motor deficits such as akinesia/bradykinesia (loss/slowness of movements), rigidity, postural imbalance and tremor. To this day, there is no cure for the disease, but there are medications to relieve the symptoms. The gold standard medication is

The dissertation focuses on interpretations of Islam that claim compatibility with international human rights norms in the context of women’s rights. These interpretations are seen as parts of an on-going contemporary international debate on women’s human rights and Islam that engages Muslims as well as non-Muslims. Existing UN-formulated international human rights schemes are a basic starting poi

What are the effects of growth on equality in a long-term perspective? What are the effects of different patterns of equality on subsequent growth? And why are these questions relevant for the understanding of economic development? These are the overriding questions posed in the dissertation. They are addressed in the context of long-term change from economic backwardness to modern economic growth

This dissertation examines and discusses some phenomena related to the geometric representation of similarity. It takes its inspiration from the existing body of empirical research within the fields of perceptual and cognitive psychology, but also connects to certain areas of machine learning. The problems discussed concern the modelling of information integration behavior when concepts like asym