Apoptosis is a kind of death that is best described as cellular suicide and it is important for normal tissue homeostasis. The process can be induced by a number of different stimuli and the dying cell goes through a defined pathway terminating in typical biochemical and morphological alterations of the cell. With my studies I wanted to investigate the role of the polyamines in the regulation of a

The nature of future climate change will depend on anthropogenic emissions of CO2, as well as climate- and CO2-mediated feedbacks through carbon (C) cycling in both terrestrial ecosystems and oceans. Terrestrial ecosystems remove presently about 25% of the anthropogenic CO2 fossil-fuel and land-use change emissions, but to attribute which mechanisms cause this uptake, and the key regions where it

This study examines safety and fear of crime in Åboland, a predominantly rural area in southwestern Finland. It also examines crime and criminals in the area, as well as the distinctive social control that characterises Åboland's eight municipalities. The study continues two strands of research, the first about criminality and fear of crime in societies that are considered safe by their inhabitant

The amino acid glutamate is today regarded as the main fast excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and a large body of evidence support that glutamate serves as a neurotransmitter in primary afferent terminals in the spinal cord. Previous evidence also suggests that the closely related amino acid aspartate may serve a similar role in some primary afferent terminals. However, the

This thesis focuses on the consequences of the institutional transformations in South Africa during the 1990s with specific reference to the introduction of a mode of local governance based on the direct participation of private and civic actors in policymaking and implementation. The study also aims to contribute to theory. The approach is that public, private and civic associations are best unde

Proteoglycans consist of core proteins substituted with glycosaminoglycan chains. The galactosaminoglycans (GlcUA/IdoUA-GalNAc) and the glucosaminoglycans (GlcUA/IdoUA-GlcNAc) are both initiated on the same tetrasaccharide linkage region GlcUA-Gal-Gal-Xyl-protein. The proteoglycan decorin is bound to collagen fibrils in the extracellular matrix and is substituted with a single galactosaminoglycan

Surfaces and interfaces have a special significance to nanotechnology because the surface/volume ratio of nanomaterials is larger than for bulk materials. Therefore, interfaces of nanomaterials are usually more important to the properties of nanomaterials than for larger scale materials. Furthermore, crystal growth occurs at the interfaces between the growing crystals and the supply media. An unde

Over the past two decades, grafting of embryonic nigral tissue has developed into a feasible therapeutic strategy for Parkinson's disease (PD). It has become apparent that the degree of restoration of dopaminergic neurotransmission by the transplanted cells is highly correlated to the symptomatic relief. However, the efficacy of the treatment is still far from optimal: More than 90% of the grafted

Telomeres in Chironomus consist of long complex tandem DNA repeats, which in C. pallidivittatus have been shown to extend to the extreme end of chromosomes. In C. pallidivittatus the telomeric repeats are present in large blocks, 50-200kb in size, most of them belonging to four major subfamilies. The main issue of this thesis has been to elucidate possible functional roles for these different subf

What kind of public sphere is possible in the European Union? Against the backdrop of debates on the transformation of democracy beyond the nation-state, this study explores daily newspapers’ role in providing forums for transnational debate in the presumed absence of an overarching European collective identity. It uses empirical means to reconsider the question of the supposed co-constitutiveness

The dynamic friction process and contact surface between tool and working material in a plastic forming process is hard to describe in mathematical form and hard to monitor and control in real time. High production speed and highly optimised forming operations result in great demands on the control equipment. Especially if the influence from variations due to the tool, work material and the fricti

The aim of this work was to achieve surface modification of two biomedical polyurethanes and one poly(urethane urea) through the addition of small amounts of amphiphilic copolymers in solution. The matrix polymers used were the poly(ether urethane)s Pellethane 2363-80AE (P80) and 2363-75D (P75) and a poly(ether urethane urea) similar to Biomer (PUUR). The amphiphilic additives consisted of segment

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a tracer technique used for quantitative in vivo studies of physiological and biochemical processes. Because of the use of positron-emitting radionuclides such as 11-C, 13-N, 15-O and 18-F, which are isotopes of the biologically ubiquitous elements, it is possible to label radiopharmaceuticals which trace biochemical processes precisely. In order to be able to

Forgetting can be highly functional when unwanted or irrelevant memory representations interfere with cognitive or motivational goals. Current theory assumes that forgetting can be brought about by the intentional or unintentional inhibition of interfering memory representations. In four studies, the present thesis investigated this claim by employing behavioral testing, and neuroimaging methods b

In the baking industry, emulsifiers in the alpha-gel state are used for foam formation. This thesis focuses on some parts of the effects of the emulsifier: how the foam formation and foam stability are influenced by the physical state of the emulsifier, how emulsifiers change the gelatinization and gel formation of starch, and the impact that these factors may have in a true product such as a spon

This dissertation consists of a collection of previously published or otherwise presented essays dealing with the philosophical, sociological and aesthetic writings of Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969). The title of the dissertation is intended to cover a common programmatic theme running through Adorno's writings. Chapter one, ?Adorno and the Frankfurt school?, deals with the biography of Adorno and

It has long been thought that aging is accompanied by an emotional flattening. Although a different view has started to emerge recently, studies investigating psychophysiological responses in reaction to affective stimuli so far have reported an age-related reduction of the affective response. One of the main goals of this thesis was to revisit this issue by examining subjective reports, phasic he