The treatment of flow in the area of traffic safety has a long tradition. The influence flow has on the number of accidents is, however, often considered so obvious that it tends to be trivial. In this thesis I can show that the relation between flow and accidents holds interesting information. In order to compare countermeasures, or conduct other types of traffic safety comparisons where the flo

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder where the midbrain dopaminergic neurons are lost. Presently there is no cure for PD, and the most common treatment is to replace the lost dopamine pharmacologically by administration of the dopamine precursor L-DOPA. This works very well during the initial treatment period, but unfortunately a majority of the patients develop abnormal involu

Preservatives are biologically active substances which are required in water-based products/systems to prevent growth of micro-organisms. Kathon® CG (K-CG), one of several preservatives based on 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolinon-3-one (MCI) and 2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (MI) has been shown to be a common sensitizer in dermatitis patients. The aims of the study were to find a method to demons

This thesis describes patients in acute postoperative pain as well as patients with acute cancer-related pain in palliative care, and their experiences and perceptions of pain management in relation to HRQOL and the multidimensionality of pain. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was chosen. Data were collected using interviews and questionnaires; APS, SF:36 and a new developed q

This study investigated the pathogenesis of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). (1) The relative roles of lipopolysaccharide and Shiga-like toxin-2 were studied in a mouse model of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection. Both factors were found to be important for the virulence of the strain and contributed in an additive manner. The mouse model mimicked cert

The aim of the thesis was to examine the expression and function of the extracellular nucleotide P2 receptors in the cardiovascular system. In the cardiovascular system nucleotides are released during shear stress, hypoxia, ischemia, from endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, aggregating platelets, inflammatory cells and erythrocytes. We demonstrate that ATP, ADP, UTP and UDP induce vascular rel

To examine cardiovascular risk factors, glycaemic control and survival in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated in primary care, patients with T2DM and a randomised age-stratified sample of men and women aged ≥40 years living in the same community were surveyed 1992-1994. ß–Cell function and insulin resistance were estimated using the Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA). Vital stat

Algorithms based on the variational approach, as used in statistical physics, are developed. For constraint satisfaction problems a novel cost function, based on information-theoretic arguments, is introduced, and an algorithm similar to the mean-field annealing algorithm is proposed. It outperforms the conventional mean-field algorithm, and its performance is comparable to good problem-dedicated

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

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

Higher education (HE) is and has been a growing concern for various stakeholders for a considerable time. Sometimes contradictory attempts to reform HE have increased the pressure on academic teachers and contributed to an experience of demand overload. This research conceptualises HE organisations so that dynamics related to change and stability become understandable. A socio-cultural perspective

Abstract Fat bloom on chocolate is a major problem for the confectionery industry since the unappetising appearance and negative sensory effects lead to rejection by customers. The presence of fat bloom on chocolate confectionery systems is usually connected to migration of liquid fat due to the difference in composition between filling triacylglycerols (TAGs) and cocoa butter TAGs. The filling T

An important indicator of the metabolic capacity of humans is the ability to regulate plasma triacylglycerol levels and to clear triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins (TRLs) from the circulation after a meal. This is crucial since most of the day is spent in the postprandial state. High concentrations and long circulation times of TRL remnants may be detrimental since these are considered to be highly

The immune system has several strategies to combat infections. The present study investigates various aspects of the interaction between Gram negative bacteria, particularly Salmonella, and antigen presenting cells (APC). Salmonella is an intracellular bacterium infecting mice and man. Salmonella typhimurium infection in mice is a frequently used model for studying systemic Salmonella infection. O

Automotive seating has been under continous development since it was described for the first time in 1885. At that time one could read about a “padded leather bench seat sitting on springs mounted directly to the frame of a horse-less carriage”. With the development of flexible polyurethane foam in 1950-1960 the seats were considerably improved and the traditional springs were eventually replaced

This thesis is a theoretical investigation of the effects of spin-orbit (SO) interactions in ferromagnetic metal nano-particles. Part I of the thesis is devoted to an elementary introduction of the research field, including recent experimental advances which partly motivated the work presented here. At the core of the thesis lie four original papers, collected in Part II, which are presented and s

This thesis focuses on the magnetotransport properties of highly Mn-doped crystalline GaAs nanowires. The GaAs nanowires were first grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy from gold seed particles, and subsequently implanted with Mn ions under varying conditions, e.g., ion fluence and acceleration voltage. The implantation process was carefully analyzed and optimized within the research project

Hindered diffusion occurs in the most different processes, as has been described in this thesis. It is very important to have an understanding of the influence of hindered diffusion on the mass transfer rate, especially when competing rate processes are acting simultaneously. Using mathematical modeling and simulation makes it possible to predict the effects of hindered diffusion. The systems that

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant and also the most common form of brain tumour in humans. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate morphological and diagnostics features in human GBM that may be of importance for prognosis and treatment. Immunohistochemically stained tissue sections have been microscopically analysed regarding immuno-reactive cells, cell proliferation,