The work presented in the thesis covers the use of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and photofragmentation laser-induced fluorescence (PFLIF) with short laser pulses to determine species concentrations in different combustion environments. To attain quantitative species concentrations using LIF investigations of the influence of collisional quenching on the fluorescence signal strength is of vital

Biofilms are compact, sessile microbial communities that attach to surfaces in aqueous environments. In wastewater treatment, they are especially important for removal of phosphorus and nitrogen, which, if released into a receiving water body, can cause severe eutrophication. Mathematical models of biofilms in wastewater are used to understand the underlying processes and to describe and analyze b

High repetition rate laser diagnostics has proven to be a useful tool for studying combustion phenomena. Laser techniques are, in general, relatively non-intrusive and have the potential to measure specific species at very low concentrations and with extremely high temporal resolution. However, most laser systems in this field of research are limited to repetition rates below 100 Hz, and are thus

Chromoendoscopy, endoscopic tissue staining, is an adjunctive method using chemical agents applied to the mucosal surface in order to aid gastrointestinal endoscopic diagnosis and therapy. Acid producing mucosa in the GI tract may be visualized endoscopically by Congo red staining in combination with stimulation of gastric acid production. Congo red is a reactive indicator dye that changes color f

Interest in sustainable development has increased throughout society during the past decades, and the chemical industry is no exception. The appeal for renewable raw materials has consequently increased and has paved the way for the implementation of industrial biotechnology. Since enzymes are used to convert biomass in nature, they may also be a good choice in the chemical industry. However, to i

Large areas of grazed, species rich semi-natural grassland were lost in Europe during the last two centuries and as a consequence led to decreases in grassland specialist species. Therefore, today the “restoration” of grassland on previously arable fields is recommended for the protection of grassland specialists. Even “substitute habitats” for lost grasslands are discussed as temporary alternativ

This thesis dealswith the field of high-energy particle physics. It ismainly concernedwith two issues: the “renormalization of effective field theories” and the “detection of hidden sectors”. The first two papers are dedicated to the renormalization issue while the second two deal with the hidden sectors. Renormalization is crucial when one calculates physical observables to a high degree of preci

The aim of the this thesis was surface modification of a biomedical polyurethane (PUR), Pellethane 2363-80AE*, to improve the biocompatibility. Surfaces modified by poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were prepared either by grafting PEO covalently at the PUR surface by a two-step reaction, or by using amphiphilic polymers containing PEO as the hydrophilic part. The amphiphilic polymers consisted of one co

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is among the most common bacterial infections in humans and the majority are caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli). Abundant evidence indicates that nitric oxide (NO) produced by the inducible NO synthase (iNOS) plays an important role in host defense against infection. This thesis examines iNOS expression in experimental UTI models. The rat and pig bladder urothelium

In the first part of the PhD work, small chemical entities (fragments) found to inhibit human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), were chemically optimized. As part of an ample program at Active Biotech to find new drugs against autoimmune diseases, expanded fragments were repeatedly designed, synthesized and evaluated in a human DHODH assay. Potent inhibitors were identified within three classe

Abstract. This thesis describes factors that are rate limiting for the folding of two small proteins, U1A and CI2 which fold without accumulating intermediates. The [GdnHCl] dependencies of the unfolding- and refolding kinetics of U1A display downward curvatures. However, as the curvatures are precisely matched and no indications of formation of partially structured intermediates are seen, the fol

Antibody-based microarrays are among the novel class of rapidly evolving proteomic technologies. In recent years, antibody microarrays have emerged as a unique tool for high-throughput protein expression profiling with great promise within biomedicine and a wide range of potential applications, including disease diagnostics and biomarker discovery. In order to evolve the technology from small dedi

Transplantation antigens encoded in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) bind peptides and present them to T cells. We showed that mouse T cells expressing transgenic human CD8 can recognise human MHC class I. Expression on mature T cells is sufficient for activation in a mixed lymphocyte culture but expression both on thymocytes and mature T cells is necessary for peptide specific MHC restr

This thesis is based on work trying to understand the normal and pathological interactions taking place between the immune system and cartilage, specifically involving the cartilage-specific protein typ II collagen (CII). The work has been carried out in an experimental model of rheumatoid arthritis namely collagen type II induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. CIA can be triggered in mice of certain MH

Proteoglycans (PGs) is a class of highly anionic macromolecules that consist of one or more linear polysaccharide chains (glycosaminoglycans, GAGs) covalently attached to a core protein. The biological functions of PGs are mainly due to the interactions of GAG chains with various protein ligands and regulatory factors, such as cytokines and growth factors. PGs and GAGs are critical for a diverse s

Mucosal infections trigger an inflammatory response that includes the secretion of cytokines and the recruitment of neutrophils to the infected site. This thesis describes studies examining the molecular mechanisms of neutrophil migration to sites of mucosal bacterial infection. Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection of epithelial cell layers stimulates chemokine secretion and chemokine receptor ex

The aim of this thesis work was to study phase diagrams, microstructure and phase separation in alkylglucoside systems. Both alkyl glucoside/water systems and microemulsions with alkyl glucosides have been studied. The phase diagram of the ternary n -nonyl-beta-glucoside (C9G1)/ n -decyl-beta-glucoside (C10G1)/water system has been determined and is discussed in relation to the binary C9G1/water

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive form of B-cell lymphoma (BCL) with poor clinical outcome. In this thesis, which is based upon five original papers, different approaches have been used to pinpoint and investigate molecular events that promote MCL tumor growth, progression or resistance to treatment. The aim has been to identify novel targets with the potential to eradicate malignant cel

In this thesis we have used P fimbriated E. coli as a model to investigate the mechanisms of bacterial recognition and cell activation by the urinary tract (UT) epithelium. We show that Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) is crucial for the recognition and host response to P fimbriated E. coli. This response was independent of LPS and did not require CD14. TLR4 was abundant on epithelial cells throughout