Background: Lead-time is defined as the time by which screening advances the diagnosis compared with absence of screening. A sufficiently long lead-time needs to be achieved so that cancer can be detected while still curable. A very short lead-time may indicate poor sensitivity of the screening test, while a very long lead-time suggests overdiagnosis. Material and methods: In the first screening r

This work presents a robotic implementation of Christmas gift wrapping. Handling paper is a challenging task for an industrial robot as it easily tears and folds in unexpected ways. In this application, a dual-arm industrial robot with simple two-finger grippers was used, and the robot was programmed using a standard position-based approach. The wrapping was accomplished with the help of plastic s

Background Although associated with severe clinical complications, phosphate remains a neglected ion. Additionally, phosphate balance during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is complex and multifunctional. The present retrospective study investigated the effects of phosphate-containing CRRT fluid on phosphate homeostasis. Methods We retrospectively analysed 112 patients treated with CRR

This paper treats discourses in organizations in relationship to the management of identities and impressions. It is based on an ethnographic study of an advert ising agency and explores how advertising professionals describe themselves, their work and organizations, the profession and their clients. Various functions of such descriptions are proposed, from identity work to marketing. The relation

The aim of the present thesis was to enhance our understanding of social support for physical activity among adolescents. Earlier findings show inconsistent results with regard to the importance of social support. The present thesis includes three empirical studies examining adolescents (16-18 years) during their years in high-school. Study I was a cross-sectional quantitative study that concluded

The Helianthemum oelandicum complex shows considerable morphological variation across its geographic distribution in Europe and western Asia. By combining four primer pairs and four restriction enzymes I identified nine cpDNA haplotypes with distinct geographical distributions. Two haplotypes were most frequent over most of the range; one in western Europe and one in eastern Europe. Moreover, diff

Recombinant antibody microarrays have advanced into indispensable tools for large-scale, high-throughput multiplexed serum proteomics. This thesis, based upon five original papers, deals with the development of an in-house designed antibody microarray platform, and its applications for serum profiling of pancreatic disease. Pancreatic cancer is the 4th deadliest cancer, with a 5-year survival rat

Time-of-flight (TOF) techniques for energy analysis have been common in electron spectroscopy for many decades. TOF-based electron spectrometers benefit from higher transmission and information rate compared to their main competitor: the hemispherical analyser; the drawback being their lower energy resolution. However, the advent of angle-resolved TOF spectrometers for electron energy analysis cha

Two specific areas of development in echocardiography are assessment of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function and myocardial ischemia. This thesis describes echocardiographic methodology in these two areas. In the first study, two new echocardiographic methods, the early diastolic flow propagation velocity (Vp) and the early diastolic atrioventricular plane downward slope (EDS), were tested as

How do individuals feel and think themselves on themselves? Our actual multicultural world offer us a unique, natural experiment for a detailed study of this problematic. We will use the Meaning Constitution Analysis methodology for planification of research as it is: 1. Oriented towards meaning, as it is constituted in/by the individual in his daily life activities; 2. Oriented towards a gatherin

Recently, plasma soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) has gained interest as a marker of cardiovascular risk. suPAR is released through the cleavage of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), which is found in monocytes, activated T-lymphocytes and endothelial cells, all involved in atherosclerosis. suPAR levels have been well studied in plasma, but no studies have foc