Background: In many parts of the world, roadsides are regularly managed for traffic-safety reasons. Hence, there are similarities between roadsides and certain other managed habitats, such as wooded pastures and mown or grazed grasslands. These habitats have declined rapidly in Europe during the last century. For many species historically associated with them, roadsides may function as new primary

Research has described political participation as becoming ever more individualised (eg Bennett & Segerberg, 2013). This has been argued to be connected to the general individualisation of society, but also to affordances made possible by new media. One line of research explains political participation combining selective benefits (Olson, 1965), psychological factors (Klandermans & van Ste

A suicide attempt is one of the most powerful predictors of eventual suicide. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the social situation, including social support of suicide attempters. One part of the investigations concerned patients admitted to a psychiatric ward following a suicide attempt. Another part concerned significant others (SOs) of suicide attempters, interviewed directly after th

The ABO blood group system is undoubtedly the most important genetic and phenotypic marker in clinical transfusion medicine. The A and B determinants are immunodominant, terminally located carbohydrate residues of glycoconjugates on erythrocytes and other cell surfaces. The enzymes responsible for assembly of these structures are glycosyltransferases encoded by the ABO genes on chromosome nine. T

The studies in this doctoral thesis investigated how home literacy, self regulation, academic self-concept, and goal orientation influence reading ability. Study 1 investigated the effect of family-based prerequisites, reading attitude, and self-regulated learning on reading ability. Students (n= 4,018) in the eighth grade answered the IEA reading literacy test and the SRLQ. Structural Equation Mo

C4b-binding protein (C4BP) is an acute-phase plasma glycoprotein which regulates the complement system through its affinity for C4b. In addition, C4BP binds to the anticoagulant protein S and to serum amyloid P component (SAP). Protein S is a vitamin K-dependent protein which looses its anticoagulant properties when binding to C4BP. C4BP is composed of two types of subunits, the a-chain and the b-

This study aims at clarifying the role of NO in the immunosuppression induced by in vivo tumor growth and by tumor immunotherapy, and determining whether the inhibition of NO production can be used as an adjuvant in tumor immunotherapy. We have shown previously that tumor cells, glioma (N32) and colon carcinoma (H1D2), when genetically engineered to express such immune stimulatory cytokines as IFN

Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) is a potentially life-threatening condition, sometimes leading to a systemic inflammatory response and the potential development of the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. The overall aim of the thesis was to study the effects of intestinal I/R on pulmonary function with special emphasis on removal of excess alveolar fluid, pulmonary endothelial barrier p

Over the last decades the ongoing work in the fields of Lab-on-a-Chip and Micro-Total-Analysis-Systems has led to the discovery of new or improved ways to handle and analyse small volumes of biofluids and complex biosuspensions. The benefits of working on the microscale include: miniaturization of the analysis systems with less need for large sample volumes; temporal and spatial control of suspend

Load problems in electricity markets occur both on the supply and demand side and can have technical, economic and even political causes. Commonly, such problems have been solved by expanding production and/or distribution capacity, importing electricity or by load management. Load management is a techno-economic measure for harmonizing the relations between supply and demand sides, optimizing pow

For a long time microorganisms were assumed to have unlimited dispersal due to their small size and high cell numbers. Most microbial species can be transported by water currents, in water droplets by wind and attached to other organisms. Environmental conditions alone were supposed to affect the distribution of species and the community composition. Therefore, microorganisms were assumed to consi

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common human infections, and febrile UTI with bacteremia the most severe form. The relation between bacteria and host decides disease severity. The dominating uropathogen is Escherichia coli (E. coli). P fimbriae are the virulence factor of E. coli most clearly associated to severe disease. P fimbriated E. coli predominated in bacteremic febrile UT

Extended abstract Recent studies point at significant and ongoing technology induced changes in the retail landscape, creating new and interesting research avenues, new managerial challenges and a need to rethink existing business models (e.g., Burt and Sparks 2003; Kollmann et al., 2012; Sorescu et al., 2011). This paper aims at contributing to the literature concerning the managerial aspects th

The South American golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) was intentionally introduced to aquacultures in South East Asia to produce snails for human consumption, but the aquatic snails soon escaped and started to consume large amounts of rice seedlings. The aim of this thesis was to quantify the effects of this invasive herbivore on aquatic plants in natural wetlands since previous research h

Chronic atrial fibrillation (CAF), with a prevalence progressively increasing with age, is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias in man and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have shown that, in animals as well as in man, experimental atrial fibrillation is based on different types and dimensions of intra-atrial electrical re-entry. However, there is a lack of

In clinical situations with raised intracranial pressure (ICP) and impending insufficient cerebral blood flow (ischaemia), bedside information about energy metabolism in the brain would be helpful. Microdialysis is a technique that makes it possible to monitor the interstitial concentrations of various compounds in an organ. Intracerebral microdialysis with bedside analysis of metabolites related

The main objective of this thesis is to study the response and development of permanent deformation in unbound granular materials, theoretically and experimentally. A testing box technique is used here to more closely simulate the behaviour of unbound aggregates subjected to external vertical loading. A small box device (800×800×800 mm) is employed to test both the response and permanent deforma

This thesis deals with the combination of electrochromatography and molecular imprinting technology. Electrochromatography is characterised by high separation efficiency, simple instrumentation, and minute consumption of sample. As a novel approach to obtain unique selectivity in capillary electrochromatographic systems molecularly imprinted matrices were used. Molecular imprinting technology repr