Transport networks are crucial to the functioning of natural systems and technological infrastructures. For flow networks in many scenarios, such as rivers or blood vessels, acyclic networks (i.e., trees) are optimal structures when assuming time-independent in- and outflow. Dropping this assumption, fluctuations of net flow at source and/or sink nodes may render the pure tree solutions unstable e

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with more severe and chronic OCD. However, findings regarding treatment effectiveness of cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP) with this comorbidity are mixed. Research aimed at understanding the precise barriers to OCD treatment effectivene

β-mannanases are pivotal enzymes that cleave the mannan backbone to release short chain mannooligosaccharides, which have tremendous biotechnological applications including food/feed, prebiotics and biofuel production. Due to the high temperature conditions in many industrial applications, thermophilic mannanases seem to have great potential to overcome the thermal impediments. Thus, structural an

Background: The number of pregnant women with congenital heart disease (CHD) is rising, and the disease poses increased risks of cardiovascular and obstetric complications during pregnancy, potentially impacting breastfeeding success. This study aimed to investigate breastfeeding in primiparous women with CHD compared to primiparous women without CHD, and to examine potential hindering factors for

Objective To investigate the time to first childbirth and to compare the prevalence of assisted reproductive treatment (ART) in women with congenital heart disease (CHD) compared with women without CHD. Methods All women in the national register for CHD who had a registered first childbirth in the Swedish Pregnancy Register between 2014 and 2019 were identified. These individuals (cases) were matc

Adaptation is central to address climate impacts. At present, we have a limited understanding of the effectiveness of adaptation to reduce risks in a warming world, because adaptation remains insufficiently addressed in climate impact projections. Where projections exist, these are assessed mostly in case study settings. The importance of water is apparent within the field of climate adaptation, w

Background: Mutants have had a fundamental impact upon scientific and applied genetics. They have paved the way for the molecular and genomic era, and most of today’s crop plants are derived from breeding programs involving mutagenic treatments. Results: Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most widely grown cereals in the world and has a long history as a crop plant. Barley breeding started

Lignin is an abundant polyaromatic polymer with a wide range of potential future uses. However, the conversion of lignin into valuable products comes at a cost, and medium- to high-value applications are thus appropriate. Two examples of these are polymers (e.g., as fibers, plasticizers, or additives) and flow batteries (e.g., as redox species). Both of these areas would benefit from lignin-derive

Purpose – The apparel and textile sector poses a significant environmental challenge due to its substantial contribution to pollution in the form of air, water and soil pollution. To combat these issues, the adoption of sustainable practices is essential. This study aims to identify and analyse the barriers that hinder the progress of sustainability in the apparel and textile industry. By consulti

A compact reduced mechanism covering a wide range of conditions is developed for use in simulations of NH3/n-heptane combustion in engines. Reduction targets were selected after reviewing available experimental studies of NH3 combustion in engines. Ignition, flames and oxidation of NH3/n-heptane mixtures were targeted. Particularly, mixtures with very low molar percentage of n-heptane which are im

Background: Predicting future Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related cognitive decline among individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an important task for healthcare. Structural brain imaging as measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could potentially contribute when making such predictions. It is unclear if the predictive performance of MRI can be

Smallholder farmer-based rural social movements have been heralded as a promising source of political power with the potential to effectively promote sustainable trajectories of agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. However, the very early stages of rural social movement building remain understudied, including under what conditions such nascent efforts are likely to lead to ef

ATLAS measured the centrality dependence of the dijet yield using Formula Presented of Formula Presented data collected at Formula Presented in 2016. The event centrality, which reflects the Formula Presented impact parameter, is characterized by the total transverse energy registered in the Pb-going side of the forward calorimeter. The central-to-peripheral ratio of the scaled dijet yields, Formu

Olfactory dysfunction is a common feature of both postviral upper respiratory tract infections (PV) and idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD). Our aim was to investigate potential differences in the connectivity of the posterior piriform cortex, a major component of the olfactory cortex, between PV and PD patients. Fifteen healthy controls (median age 66 years, 9 men), 15 PV (median age 63 years, 7

A search for quantum black holes in electron + jet and muon + jet invariant mass spectra is performed with 140 fb-1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed invariant mass spectrum of lepton + jet pairs is consistent with Standard Model expectations. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production c

This scientific thesis focuses on the characterisation of the 3He-detector system of the BIFROST instrument under construction on the European Spallation Source. To that end, the position-sensitive 3He proportional counters that make up the detector system was subjected to a factory acceptance test performed at Laboratoire Léon Brillouin Saclay, France. The purpose of this is to prove that the ove

När stjärnor bildas omges de av en skiva bestående av gas, stoft och is. Detta är den protoplanetära skivan där de fasta beståndsdelarna växer från mikrometerstora dammpartiklar till planeter. Små stoftpartiklar kan växa genom kollisioner, men att nå tillräckliga partikelstorlekar och tillräckligt hög partikelkoncentration är utmanande. I denna avhandling undersöker jag om den så kallade islinjen As stars form, they are surrounded by a disc composed of gas, dust and ice – the protoplanetary disc, where solids grow from micrometre-sized dust to planets. Small dust grows readily by collisions. However, it is challenging to reach high enough particle sizes and dust-to-gas-ratios for continued growth to planetesimals – kilometre-sized and larger planetary building blocks. In this thesis I expl

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) poses a significant health burden, with patients facing a twofold higher risk of cardiovascular diseases compared to the general population. As a results, the international recommendations set forth by the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology, advocate for a structured cardiovascular (CV) risk management and adherence to a healthy lifestyle for p