Two adaptive autopilots for ships are designed, The autopilots are based on velocity scheduling, a self-tuning regulator for steady state course keeping, a high gain turning regulator with variable structure and a Kalman filter.Methods for design of the autopilots are discussed. Results from simulations and full-scale experiments with three different tankers are presented. The autopilots are shown

The β2-integrins on leukocytes can serve as a signaling unit during cell adhesion and locomotion, and to further clarify this important property we investigated the possible mechanisms of β2-integrin-induced activation of PtdIns 3-kinase. It has previously been demonstrated that clustering of β2-integrins activates p21(ras) by a tyrosine kinase-dependent pathway, and here we show that active p21(r

Integrin dependent adhesion and dynamic modulations of the actin network are prerequisites for normal cell locomotion. To investigate whether the actin microfilamentous system does play a role in regulation of β2-integrin-induced signalling, we pretreated granulocytes with staurosporine, a well-known protein kinase inhibitor that has also been shown to disrupt the cytoskeleton of intact cells. Pre

Abstract: Bladder cancer is a heterogenous disease, ranging from minimally invasive, low-grade tumours with lowrecurrence rates and mortality on one end of the spectrum, and muscle invasive, high-grade disease prone torecurrence, progression and death at the other end.The aim of this thesis was to investigate the expression, clinicopathological correlates and prognostic significanceof the candidat

Background and Purpose: Leukocytes have been implicated in the development of ischemia atherosclerotic vascular disease. In a prospective study we investigated whether the plasma concentration of inflammatory mediator, ie, proteases and cytokine, as markers for systemic leukocyte activation, are increased in patient with acute ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. Methods: Using enzyme-linked immunos

Release and cellular contents of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, neutrophilic elastase and secretory leukocyte proteinase inhibitor (SLPI) were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in peripheral blood mono- and polymorphonuclear cells stimulated with preopsonized yeast cells or lipopolysaccharide. Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) was also measured with a bioassay. TNFα producti

Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattningUnder den senaste tiden har det varit ganska populärt att studera smart materia som kan bilda nya strukturer beroende på externa förhållanden. Detta arbete är fokuserat på att studera hur man kan designa sådan ma- teria. Med hjälp av dator simuleringar har vi modellerat partiklar med riktade interaktioner och studerat deras beteenden i bulk.Förhoppningen är att omThere has been an increased interest to design “smart materials” which can self-assemble into complex structures in accordance to external factors such as for example electromagnetic fields. By designing particles with directional interactions one is able to control how particles will interact with each other. By means of both Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics simulations we study the interaction

A 24-kDa protein was purified from human neutrophil extracts and shown to be the newly discovered neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), based on structural and immunochemical data. A specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the determination of NGAL in human plasma and tissue fluids. Normal human plasma contains 72 μg 1-1 of NGAL (range 40-109 μg 1-1) in tw

Neutrophil proteinase 4 (NP4) is a major neutral proteinase of the human polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocyte, which is present in amounts similar to leukocyte elastase. NP4(3) is a potent, non-specific proteinase, which may degrade structural and soluble proteins in the tissues and body fluids, and it has been implicated as an important pathogenetic factor in lung emphysema. We have studied the rele

Dog polymorphonuclear leukocyte cathepsin G was isolated from a granule extract using a two-step procedure including affinity chromatography on aTrasylol-Sepharose gel and ion-exchange chromatography on a CM 52 column. 22 of the first 24 N-terminal amino acids were determined and showed 83% and 71% identity to those of human and rat cathepsin G, respectively. Total amino-acid composition demonstra

Knowledge of species’ habitat requirements can be gained from studying individual variation in home range size, under the assumption that larger home ranges reflect increased resource needs or decreased habitat quality. We used satellite telemetry to delineate home ranges of South Scandinavian Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) throughout their annual cycle. Annual stage (breeding or non-breeding pe