This thesis is a study of the Hebrew word nešer, which is the name of the bird most often mentioned in the Old Testament. What kind of bird it is, is not defined in any of the texts in which it occurs, but the modern interpretations call it either an eagle or a vulture. The purpose of this thesis is to see if it is possible to define what kind of bird it is, see how it has been used in the Old Tes

GALDIT is a Vulnerability Indexing (VI) methodology that uses ranges, ratings and weights developed as a preliminary decision support tool to predict groundwater areas prone to Sea Water Intrusion (SWI). It has been only applied on porous coastal aquifers to date, in Mediterranean coastal regions, where SWI has become a growing problem. The present study tests the applicability of GALDIT VI in the

Ända sedan de grekiska filosofernas tid har psykiskt sjuka människor inte ansetts vara ansvariga för sina handlingar. I Sverige fanns en tillräknelighetsreglering fram till dess att brottsbalken trädde i kraft år 1965. Tiden före brottsbalken präglades av många diskussioner huruvida tillräknelighetsbestämmelserna skulle finnas kvar eller inte och de utsattes för mycket kritik. Denna uppsats behand

In the last three decades insular areas are in continuous research because their unique characteristics indicate them as “ideal laboratories” for the application of different systems. Waste management systems in particular, are considered to be among the most intriguing of issues, because of insular specificities, such as remoteness, level of insularity (possibility of double or multiple insularit

Abstract: The food consumption of today’s world has led to an overconsumption of the earth resources. It is easy to forget that when we consume we do not only consume a product we are also consuming other peoples labour and landscapes in, many times, far off places. With daily news on environmental damages, people are becoming more aware. Consequently, people are getting more interested in the ori

The use of bicycles in a mid-sized city – benefits and obstacles identified using a questionnaire and GIS The need for alternative means of transport is highlighted by many studies. This need can be satisfied by prioritizing the use of bicycles over the use of mechanical vehicles in daily mobility needs in a city. Here we show an investigation of ways of improving this prioritization in a middle-

Allopatry and allopatric speciation can arise through two different mechanisms: vicariance or colonization through dispersal. Distinguishing between these different allopatric mechanisms is difficult and one of the major challenges in biogeographical research. Here, we address whether allopatric isolation in an endemic island lizard is the result of vicariance or dispersal. We estimated the amount

Breast cancer incidence has markedly increased in Western countries for reasons that are not entirely understood. We characterized periodic and age-specific incidence trends of breast cancer in immigrants who migrated from low incidence areas to Sweden. The incidence in immigrants was compared to that in native Swedes and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated, based on the Swedish F

PURPOSEOur aim was to assess the impact of cigarette smoking on the risk of the tumors classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as causally associated with smoking, referred to as tobacco-related cancers (TRC). METHODSThe study population included 441,211 participants (133,018 men and 308,193 women) from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition. We inve

It is recommended that intervention thresholds should be based on absolute fracture risk, but there is a large variation in hip fracture incidence from different regions of the world. The aim of this study was to examine heterogeneity of hip fracture probability in different regions from recent estimates of hip fracture incidence and mortality to adjust intervention thresholds. Ten-year probabilit

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) gene pairs are ubiquitous in microbial chromosomal genomes and plasmids as well as temperate bacteriophages. They act as regulatory switches, with the toxin limiting the growth of bacteria and archaea by compromising diverse essential cellular targets and the antitoxin counteracting the toxic effect. To uncover previously uncharted TA diversity across microbes and bacteriophag

Objectives: To describe and compare the consumption of dairy products in cohorts included in the European Prospective Investigation into-Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Methods: Data from single 24-hour dietary recall interviews collected through a highly standardised computer-based program (EPIC-SOFT) in 27 redefined centres in 10 European countries between 1995 and 2000. From a total random sample

The past two decades have brought worrying increases in severe Streptococcus pyogenes diseases globally. To investigate and compare the epidemiological patterns of these diseases within Europe, data on severe S. pyogenes infections were collected through an EU FP-5 funded programme (Strep-EURO). Prospective population-based surveillance of severe S. pyogenes infection diagnosed during 2003 and 200

Objectives: To describe dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) values in the population participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study according to food groups, nutrients and lifestyle characteristics. Methods: Single 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDRs) from 33 566 subjects were used to calculate dietary GI and GL, and an ad hoc database was

Until recently, the study of nutrient patterns was hampered at an international level by a lack of standardization of both dietary methods and nutrient databases. We aimed to describe the diversity of nutrient patterns in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study at population level as a starting point for future nutrient pattern analyses and their associations

When the replacement of an existing building by a new one is financially restrictive or not possible for any reason, refurbishment can be the only option. The refurbishment of a non-residential building may require a specialized study, not only because of building location, use, importance and historic significance, but also because it provides the opportunity to take measures to reduce energy con

beta-Microseminoprotein (MSP) is a small cysteine-rich protein (molecular mass about 10 kDa) first isolated from human seminal plasma and later identified in several other organisms. The function of MSP is not known, but a recent study has shown MSP to bind CRISP-3, a protein present in neutrophilic granulocytes. The amino acid sequence is highly variable between species raising the question of th