The goal of the study was to get a better understanding of factors controlling the growth, differen-tia-tion, integration, organization and survival of retinal transplants, with the long-term view of eventually developing retinal transplantation into a clinically useful procedure for treating degenerative retinal disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa. Embryonic day 15 rabbit retinas were transpl

Inflammation is a localized protective response in vascularized tissues and can be induced by microbial infection or cell and tissue injury. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are the most common white blood cells and are recognized as major cellular mediators of acute inflammation. PMN are highly mobile cells that possess regulated mechanisms for controlling the expression and activation of adhe

This thesis considers numerical simulations of high energy particle collisions, and improvements in the description of multiple collimated jets of hadrons in collision events in particular. In the event simulation software called event generators, the structure of multi-jet events is determined through an interplay of the input calculation, parton showers and phenomenological hadronisation models.

The control of cultivation conditions and its influence on growth and production have been investigated. The use of fed-batch processes have been demonstrated for several cultivation systems and so has the use of different control signals in these systems. Fed-batch cultivation of Pseudomonas cepacia with on-line measurement and control of the growth rate limiting (toxic) substrate, sodium-salicy

In vertebrates, studies of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) have been of particular interest due to its direct involvement in the toxic effects exerted by several environmental pollutants, such as PCB and dioxin. After binding to the toxic molecule, this receptor initiates transcription of several genes that are part of the biotransformation battery but most notably the cytochrome P450 (CYP) ge

During total parenteral nutrition (TPN) adequate nutrition is provided intravenously and the enteral route is bypassed. The integrity of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, however, is dependent on the passage of food through it. This thesis deals with the effects of TPN on the pancreas and the parotid glands. TPN induced hypotrophy of the exocrine pancreas and the parotid glands. The amylase concent

The terminal differentiation of leukemic cells is closely connected to their death. The concept of differentiation therapy originates from the idea that forced maturation of leukemic cells could induce cell death without the side-effects that are provoked by ordinary chemotherapy. The tumour suppressor protein p53 is a transcription factor, and can induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of maligna

The aim of this thesis is to defend a novel mechanism that triggers arthritis susceptibility in both rats and mice through reduced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), but also to introduce a novel model for chronic relapsing arthritis. Five papers are included, all of which employ animal models for rheumatoid arthritis and one that also uses animal models for multiple sclerosis. Paper I a

This thesis focuses on electron transport in semiconductor InAs/InP and InSb nanowire quantum devices. However, first the temperature dependence of classical charge transport in InSb nanowire field-effect transistors, FETs, is characterized, using InAs nanowire FETs as a reference. We find that the InSb FETs, in the same way as InAs FETs, are n-type with good current saturation and low voltage ope

The brain-derived protein S100B is a 21 Kda dimerand have been used as a serum marker for brain damage of different etiology. The feasability of protein S100B as serum marker for brain damage after cardiac surgery was studied in this thesis. One unexpected finding was made, which changed the basis for interpration of S100B levels. Shed blood collected during surgery with cardiotomy suction contain

Theoretical accounts and models of calibration typically explain the degree of realism (validity) in confidence and frequency judgments in terms of different cognitive and methodological factors. The present thesis demonstrates that also social factors are of importance for the degree of realism in these types of metacognitive judgments. The results of Study I showed improved realism in pairs’ con

Inflammatory bowel disease is thought to result from the inappropriate and ongoing activation of the mucosal immune system driven by the presence of normal luminal flora. In this process monocytes/macrophages contribute to and maintain chronic inflammation by being both regulatory and effector cells. This study aimed at exploring the effects and regulation of chronic inflammation in inflammatory

The studies upon which this thesis is based were designed to evaluate normal fetal and neonatal adaptation and the effects of obstetrical interventions during labor and delivery on fetal and neonatal cerebral circulation. Non-invasive Doppler ultrasound was used to record blood flow velocities from the middle cerebral artery (MCA) both antenatally from the fetus, and from the newborn in the early

This thesis examines sparse statistical modeling on a range of applications in audio modeling, audio localizations, DNA sequencing, and spectroscopy. In the examined cases, the resulting estimation problems are computationally cumbersome, both as one often suffers from a lack of model order knowledge for this form of problems, but also due to the high dimensionality of the parameter spaces, which

Giant planets form embedded in a protoplanetary disc around a young star. Close to the midplane a large fraction of the available mass in solids is found in particles of cm to dm in size, which drift towards the star due to friction with the surrounding gas. In paper I, II, III we describe a novel theory that explains how embryos, planetesimals larger than ~1000 km, grow efficiently by sweeping up

In the studies of this thesis, a method for automated classification of myocardial perfusion images was successfully developed and evaluated. The results show that the method, based on artificial neural networks, was equally good, or even better than human experts. It was also found that physicians interpreting myocardial perfusion images benefit from the advice of the artificial neural networks.

Aberrant protein kinase C (PKC) activity and expression is implicated in different malignancies. To study the role of different PKC isoforms in breast cancer the expression of PCKα, δ and ε was evaluated in breast cancer tumors. In addition the effect of siRNA-mediated knockdown of the isoforms was studied in a global gene expression analysis. We found that high PKCα levels correlate with poor pro