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Through centuries, witnesses to crimes have played an important role for the police to get a conviction of the culprit. This dissertation examined how accurate children are as witnesses of events and when participating in lineups. In Study 1, participants were tested with free recall and focussed questions. Children aged 8-9 years, 11-12 years and adults in two experiments witnessed film events
Mucus glycoproteins (mucins) are the principal constituents of respiratory secretions in health and disease. The increased 'acidity' of mucin producing cells in the bronchitic airways is not reflected in a change of negative charge of bronchitic mucins. Furthermore, the size and macromolecular properties of mucins from chronic bronchitic sputa do not differ significantly from those in normal airwa
Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infections in macaques are commonly used as models to study the pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Both SIV and HIV normally use the CD4 receptor and an additional coreceptor for cell entry. The most common coreceptors used by HIV are CCR5 and CXCR4. SIV use CCR5 and rarely CXCR4 but may use other coreceptors as alternatives. We have studied vi
My thesis shows that enchytraeids and naidids are sensitive to various forms of environmental stress, which in combination with the wide distribution of both families make them highly suitable for use in risk assessment and soil monitoring. Enchytraeids were subject to chemical stress under both laboratory and field conditions. In laboratory experiments enchytraeids reacted to chemical stress with
The aim of this thesis was to explore some of the important links between waterfowl and the biota in shallow eutrophic lakes in temperate areas. Waterfowl depend on macroinvertebrates as sources of protein and calcium, which are essential for egg production and growth. Macroinvertebrates in turn depend on submerged vegetation for food and shelter. Increased density of vegetation thus leads to incr
This thesis studies the efforts made by society to achieve more efficient energy use in order to better utilise resources and lessen the stress on the environment. Despite the value to society promised by more efficient energy use, too few attempts are made at realising this value. One instrument available to governments in their efforts to stimulate efficiency schemes, is to encourage energy comp
Among policy-makers in Europe the modal shift - a shift från polluting modes of freight transport to less polluting modes - has been a popular suggestion for reducing CO2-emissions of transportation. In particular, intermodal road-rail solutions, where a combination of road and rail transport is utilized to move trailers and containers, have been stressed as an important measure to reach de desire
The gastrointestinal tract of the foetus is considered sterile but during vaginal birth the neonate comes into contact with bacteria from the maternal vaginal and intestinal microbiota. The main focus of this doctoral thesis was to elucidate the initial bacterial ecosystem in newborns and to relate microbial perturbations to physiological traits. The bacterial flora was mainly studied with molecul
Proteins are complex structures and years of research have been spent on attempts to understand their complexity. The non-covalent interactions involved in protein folding are: hydrophobic effect, electrostatic interactions, van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding. It has been of great interest to address the importance of each of those interactions in proteins. While hydrophobic effect is
Chiral building blocks are important molecules for synthesis of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Biocatalysis has gained in relevance over traditional organic methods for synthesis of chiral compounds, as reactions can be performed at high enantio-selectivity and purity with environmentally friendly, simple, and cheap methods. The aim of the present study was to explore the feasibility of using
The impact of olfactory and auditory cues on the mating behaviour in two species of moths, Agrotis segetum (Noctuidae) and Plodia interpunctella (Pyralidae), was investigated to evaluate their potential use in integrated pest management. The flight behaviour of male A. segetum under natural and pheromone-based mating disruption conditions was monitored by harmonic radar. Individual males were equi
The utilisation of energy in the form of biogas is one of the environmentally sound alternatives available using renewable energy sources. Biogas is formed by anaerobic degradation of organic material, the main consistuent being energy-rich methane. There is a large unused potential of organic waste that is suitable for biogas production and the anaerobic digestion process has the potential of bec
Different methods are proposed to assess the aerobic capacity. A novel scale, rating of perceived capacity (RPC) based on metabolic equivalents (METs) from 1 to 20, is presented. Selected MET values are linked to physical activities. Comparison of the rating with an exercise test in a group of women revealed that a correction based on age more accurately predicted the maximal exercise capacity. An
Mortality after severe head injury can be considerably reduce with a therapy using physiological principles for brain volume regulation and preserved microcirculation, with the main purpose of restricting the rise in ICP to reasonable levels simultaneously with preservation of adequate blood supply. This study shows that the ?Lund Concept? can reduce mortality in patients with severe traumatic bra
Disturbances in microvascular function may be important for tissue damage in many disease states. Prostacyclin, a substance produced by endothelial cells, is important for the maintenance of normal vascular homeostasis and is a potential drug for treatment of microvascular dysfunction, but indications and optimal dosage remains to be established. In the present thesis we evaluated the capillary fi
