Segmentation is an important task in all kinds of image analysis. In medical image analysis segmentation has a great clinical value since the aim could be to localize organs or pathologies in order to raise the quality of diagnoses. This thesis consists of three papers where different segmentation techniques have been applied to different imaging modalities. In the first paper a full computer assi

It can be said that literary texts do not have any obligation to reality, and that literature destabilises our relation to normal use of words and to established perspectives. Literature is in relation with something that cannot be explained or conceptualised. In this respect literature is close to religion. Literature invites us to believe in something that is unreal and beyond ordinary life. In

Attosecond pulses are used to study electron dynamics in atoms and molecules. In this thesis, schemes to control the generation of attosecond pulses and pulse-shaping techniques to compress the pulses are presented. Generation of attosecond pulses requires high intensity, which is reached by focusing a pulsed femtosecond laser. The emitted pulses come isolated or in an attosecond pulse train (APT

Objective To compare the experience and attitude of obstetricians in Europe towards late termination of pregnancy and the factors affecting their responses. Design Cluster sampling cross-sectional survey. All neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)-associated maternity units were recruited (census sampling) in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden. In France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, units w

Due to the recent interest in enzymatic biofuel cells (BECs), sugar oxidizing enzymes other than the commonly used glucose oxidase are gaining more importance as possible bioelements of implantable microscale-devices, which can, for example, be used in biosensors and pacemakers. In this study we used rational and semi-rational protein design to improve the catalytic activity of the enzyme pyranose

OBJECTIVES: Deteriorating ward patients are at increased risk. Electronic automated advisory vital signs monitors may help identify such patients and improve their outcomes. SETTING: A total of 349 beds, in 12 general wards in ten hospitals in the United States, Europe, and Australia. PATIENTS: Cohort of 18,305 patients. DESIGN: Before-and-after controlled trial. INTERVENTION: We deployed

Aims. To compare care recipients' and their relatives' perceptions of quality of care in nursing homes and home-based care. Background. Older people care is increasingly being provided in community care facilities and private homes instead of hospitals. A few studies have compared care recipients' and relatives' perceptions of care quality in nursing homes as opposed to home-based care. Design. Cr

In skeletal muscle hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) has long been accepted to be the principal enzyme responsible for lipolysis of intramyocellular triacylglycerol (IMTG) during contractions. However, this notion is based on in vitro lipase activity data, which may not reflect the in vivo lipolytic activity. We investigated lipolysis of IMTG in soleus muscles electrically stimulated to contract ex v

Neurosphere cultures are widely used to propagate multipotent CNS precursors, but their differentiation into neurons or oligodendrocytes is rather poor. To elucidate fate determination in this system, we examined the expression and function of candidate transcription factors in neurospheres derived from different CNS regions during development and adulthood. We observed prominent down-regulation o

An increasing number of investigations suggest volumetric changes and glial pathology in several brain regions of patients with bipolar disorder. Lithium, used in the treatment of this disorder, has been reported to be neuroprotective and increase brain volume. Here we investigate the effect of lithium on the proliferation and survival of glial cells positive for the chondroitin sulphate proteogly

Consider the communication system model y = HFx+n, where H and F are the channel and precoder matrices, x is a vector of data symbols drawn from some lattice-type constellation, such as M-QAM, n is an additive white Gaussian noise vector and y is the received vector. It is assumed that both the transmitter and the receiver have perfect knowledge of the channel matrix H and that the transmitted sig

Background: Based on a large, representative unscreened cohort from Malmo, Sweden, we have recently reported that a single prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurement at or before age 50 is a strong predictor of prostate cancer occurring up to 25 years subsequently. We aimed to determine whether this association holds for advanced cancers, defined as clinical stage T3 or higher, or skeletal metast

This review outlines the pearls and pitfalls of calcitonin-gene related protein (CGRP) immunohistochemistry of the brain. Pearls: In 1985, CGRP was first described in cerebral arteries using immunohistochemistry. Since then, cerebral CGRP (and, using novel antibodies, its receptor components) has been widely scrutinized. Here, we describe the distribution of cerebral CGRP and pay special attention