A well-known effect of increasing age is the gradual reduction of muscle function, and thus of performance in the activity of daily living. Recent research has shown that, even among the very elderly, exercise can improve not only strength and endurance, but also balance and mobility, thus reducing the risk of falls. The possibility of counteracting some of the age-related muscle changes has also

To assess the age-related loss of muscle mass and to determine the mechanisms behind this aging atrophy, the muscle structure and fiber type composition have been estimated, using invasive and noninvasive techniques. Limb muscles from older men and women are 25-35% smaller and have significantly more fat and connective tissue than limb muscles from younger individuals. Comparisons of muscle biopsi

The effects on wood of simultaneous mechanical and moisture loading are studied. In order to clarify the mechano-sorptive behaviour of wood, a review of different phenomena presented in the literature is included. Compressive tests have been performed on spruce. The tests have been performed with both constant load and varying load. The humidity has been varied during the tests. The properties of

High-voltage outdoor insulators made from silicone rubber are sometimes reported to be colonised by microorganisms. When the hydrophobic polymeric surface is covered by a hydrophilic biofilm, the electrical properties of the insulator are altered. In this work, mixed biofilms, similar to those formed on the surfaces of polymeric insulators in the field, were successfully grown on five types of sil

We used the tropical oceanic planktonic diatom species Nitzschia marina, Rhizosolenia bergonii and Azpeitia africana/Azpeitia neocrenulata, most commonly found in the surface sediments of the northeastern most South China Sea (SCS) where the Kuroshio Current enters the SCS through the Bashi Strait north of Luzon, to analyse the influence of the the Kuroshio Current on the SCS. The impact of the Ku

Background: Carboxypeptidase B from the pancreatic gland may exist in three different molecular and immunoreactive forms: the proenzyme, the active enzyme, and the activation peptide. Aims: To investigate levels of procarboxypeptidase B (proCAPB) and its activation peptide in serum in acute pancreatitis to test the accuracy of these two variables as markers for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis

Changes in tolerance levels of soil bacterial communities pre-exposed to different metal concentrations and then reestablished in an unpolluted soil were examined during a one year incubation period using the thymidine incorporation technique. The study was performed with a sterilized agricultural soil, which was reinoculated with bacteria extracted from soils previously contaminated with high dos

Force generation and tissue glucose metabolism were measured in the urinary bladder smooth muscle from rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes (7-8 wk duration). Bladder wet wt was almost 4-fold higher in the diabetic animals compared with the untreated controls. Morphological analysis showed that the growth was associated with hypertrophy of the smooth muscle component in the bladder wall. Forc

Popular Abstract in Swedish Inom fysiken studeras bl a olika jämviktssystem. Med ett system i jämviktsläge menas att det krävs en yttre kraft för att ändra på tillståndet i systemet. För att beskriva det mera matematiskt kan vi (ofta) relatera systemet ifråga till en s k operator. För operatorer definieras ett annorlunda positivitetsbegrepp än för vanliga tal och man kan stoppa in olika objekt somThe paper deals with various positivity and continuity questions arising in the Weyl calculus of pseudo-differential operators. Let W be a symplectic vector space. In the first part of the paper we discuss positivity and continuity properties in spaces sp(W) of distributions, whose Weyl quantizations are in the Schatten-von Neumann class of the order p> 1. In particular we prove some Young related

Popular Abstract in Swedish Utgångspunkten för denna avhandling är de många bekymmer som präglar vår tid - däribland också bekymret om frivillighetens framtid i ett postmodernt samhälle. Det är en paradox, när det å ena sidan hävdas att det moderna samhället är i kris, att den sociala gemenskaperna har brutit samman och att människor inte längre ställer upp, engagerar sig och hjälper varandra. OchThe theme of this thesis is motives for voluntarism - with particular focus on volunteering in social work compared to voluntary work in sports clubs and patient associations. It is based on a combination of different data sources and methodological approaches: surveys, analyses of letters from volunteers and literature studies. Theoretically the thesis is based on two sets of sociological theorie

Control design is often done based on simplified models. After design it is necessary to verify that the real closed loop system behaves well. This is mostly done by experiments and simulations. Theoretical analysis is an important complement to this that can help to verify critical cases. Structural information about uncertainties, time-variations, nonlinearities, and signals can be described by

In the reactione + e – rarrW + W – rarr ( $$q_1 ar q_2 $$ ) ( $$Q_1 ar Q_2 $$ ) we expect that normally the colour singlet systems ( $$q_1 ar q_2 $$ ) and ( $$Q_1 ar Q_2 $$ ) hadronize independently into two hadron chains or strings. However also the pairs ( $$q_1 ar Q_2 $$ ) and ( $$Q_1 ar q_2 $$ ) form colour singlets with probability 1/N c 2 =1/9. This probability could be further enhanced by g

A terminating rotational band has been identified in Mn-51 following the Si-28(S-32,2alpha1p)Mn-51 fusion-evaporation reaction at 130 MeV beam energy. Spins and tentative positive parities of the band members are assigned based on angular distribution and correlation measurements of transitions, which connect the rotational structure with previously known yrast states. Configuration-dependent cran

Objective: The association between consumption of fruit and vegetables and risk of ovarian cancer is still unclear from a prospective point of view. Methods: Female participants (n = 325,640) of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study, free of any cancer at baseline, were followed on average for 6.3 years to develop ovarian cancer. During 2,049,346 person-years, 581

The aim of this paper is to elucidate the use of photo-elicitation as a method for data collection as well as a method for analysis. By using a study on backpacker tourism where the respondents’ own photographs were used in in-depth interviews as an example, the immersion of data collection and analysis is illustrated through the backpackers’ narratives and experiences of travel photography. The t

In the search for high efficiency combustion systems pulsating combustion has been identified as one of the technologies that potentially can meet the objectives of clean combustion and good fuel economy.Pulsating combustion offers low emissions of pollutants, high heat transfer and efficient combustion. Although it is an old technology, the interest in pulsating combustion has been renewed in rec

Popular Abstract in Swedish Bröstcancer är den vanligast förekommande cancerformen hos kvinnor och årligen drabbas ungefär 6000 kvinnor i Sverige. I de flesta fall uppstår bröstcancer spontant, men viss ärftlighet ligger bakom ca 10 % fallen. Det finns kopplingar till faktorer som ökar risken för bröstcancer. Till riskfaktorer hör bl.a. långvarig exponering för hormoner: tidig mens och sent klimakUnrestrained proliferation is a hallmark of cancer and genetic defects within G1/S-phase regulation and the pRb pathway occur frequently. Proliferation control can be circumvented either by excess cyclin D1 or cyclin E, alterations that can define two alternative tumour biologic pathways in breast cancer. By overexpressing cyclin E in a cell line model system we demonstrate that the capacity of ce

BACKGROUND: Intestinal inactivity leads to atrophic changes and concomitant alterations in the expression of neurotransmitters in the enteric nervous system. In atrophic rat ileum neurones expressing vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) decrease in number while nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expressing neurones increase. Since little is known