Many of Sweden’s red listed species are found in the agricultural landscape. Small biotopes (e.g. field margins and field islets) are important for the maintenance of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, and agri-environmental support is paid to farmers who keep them open. However, a proper evaluation of the biodiversity-gains from this type of management is lacking. We examined the predicted

Evolutionary molecular studies of island radiations may lead to insights in the role of vicariance, founder events, population size and drift in the processes of population differentiation. We evaluate the degree of population genetic differentiation and fixation of the Canary Islands blue tit subspecies complex using microsatellite markers and aim to get insights in the population history using c

An important constraint on the reliability of cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating is the rigorous determination of production rates. We present a new dataset for Be-10 production rate calibration from Mount Billingen, southern Sweden, the site of the final drainage of the Baltic Ice Lake, an event dated to 11,620 +/- 100 cal yr BP. Five samples of flood-scoured bedrock surfaces (58.5 degrees N, 13.

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies usually detect common genetic variants with low-to-medium effect sizes. Many contributing variants are not revealed, since they fail to reach significance after strong correction for multiple comparisons. The WTCCC study for hypertension, for example, failed to identify genome-wide significant associations. We hypothesized that genetic variation in genes expre

Background: The large sensitivity, high reproducibility and essentially unlimited dynamic range of real-time PCR to measure gene expression in complex samples provides the opportunity for powerful multivariate and multiway studies of biological phenomena. In multiway studies samples are characterized by their expression profiles to monitor changes over time, effect of treatment, drug dosage etc. H

Background and aims: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common condition characterized by premature protease activation, abdominal pain and leakage of pancreatic enzymes to the circulation. Approximately 10% develop systemic inflammation and persistent organ failure. Although persistent organ failure in AP is associated with considerable mortality, no therapies to moderate the disease are at hand. This

We are currently witnessing an enormous interest in psi phenomena as cultural and experiential events, displayed in landmark exhibits throughout the world and discussed from historical and other perspectives. This essay focuses on the various connections between art and psi. We mention how many forbears of parapsychology were artists or had a serious interest in the arts, and discuss how ostensibl

We have studied the conformational dependence of molecular mechanics atomic charges for proteins by calculating the charges fitted to the quantum mechanical (QM) electrostatic potential (ESP) for all atoms in complexes between avidin and seven biotin analogues for 20 snapshots from molecular dynamics simulations. We have studied how various other charge sets reproduce those charges. The QM charges

The topic of this thesis is bioprocess control, more specifically control of industrial-scale microbial fed-batch bioprocesses. Its focus is therefore on methods which are easy to implement in an industrial setting, which gives certain limitations on sensors, actuators and control systems. The main part of the work in the thesis concerns control of the microbial substrate uptake rate by manipulat

We use statistical correlation of palaeomagnetic secular variation (PSV) curves from a varved Holocene lake sediment sequence in west central Sweden (Lake Kälksjön) against those of a Fennoscandian master stack (FENNOSTACK) to correct for an apparent error in the varve chronology. Additional correlation between a lead pollution-derived chronology for the last 2000 years corroborates the PSV result

Habitat selection is an important process that affects the distribution and abundance of organisms, and habitat selection theory is one of the flagships of theoretical ecology. Because of the importance of habitat selection in natural ecosystems and the successful history of the theoretical concepts, it has been Suggested that habitat selection theory can inform decision-making in population monit

Although heavy on labor and equipment, thus not often applied, cryoanalysis of frozen hydrated biological specimens can provide information that better reflects the living state of the organism, compared with analysis in the freeze-dried state. In this paper we report a study where the cryoanalysis facility with cryosectioning capabilities at Materials Research Department, iThemba LABS, South Afri

This licentiate thesis is focused on the characterization of ultra-wideband wireless channels. The thesis presents results on ultra-wideband communications as well as on the ultra-wideband characterization of materials. The communications related work consisted in the measurement and modeling of outdoor scenarios envisioned for infostation systems. By infostation, we mean a communication system co

Background: A strong association has been shown between high viral DNA load (VL) of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 and risk for cervical cancer in situ (CIS). However, little data is available for the significance of VL in invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Methods: In 2 nested case-control studies among women participating in cervical screening, with a cytologically normal first smear, w

Review of David Lowe & Tony Joel. Remembering the Cold War: Global Contest and National Stories. 2014.

Background: We have previously reported that a one-year school-based exercise intervention program influences the accrual of bone mineral in pre-pubertal girls. This report aims to evaluate if also hip structure is affected, as geometry independent of bone mineral influences fracture risk. Methods: Fifty-three girls aged 7-9 years were included in a curriculum-based exercise intervention program c

Background: FUS, EWS and TAF15 are structurally similar multifunctional proteins that were first discovered upon characterization of fusion oncogenes in human sarcomas and leukemias. The proteins belong to the FET ( previously TET) family of RNA-binding proteins and are implicated in central cellular processes such as regulation of gene expression, maintenance of genomic integrity and mRNA/microRN