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The gram-positive bacterium Enterococcus faecalis is a commensal organism, often found in the gut of humans and other animals. It can cause opportunistic disease and it frequently causes nosocomial infections. Treatment of such infections is often impaired by this organisms broad intrinsic and acquired resistance to antibiotics. E. faecalis uses homo-lactic fermentation for energy pr
A network of perivascular nerve fibres was demonstrated in coronary arteries and veins from guinea-pig and man. Nerve fibres displaying immunoreactivity to neuropeptide Y (NPY) had a distribution pattern similar to those containing immunoreactivity to tyrosine hydroxylase. Immunoreactivity to substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) occurred in the same varicose nerve fibres, which w
Fuel ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass has the potential to provide a sustainable replacement for traditional oil-based fuels. This dissertation assesses the processing of three different lignocellulosic materials – spruce, wheat straw and giant reed – at industrially relevant solid loadings. The work is divided into two main parts. The first part deals with the degradation of biomass to sugars
Epilepsy is a syndrome characterized by recurring attacks of sudden, excessive and synchronous discharge in populations of cerebral neurons. Kindling is an animal model for complex partial epilepsy, and is particularly useful for studies on the development of the abnormal excitability underlying the generation and spread of epileptic seizures. Here we have used the kindling model to investigate me
A comparison of essential oils from leaves of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn. obtained by hydrodistillation (HD) and supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction is presented. Selected major components of the oils showed a predominance of higher molecular weight components in the SC-CO2 extracts than in those obtained by HD. Physico chemical properties such as molecular weight, vapour pressure
During tumor progression a strong immunosuppression is developed and is believed to be the major reason why immunotherapy fails. This suppression is induced in response to factors produced from tumor cells, but can also be induced after immunotherapy. NO has been shown to play a major role in this suppression both in patients with gliomas and colon carcinomas. The aim of this thesis is to clarify
To measure the importance of early neurodevelopmental disturbance for schizophrenia, early trauma and dysmorphogenesis (i.e. obstetric complications (OCs), minor physical anomalies (MPAs), head circumference (HC) and dermatoglyphic characteristics) were studied in relationship to adult neurodysfunction (i.e. neurological abnormality (NA), neurocognitive dysfunction (NCGD), tardive dyskinesia (TD)
The fundamental question in this work concerns the ideal relation between asceticism and society in a 5th c. writing (C.E.), the Philotheos Historia (PH), written in elaborate Greek by the learned bishop of Cyrrhus, Theodoret. This collection of saints’ stories tells about the lives of a number of ascetics who lived in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire, many of them close to Antioch. As these n
The biosynthesis of chlorophylls is an important process in nature. The green pigments play a fundamental role in absorbing and transferring solar energy to the photosynthetic apparatus. This thesis elucidates the role and function of the enzyme magnesium chelatase, which catalyses the insertion of magnesium (II) into protoporphyrin IX and is the first committed enzyme of the chlorophyll biosynthe
Microorganisms in forest ecosystems normally recycle nitrogen (N), such that gaseous losses and leaching are limited. Mobilization of organic N, including microbial N, and immobilization of inorganic N, especially NH4+, are the quantitatively most important N transformation processes. Various factors influence their rates, e.g. the amount of carbon and nitrogen, temperature, moisture, and the micr
The motivation to study the kind of problems appearing in this thesis has been ultrasound measurements of flows, from which velocity spectra along lines can be determined. These velocity spectra can mathematically be described by a new non-linear transform, here called the Doppler Spectral Transform (DST). The Doppler spectral transform has a very rich theory, into which some steps are taken here
Modern dead-ice environments in the glacier forefields of Brúarjökull, Iceland and Holmströmbreen, Svalbard were investigated with focus on landform and sediment genesis, as well as quantification of melting. Field monitoring and studies of multi-temporal aerial photographs, satellite imagery, and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) provided data for the melting quantification. Sedimentological and ge
Rainfall characteristics of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are studied in space and time; on a large scale, 550 km2, and long term scale to find out the monsoon influence, and on urban basin scale, 23 km2, to determine dynamic properties of rainfalls and spatial correlations, and on a point scale to determine the probabilities of very high rain intensities. The importance of spatial and temporal variabi
Diabetes wounds result in significant morbidity, prolonged hospitalization and huge health care expenses. As of yet, no optimal animal models of diabetic wound healing exist to study potential beneficial therapies. Porcine wound healing is very similar to human wound healing. We stipulated that by inducing diabetes in yorkshire pigs, wound healing would be delayed and exhibit abnormalities similar
Arctic ecosystems play a key role in the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle, but spa-tially explicit data on the C exchange is scarce in these remote areas. The global warming is especially dominant in the Arctic, and these areas are vul-nerable to climate change. It is therefore important to quantify and understand the processes affecting the C dynamics in these regions. In this thesis, the land-atmosp
Background It is estimated that 34 million people suffer from dementia, costing society US$422 billion each year. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common dementia and the global prevalence is predicted to increase to over 100 million people by the year 2050, with the greatest increase in developing countries. Therefore, inexpensive and efficient instruments are required for investigation and e
This thesis deals with two topics in wireless communications: interference between frequency-hopping (FH) networks, and multiuser diversity. The work on FH treats a system where FH is used to provide simultaneous access to the channel for multiple uncoordinated wireless networks. This is achieved by performing frequency hops on a packet-by-packet basis, and letting the sequence of hopping frequen
The phase behaviour and gelation of the anionic polysaccharide kappa-carrageenan (KC) in different salt solutions was studied. The specific site binding of certain anions and certain cations to the KC helix was used as a means of controlling the interactions. In the presence of a binding anion (I-) the charge density of the helix increases and the aggregation of helices, and thereby the gelation,
Tissue remodeling is observed in several physiological conditions such as embryogenesis, senescence, wound healing and pregnancy, as well as in several pathological conditions such as fibrosis and tumorgenesis. Fibroblasts play a key role in this tissue remodeling due to their capability of altering the turnover of the extracellular matrix. During the remodeling process, the fibroblasts are believ
Movement and dispersal are important determinants of the spatial distribution and persistence of animal populations in a heterogeneous environment. I studied the small-scale movement pattern of a soil-living insect, Protaphorura armata (Collembola) by using a video-equipment. I added chemical cues, food and conspecifics to their environment and evaluated the effects of external cues on the movemen
