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The objectives of the thesis were to seek a better understanding of polymorphic RBC surface molecules in the Thai, and to investigate the role of certain blood groups in malarial invasion. MALDI-TOF MS was employed in Study I as an efficient method for genotyping to establish the common blood group and platelet antigen genotypes of 396 blood donors. Investigation of outliers identified variation a
The purpose of this PhD thesis work has been to develop optical techniques that can help utility engineers for assessing the state of insulators in service and in a laboratory. The possibilities to use remote laser induced fluorescence for detection and imaging of biological growth such as algae and fungi have been investigated. Reflectance spectroscopy has also been investigated as a technique fo
Popular Abstract in Swedish Talarålder är en viktig paralingvistisk egenskap i tal, som bör beaktas vid studiet av fonetisk variation. Kunskap om talarålder kan användas för att förbättra talteknologiska tillämpningar såsom automatisk taligenkänning och talsyntes. Föreliggande doktorsavhandling beskriver sex studier som undersökt ett flertal aspekter av den åldersrelaterade variationen i tal. NärSpeaker age is an important paralinguistic feature in speech which has to be considered in the study of phonetic variation. Knowledge about this feature may be used to improve speech technology applications, e.g. automatic speech recognition and speech synthesis. The present thesis describes six studies of several phonetic aspects of age-related variation in speech. As the speech production mecha
Vi lever i en tid av snabb vetenskaplig och teknologisk utveckling. För 100 år sedan hade ingen kunnat drömma om de saker som helt har förändrat vår var- dag och hur vi uppfattar omvärlden; datorer, mobiltelefoner, Internet, rymdfart, våra upptäckter om universums barndom och avlägsna galaxer samt vår insyn i kvantfenomenens mikroskopiska värld. Idag står vi på tröskeln till en era formad av nanotWe live in a time of rapid scientific and technological advancement. People liv- ing 100 years ago could never dream of inventions like those having completely changed our way of life, and our perception of the world; computers, mobile phones, the Internet, space travel, unraveling the mysteries of the early universe and distant galaxies, and our insight into the microscopic world of quantum phe-
In the post 9/11 era the effort to strengthen democracy in weak and fragile states has become a common undertaking of prominent international actors in their foreign policy agendas. In much of the academic and policy discourse democracy assistance has been framed as a solution to political instability and under-development in troubled states. With the case of the Middle East and North Africa regio
Popular Abstract in Swedish Forskningsprojektet som rapporteras i denna avhandling har två övergripande mål. Det första målet är att utveckla testinstrument avsett för avancerade svenska inlärare av engelska, som genererar reliabla och valida testpoäng kopplat till receptiv kunskap avseende engelska kollokationer som en specifik förmåga. Med kollokationer avses konventionaliserade och frekvent förThe research reported in this thesis has two main aims. The first aim is to develop tests capable of yielding reliable and valid scores of receptive knowledge of English collocations as a single construct, for use with advanced L2 learners of English. Collocations are seen as conventionalized, recurring combinations of words, and the targeted types are adjective + NP and verb + NP. The second aim
Anaerobic digestion (AD) offers considerable potential in the production of energy from renewable sources, and is being increasingly recognised as a sustainable technology for the treatment of waste. The production of energy from waste such as municipal solid waste (MSW), lipid-rich waste, and agricultural biomass and waste may play an important role in the production of renewable energy given the
1. I tested the hypothesis that the potential for non-lethal effects of predators are more important for overall performance of the fast-growing exotic signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus Dana) than for the slower growing native noble crayfish (Astacus astacus L.). I further tested if omnivorous crayfish switched to feed on less risky food sources in the presence of predators, a behaviour th
Animal feed is a recognised source of Salmonella enterica for farm livestock and may also indirectly cause infection in people consuming foods of animal origin. It is therefore important to have rapid, reproducible and specific methods for the detection of Salmonella in feed, and for the characterisation of strains for further epidemiological investigations or to trace the source of contamination
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide and the fourth leading cause of cancer death. In Western countries, it is the 10th most common cause of cancer death. Cervical cancer often affects young women (< 40 years) who have not finished childbearing. Robot assistance is the latest development in laparoscopic surgery. There is one robot commercially available for gynecologi
Popular Abstract in Swedish Övergripande syfte Syftet med avhandlingen var att utvärdera hur en förenklad metod för diagnostisering av blodproppar i benets djupa ådror (djup ventrombos (DVT)) fungerar i svensk rutinsjukvård. Den förenklade metoden innebär användning av en strukturerad klinisk sannolikhetsbedömning tillsammans med ett blodprov (D-dimer test). Vi jämförde också vår D-dimermetod med The combination of pre-test clinical probability assessment and D-dimer test is now widely applied in the diagnostic process of DVT. The general objective of the present investigation was to validate these results in a Swedish routine emergency setting were the prevalence of the disease is high and were the clinical probability assessment was handled by many junior physicians. Furthermore, our aim
Popular Abstract in Swedish Det är normalt, och oftast inget man reflekterar över, att en vävnadsskada (exempelvis ett hudsår) är förknippad med förhöjd smärtkänslighet. Denna delas in i två fenomen: hyperalgesi, en förhöjd upplevelse av smärtsamma stimuli, och allodyni, som innebär att ett vanligtvis milt stimulus, exempelvis lätt beröring, upplevs som smärtsamt. Hyperalgesi och allodyni är normaAn intense, potentially tissue-damaging (noxious) stimulus may lead to enhanced pain sensation of subsequent noxious stimuli (hyperalgesia) and to the perceiving of innocuous stimuli as painful (allodynia). This is thought to result to a large extent from strengthening of synapses established by primary afferent fibers onto spinal cord dorsal horn neurons. Here we investigated, using the postembed
Popular Abstract in Swedish Prostatacancer drabbar män över hela världen; i Sverige får ungefär 10 000 personer diagnosen varje år. För den enskilda individen kan följderna innebära fysiskt och psykiskt lidande, men även samhället belastas med höga vårdkostnader. För att undvika onödigt lidande, men också minska kostnaderna är det nödvändigt att ta fram nya läkemedel och metoder för att i god tid The aims of this thesis were to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) with prostate cancer prognostic and diagnostic potential, to discover miRNAs with therapeutic capacity against prostate cancer, and to investigate if prostate specific antigen (PSA) is miRNA regulated. Prostate cancer is a globally spread disease with low mortality, but some patients develop an aggressive lethal form of prostate cancer w
Popular Abstract in Swedish Mögel i byggnader är ett vanligt problem som kan orsaka en dålig innemiljö och påverka hälsan hos de personer som vistas i byggnaden. Kostnaderna för att åtgärda problemen kan vara omfattande. Att redan vid planeringsstadiet av en byggnad ta hänsyn till risker för mögelväxt kan leda till minskat antal mögelskador i framtiden och ett mer hållbart byggande. Mögelväxt är The susceptibility to mould growth varies between building materials. The factors that most affect mould growth, the relative humidity (RH) and temperature also vary in different parts of buildings. One way of preventing the growth of mould in buildings is therefore to choose building materials that can withstand the expected conditions. It is thus crucial that data are available to allow the corr
N-15 labeled ammonium, glycine or glutamic acid was injected into subarctic heath soil in situ, with the purpose of investigating how the nitrogen added in these pulses was subsequently utilized and cycled in the ecosystem. We analyzed the acquisition of N-15 label in mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants and in soil microorganisms, in order to reveal probable differences in acquisition patterns
Deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) following cardiothoracic surgery is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication with high morbidity and mortality. DSWI is associated with a significant increase in the length of hospital stay and the cost of hospitalization. The socioeconomic impact of DSWI is considerable. Conventional treatment includes reexploration, surgical debridement, mediastin
Popular Abstract in Swedish Enterohemorragisk Escherichia coli (EHEC) EHEC är mycket virulent för människor, det räcker med så få som 50-100 bakterier för att man ska bli infekterad och utveckla symtom. Varje år rapporteras ca 300-500 fall av EHEC smitta i Sverige. Den stam som oftast isoleras från patienter är E. coli O157:H7. Reservoarer för EHEC är idisslare och framförallt kor. Kor är nämligHemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is characterized by non-immune hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and acute kidney failure. The most common form of HUS is associated with gastrointestinal Shiga toxin-producing enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infection. EHEC are non-invasive strains with Shiga toxin as the unique virulence factor. The aim of this study was to describe host-pathogen intera
Popular Abstract in Swedish Med utgångspunkt i elevers väljande till gymnasieskolan har denna studie fokuserat på hur eleverna upplever detta val och med särskild betoning på samtalen mellan skolans syokon-sulenter (studie- och yrkesvägledare) och elever. Åtta elever har valts ut och samtliga deras samtal i årskurs nio med vägledare (4 stycken) har videoinspelats och analyserats. Dessutom har elevThe main purpose of this study is to highlight the counselling interview in connection with the choice of upper secondary school from three perspectives, the student's, the counsellor's and society's. The intention is to describe and analyse the counselling interview in the ninth grade with relation to: · the student's expectations, perceptions and values before and after the interviews, · the co
