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The distribution of an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus between soil and roots, and between mycelial and storage structures, was studied by use of the fatty acid signature 16:1(omega)5. Increasing the soil phosphorus level resulted in a decrease in the level of the fatty acid 16:1(omega)5 in the soil and roots. A similar decrease was detected by microscopic measurements of root colonization and
Introduction Androgens have been hypothesised to influence risk of breast cancer through several possible mechanisms, including their conversion to estradiol or their binding to the oestrogen receptor and/ or androgen receptor ( AR) in the breast. Here, we report on the results of a large and comprehensive study of the association between genetic variation in the AR gene and risk of breast cancer
A comparative study on the bis(functionalization) of the Troger's base core by aromatic and heteroaromatic groups using palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions is presented. Three different reactions, the Suzuki, Stille, and Negishi couplings, were investigated using Troger's base analogues equally substituted in the 2,8-positions with (HO)(2)B, Bu3Sn and ZnCl groups, respectively, as the met
In this paper, we develop a system for microphone selflocalization based on ambient sound, without any assumptions on the 3D locations of the microphones and sound sources. We aim at developing a system capable of dealing with multiple moving sound sources. We will show that this is possible given that there are instances where there are only one dominating sound source. In the first step of the s
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
Patients waiting for heart transplantation due to a failing heart can get a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted through open chest surgery. The device consists of a pump that pumps blood from the left ventricle into the aorta. To get the correct rotation speed of the pump, the physicians consider a number of measurements as well as a sequence of echocardiographic images. The important
Background: Despite an extensive literature on treatment interventions for patients with knee osteoarthritis, studies comparing the efficacy of different exercise interventions and living the life as usual on quality of life, cartilage quality and cost-effectiveness are lacking. The aim of the present study is to compare the efficacy of two different exercise programs compared to a control group i
Background: Resting conventional 12-lead ECG has low sensitivity for detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and low positive predictive value (PPV) for prediction of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). We hypothesized that a similar to 5-min resting 12-lead advanced ECG test ("A-ECG") that combined results from both the advanced and conventional
This paper describes a method of finding thin, elongated structures in images and volumes. We use shortest paths to minimize very general functionals of higher-order curve properties, such as curvature and torsion. Our globally optimal method uses line graphs and its runtime is polynomial in the size of the discretization, often in the order of seconds on a single computer. To our knowledge, we ar
Abstract in UndeterminedAccessibility to adequate health services is a basic human right. Israeli road blocks and checkpoints inhibit access to health care for the Palestinian population. While other studies have dealt with the impact of the barriers, few are based on actual measurements of transport times between locations. Geographical information systems (GIS) and network analysis were used to
The nexus between the far-right ideologies, toxic masculinity, and climate denial urgently calls for more research. Drawing on intersectional feminist theory and framing theory, a qualitative frame analysis based on the Estonian Far-Right Populist Party’s (EKRE) conservative news platform was conducted to scrutinize the role of toxic masculinity in legitimizing climate denial. As research reveals,
The claims for the potential of boreal and sub-boreal forests to combat negative effects of climate change have been substantial with over half of Earth’s primary forests found within boreal and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Given the likely occurrence of more extreme climate events in the future, ascertaining a better understanding of how climate effects, such as profound fluctu
The situation of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is nowadays a global issue affecting an important number of children all over the world. Nevertheless, the special needs and vulnerabilities of this group of children have not yet been effectively assessed. In fact, unaccompanied minors constitute the most vulnerable group among all asylum seekers and face human rights’ violations continuously
The Po Delta Biosphere Reserve is located in Northern Italy and has attained recognition by UNESCO in 2015 due to its unique natural and cultural value. The reserve covers an area of approximately 140 000 hectares, supporting a human population of 118 000, as well as a complex mosaic of ecosystems, which are found in this transitional waters landscape. Administratively the area is highly fragment
Problem Description: Entering a new business segment introduces numerous challenges for a high-tech company. New product development processes, even when well-managed, have a high expected failure rate and commercialisation is costly. High-tech markets are volatile, fast-moving and uncertain with a short window of opportunity for introducing and establishing new products. Strategy research does no
This thesis examines the exclusion and socioeconomic marginalization of Afro-Latinos in Latin America. This population has historically been put in the ambiguous position of continuous inclusion and alienation within Latin American societies, which serves as the foundation for their marginalization and social exclusion. One way to investigate this unique position is to analyze the negotiation and
Background: Microseminoprotein-beta (MSP), a protein secreted by the prostate epithelium, may have a protective role in the development of prostate cancer. The only previous prospective study found a 2% reduced prostate cancer risk per unit increase in MSP. This work investigates the association of MSP with prostate cancer risk using observational and Mendelian randomization (MR) methods. Patients
The fact that deep learning based algorithms used for digital pathology tend to overfit to the site of the training data is well-known. Since an algorithm that does not generalize is not very useful, we have in this work studied how different data augmentation techniques can reduce this problem but also how data from different sites can be normalized to each other. For both of these approaches we
