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Objectives: Polyamines are organic polycations playing an essential role in cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as in cell contractility, migration and apoptosis. These processes are known to contribute to restenosis, a pathophysiological process often occurring in patients submitted to revascularization procedures. We aimed to test the effect of alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), a

Resolving the spatial and temporal dynamics of gross primary productivity (GPP) of terrestrial ecosystems across different scales remains a challenge. Remote sensing is regarded as the solution to upscale point observations conducted at the ecosystem level, using the eddy covariance (EC) technique, to the landscape and global levels. In addition to traditional vegetation indices, the photochemical

Objective: To assess exercise induced analgesia (EIA) and pain sensitivity in hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) and to study the effects of neuromuscular exercise and surgery on these parameters. Design: The dataset consisted of knee (n = 66) and hip (n = 47) OA patients assigned for total joint replacement at Lund University Hospital undergoing pre-operative neuromuscular exercise and 43 matched c

Popular Abstract in Swedish Trots att kroppen skyddas av ett hudlager på utsidan och av epitelceller i kroppens inre organ utsätts vi hela tiden för infektioner. När en vävnad blir infekterad börjar cellerna utsöndra inflammatoriska mediatorer som bland annat orsakar svullnad och rodnad. En inflammation kan också orsakas av till exempel slag eller brännskador. De inflammatoriska mediatorerna signaThis thesis describes early inflammatory responses involving interactions between leukocytes and the endothelial lining of the blood vessel wall. An adhesion molecule, E-selectin, which is upregulated on interleukin-1 activated endothelium, was found to mediate rolling between leukocytes and endothelial cells in vivo. Immunohistochemistry revealed that E-selectin was preferentially expressed in ve

Popular Abstract in Swedish Jag har i denna avhandling studerat konflikter mellan könen hos en art som är fakultativt polygyn. Hanar har högre reproduktionsframgång ju fler honor de kan attrahera medan honor som parar sig med polygyna hanar har sämre reproduktionsframgång än monogama honor. Detta skapar en konflikt mellan hane och hona över parningssystem och jag har studerat denna konflikt hos stIn this thesis, I have investigated conflicts of interest in the facultatively polygynous European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) with a focus on female reproductive strategies. The extent to which males provided parental care was a key issue in understanding the mating system of the starling. The amount of male parental care affected the quality of offspring. Polygynous males did not invest more in

Popular Abstract in Swedish Genetisk information lagras i DNA, som är en mycket stabil molekyl. I våra celler finns samma gener i alla celler. Det är därför av yttersta vikt att uttrycket av generna kan regleras olika i olika vävnader. Bakterier, som är encelliga organismer, måste för att kunna överleva noga kontrollera uttrycket av olika gener beroende på växlingar i omgivningen. Jag har studeratGenetic information, which is stored in DNA, is transferred to messenger RNA (mRNA) in a process called transcription. mRNAs are then translated by ribosomes into proteins which, with some important exceptions, catalyze chemical reactions in cells. Since cells must be able to adapt to changes in the environment, mRNAs must be unstable. The present investigation concerns mRNA degradation mainly in

This thesis presents development of new analytical methods using antibodies and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in binding assays: 1) The high specificity of antibodies and the wide variety of efficient labels make immunoassay one of the most popular analytical techniques today. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is most widely used, since the enzyme label can be used as a catalyst t

The subject of this thesis is complement inhibitor C4b-binding protein (C4BP), on which we have performed both structural and functional studies. Complement is part of the innate immune defence and eliminates microbes, solubilises immune complexes and is involved in the clearance of apoptotic cells. The actions of the complement system must be carefully controlled by proteins such as C4BP to avoid

Deterioration of concrete structures is a worldwide problem. Environmental exposure is known to affect concrete strength in structures. While moisture affects rebound values by lowering them, carbonation does the opposite. The aim of the study was to determine the in-situ concrete strength of three bridge elements, namely, pier, abutment and deck and evaluate the environmental conditions such as m

In this thesis, I have focused on five main research areas: 1). A new type of imprinted polymer has been developed, namely the amide MIP. The amide functional monomers showed better hydrogen bonding capabilities in polar organic solvents and the resulting polymers exhibited good enantiomeric recognition properties in organic media. Furthermore, by using the amide monomers instead of the carboxyl m

Popular Abstract in Swedish En kontinuerlig alkoholkonsumtion leder till en ökad tolerans för alkohol (dvs en allt större dos krävs för att uppnå samma effekt) och kan slutligen också leda till ett alkoholberoende. Alkoholism är ett betydande samhällsproblem och en personlig tragedi för de som drabbas och deras omgivning. Alkohol har till skillnad från andra beroendeframkallande droger som tex koAlcohol induces profound effects on the function of the nerve cells in the nervous system. Alterations in gene expression is an important way by which these effects could be induced and sustained. Activating Protein-1 (AP-1) is a dimeric transcription factor constituted of proteins from the fos and jun immediate-early gene families. AP-1 induces gene expression of genes having a functional AP-1 bi

Bacterial adhesion is often a prerequisite for infection, and host cell surface carbohydrates play a major role as adhesion receptors. Streptococci are a leading cause of infectious diseases. However, only few carbohydrate-specific streptococcal adhesins are known. Streptococcus suis is an important pig pathogen and a zoonotic agent causing meningitis in pigs and humans. In this study, we have ide

Layered cobalt oxides have been shown to be highly active catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER; half of the catalytic "water splitting" reaction), particularly when promoted with gold. However, the surface chemistry of cobalt oxides and in particular the nature of the synergistic effect of gold contact are only understood on a rudimentary level, which at present prevents further explor

Characteristics of small, intermediate and large ions and nanometre particles, and the influences of environmental conditions and local topography on the interactions of these ions and particles in the size range of 3.85-47.8 nm diameter are studied during new particle formation (NPF) events observed at Pune, India from 20 March to 23 May 2012. During the NPF events, the formation rate of 5 nm par

A mathematical model of spit growth and barrier elongation adjacent to an inlet (of arbitrary width), supplied by sediment coming from longshore sediment transport, was developed based on the spit growth model proposed by Kraus (1999). The fundamental governing equation is the conservation equation for sand, where the width of the spit is assumed constant during growth. The portion of the longshor

In unsparing efforts to find the hidden primaries, second primary cancers (SPCs) unrelated to cancer of unknown primary (CUP) are found. The detection rates of SPCs after CUP can be considered as measures for the effectiveness of modern diagnostic techniques in finding tumors. We aimed to compare the rates of specific SPCs found after the work-up of CUP and the more sign/symptom-directed diagnosti

Salt-inducible kinase (SIK) 3 is a virtually unstudied, ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine kinase, belonging to the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-related family of kinases, all of which are regulated by LKB1 phosphorylation of a threonine residue in their activation (T)-loops. Findings in adrenal cells have revealed a role for cAMP in the regulation of SIK1, and recent findings suggest