The aim of this thesis was to expand the knowledge regarding the use and need of assistive devices, in particular mobility devices, and to investigate how, from a European perspective, the use of them changed during the ageing process. An additional aim was to explore the use of mobility devices in everyday life among very old Swedish women during a five-year period. Further, the aim was to contri

In this paper, we present a random puncturing analysis of low-density parity-check (LDPC) code ensembles. We derive a simple analytic expression for the iterative belief propagation (BP) decoding threshold of a randomly punctured LDPC code ensemble on the binary erasure channel (BEC) and show that, with respect to the BP threshold, the strength and suitability of an LDPC code ensemble for random p

Differential regulation as well as target gene specificity of the two hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-alpha subunits HIF-1alpha and HIF-2alpha in various tumors and cell lines have been suggested. In breast cancer, the prognostic significance of HIF-1alpha is not clear-cut and that of HIF-2alpha is largely unknown. Using IHC analyses of HIF-1alpha, HIF-2alpha, and vascular endothelial growth factor

Risk factors for stroke are well known in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, while less is known on the effect of these factors on total mortality. Our aim was to study the impact of cardiovascular drug classes on mortality in AF patients treated in primary care. The study population was chosen based on patient data from 75 primary care centres in Sweden compiled in a database. Individuals diagnos

Denitrification is a critical process that can alleviate the effects of excessive nitrogen availability in aquatic ecosystems subject to eutrophication. An important part of denitrification occurs in benthic systems where bioturbation by meiofauna (invertebrates

Published studies have reported conflicting results regarding the effects of cinnamon on glucose, lipids and insulin. To gain further insight into the metabolic effects of Cinnamomum cassia we performed randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled study using euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic clamp.

Fire accidents in underground transportation systems, e.g., tunnels and underground stations, can cause many fatalities. It is therefore important in fire safety design to give adequate consideration to all aspects related to evacuation. The paper provides a review of two previously reported fire accidents based on a theoretical framework, namely four accepted human behaviour theories. These theor

A comparison between the ordinary least-squares estimator and the weighted least-squares estimator when the data set arises from the standard extreme value distribution is provided. Probability plot of the extreme value distribution is applied. A goodness-of-fit test of the standard extreme value distribution is introduced. The percentage points of the test statistic are investigated. The results

As far back as the Early Modern period, Swedish Reformation centenaries were exploited politically. Instead of Martin Luther, the liberation from Denmark (1521) and the Declaration of the Swedish Reformation (1593) were celebrated. From 1817 and 1830, Reformation centenaries were celebrated in a more continental form, but the Confessio Augustana-Celebration was combined with the clebration of Swed

Many cyber-physical systems comprise several control applications sharing communication and computation resources. The design of such systems requires special attention due to the complex timing behavior that can lead to poor control quality or even instability. The two main requirements of control applications are: (1) robustness and, in particular, stability and (2) high control quality. Althoug

Background: Members of the Paired-like homeodomain transcription factor ( PITX) gene family, particularly PITX1 and PITX2, play important roles in normal development and in differentiated cell functions. Three major isoforms of PITX2 were previously reported to be produced through both alternative mRNA splicing (PITX2A and PITX2B) and alternative promoter usage (PITX2C). The proteins derived from

Background: Obesity is associated with an increased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and a decreased risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, little is known about the risk of EAC and ESCC related to other metabolic risk factors. We aimed to examine the risk of EAC and ESCC in relation to metabolic risk factors, separately and combined in a prospective cohort study. Metho

Sepsis is a major cause of mortality in intensive care units despite decades of scientific efforts. The lung is recognized as the most sensitive and critical organ affected by the hyper-inflammatory response in septic patients. Immune cell dysfunction develops in later phases of sepsis making patients susceptible to infections. The aim of this dissertation was to reveal pro- and anti-inflammatory

The genus Caloplaca in the Nordic countries is currently under revision and this work has resulted in a number of new records for the Nordic countries or provinces within the countries. These records are presented here. Caloplaca arnoldii subsp. arnoldii is reported new to Sweden, C. conciliascens new to Norway and Sweden, C. castellana new to Finland, C. hungarica new to Norway and Sweden, C. isi

Background: The users of today's commercial prosthetic hands are not given any conscious sensory feedback. To overcome this deficiency in prosthetic hands we have recently proposed a sensory feedback system utilising a "tactile display" on the remaining amputation residual limb acting as man-machine interface. Our system uses the recorded pressure in a hand prosthesis and feeds back this pressure

Context. The ESA space astrometry mission Gaia, planned to be launched in 2013, has been designed to make angular measurements on a global scale with micro-arcsecond accuracy. A key component of the data processing for Gaia is the astrometric core solution, which must implement an efficient and accurate numerical algorithm to solve the resulting, extremely large least-squares problem. The Astromet

Abstract is not available

The classical pathway of complement is crucial to the immune system, but it also contributes to inflammatory diseases when dys-regulated. Binding of the C1 complex to ligands activates the pathway by inducing autoactivation of associated C1r, after which C1r activates C1s. C1s cleaves complement component C4 and then C2 to cause full activation of the system. The interaction between C1s and C4 inv