| 1. |
- Aarts, Clara
(author)
-
Exclusive breastfeeding-Does it make a difference? : A longitudinal, prospective study of daily feeding practices, health and growth in a sample of Swedish infants
- 2001
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The concept of exclusive breastfeeding in relation to daily feeding practices and to health and growth of infants in an affluent society was examined. In a descriptive longitudinal prospective study 506 mother-infant pairs were followed from birth through the greater part of the first year. Feeding was recorded daily, and health and growth were recorded fortnightly. Large individual variations were seen in breastfeeding patterns. A wide discrepancy between the exclusive breastfeeding rates obtained from "current status" data and data "since birth" was found.Using a strict definition of exclusive breastfeeding from birth and taking into account the reasons for giving complementary feeding, the study showed that many exclusively breastfed infants had infections early in life, the incidence of which increased with age, despite continuation of exclusive breastfeeding. However, truly exclusively breastfed infants seem less likely to suffer infections than infants who receive formula in addition to breast milk. Increasing formula use was associated with an increasing likelihood of suffering respiratory illnesses. The growth of exclusively breastfed infants was similar to that of infants who were not exclusively breastfed. The health of newborn infants during the first year of life was associated with factors other than feeding practices alone. Some of these factors may be prenatal, since increasing birth weight was associated with an increasing likelihood of having respiratory symptoms, even in exclusively breastfed infants. However, exclusive breastfeeding was shown to be beneficial for the health of the infant even in an affluent society.
|
|
| 2. |
- Abbasian, Saeid, 1961-
(author)
-
Integration på egen hand : En studie av invandrade kvinnoföretagare i Sverige
- 2003
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The principal aim of this thesis is to discover and analyse the motives that make immigrant women start their own businesses in Sweden and to investigate whether this is a way to achieve integration in working life. The empirical material consists of two types of interviews. One type consisted of interviews with five experts on labour market issues, and the other of interviews with 16 female entrepreneurs of Iranian, Chilean and Turkish origin having their own business in the Greater Stockholm region. Results from the first set of interviews indicate that female immigrants who independently start their enterprise rely mainly on their own resources of power and abilities. They are either women with class resources such as higher educations, previous work experience, language abilities and economic savings, or young women with certificates from high schools or universities. The social environment where they grew up, the gender structure and gender roles in the family before and after immigration and time of residence in Sweden also influence the extent to which women immigrants can act independently. According to the experience of the experts, the motives for starting their business are either different structural reasons, e.g. unemployment, lack of suitable or well-paying jobs, lay-offs etc, or personal reasons such as having a meaningful occupation, to support the family, to earn money of their own, to be independent from men and strive for a better standard of living etc. Results from the second set of interviews indicate that the most important resource these women have used when establishing their businesses is class resources such as education and adequate training, different types of work experiences, human capital and in addition to this economic savings. For many of the women in this sample different structural reasons, like unemployment, lack of good job opportunities, discrimination on work places, merge with personal reasons such as strivings to achieve independence, being one’s own boss, to realize one’s plans and ambitions, when starting their business. Independent entrepreneurship is a good way for immigrant women to be integrated in working life especially if they start within certain branches. These are branches in which the women have appropriate university education or vocational training, previous work experience or which correspond to their personal interests. In addition immigrant women become more integrated if an education received abroad is treated as equivalent to the parallel Swedish education or degree. A further factor promoting integration is if they can fully exploit their capacities when developing their own businesses. These conditions help them to feel much more satisfaction in working life as women identify themselves with their actual profession and feel that they have found the “right place” for themselves in the society.
|
|
| 3. |
- Abdu, Yassir Ahmed Mohamed, 1966-
(author)
-
Mössbauer Spectroscopy of Meteoritic and Synthetic Fe-Ni Alloys
- 2004
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis reports on the results of investigating Fe-containing minerals in meteorites, with focus on Fe-Ni minerals and their magnetic properties, along with some synthetic Fe-Ni analogues. The New Halfa meteorite, which fell in Sudan 1994, has been studied using Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron microprobe analysis techniques, and classified as an ordinary L-type chondrite of petrologic type 4. Mössbauer spectra of taenite-enriched samples from the metal particles of the New Halfa (L4) and Al Kidirate (H6) meteorites identify the following γ (fcc) Fe-Ni phases: the ferromagnetic atomically ordered taenite (tetrataenite) with ~ 50 at % Ni, the ferromagnetic disordered taenite with ~ 50 at % Ni, the low-Ni (~ 25 at %) paramagnetic taenite (antitaenite). The presence of the superstructure of tetrataenite is confirmed by synchrotron X-ray diffraction.Fe-rich γ (fcc) Fe-Ni alloys with compositions Fe79Ni21, Fe76Ni24, and Fe73Ni27, which serve as synthetic analogues of antitaenite, are prepared by mechanical alloying and subsequent annealing at 650 °C. The Mössbauer results indicate that these alloys are inhomogeneous and contain a high moment (HM) ferromagnetic Ni-rich phase (> 30 at % Ni) and a low moment (LM) paramagnetic Fe-rich phase, which orders antiferromagnetically at low temperature. The coexistence of these phases is attributed to phase segregation occurring on short range, probably nanometer scale, consistent with the Fe-Ni phase diagram below 400 °C where there is a miscibility gap associated with a spinodal decomposition in alloys with < 50 at % Ni.The combined high field Mössbauer spectroscopy and SQUID magnetometry results on these alloys at room temperature indicate large induced local magnetic moments in the paramagnetic part of the sample, which increases with increasing the Ni content. The results, when compared with the high field Mössbauer results on antitaenite from the metal particle of Al Kidirate and New Halfa meteorites may be used to estimate the Ni content of antitaenite in meteorites.High pressure 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements up to ~ 41 GPa have been carried out at room temperature using the diamond anvil cell (DAC) technique in order to investigate the magnetic properties of γ (fcc) 57Fe53Ni47 alloy. The results indicate a pressure induced Invar effect at ~ 7 GPa and a non-magnetic or paramagnetic state above 20 GPa, demonstrating the volume dependence of the magnetic moment of γ (fcc) Fe-Ni alloys.
|
|
| 4. |
- Abrahamson, Magnus, 1972-
(author)
-
Jesu uppståndelse som historiskt problem : En studie av Rudolf Bultmanns och Wolfhart Pannenbergs tolkningar
- 2001
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The main purpose of this study is to make a critical examination of Rudolf Bultmann´s (1884–1976) and Wolfhart Pannenberg´s (b. 1928) interpretations of the resurrection of Jesus. Bultmann is best known for seeking to demythologize the miracles of the New Testament. Pannenberg has gained much attention for arguing that the resurrection of Jesus is an event in chronological history. In this thesis I first present Bultmann´s and Pannenberg´s interpretations of the resurrection of Jesus. In order to help the reader understand the context in which these interpretations were made, I give a brief sketch of the German theological setting. Second, I compare the theologies of Bultmann and Pannenberg from the concept of background theory, principles of interpretation, exegetical reasoning, the meaning of the resurrection and what it means to accept the resurrection. Third, I categorize different ways that the resurrection could be interpreted today. Fourth, I critically discuss the way that Bultmann and Pannenberg argue and give some proposals for how their theologies can be developed. Developing the theology of Bultmann I give more attention to chronological history than he does. I also make alterations in the way he understands God´s action. Concerning Pannenberg I discuss the importance of rational arguments in his theology. I argue that the resurrection should be interpreted from the perspective of a faith or an interpretation which seeks understanding.
|
|
| 5. |
- Abrahamsson, Gun, 1961-, et al.
(author)
-
Problemlösningsarbete på låg organisatorisk nivå : Två studier om implementering respektive konkretisering av idéer om kundorderstyrd tillverkning
- 2004
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The two studies reported in this thesis are about problem solving at a low organisational level in an organisational unit in a Swedish manufacturing company, which has adopted ideas of World Class Manufacturing. In the first study, we analyse, from an organisational learning perspective, the implementation of the well-known concept Continuous Improvement at shop-floor level and how management accounting may facilitate or impede improvement work. A case study was conducted in two workgroups in one production unit for about seven months. In one of the groups, management accounting facilitated improvement work with high organisational scope and, in the other group, impeded the organisational scope. Our conclusion is that management accounting may facilitate a high organisational scope by supporting the leadership style, stressing co-operation, dialog and participation, or, by the way the manager uses management accounting, make boundaries distinct between groups of employees and between departments, and therefore impede improvements with high organisational scope. In the second study, we analyse, from a rule-based behavioural perspective, how ideas of World Class Manufacturing are institutionalised in cross-functional problem solving at a low organisational level. A case study was carried out in two cross-functional weekly group meetings for about nine months. Problems raised and solutions decided followed a repeated pattern. The actors draw on instrumental rules, which can be described as technical as well as economic. We concluded that ideas of World Class Manufacturing were institutionalised as different variants of World Class Manufacturing in the different functions at a low organisational level. At the meetings, contradictory instrumental rules were activated by the functions and treated according to interaction rules. Two overall patterns of action, articulated the two main interaction rules guiding actors in how to treat contradictory ideas of World Class Manufacturing.
|
|
| 6. |
- Abrahamsson, Malin L. A.
(author)
-
Electron Transfer in Ruthenium-Manganese Complexes for Artificial Photosynthesis : Studies in Solution and on Electrode Surfaces
- 2001
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In today’s society there is an increasing need for energy, an increase which for the most part is supplied by the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel resources are limited and their use has harmful effects on the environment, therefore the development of technologies that produce clean energy sources is very appealing. Natural photosynthesis is capable of converting solar energy into chemical energy through a series of efficient energy and electron transfer reactions with water as the only electron source. Thus, constructing an artificial system that uses the same principles to convert sunlight into electricity or storable fuels like hydrogen is one of the major forces driving artificial photosynthesis research.This thesis describes supramolecular complexes with the intention of mimicking the electron transfer reactions of the donor side in Photosystem II, where a manganese cluster together with a tyrosine catalyses the oxidation of water. All complexes are based on Ru(II)-trisbipyridine as a photosensitizer that is covalently linked to electron donors like tyrosine or manganese. Photochemical reactions are studied with time-resolved transient absorption and emission measurements. Electrochemical techniques are used to study the electrochemical behavior, and different photoelectrochemical techniques are used to investigate the complexes adsorbed onto titanium dioxide surfaces. In all complexes, intramolecular electron transfer occurs from the linked donor to photo-oxidized Ru(III). It is also observed that coordinated Mn(II) quenches the excited state of Ru(II), a reaction that is found to be distance dependent. However, by modifying one of the complexes, its excited state properties can be tuned in a way that decreases the quenching and keeps the electron transfer properties. The obtained results are of significance for the development of multinuclear Ru-Mn complexes that are capable of multi-electron transfer.
|
|
| 7. |
- Abramson, Jeff
(author)
-
Structural studies on the integral membrane protein, ubiquinol oxidase from Escherichia coli
- 2001
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Heme-copper oxidases are redox-driven proton pumps that couple the reduction of molecular oxygen to water with the vectorial translocation of protons across the membrane. The proton gradient generated by heme-copper oxidases and the other members of the aerobic respiratory chain is ultimately used to drive the synthesis of ATP. There are two main branches of the heme-copper oxidases that are characterized by the electron donating substrate; the cytochrome c oxidases, which use cytochrome c as the electron donor, and the ubiquinol oxidases, which use a lipid-soluble molecule, ubiquinol, as their electron donor. These enzymes share important structural and functional features. This thesis presents the procedures that have led to the first crystal structure of a ubiquinol oxidase, cytochrome bo, oxidase from Escherichia coli, at a resolution of 3.5 Å. The overall structure of the enzyme is similar to those of cytochrome c oxidases; however the membrane spanning region of subunit I contains a cluster of polar residues exposed to the interior of the lipid bilayer. No such structural feature is present in cytochrome c oxidases. Mutagenesis studies on residues in this region strongly suggest that this area forms a ubiquinone binding site. A comparison of this region with known ubiquinone binding sites shows remarkable similarities. In light of these findings specific roles for these polar residues is proposed in electron and proton transfer in ubiquinol oxidase. A fusion protein of cytochrome bo3-Protein Z was generated in an attempt to increase the hydrophilic surface of the protein, thus extending protein-protein contacts within the crystal lattice structure. Such an approach can be used to facilitate crystallization.
|
|
| 8. |
- Acharya, Parag, 1972-
(author)
-
Studies on the Non-covalent Interactions (Stereoelectronics, Stacking and Hydrogen Bonding) in the Self-assembly of DNA and RNA
- 2003
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis is based on ten publications (Papers I-X). The phosphodiester backbone makes DNA or RNA to behave as polyelectrolyte, the pentose sugar gives the flexibility, and the aglycones promote the self-assembly or the ligand-binding process. The hydrogen bonding, stacking, stereoelectronics and hydration are few of the important non-covalent forces dictating the self-assembly of DNA/RNA. The pH-dependent thermodynamics clearly show (Papers I and II) that a change of the electronic character of aglycone modulates the conformation of the sugar moiety by the tunable interplay of stereoelectronic anomeric and gauche effects, which are further transmitted to steer the sugar-phosphate backbone conformation in a cooperative manner. 3'-anthraniloyl adenosine (a mimic of 3'-teminal CCAOH of the aminoacyl-tRNAPhe) binds to EF-Tu*GTP in preference over 2'-anthraniloyl adenosine, thereby showing (Paper III) that the 2’-endo sugar conformation is a more suitable mimic of the transition state geometry than the 3’-endo conformation in discriminating between correctly and incorrectly charged aminoacyl-tRNAPhe by EF-Tu during protein synthesis. The presence of 2'-OH in RNA distinguishes it from DNA both functionally as well as structurally. This work (Paper IV) provides straightforward NMR evidence to show that the 2'-OH is intramolecularly hydrogen bonded with the vicinal 3'-oxygen, and the exposure of the 3'-phosphate of the ribonucleotides to the bulk water determines the availability of the bound water around the vicinal 2'-OH, which then can play various functional role through inter- or intramolecular interactions. The pH-dependent 1H NMR study with nicotinamide derivatives demonstrates (Paper V) that the cascade of intramolecular cation (pyridinium)-π(phenyl)-CH(methyl) interaction in edge-to-face geometry is responsible for perturbing the pKa of the pyridine-nitrogen as well as for the modulation of the aromatic character of the neighboring phenyl moiety, which is also supported by the T1 relaxation studies and ab initio calculations. It has been found (Papers VI-IX) that the variable intramolecular electrostatic interaction between electronically coupled nearest neighbor nucleobases (steered by their respective microenvironments) can modulate their respective pseudoaromatic characters. The net result of this pseudoaromatic cross-modulation is the creation of a unique set of aglycones in an oligo or polynucleotide, whose physico-chemical properties are completely dependent upon the propensity and geometry of the nearest neighbor interactions (extended genetic code). The propagation of the interplay of these electrostatic interactions across the hexameric ssDNA chain is considerably less favoured (effectively up to the fourth nucleobase) compared to that of the isosequential ssRNA (up to the sixth nucleobase). The dissection of the relative strength of basepairing and stacking in a duplex shows that stability of DNA-DNA duplex weakens over the corresponding RNA-RNA duplexes with the increasing content of A-T/U base pairs, while the strength of stacking of A-T rich DNA-DNA duplex increases in comparison with A-U rich sequence in RNA-RNA duplexes (Paper X).
|
|
| 9. |
- Acosta, Stefan, 1967-
(author)
-
On Acute Thrombo-Embolic Occlusion of the Superior Mesenteric Artery
- 2004
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Acute thrombo-embolic occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) with intestinal infarction is a lethal disease, difficult to diagnose in time, with unknown incidence and cause-specific mortality. The aim of this thesis was to characterize the disease and to develop diagnostic methods. Two laboratory studies were conducted on patients with suspected acute SMA occlusion. A pilot-study showed that the fibrinolytic marker D-dimer was elevated in six patients with the disease. In the subsequent study including 101 patients, D-dimer was the only elevated coagulation marker in nine patients with the disease. In a prospective study 24 patients (median age 84 years) were identified, of whom four were diagnosed at autopsy, despite an autopsy-rate of 10%. One-fourth were initially nursed in non-surgical wards. Length of the intestinal infarction was a predictor for death. An analysis of patients from the three studies showed that D-Dimer was elevated in all 16 tested patients with the disease.Sixty patients with acute SMA occlusion underwent intestinal revascularisation and were registered in the Swedish Vascular Registry (SWEDVASC). One-year survival-rate was 40%. Previous vascular surgery was a negative risk-factor.A population-based study was conducted in Malmö, based on an autopsy-rate of 87%. Among 270 patients with the disease, 2/3 were diagnosed only at autopsy and 1/2 were managed in non-surgical wards. The incidence was 8.6 per 100000 person years. The age-standardized incidence increased exponentially without gender differences. The diagnosis was the cause of death in 1.2% among octogenarians and beyond. Thrombotic occlusions were located proximally within the SMA and associated with extensive intestinal infarctions. Synchronous embolism, often multiple, occurred in 2/3 of the patients with embolic occlusions.Conclusions: A normal D-dimer at presentation most likely excludes the diagnosis. Acute SMA occlusion was more frequent than previously estimated from clinical series. The patients were often nursed in non-surgical wards.
|
|
| 10. |
- Adalberth, Gunnar
(author)
-
Total knee arthroplasty : Alternative aspects on fixation, design and postoperative treatment
- 2000
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Total knee arthroplasty as a treatment of severe gonarthrosis has become a great success, but tibial component loosening is still a major reason for failure. When total knee arthroplasty was introduced, only all-polyethylene (AP) tibial components were available. Based on mostly theoretical data, AP components were more or less abandoned during the 1980:ies in favor of metal-backed (MB) tibial components. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether insufficient fixation would result, using an all-polyethylene tibial component instead of a more costly metal-backed prosthesis. Further, to compare different antibiotic loaded bone cements, and to investigate whether post- operative drainage is beneficial in total knee arthroplasty. Radiostereometric analysis (RSA) was used to obtain accurate and standardized evaluations facilitating comparison between prosthetic designs.Magnitude and pattern of migration of a moderately conforming AP tibial component was analyzed in 22 patients. Migration was on par with a more conforming previously used frequently, AP component, indicating a favorable prognosis regarding future aseptic loosening. Another 34 arthroplasties with a flat on flat (non-conforming) articulating geometry were randomized to an AP or MB cemented tibial component. There were no differences in migration between the groups. None of the AP implants displayed any continuous migration between 1 and 2 years postoperative. In a similar randomized series of 38 arthroplasties with a semiconstrained articulation, fixation measured with RSA was not inferior for AP implants compared with MB. Both studies indicate a good long-term prognosis using an AP component. A new antibiotic loaded bone cement was prospectively randomized against a more commonly used bone cement in a series of 51 arthroplasties. Neither fixation of the tibial component nor the radiographic and clinical results differed between the cements, indicating a good prognosis for the new cement. Postoperative drainage of knee arthroplasty is widely used. 90 patients were prospectively randomized into three groups: no drain, ordinary drain system and a retransfusable drain system. Postoperative drainage in knee arthroplasty has no adverse clinical consequences but seems not to be necessary.
|
|
