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The amphibian fauna of the Central Menabe region in Western Madagascar is important in respect to their extraordinary adaptations to the dry forest habitat. This habitat is highly threatened. Until 1990, the dry forest in the west of the island was thought to have been reduced to only 3% of its original extent. New analyses show that this deforestation was ongoing at an alarming rate also in the l
This thesis investigates the coupling between moisture, heat, and deformation in paperboard. The presented investigations are primarily conducted via macroscale continuum modeling but experimental characterisations are also made. The continuum modeling is presented in a mixture theory framework where the paperboard is considered as a porous media composed of three immiscible phases; a network of c
Objectives. The Nordic Consortium for Acute Type A Aortic Dissection (NORCAAD) is a collaborative effort of Nordic cardiac surgery centers to study acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD). Here, we outline the overall objectives and the design of NORCAAD. Design. NORCAAD currently consists of eight centers in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden. Data was collected for patients undergoing surgery f
Objective: To investigate the influence of cardiovascular risk factors, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), on the association between electrocardiographic (ECG) and echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in an elderly population. Methods: We tested cross-sectional associations between electrocardiographic and echocardiographic LVH, defining LVH according to the Sokolow-Lyon volt
A chemically defined diet is a useful tool for the study of nutritional physiology of organisms. We have developed such a diet for Camponotus carpenter ants to facilitate experiments on nutritional requirements of these ants. Worker colonies of Camponotus floridanus were fed with a chemically defined diet, containing all essential minerals, amino acids, vitamins, growth factors and sucrose in an a
Optical measurement techniques have proven to be useful tools for studying combustion-related phenomenon. The fact that the techniques are optical facilitates performing the measurements without impinging upon the measurement object, such as the combustion event that can be involved. Such techniques can be species-specific and be performed in situ, i.e. in the setting in which the phenomena in que
Background: Carpenter ants (genus Camponotus) are considered to be omnivores. Nonetheless, the genome sequence of Blochmannia floridanus, the obligate intracellular endosymbiont of Camponotus floridanus, suggests a function in nutritional upgrading of host resources by the bacterium. Thus, thestrongly reduced genome of the endosymbiont retains genes for all subunits of a functional urease, as well
Reducing costs and improvement of product quality are considered important to ensure productivity within a company. Quality deviations during production processes and ergonomics have previously shown to be associated. This study explored the relationship between physical workload and real (found during production processes) and potential (need of extra time and assistance to complete tasks) qualit
The thermal stability and the structural evolution of graphene grown on Fe(110) has been studied upon annealing in ultra-high vacuum conditions (UHV, P ≤ 10−9 mbar) and in the presence of gaseous ethylene at a pressure of ∼10−6 mbar by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. It was observed that upon annealing at temperatures below 630 °C, graphene on Fe is thermally stable. Exposure to ethylene at t
BACKGROUND: More knowledge about how recovery may promote health among parents with small children is needed.OBJECTIVE: To explore whether insufficient time for leisure was associated with poorer perceived health and higher stress in working parents. A further aim was to explore potential gender differences in the association between insufficient time for leisure and poor perceived health.METHODS:
BACKGROUND: Children are being infected by HIV/AIDS mainly through mother-to-child transmission. In Ethiopia currently more than 135,000 children are living with HIV/AIDS. The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of ARV uptake after birth, co-trimoxazole prophylaxis and follow up compliance, and to examine which factors are associated with the intervention outcome.METHODS: A retrospective
In view of global climate change and the increasing energy demand there is a need for renewable energy resources. This thesis discusses an energy-driven biorefinery concept based on the agricultural residues corn stover and wheat straw. The work is divided into two main parts. The first part is concerned with the effects of steam pretreatment and choice of acid catalyst on ethanol and biogas produ
Background: Lesions in the meniscus are risk factors for developing knee osteoarthritis (OA), not least because of the role of the meniscus in the pathological progression of OA. Delayed gadolinium enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) has extensively been used to identify pre-radiographic cartilage changes in OA. In contrast, its counterpart with regard to examination of the meniscus, gadolinium en
In the present study, we observed that laboratory rats readily consumed lyophilized cells of Cupriavidus necator H16 cultivated using palm oil containing 39 wt% poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] as sole diet source. The test animals excreted whitish fecal pellets containing 82–97 wt% P(3HB). The remaining impurities could be easily removed by washing the pellets with water and/or low concentrations
To improve the results of Enterprise Systems (ES) implementation projects, new or revised implementation methodologies are introduced by ES vendors. Yet, the innovation and adoption of implementation methodologies (IM), which are computer-based and incorporate both project management and functional components, can be problematic. The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain the adoption of
In most patients, Parkinson's disease is thought to emerge after a lifetime of exposure to, and interaction between, various genetic and environmental risk factors. One of the key genetic factors linked to this condition is α-synuclein, and the α-synuclein protein is pathologically associated with idiopathic cases. However, α-synuclein pathology is also present in presymptomatic, clinically “norma
