Highly pathogenic emm1 Streptococcus pyogenes strains secrete the multidomain Streptococcal inhibitor of complement (SIC) that binds and inactivates components of the innate immune response. We aimed to determine if naturally occurring or vaccine-induced antibodies to SIC are protective against invasive S. pyogenes infection. Immunisation with full-length SIC protected mice against systemic bacter

The molecular landscape in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is characterized by large biological heterogeneity with variable clinical outcomes. Here, we perform an integrative multi-omics analysis of patients diagnosed with NMIBC (n = 834). Transcriptomic analysis identifies four classes (1, 2a, 2b and 3) reflecting tumor biology and disease aggressiveness. Both transcriptome-based subty

Background: Detecting subtle-to-moderate biomarker changes such as those in amyloid PET imaging becomes increasingly relevant in the context of primary and secondary prevention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This work aimed to determine if and when distribution volume ratio (DVR; derived from dynamic imaging) and regional quantitative values could improve statistical power in AD prevention trials. M

This thesis focusses on a nuclear spectroscopy experiment conducted to study α-decay chains stemming from isotopes of flerovium (element Z = 114). An upgraded TASISpec decay station was placed behind the gas-filled separator TASCA at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany. The fusion-evaporation reactions 48Ca + 242Pu and 48Ca + 244Pu provided a total of 29 flerovi

This chapter provides a reassessment of the waste ‘crises’ in the so-called Land of Fires in Italy and highlights the contribution of local social mobilizations in advancing environmental justice and sustainability concerns. It is based on the long term collaboration between a social scientist and two activists, and it draws from a dialogue of academic and activist knowledge in the tradition of En

The brain simulates the world around us using sensory information and provides an estimation of reality in which actions can be executed. This estimation of reality is controlled by attention which decides which information is accepted, further processed and ignored. The process of attending a certain part of the sensory information while ignoring other parts is called selective attention. I have

The digital era has brought forward many innovative technologies but their contribution to resilient, inclusive and sustainable societies remain ambiguous. Innovation has often been considered a key component for production and economic growth, but this notion is gradually changing. Innovation is turning into a practice for societal responsibility and sustainable development, transforming the dire

Information and communication technologies (ICT) and mobile phones in particular play an important role in the narrative of international development. This chapter explores how the start-up of women’s ICT initiatives in Kampala, Uganda uses structural adaptation and resistance through intersectionality and feminist technoscience. It proposes a technological storytelling of doing intersectionality

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are located at the center of international development and considered vital for the progress of the current sustainable development goals. ICTs are embedded in cultural structures and social norms, which provide both possibilities and challenges to the people working with technologies such as mobile phones. Drawing upon theories and methodologies o

Critical making has the potential to foster a practice of connecting critical thinking with physical making through iterative and self-driven learning. This paper explores critical making as a method and a pedagogy in bridging the gap between conceptual thinking and making, encouraging play to cultivate learning and understanding one’s relation to the world. Situated making is an undergraduate cou

Seed morphology (testa ornamentation and seed shape) and allozyme variation were investigated in three closely related and partially sympatric taxa of Silene in the Nordic region. Within this region, Silene vulgaris is a widespread weed of anthropogenic habitats. The two subspecies of Silene uniflora are restricted to naturally open habitats; ssp. uniflora has a coastal distribution, whereas the S

Allozyme variation was studied in Swedish populations of Silene vulgaris (a widespread weed), S. uniflora ssp. uniflora (restricted to coastal habitats) and S. uniflora ssp. petraea (endemic to Sweden and confined to open limestone habitats). The taxa are diploid, gynodioecious, perennial herbs and showed high levels of within-taxon and within-population gene diversity at four polymorphic loci. Wi

Two morphological races have previously been recognized within the sedge, Carex lepidocarpa, in Sweden. These largely allopatric races are accorded specific status, as C. lepidocarpa s.s. and C. jemtlandica, in Scandinavian floras. A study of allozyme variation in population from 80 Sweden sites supports the morphological evidence for racial differentiation within C. lepidocarpa. The two races dif

Allozyme data were used to assess the genetic structure between 37 sympatric populations of the species-pair Silene vulgaris and S. uniflora ssp. petraea, and to infer levels of intra- and interspecific gene flow in the two species. Silene vulgaris is a geographically widespread weed of disturbed habitats whereas S. uniflora ssp. petraea is endemic to the Baltic islands of Öland and Gotland. On Öl

Relationships between allozyme differentiation, habitat variation and individual reproductive success were examined in local populations of a perennial herb. Gypsophila fastigiata, on the Baltic island of Oland (Sweden). Relatively little (c. 2%) of the total allozyme diversity in this largely outcrossing species is explained by differentiation between sites tens of kilometres apart. The low level

The structure of genetic variation in disjunct Scandinavian populations of Hippocrepis emerus was studied using allozymes and DNA fingerprinting. Variation in the three native regional populations in Scandinavia was compared with that in a recently introduced population in Sweden. In contrast to the recently introduced population, the native Scandinavian isolates of H. emerus showed high levels of

In response to global sustainability challenges, there are multiple public research andpolicy incentives being implemented to support a more sustainable energy system. These are aimed at advancing technology and innovation as well as guiding citizens tochange behaviour. But are those incentives accurately leading to a transition towards amore sustainable energy system and society?Evaluation of the