This thesis contains two parts. The first part deals with a stochastic impulse control problem, subject to the restriction of a minimum time lapse in between interventions made by the controller. We prove existence of an optimal control and show that the value function of the control problem satisfies a system of quasi-variational inequalities. Furthermore, we apply the control method to pri

Research shows that there are often problems with cooperation between rehabilitation professionals within vocational rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to describe employers' experiences of how cooperation between different rehabilitation professionals can be improved in a vocational rehabilitation planning process. Ten employers who had sent their employees to vocational rehabilitation at

The development of new generic technologies occurs within traditional structures of industry - government interaction, but also unleashes a process of 'creative destruction' generating new institutional patterns. This article, focusing on biotechnology, describes and compares policy processes and institutional arrangements in Australia and Sweden. The Swedish biotechnology sector displays a patter

We investigate the performance of overload control through queue length for two different web server architectures. Both of them use finite queue lengths to prevent servers from being overloaded. One architecture prioritizes requests from established sessions while the other treats all requests equally. First, we introduce queueing models for these two systems. Then, we define and explain a new we

Background Now lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) has become one of the most effective methods for the management of some cases of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We evaluated the mid-term effects of LVRS on pulmonary function in patients with severe COPD. Methods Ten male patients with severe COPD aged 38-70 years underwent LVRS and their pulmonary function was assessed bef

Bacillus subtilis can synthesise cytochromes containing a-, b-, c- and d-type heme. The biosynthetic pathways of these heme prosthetic groups were investigated by using strains blocked in uroporphyrinogen III synthesis from porphobilinogen or in heme b (protoheme IX) synthesis from uroporphyrinogen III. The results strongly suggest that heme a and heme d are both synthesised from heme b (protoheme

The power amplifier tends to be one of the most demanding parts to fully integrate when building an entire radio on a CMOS chip. In this paper the design of a fully integrated RF power amplifier without inductors is described. As inductors in CMOS technology are associated with various problems, it is interesting to examine what performance can be achieved without them. An amplifier with an operat

Peptides spanning the entire, or part of, the Gly4-Glu21 segment of the human cysteine proteinase inhibitor cystatin C have been synthesized. Peptides containing residues on the N-terminal side of Gly11 were rapidly cleaved by papain at the bond Gly11-Gly12 whereas a peptide starting at residue Gly11 was not, thus demonstrating 1. that the N-terminal segment of cystatin C has an amino acid sequenc

The article discusses the importance of data by sex in order to promote and advocate for gender mainstreaming into humanitarian assistance. It points at some of the weaknesses in data collection and management and makes recommendations on how to get the right data right.

Individuals may join groups for several reasons, one of which is the possibility of sharing information about the quality of a foraging area. Sharing information in a patch-foraging scenario gives each group member an opportunity to make a more accurate estimate of the quality of the patch. In this paper we present a mathematical model in which we study the effect of group size on patch-leaving po

Insertion of transposable elements is a major cause of genomic expansion in eukaryotes. Less is understood, however, about mechanisms underlying contraction of genomes. In this study, we show that retroelements can, in rare cases, be precisely deleted from primate genomes, most likely via recombination between 10- to 20-bp target site duplications (TSDs) flanking the retroelement. The deleted loci

OBJECTIVE: To perform an ecological study in an effort to generate questions concerning the preventive impact of various cardiovascular drugs on mortality from stroke and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in the community, and to explore the association between sales of nitrates and mortality from stroke and IHD. METHODS: Out-patient drug utilization (sales) of blood pressure lowering drugs, lipid low

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the local circulatory effects of prostacyclin in skeletal muscle. DESIGN: A prospective experimental study. SETTING: A university laboratory. SUBJECTS: Twelve adult cats. INTERVENTIONS: The study was performed on autoperfused, sympathectomized gastrocnemius muscle. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Arterial blood flow, total and segmental vascular resistances (arterial vessels o

The effects of restrained cervical mobility on pursuit eye movements (PEMS), voluntary saccades and postural control, as measured by posturography, were studied in 11 healthy subjects whose cervical spine movement had been restrained for 5 days by means of a rigid neck-collar. At day 5 mean peak velocity of voluntary saccades at amplitudes of 40 degrees and 60 degrees was significantly reduced, as

Patients with dysphagia, heartburn and chest pain are regularly referred for radiologic evaluation of swallowing. The liquid barium swallow has been of great value for the biphasic evaluation of the pharynx and esophagus. Though many patients complain of dysphagia specifically for solids, solid bolus swallow is usually not part of the evaluation. For the present study we therefore included the use

The outcome movement in medicine has encouraged the development of patient-answered questionnaires as measures of well-being. A disease-specific questionnaire for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was introduced by Levine et al. in 1993. We evaluated this questionnaire in 156 consecutive new patients presenting with pain, numbness, or tingling of the upper extremity. Of these, 114 correctly filled out

Popular Abstract in Swedish I samband med 1990 års skattereform förändrades den allmänna inkomstskatten i grunden. Bl.a. infördes skilda skatteskalor för arbetsinkomster och kapitalinkomster. Inkomster som genereras av arbete beskattas progressivt med 45-75 % men avkastning av kapital proportionellt med 30 %. Allokering av inkomst till respektive inkomstkategori har därför stor betydelse i skattesSince the tax reform of 1990 the Swedish tax system separates earned income and capital income. On earned income such as "income from business" taxes and fees leads to a total margin tax burden that vary between 45 and 75 %. This margin effect can be compared to the 30 % proportional income tax on capital income. The allocation of income to earned income or capital income is therefore an important

The objectives of the present study were to estimate 10-year probabilities of clinical vertebral fractures in women, according to age and bone mineral assessment using phalangeal quantitative ultrasound (QUS). Risks were computed from UK derived data on the incidence of a first symptomatic vertebral fracture and mortality rates for each year of age using Poisson models. The 10-year probability of