Ultrasound is the primary modality for fetal imaging, but Magnetic Resonance Imaging nowadays has a valuable complementary role as it often reveals findings that alter pregnancy management. Knowledge on some clinically relevant areas of the normal fetal development is still lacking, and this was the aim of this project. We wanted 1) to obtain reference MRI data of normal brain measurements before 24 gestation weeks (GW), 2) to study the development of the hippocampus, 3) to study the development of the ear and 4) to test the ability of MRI for evaluating the lip and palate. For this, we retrospectively analysed a database with 464 in vivo and 21 post mortem fetal MRI examinations. Study I evaluated a series of 70 normal fetuses. A table of normal brain measurements from 17 to 23 GW was built, the first in the literature that includes ages below 20 GW. Study II focused on the evolution of the hippocampus from 18 to 38 GW by evaluating 3 post mortem and 60 in vivo MRI examinations. Our results suggested this area to develop later and more asymmetrically than previously thought. Study III analysed a series of 122 normal MRI in vivo and 16 MRI post mortem. We described the development of the fetal ear in vivo for the first time in the literature, realizing that the value of MRI is limited by the size of the structures evaluated. In study IV, 60 brain-targeted MRI examinations of 55 normal fetuses and 5 fetuses with orofacial clefts were blindly reviewed by two readers, focusing on the lips and palates. Our results suggest a high accuracy of MRI in the evaluation of this area, regardless of fetal age or previous ultrasound findings. This thesis brings new knowledge on the normal development of the fetal brain and cranium.

Even though the goals of Swedish disability-politics are equality, full participation and autonomy, people with disabilities almost every day encounter discrimination and oppression. This thesis deals with the question of the public service-medias role in this discrepancy between political rhetoric and practices. The study of mass media’s role is interesting considering its cultural impact and the importance of cultural values in all kinds of communication situations. The focus of the study is on Swedish public service-television and the aim is to investigate the role of SVT in the implementation of the political goals of disability-politics. To what extent do SVT promote these goals and to what extent do they counteract them? The study’s ambition is both descriptive and analytical. Theoretically the study takes as its point of departure a social constructionist perspective. The only reality we thus can get in contact with is one that, via our language, has passed through our former knowledge and experiences. Language is therefore the main object of study. Another theoretical point of departure is a normative view on the role of mass media in society. This approach is characterized by the assumption that mass media has a certain usefulness for society as a whole, which in itself is a central purpose for public service-media. The study is based on data consisting of programme descriptions and video copies of programmes from the start of SVT in 1956 until 2 000. Altogether it represents more than 2 000 TV-programmes and over 40 000 broadcasting hours. Furthermore, the data consist of official political documents regarding media and disability matters. The data are approached from a discourse-analytical perspective and investigated in three studies. One of the data clusters was used to carry out a quantitative outline of SVT’s representations of disability. Another was used in an analysis of the socio-historical context and its changes over time and yet another was an analysis of the contents and narratives of the programmes. The main conclusions are that disabled persons and programmes that deals with disability issues are, and has been, rare in SVT, not more than 1-2 hours per 1 000 broadcast hours. The amount is the same today as it was in 1956. Another conclusion is that even though it seems like SVT is trying to promote the goals of disability-politics the consequences appears to be that SVT instead counteract them. One reason might be that the dominating representation in SVT has been of disability and disabled persons as normal. But because of journalistic practices, the outcome becomes portrays of deviance and The Other. This solution, however, is too simplistic. There is also a problem with the political rhetoric. As long as political goals, formulated in terms of ideals, which by definition are impossible to achieve, there will always be a discrepancy between political rhetoric and practices. The final conclusion therefore, is that reflections need to be done and consciousness needs to be raised in order to discover the discrepancy and from that point, try to create a change.

The face of the Earth is constantly renewed by continental rifts that open and allow ridges to spread oceanic floor. Both types of these linear extensional structures are morphologically and structurally segmented. This thesis aims to provide insights into the interaction of such segments as they propagate and mature. It is based on the results of analogue models of evolving rifts and ridges together with field studies of populations of dilational normal faults in the active rift zone of Iceland. Linkage of initially separate segments along rifts and ridges leads to formation of through-going systems operating on a planetary scale. It is argued here that the processes of segment initiation and growth are effectively scale-independent and essentially the same in wide and narrow modes of extension and for shear and dilational failure. Three distinct types of segment coalescence are recognized; these involve tip-to-tip, one tip-to-sidewall and two tips-to-sidewalls segment linkage. The overall structural pattern, particularly the width of the extending domain and the range of displacements and orientations of smaller-scale internal extensional structures, is influenced by both the geometry of extension and the mechanical properties of the extending material. Types of segment linkage appear to be largely independent of localization of dilation or intensity of magmatic accretion. Instead they are controlled mainly by the relative distribution and orientation of interacting segments. A few orders of segmentation along global rift-ridge systems and arrays of dilational normal faults indicate that linear continuous structures accumulate extension in successive increments during which the segments change their geometries in semi-continuous interaction and coalescence.

The present thesis is focused on the development and application of dose response models for radiation therapy. Radiobiological models of tissue response to radiation are an integral part of the radiotherapeutic process and a powerful tool to optimize tumor control and minimize damage to healthy tissues for use in clinical trials. Ideally, the models could work as a historical control arm of a clinical trial eliminating the need to randomize patents to suboptimal therapies. In the thesis overview part, some of the basic properties of the dose response relation are reviewed and the most common radiobiological dose-response models are compared with regard to their ability to describe experimental dose response data for rat spinal cord using the maximum likelihood method. For vascular damage the relative seriality model was clearly superior to the other models, whereas for white matter necrosis all models were quite good except possibly the inverse tumor and critical element models. The radiation sensitivity, seriality and steepness of the dose-response relation of the spinal cord is found to vary considerably along its length. The cervical region is more radiation sensitive, more parallel, expressing much steeper dose-response relation and more volume dependent probability of inducing radiation myelitis than the thoracic part. The higher number of functional subunits (FSUs) consistent with a higher amount of white matter close to the brain may be responsible for these phenomena. With strongly heterogeneous dose delivery and due to the random location of FSUs, the effective size of the FSU and the mean dose deposited in it are of key importance and the radiation sensitivity distribution of the FSU may be an even better descriptor for the response of the organ. An individual optimization of a radiation treatment has the potential to increase the therapeutic window and improve cure for a subgroup of patients.

In spite of its 150 years history, the problem of classifying all finite-dimensional division algebras over a field k is still unsolved whenever k is not algebraically closed. The present thesis concerns some different aspects of this problem, and the related problems of classifying all composition and absolute valued algebras. A tripartition of the class of all fields is given, based on the dimensions in which division algebras over a field exist. Moreover, all finite-dimensional flexible real division algebras are classified. This class includes in particular all finite-dimensional commutative real division algebras, of which two different classifications, along different lines, are presented. It is shown that every vector product algebra has dimension zero, one, three or seven, and that its isomorphism type is determined by its adherent quadratic form. This yields a new and elementary proof for the corresponding, classical result for unital composition algebras. A rotation in a Euclidean space is an orthogonal map that locally acts as a plane rotation with a fixed angle. All pairs of rotations in finite-dimensional Euclidean spaces are classified up to orthogonal similarity. A description of all composition algebras having an LR-bijective idempotent is given. On the basis of this description, all absolute valued algebras having a one-sided unity or a non-zero central idempotent are classified.

Long time average wind conditions at potential wind turbine sites are of great importance when deciding if an investment will be economically safe. Wind climate estimates such as these are traditionally done with in situ measurements for a number of months. During recent years, a wind climate database has been developed at the Department of Earth Sciences, Meteorology at Uppsala University. The database is based on model runs with the higher order closure mesoscale MIUU-model in combination with long term statistics of the geostrophic wind, and is now used as a complement to in situ measurements, hence speeding up the process of turbine siting. With this background, a study has been made investigating how well actual power productions during the years 2004-2006 from 21 Swedish wind turbines correlate with theoretically derived power productions for the corresponding sites. When comparing theoretically derived power productions based on long term statistics with measurements from a shorter time period, correction is necessary to be able to make relevant comparisons. This normal year correction is a main focus, and a number of different wind energy indices which are used for this purpose are evaluated. Two publicly available (Swedish and Danish Wind Index) and one derived theoretically from physical relationships and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data (Geostrophic Wind Index). Initial testing suggests in some cases very different results when correcting with the three indices and further investigation is necessary. An evaluation of the Geostrophic Wind Index is made with the use of in situ measurements. When correcting measurement periods limited in time to a long term average, a larger statistical dispersion is expected with shorter measurement periods, decreasing with longer periods. In order to investigate this assumption, a wind speed measurement dataset of 7 years were corrected with the Geostrophic Wind Index, simulating a number of hypothetical measurement periods of various lengths. When normal year correcting a measurement period of specific length, the statistical dispersion decreases significantly during the first 10 months. A reduction to about half the initial statistical dispersion can be seen after just 5 months of measurements. Results show that the theoretical normal year corrected power productions in general are around 15-20% lower than expected. A probable explanation for the larger part of this bias is serious problems with the reported time-not-in-operation for wind turbines in official power production statistics. This makes it impossible to compare actual power production with theoretically derived without more detailed information. The theoretically derived Geostrophic Wind Index correlates well to measurements, however a theoretically expected cubed relationship of wind speed seem to account for the total energy of the wind. Such an amount of energy can not be absorbed by the wind turbines when wind speed conditions are a lot higher than normal. / Vindklimatet vid tänkbara platser för uppförande av vindkraftverk är avgörande när det beslutas huruvida det är en lämplig placering eller ej. Bedömning av vindklimatet görs vanligtvis genom vindmätningar på plats under ett antal månader. Under de senaste åren har en vindkarteringsdatabas utvecklats vid Institutionen för Geovetenskaper, Meteorologi vid Uppsala universitet. Databasen baseras på modellkörningar av en högre ordningens mesoskale-modell, MIUU-modellen, i kombination med klimatologisk statistik för den geostrofiska vinden. Denna används numera som komplement till vindmätningar på plats, vilket snabbar upp bedömningen av lämpliga platser. Mot denna bakgrund har en studie genomförts som undersöker hur bra faktisk energiproduktion under åren 2004-2006 från 21 vindkraftverk stämmer överens med teoretiskt härledd förväntad energiproduktion för motsvarande platser. Om teoretiskt härledd energiproduktion baserad på långtidsstatistik ska jämföras med mätningar från en kortare tidsperiod måste korrektion ske för att kunna göra relevanta jämförelser. Denna normalårskorrektion genomförs med hjälp av olika vindenergiindex. En utvärdering av de som finns allmänt tillgängliga (Svenskt vindindex och Danskt vindindex) och ett som härletts teoretiskt från fysikaliska samband och NCEP/NCAR återanalysdata (Geostrofiskt vindindex) görs. Inledande tester antyder att man får varierande resultat med de tre indexen och en djupare utvärdering genomförs, framförallt av det Geostrofiska vindindexet där vindmätningar används för att söka verifiera dess giltighet. När kortare tidsbegränsade mätperioder korrigeras till ett långtidsmedelvärde förväntas en större statistisk spridning vid kortare mätperioder, minskande med ökande mätlängd. För att undersöka detta antagande används 7 års vindmätningar som korrigeras med det Geostrofiska vindindexet. I detta simuleras ett antal hypotetiskt tänkta mätperioder av olika längd. När en mätperiod av specifik längd normalårskorrigeras minskar den statistiska spridningen kraftigt under de första 10 månaderna. En halvering av den inledande statistiska spridningen kan ses efter endast 5 månaders mätningar. Resultaten visar att teoretiskt härledd normalårskorrigerad energiproduktion generellt är ungefär 15-20% lägre än väntat. En trolig förklaring till merparten av denna skillnad är allvarliga problem med rapporterad hindertid för vindkraftverk i den officiella statistiken. Något som gör det omöjligt att jämföra faktisk energiproduktion med teoretiskt härledd utan mer detaljerad information. Det teoretiskt härledda Geostrofiska vindindexet stämmer väl överens med vindmätningar. Ett teoretiskt förväntat förhållande där energi är proportionellt mot kuben av vindhastigheten visar sig rimligen ta hänsyn till den totala energin i vinden. En sådan energimängd kan inte tas till vara av vindkraftverk när vindhastighetsförhållandena är avsevärt högre än de normala.

The k-sample problem, i.e., testing whether two or more data sets come from the same population, is a classic one in statistics. Instead of having a small number of k groups of samples, this dissertation works on a large number of p groups of samples, where within each group, the sample size, n, is a fixed, small number. We call this as a "Large p, but Small n" setting. The primary goal of the research is to provide a test statistic based on kernel density estimation (KDE) that has an asymptotic normal distribution when p goes to infinity with n fixed. In this dissertation, we propose a test statistic called Tp(S) and its standardized version, T(S). By using T(S), we conduct our test based on the critical values of the standard normal distribution. Theoretically, we show that our test is invariant to a location and scale transformation of the data. We also find conditions under which our test is consistent. Simulation studies show that our test has good power against a variety of alternatives. The real data analyses show that our test finds differences between gene distributions that are not due simply to location.

The human vaginal ecosystem is dominated by Lactobacillus species. An altered vaginal flora can result in symptomatic conditions such as bacterial vaginosis and vulvo-vaginal candidiasis, and urogenital colonisation by uropathogenic bacteria can cause urinary tract infection. The protective role of lactobacilli is gradually being accepted and clinical studies have been carried out in order to evaluate the use of promising probiotic bacteria, which are defined as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”. This thesis includes an investigation into the ecological role of lactobacilli in the genital tract in healthy women, with respect to the relationship to other species and vaginal pH. Furthermore, in order to find different probiotic strains with promising probiotic qualities, Lactobacillus strains were screened in two diverse screening processes. The selected strains were further evaluated in clinical trials. The prevalence of group B streptococci (GBS) and yeast was significantly dependent on the number of vaginal lactobacilli among healthy women. GBS were less frequently found in women with high numbers of vaginal lactobacilli than in women with low numbers and the prevalence of yeast was significantly higher in women with 3-6.99 log10 lactobacilli sample-1 than in women with less than 3 or ≥7 log10 lactobacilli sample-1. Furthermore, the first screening made on 511 strains isolated from the female genital tract resulted in the final selection of a Lactobacillus plantarum, designated LB931. The screening showed that LB931 had a strong technical growth, survived through freeze-thawing, produced substances bactericidal to uropathogenic bacteria and was a rapid and strong producer of hydrogen peroxide. Further characterisation showed that LB931 possessed the properties required for probiotics with the capability to prevent urogenital infections. LB931 could be supplied to the genital tract through the usage of panty liners impregnated with the strain. In the second screening, Lactobacillus fermentum, designated Ess-1, was the only one out of 126 Lactobacillus strains with strong capacity to inhibit Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. Additional characterisation showed that L. fermentum Ess-1 had the properties that are needed to prevent over-growth of Candida in the vulvo-vaginal tract. The result of the case study showed that a high and frequent dosage of Ess-1 is needed and that improved vulvo-vaginal candidiasis specific diagnostic criteria are required. In conclusion, L. plantarum LB931 and L. fermentum Ess-1 are promising probiotic strains to be used in the prevention of recurrent urogenital infections in women and to enhance the normal flora in healthy women.

Riskvärdering har under 90-talet blivit ett allt mer medvetet begrepp. Ett populärt instrument vid riskvärdering är Value at Risk då denna modell skapar ett gemensamt riskmått för olika typer av portföljer och derivat. VaR mäter den maximala värdeförändringen för en portfölj där sannolikheten och tidshorisonten är förutbestämd. I uppsatsen har en konfidensnivå på 95 procent antagits vilket medför att de verkliga förlusterna ska överstiga VaR en gång av tjugo. Icke-linjära instrument, såsom optioner, är svåra att riskvärdera då dess pris förändras oproportionerligt gentemot dess underliggande. För att beräkna VaR kan flertalet modeller appliceras och dessa har olika egenskaper. Det är därför av intresse att ta reda på om Delta-Normal metoden, Monte Carlo simulering och Historisk simulering ger samma svar vid riskvärdering av optioner. Vidare syftar denna uppsats till att söka svar på om dessa tre VaR-modeller ger ett tillfredsställande resultat på 95 procentig konfidensnivå. För att få svar på dessa funderingar har vi i empiriavsnittet genomfört två hypotesprövningar. Den första slutsatsen som kan dras av undersökningen är att det inte går att skilja på det VaR som Delta-Normal metoden och Historisk simulering tagit fram. Vid ett hypotestest för proportioner blev resultatet att endast för Monte Carlo simuleringen kunde inte nollhypotesen förkastas. Detta innebär att det finns stöd för att de verkliga förlusterna överstiger Monte Carlo simuleringens beräknade VaR en gång av tjugo.

Boolean functions play an important role in the design and analysis of symmetric-key cryptosystems, as well as having applications in other fields such as coding theory. Boolean functions acting on large number of inputs introduces the problem of computing the cryptographic properties. Traditional methods of computing these properties involve transformations which require computation and memory resources exponential in the number of input variables. When the number of inputs is large, Boolean functions are usually defined by the algebraic normal form (ANF) representation. In this thesis, methods for computing the weight and nonlinearity of Boolean functions from the ANF representation are investigated. The relation between the ANF coecients and the weight of a Boolean function was introduced by Carlet and Guillot. This expression allows the weight to be computed in $mathcal{O}(2^p)$ operations for a Boolean function containing p monomials in its ANF. In this work, a more ecient algorithm for computing the weight is proposed, which eliminates the unnecessary calculations in the weight expression. By generalizing the weight expression, a formulation of the distances to the set of linear functions is obtained. Using this formulation, the problem of computing the nonlinearity of a Boolean function from its ANF is reduced to an associated binary integer programming problem. This approach allows the computation of nonlinearity for Boolean functions with high number of input variables and consisting of small number of monomials in a reasonable time.