Recent event drew the attention of many on the food security and resilience issues. Climate change also questions our capacity to produce food and minimize our impact on soil, water, and biodiversity. The lack of dynamism of the rural areas and the crisis the conventional farmers are going through, forces us to look at other horizons. Permaculture farming, a concept created in the 70’s during the oil crisis, already questioned the conventional farming model and its long-term sustainability, almost ten years before the Brundtland report. Now the permaculture principles have spread in various parts of the world, permaculture farms can be found in many countries, with different climates and different practices. But what about Sweden? In this study we looked at the permaculture farming in the Swedish context. We will try to uncover the processes and realities behind it, we tried to look at the establishment process in the first time, then we focus on the personal motives behind this establishment. In a third question we questioned how they create local or global interactions through their farm and finally we interrogated how this contribute to the placemaking of the communities they are implanted in. To answers those questions, we used the theories of placemaking, neo-endogenous rural development and sustainable livelihoods. We proceeded to four interviews with permaculture practitioners, all located in Sweden. The data we gathered and analyzed through a thematic analysis showed that the farmers engaged in a variety of interactions with their community and even beyond. The results underline the significant role of these farmers in creating dynamism in their rural community and being active actors of the placemaking of their communities. Moreover, the study depicts the potential and the current limitations that farmers are facing. The study shows that permaculture farmers can be important actors of local dynamism if they are supported by their community and institutional structures. In other word they can create the rural development everybody is looking for.

Sri Lanka achieved a high level of self-sufficiency in rice in the 1980s through a series of investments on irrigation, technological change, and marketing and trade policies. However, more than two decades of expansion in the international rice market has diminished the validity of rice self-sufficiency policies as an economic development strategy. As a consequence, trends in the international market through their impacts on reducing investments such as rice research, extension, and irrigation development have adversely affected the ability of Sri Lanka to maintain the same levels of rice self-sufficiency in the future. In the domestic policy area however, some degree of indecision exists in undertaking reforms necessary to take advantage of the trends in the international rice economy. Given the overwhelming influence rice has on the direction of national agriculture policies in Sri Lanka, it is critical to resolve this indetemlinacy pertaining to rice policies. The objectives of the present study are to estimate the producers' response to numerous policy variables that impact on the levels of rice production, and the country's ability to manage food-security under a regime of market-friendly policies. A supply response model based on the choice of technique approach with endogenous determination of technology was specified to capture the effects of policy variables on rice output determination. The dynamic effects of technology, prices, and investments on productivity are therefore accounted for in the model. The supply response system is composed of blocks of equations for determination of investment in quasi-fixed inputs, choice of technology, and yields. Data for the period since 1974 during which notable changes took place in the rice supply situation in Sri Lanka were used in the analysis.. Results suggest that a major share of rice output growth in Sri Lanka is explained by the producers' response to government-supplied, technology-related variables such as irrigation and research. Rice supply response to input and output prices was slight relative to the response to technology variables. Model simulations showed that, under a regime of more market friendly policies, continuation of current investment trends and policies would lead to a worsening of rice self-sufficiency levels over the next 10 years. It was also observed that with modest growth in irrigation and research investments, it is possible to maintain rice self-sufficiency at levels comparable to the present. / Ph. D.

A significant driver of pain in low back pain (LBP) is alteration to endogenous pain modulation (EPM). EPM can be measured using quantitative sensory tests (QST), which provides important information on nociceptive pathways. Exercise therapy is recommended as the first line of care for LBP; however, there is limited information on the mechanisms of action that lead to symptom improvements. The first manuscript was a scoping review that summarized protocols used to assess EPM using QST such as pain pressure threshold (PPT), temporal summation (TS), conditioned pain modulation (CPM) or exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) in LBP. Scientific databases were searched for articles that used QST or EIH protocols in LBP. In total, 193 studies were included in this review: 172 used PPT, 54 used TS and 53 used CPM and 5 investigated EIH. There was high variability in the type of equipment, timing, trials, and testing location with many studies not reporting this information. The results demonstrate a need for standardized protocols and reporting guidelines as well as further research to aid in selecting the most appropriate QST parameters for different clinical presentations. The second manuscript was a pilot study that assessed the feasibility of a protocol investigating if changes in EPM occur after exercise therapy. Participants were recruited through a larger trial (WELBack) and were randomized to receive one of two exercise therapies. Participants attended two testing sessions (before and after an 8-week treatment) consisting of PPT, TS, CPM and EIH. Thirty-six participants were recruited and completed baseline assessments. In total, 32 (88.9%) participants completed the follow-up assessment. The results demonstrated that the protocol was feasible. Improvements to patient reported outcomes were seen, but not to all EPM measures. Future work should consider changes to the CPM protocol, and a fully powered study to investigate EPM changes after exercise therapy. / Thesis / Master of Health Sciences (MSc) / Low back pain (LBP) may occur because of changes in our nervous system, rather than a physical injury. However, there is no previous research on if exercise can improve these changes. The purpose of this thesis was to develop and test a protocol to assess how the body processes pain, and if this can change after exercise. We summarized past research on how four tests to assess pain processing have been performed. The results showed many differences in how these tests were performed and reported. More consistency and guidelines are needed to improve how these tests are conducted. Next, we conducted a study aimed to assess the feasibility of a protocol to see if changes occur in how the body processes pain after an exercise therapy program. The results of this study showed the protocol was feasible, and trends in improvement on some but not all measures.

Yes / Although literature on entrepreneurship has increasingly focused on intention-based models, not much emphasis has been laid on understanding the combined effect of contextual and situational factors along with support of university environment on the formation of entrepreneurial intention among students. In an effort to make up for this shortfall, by taking Theory of Planned Behavior as basic framework, the present study seeks to understand the influence of three of the most important factors, viz. (a) endogenous barriers, (b) exogenous environment, and (c) university environment and support on the entrepreneurial intention among management students. The study sample consisted of 1,097 students, wherein 526 students were from India, 252 from Singapore, and 319 were from Malaysia. The results indicates that along with positive attitude and perceived behavioral control that directly influences entrepreneurial intention, university environment and support and exogenous environment also have an indirect but significant impact on shaping of entrepreneurial intention among students. With this, it was found that exogenous environment was found to have a negative relationship with both attitude towards behavior and perceived behavioral control for all three countries. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 2 Jun 2018.

Yes / The present study explored the mechanism of cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of AgNPs on a primary culture of mouse Sertoli cells in vitro. To understand the possible molecular mechanisms of testicular lesions following exposure to AgNPs, isolated Sertoli cells were exposed to 5, 10, or 15 μg/ml. DNA damage in the Comet assay and apoptosis in the TUNEL assay were evaluated. The mRNA expression of p53 and bcl-2 genes and their proteins involved in apoptosis was also investigated. The antioxidant status of treated Sertoli cells was determined by measuring superoxide dismutase (SOD-1), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX-1) and superoxide dismutase (SOD-1) using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)qPCR. The superoxide anions were detected using the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction assay. Results indicated that AgNP exposure causes increased oxidative stress levels. The activation of p53, repression of bcl-2 and reduction of endogenous antioxidant enzymes were also involved in these mechanistic pathways, leading to reduced cell numbers and cell detachment. / The Sponsorship of the Libyan Government of a PhD studentship to Khaled Habas

No / Transposable elements (TEs), such as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), are common in the genomes of vertebrates. ERVs result from retroviral infections of germ-line cells, and once integrated into host DNA they become part of the host's heritable genetic material. ERVs have been ascribed positive effects on host physiology such as the generation of novel, adaptive genetic variation and resistance to infection, as well as negative effects as agents of tumorigenesis and disease. The avian leukosis virus subgroup E family (ALVE) of endogenous viruses of chickens has been used as a model system for studying the effects of ERVs on host physiology, and approximately 30 distinct ALVE proviruses have been described in the Gallus gallus genome. In this report we describe the development of a software tool, which we call Vermillion, and the use of this tool in combination with targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) to increase the number of known proviruses belonging to the ALVE family of ERVs in the chicken genome by 4-fold, including expanding the number of known ALVE elements on chromosome 1 (Gga1) from the current 9 to a total of 40. Although we focused on the discovery of ALVE elements in chickens, with appropriate selection of target sequences Vermillion can be used to develop profiles of other families of ERVs and TEs in chickens as well as in species other than the chicken. / Financial support was provided by the EW GROUP, as well as grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Canada Research Chairs Program, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada to RGB, and Canada Institutes of Health Research funding to MGIL and CJM.

No / Pulmonary hypertension is becoming a recognized complication of the hereditary and acquired haemolytic anaemias, associated with a poor prognosis. Recently we reported that patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) have high levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a biomarker associated with both right and left ventricular dysfunction and cardiac dysfunction. In the current study we evaluated a cohort of patients (N = 29) with haemolytic PNH for elevated pulmonary artery systolic pressure and cardiac function by Doppler-echocardiography. Of the 29 patients, eight were further studied using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as two additional patients (number of patients studied using cardiac MRI = 10). Plasma from the first cohort (N = 29) demonstrated intravascular haemolysis associated with a 12-fold increase in median nitric oxide (NO) consumption when compared with healthy volunteers (P < 0·001). Doppler echocardiography demonstrated normal left ventricular function and elevated pulmonary artery systolic pressure in 41% of patients. Cardiac MRI from the second cohort (N = 10) demonstrated depressed right ventricular function in 80% of PNH patients tested, and 60% had findings suggestive of subclinical small pulmonary emboli. Together, these data suggest a high prevalence of haemolysis-associated NO scavenging, Doppler-estimated systolic pulmonary hypertension, and depressed right ventricular function in patients with PNH.

Membrane bound AChE from calf brain caudate nucleus was solubilized by use of ion-free media in presence of 10~ M EDTA and 10“5M tetracaine. The irreversible release of AChE was more effectively inhibited by divalent ions compared to monovalent ions added to the medium. EDTA appears to chelate divalent ions released from the tissue while tetracaine competes with the same ions at the membrane. The tetracaine effect is restricted to the procaine series of local anesthetics. Small amounts of soluble AChE are present in the cytosol fraction. In fresh preparations most of the enzyme appeared in a form having a molecular weight of 80.000 daltons as determined by gel filtration. The enzyme seems to be released in this form. It is proposed that this form represents the monomer form of the enzyme. In solution the AChE aggregates seemingly together with a factor that is released from the membrane in amounts stafchio- metric to the enzyme. By treatment with DEAE-Sephadex the enzyme preparation can be made non-aggregating. A highly purified nonaggregating monomeric AChE Specific activity 17150 micromoles acetylthiocholine hydrolyzed per minute at 27° C per mg protein) was obtained by affinity chromatography. Some anomalous binding phenomena was observed during the affinity chromatographic purification. The main observation was that edrophonium eluted crude enzyme preparation adsorbed to the affinity gel in a biphasic manner. It was found that in the crude preparation there is present besides unspecific material competing with the enzyme for the affinity gels a factor that increases the affinity of AChE to certain cholinergic ligands. Since the enzyme could be titrated by the factor it seems to have a very high affinity to the enzyme and the biphasic elution curve is explained by the presence of free as well as factor- bound enzyme in the preparation. In search for compounds having a similar effect it was found that fluoride ion too increased the affinity of AChE to the same ligands as the factor. The affinity of edrophonium to the site defined by the binding of AChE to MTA-CH (65x10“5m) is lower than that defined by the enzyme inhibitory constant (1.8xlO“7M). As an explanation of this finding it is proposed that the substrate induces a conformation having high affinity to edrophonium, a conformation that has a comparatively low relaxation rate. Thus acetylcholinesterase may be added to the list of enzymes that have hystere- tic properties. / <p>S. 1-54: sammanfattning, s. 55-100: 4 uppsatser</p> / digitalisering@umu

This paper gives an overview on the research done in the fields of tax competition, coordination and harmonisation. The survey is divided in two main parts, in the first section we compare the standard tax competition literature that sees tax competition as a bad, to public choice contributions that advocate tax reductions. In the second part we consider theories of endogenous growth, which focus on analysing the taxation question. After introducing the fundamental contributions, we discuss extensions in the line of an open economy, an OLG setting and the transitional dynamics in greater detail. (author's abstract) / Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordination

Relative used capital price, the measure of irreversibility, is fixed in almost all the investment literature. This dissertation introduces investment models with state-dependent irreversibility and tests whether these models outperform fixed irreversibility cases, at both the macro and micro levels. Since there is currently no historical data available on the issue of used capital prices, the first chapter uses an indirect inference procedure to estimate the cyclical property of irreversibility at the micro-level. In the second chapter, I propose a dynamic investment model with endogenous irreversibility arising from the lemons problem in the used capital market and examine the cyclical implication of irreversibility. Data evidence shows that capital reallocation, or used capital expenditure, is pro-cyclical. In a general equilibrium framework, the third chapter reveals that the investment model with state-dependent irreversibility explains this phenomenon while the model with fixed irreversibility does not. / text