Darwin's theory of sexual selection explains the existence of sexual dimorphism, or within-species sex differences in shape, color, size, and behavior. In some cases, sexually dimorphic traits, especially extravagant male ornaments, seem maladaptive and thus in opposition to natural selection. The crux of Darwin's theory was that sexual selection arises from individual differences in reproductive success that result from competition for mates. In this dissertation, I investigated several aspects of sexual selection and the evolution of female mating preferences and male ornaments in the great frigatebird (Fregata minor). Frigatebirds as a group (family Fregatidae) are the most ornamented of any seabirds, and are among the most ornamented of any animal group. Their most prominent ornament is a gular (throat) pouch which becomes red in males during the breeding season, and which is inflated and displayed to females during courtship. Male courtship display also includes a warble vocalization and extension and trembling of the wings. I investigated the following issues concerning sexual selection and ornamentation in great frigatebirds: 1) the source of ornamental coloration in male great frigatebird gular pouches. I determined that this was a carotenoid-based color display; 2) the relationship of male mating success to gular pouch size and coloration. I determined that mating success was not related to the size or color of this ornament; 3) the relationship between male vocal display traits and female preferences. Again, I found no relationship between vocal display traits and female preferences, and finally, 4) the role of a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus in female mate choice. The MHC is a highly polymorphic multi-gene family associated with immune defense and has been proposed to play a role in mate choice. I found a significant disassortative mating pattern amongst mated pairs compared to random pairings based on MHC genotypes. In summary, I found no evidence for female mating preferences based on visual or auditory display traits associated with male ornamentation. However, I did find evidence for female mating preferences based on genetic dissimilarity at an MHC locus.

Part I examines the global rise of both public and private debt and its recent manifestations in the US housing bubble and the financial panic of 2007-8. A review of the most popular theories of the debt crisis is provided, including an explication of securitized banking and economic theory. The underlying condition of increasing ecological and energetic scarcity is accorded central significance in the broad trajectory of world growth and debt, Part II explicates systems theories of social order and the social significance of markets. The theories of Niklas Luhmann, Talcott Parsons, Mario Bunge, Anthony Giddens, and Jürgen Habermas are evaluated with respect to their theories of social order and crisis. A central finding is that, although declining rates of exergy production inhibit the global economic recovery as measured by conventional economic tools, this fact is not likely to be widely recognized. A central theme of Part II is how social systems handle uncertainty, risk, and to what extent complex social systems can be regulated normatively by the public sphere. As global society becomes increasingly interconnected and dependent upon the depletion of material and energy resources, the communication channels that facilitate the self-understanding of modern society at the same time proliferate, becoming increasingly disconnected and self-referential. Luhmann’s systems theory is used to explain why collective recognition and action is at once rendered more necessary and increasingly unlikely given the complexity of global society that Earth’s terrestrial stock of nonrenewable energy resources has engendered.

This thesis describes the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry as an analytical tool. The theory of NMR spectroscopy in general and quantitative NMR spectrometry (qNMR) in particular is described and the instrumental properties and parameter setups for qNMR measurements are discussed. Examples of qNMR are presented by impurity determination of pharmaceutical compounds and analysis of urine samples from rats fed with either water or a drug (metabolic profiling). The instrumental parameter setup of qNMR and traditional data pre-treatments are examined. Spectral smoothing by convolution with a triangular function, which is an unusual application in this context, was shown to be successful regarding the sensitivity and robustness of the method in paper II. In addition, papers III and IV comprise the field of peak alignment, especially designed for 1H-NMR spectra of urine samples. This is an important preprocessing tool when multivariate analysis is to be applied. A novel peak alignment method was developed and compared to the traditional bucketing approach and a conceptually different alignment method. Univariate, multivariate, linear and nonlinear data analyses were applied to qNMR data. In papers I–II, calibration models were created to examine the potential of qNMR for these applications. The data analysis in papers III–VI was mainly explorative. The potential of data fusion and data correlation was examined in order to increase the possibilities of analysing the highly complex samples from metabolic profiling (papers V–VI). Data from LC/MS analysis of the same samples were used with the 1H-NMR data in different ways. Correlation analyses between the 1H-NMR data and the drug metabolites identified from the LC/MS data were also performed. In this process, data fusion proved to be a valuable tool.

Since the 1950s, oil has been the dominant source of energy in the world. The cheap supply of oil has been the engine for economic growth in the western world. Since future oil demand is expected to increase, the question to what extent future production will be available is important. The belief in a soon peak production of oil is fueled by increasing oil prices. However, the reliability of the oil price as a single parameter can be questioned, as earlier times of high prices have occurred without having anything to do with a lack of oil. Instead, giant oil fields, the largest oil fields in the world, can be used as a parameter. A giant oil field contains at least 500 million barrels of recoverable oil. Only 507, or 1 % of the total number of fields, are giants. Their contribution is striking: over 60 % of the 2005 production and about 65 % of the global ultimate recoverable reserve (URR). However, giant fields are something of the past since a majority of the largest giant fields are over 50 years old and the discovery trend of less giant fields with smaller volumes is clear. A large number of the largest giant fields are found in the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf. The domination of giant fields in global oil production confirms a concept where they govern future production. A model, based on past annual production and URR, has been developed to forecast future production from giant fields. The results, in combination with forecasts on new field developments, heavy oil and oil sand, are used to predict future oil production. In all scenarios, peak oil occurs at about the same time as the giant fields peak. The worst-case scenario sees a peak in 2008 and the best-case scenario, following a 1.4 % demand growth, peaks in 2018.

Several scenarios point toward a future where we are far more people on Earth than today, where most of those people will live in cities and where oil no longer dominates in the transport systems and in agriculture as an energy source and where less energy will be available to us. The report investigates what areas in traditional ecological knowledge that can contribute to the transition that follows a future with less energy and establishes three areas with the potential of becoming important:   areaspecific biological knowledge in societies that are more dependent upon its surrounding environment and its natural prerequisites the local management of these biological resources, which often means a fair sharing and sustainable handling of the resources and which has been observed in Nobel price awarded Elinor Ostrom’s research the world views that lie behind how the environment is considered and managed, world views that can inspire and point toward how we in the future should formulate world views that do not give the destructive modern management of the environment   It is also noted that the magnitude of the city living in the future is a historical news and that very little research has been done in how traditional knowledge can be transferred into this kind of living.

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mineral density, deteriorated bone microstructure and increased fracture risk. About 50% of all women and 25% of all men will have an osteoporotic fracture. Given that there is no effective cure in established osteoporosis, prevention is of high importance. Bone mineral density (BMD) is accumulated during childhood and adolescence with a peak at about 20 years of age. Peak BMD has been suggested to explain at least half of the variation in BMD up to old age. Thus, to increase peak BMD could decrease the risk of later fractures. The purpose of the present thesis was to investigate the influence of physical activity, vitamins A and D, and fatty acids on peak bone mass in men. The influence of physical activity on bone accrual was studied in two cohorts. In the first cohort 46 ice hockey players, 18 badminton players and 27 controls, all 17 years of age at baseline, were followed for four years. During the follow up the badminton players gained more bone mass at the hip compared to both the ice hockey players and controls. In the second cohort the associations between physical activity and BMD were investigated in 62 female and 62 male young medical students. The estimated high impact activity per week was associated with bone mass at all sites in the male medical students (r=0.27-0.53, p<0.05). In the female cohort different estimates of physical activity were not related to bone mass at any site. In both males and females correlations between bone mass and body constitution parameters were observed. Levels of vitamin D3, vitamin D2, retinol, retinol-binding-protein-4 (RBP-4) and fatty acids were measured in 78 young men with a mean age of 22.6 years. BMD at various sites were measured using Dual-Energy X-ray absorptiometry. Levels of vitamin D3 showed a significant positive association with all BMD sites and also lean body mass (r=0.23-0.35, p<0.05). Levels of vitamin D2, however, showed a significant negative correlation with BMD of the total body (r=-0.28, p=0.01) and spine (r=-0.27, p=0.02). There was also a significant negative relationship between levels of vitamin D3 and D2 (r=-0.31, p=0.006). Concentrations of n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids showed a positive association with BMD at the total body (r=0.27, p=0.02) and spine BMD (r=0.25, p=0.02). There was also a positive association between levels of n-3 fatty acids and changes in BMD of the spine between 16 and 22 years of age (r=0.26, p=0.02). The significant associations found seemed to be related mostly to the concentration of the n-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid. Levels of retinol and RBP-4 were not related to BMD but to levels of osteocalcin, which is a marker of bone formation. This association disappeared when adjusting for the influence of abdominal fat mass. In summary, the present thesis suggests that many modifiable factors may influence the accumulation of peak bone mass in males, such as physical activity, vitamins, and fatty acids. Further studies are needed to investigate whether optimizing these factors in youth may decrease the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

Av två anledningar anses det som mycket viktigt att bryta beroendet av olja, naturgas och kol. Den första anledningen är de uppmärksammade klimatförändringarna. Förbränning av fossila bränslen anges idag som huvudorsak till växthuseffekten. Den andra mindre uppmärksammade orsaken är att oljan och naturgasen snart inte räcker till för att föda en allt energihungrigare värld. Utvinningen ser dessutom ut att ha nåt sin kulmen. Efter denna kommer en oundviklig produktionsnedgång. Med det stora beroendet som finns av oljan inom i stort sett alla sektorer är det ytterst viktigt att hitta andra alternativ. Speciellt gäller detta inom transportområdet. Förhoppningen står idag till ”gröna” drivmedel som etanol och biodiesel. IEA (International Energy Agency) har uppmanat de västerländska nationerna att satsa stort på biobränslen. I denna studie görs en analys av de förutsättningar som finns att bygga ut produktionen av denna i USA, Brasilien och Malaysia/Indonesien. Syftet har varit att ta reda på om det är möjligt att göra detta utan att inkräkta på andra näringar, inte skada miljön samt vara oberoende av fossil energi? Den bakomliggande teorin är att detta inte låter sig göras i den omfattning som krävs för att bibehålla de nuvarande samhällsstrukturerna. Detta visar sig också stämma med de uppgifter som står till buds. Endast en fraktion av det nuvarande drivmedelsbehovet går att försörja med biodrivmedel om det inte ska uppstå en allvarlig konkurrens om odlingsmarken eller orsaka stora ekologiska skador.

Lithium is a highly interesting metal, in part due to the increasing interest in lithium-ion batteries. Several recent studies have used different methods to estimate whether the lithium production can meet an increasing demand, especially from the transport sector, where lithium-ion batteries are the most likely technology for electric cars. The reserve and resource estimates of lithium vary greatly between different studies and the question whether the annual production rates of lithium can meet a growing demand is seldom adequately explained. This study presents a review and compilation of recent estimates of quantities of lithium available for exploitation and discusses the uncertainty and differences between these estimates. Also, mathematical curve fitting models are used to estimate possible future annual production rates. This estimation of possible production rates are compared to a potential increased demand of lithium if the International Energy Agency’s Blue Map Scenarios are fulfilled regarding electrification of the car fleet. We find that the availability of lithium could in fact be a problem for fulfilling this scenario if lithium-ion batteries are to be used. This indicates that other battery technologies might have to be implemented for enabling an electrification of road transports. / Stand

The design and implementation of mm-wave switches, variable attenuators, and a passive imaging system in 65-nm CMOS are presented. The design and analysis of shunt switches is presented with a demonstration circuit showing record performance for a single-pole single-throw switch with 1.6dB loss and 30dB isolation at 94GHz. Single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switches are shown, with 4dB insertion loss in the W-band (75-110GHz), and the only reported SPDT switch operating in the D-band (110-170GHz). A novel technique for implementing digitally controlled variable attenuation is presented, resulting in variable attenuation between 4 and 30dB in the W-band. Finally, a W-band radiometer is described integrating a record-high gain CMOS LNA, SPDT switch, and peak detector. This is the highest-frequency imaging system in CMOS with this level of integration, offering a responsivity over 90kV/W, and a noise-equivalent power less than 0.2pW/√Hz.

Objective: To determine if significant differences exist in timings and rates of Peak Mandibular Growth (PMG) and mandibular projections of subjects with vertical, average and horizontal facial growth patterns. Methods: Sixty-three Caucasian orthognathic subjects with cephalograms (9 to 18 years) available from the Burlington Growth Centre were categorized into average, vertical and horizontal growth pattern groups based on their change in Y axis from age 10 to 16 years. PMG timing and rates were determined and mandibular projections measured. Comparisons were made by ANOVA. Results: Inter-group differences of PMG timing or rate were not statistically significant. Although not statistically significant, PMG of vertically growing females was 14 month earlier than all other subgroups. Horizontal mandibular projection differences approached significance in older children. Conclusions: No statistically significant differences were found in the timing or rate of PMG in different facial growth patterns. Differences in horizontal mandibular projections approached significance with growth.