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Small- and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contributed a lot to the economic growth and promote employment in China. However, they were suffering from the credit discrimination, insecure property right protection, lack of the industry support policy and social services the same time. Based on this general background, in 2003, the Law of the PRC on promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (S
There is an increasing shift of hope from international negotiations to local actors for promoting sustainability by ‘thinking globally while acting locally’. Municipalities are such carriers of hope, taking on increasing responsibility as implementers of sustainability. The problem is that sustainability is a social construction site, and implementing it means ‘making it up as you go’. With this
The main objective of this study is to investigate the environmental work progress in Sweden with a focus on buildings. Variety of actions as well as investment programs have come and gone, likewise the public and political commitment to the issue. Today, there is a common knowledge about how our human actions lead to a negative impact on the environment. We need more coordinated actions to revers
In a recent paper, Hur and Wheeler proved the existence of periodic steady water waves over an infinitely deep, two-dimensional and constant vorticity flow and subject to gravity whose profile overhangs, among which, waves whose surface touches at a point, enclosing a bubble of air. We take this further, proving the existence of a continuous curve of water waves from a laminar flow up to a touchin
Electrostatic interactions in proteins can be probed experimentally through determination of residue-specific acidity constants, We describe here triple-resonance NMR techniques for direct determination of lysine and arginine side-chain protonation states in proteins. The experiments are based on detection of nonexchangeable protons over the full range of pH and temperature and therefore are well
This thesis investigates how manufacturing of asphalt containing recycled materials can be conducted when the purpose is to use the recycled material in another road construction. The study show that manufacturing of asphalt containing recycled materials then can be conducted in three ways, through hot, less hot and cold manufacturing processes. The possible use of the final products is dependent
In this thesis, I investigate the relation between assessed speaking proficiency and measured complexity and accuracy in twenty test-takers’ performance in the oral part of the Swedish certificate test Swedex B2. Accuracy and complexity have been measured in seven different ways; both global and local measures from the CAF (Complexity–Accuracy–Fluency) triad have been used. Also, each test-taker’s
Background Sub-Sahara Africa has seen tremendous economic growth the last years. Between 2001-2011 six of the world’s fastest growing economies were in Sub-Sahara Africa. This makes the region a very attractive market for firms and investors interested in growing their business. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to identify the key factors that affect growth for firms that are active or plann
Understanding circuit-level manipulations that affect the brain’s capacity for plasticity will inform the design of targeted interventions that enhance recovery after stroke. Following stroke, increased contralesional activity (e.g. use of the unaffected limb) can negatively influence recovery, but it is unknown which specific neural connections exert this influence, and to what extent increased c
We have developed a method for simultaneous tomosynthesis and mechanical imaging, called DBTMI. Mechanical imaging measures the stress distribution over the compressed breast surface. Malignant tissue is usually stiffer than benign, which results in higher stress on the compressed breast and enables to distinguish malignant from benign findings. By combining tomosynthesis and mechanical imaging, w
Det övergripande syftet med denna licentiatavhandling är att öka kunskapen kring vad som påverkar att jobba som en brandman vars huvudsakliga sysselsättning är utanför räddningstjänsten (exempelvis frivilliga brandmän eller deltidsbrandmän) för att förstå hur utmaningar och engagemang påverkar beslutet att fortsätta vara verksam. Bibehållandet av dessa brandmän är en välkänd utmaning i många ländeThe overarching aim of this licentiate thesis is to increase knowledge about the implications of working as a non-career firefighter in order to understand how challenges and commitment affect retention. Retention of non-career firefighters (for example volunteer or part-time firefighters) is a well-known, multifaceted challenge in several countries. These non-career firefighters account for the m
This investigation consisted of developing and evaluating solar dryers together with semi-permeable membrane pouches for drying juicy fruits in low-income tropical countries. Two design iterations were carried out including prototype modelling and testing. The latest developed solar dryers were a passive and an active solar dryer. Modelling was initially carried out mathematically using an equatio
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the importance of local physical tissue support for homeostasis in the isolated retina. Methods: Full-thickness retinal sheets were isolated from adult porcine eyes. Retinas were cultured for 5 or 10 days using the previously established explant protocol with photoreceptors positioned against the culture membrane (porous polycarbonate) or the Mülle
Background: Population-based empirical information to inform health care professionals working with children with spina bifida currently is lacking. Spina bifida is a highly complex condition that not only affects mobility but many additional aspects of life. We have developed a pilot project that focuses on a broad range of domains: Surgeries, development and learning, nutrition and physical grow
New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, is situated within the basaltic Auckland Volcanic Field (AVF). Therefore, understanding the eruption history of the local volcanoes in the field is of great importance in order to assess future hazards that they may pose. Rangitoto is the youngest and largest volcano in the AVF, although the timing of the first eruption and the duration of the volcanic activit
Sheep and their wool were paramount to Viking Age economies. The importance of wool cannot be underestimated, especially as the woollen sail was implemented on ships in general during this period. This paper investigates sheep management and landscape use in Viking Age Löddeköpinge in Scania, southern Sweden, through a multiproxy approach, integrating multi-isotope methods with zooarchaeological a
The way in which the large-scale cosmic environment affects galactic properties is not yet understood. Dark matter haloes, which embed galaxies, initially evolve following linear theory. Their subsequent evolution is driven by non-linear structure formation in the halo region and in its outer environment. In this work, we present the first study where we explicitly control the linear part of the e
Introduction: Vulvar cancer may cause serious local symptoms that may impact negatively on the woman's health-related quality of life (HRQOL). However, knowledge about the prevalence of vulvar and lymphedema symptoms at diagnosis and during follow-up is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal development of vulvar and lymphedema symptoms as well as the trajectory of HRQOL i
Background and objective: The European Council advises evaluating the feasibility of organized prostate cancer testing (OPT) programs, but it is unclear whether results from screening trials can be replicated in population-based testing. The aim of this study is to compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments and biopsy outcomes with and without a central review in two Swedish OPT programs
Oligometastatic squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus (omSCCA) is a very rare condition. The literature is sparse, and treatment guidelines are lacking. The aim of the present work was to carry out a literature review and to propose an algorithm for intensified treatment of patients with omSCCA. A PubMed search was carried out, which resulted in 15 relevant publications that included any type of def
