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This thesis presents four interconnected studies showing methods for characterizing and separating cells based on their acoustic properties, with particular focus on isolating rare cells from blood samples.The first study introduces a technique for single-cell density measurements using microcapillary-adapted density gradient centrifugation. Using fluorescent markers to visualize the density gradi
Halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a transformative photovoltaic technology, achieving unprecedented power conversion efficiencies. However, the development of electron-transport materials (ETMs), particularly organic ETMs, has significantly trailed behind the rapid progress in hole-transport materials (HTMs). Among the organic ETMs, naphthalene diimide (NDI)-based systems stand
Stage- and lineage-specific gene expression patterns are controlled by a complex interplay between transcription factors, the epigenetic landscape, and the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the DNA. The 3D structure allows for the formation of DNA loops that juxtaposition distal regulatory elements to the promoters, allowing for tight control of gene expression. Developing a tool to facilitate t
Acoustofluidic particle manipulation has attracted considerable interest in biomedical applications due to its non-contact and label-free characteristics. However, existing computational models for predicting particle motion in acoustofluidic systems mainly focus on single-particle behavior, often neglecting particle–particle interactions and the impact of particle distribution on the acoustic and
Histatins are a family of multifunctional, cationic histidine-rich saliva peptides. The most prominently represented are Histatin 1, Histatin 3, and Histatin 5. Despite considerable similarities in primary structure, the three members are known to display varied antimicrobial properties and healing abilities. This study aims to provide a detailed structural comparison of Histatin 1, Histatin 3, an
In this work, we have studied how the choice of the continuous phase oils affects droplet-internal acoustic manipulation and mapped the acoustic properties of the selected oils to evaluate their compatibility with droplet acoustofluidic methods. The selection of continuous phase included hydrocarbon, fluorinated, and silicone oils. To map the acoustic properties of the oils, we measured their spee
Antibiotic persistence arises when a subset of cells in an otherwise susceptible bacterial population temporarily exhibits elevated tolerance to bactericidal antibiotics. While significant progress has been made in elucidating persister mechanisms, much of this research has focused on Gram-negative bacteria, and these findings are not always applicable to Gram-positive species. This study explores
Introduction: Extrauterine pregnancy (EP), represents a significant challenge in reproductive medicine, manifesting in approximately 2% of all pregnancies, primarily implanting within the fallopian tubes (95%). Surgery remains a cornerstone in the therapeutic options for ectopic pregnancies. The most common surgical approach at the moment is laparoscopy. However a relatively new surgical technique
Micro-LEDs have emerged as a hot research topic due to their potential for next-generation display and lighting applications, necessitating advanced characterization techniques to optimize their performance. This study demonstrates the advantage of cathodoluminescence in the scanning electron microscope to be a critical tool for the optical characterization of InGaN platelets with red quantum well
Minimal Kitaev chains, composed of two quantum dots connected via a superconductor, have emerged as an attractive platform to realize Majorana bound states (MBSs). These excitations exist when the ground state is degenerate. The additional requirement of isolating the MBS wave functions further restricts the parameter space to discrete sweet spots. While scaling up to Kitaev chains with more than
The coherence factors of quasiparticles in a superconductor determine their properties, including transport as well as their susceptibility to electric fields. In this work, we propose a way to infer the local coherence factors using local transport to normal leads. Our method is based on measuring the local current through a lead as the coupling to a second one is varied; the shape of the current
Catalytic activity is improved by reducing particle size, followed by atomic scale structural and chemical design, allowing physical and electronic confinement of chemical conversion centers. These concepts culminate in single-atom catalysts (SACs) where active precious metal atoms are isolated and anchored on the surface of supports and thus fully utilized for chemical conversion. In contrast, me
Lignin, a structurally intricate and heterogeneous phenolic biopolymer, holds considerable promise as a sustainable alternative to petrochemical-derived materials across diverse applications in the energy and materials sectors. However, precise lignin molecular weight and structure determination remains challenging due to its intrinsic tendency to aggregate in solution and the absence of chem
Investigation of the properties of membrane proteins (MPs) is essential to the successful development of medicines and biotechnology. However, their study is often complicated by denaturation caused by the use of detergents during conventional extraction methods. Copolymers of styrene and maleic acid (SMA) have shown promise in extracting MPs directly from cells while reconstituting lipid memb
Background: Nocturnal gastro-oesophageal reflux (nGER) is common in people with respiratory diseases, but its association with pulmonary abnormalities is not known. Aim: Investigate the association between nGER and pulmonary abnormalities on chest CT in an adult general population. Methods: In total, 28 846 individuals from the general population aged 50-64 years completed questionnaires and under
A concept of germ graphs and the M-function formalism are employed to construct large families of isospectral and isoscattering graphs. This approach represents a complete departure from the original approach pioneered by Sunada, where isospectral graphs are obtained as quotients of a certain large symmetric graph. Using the M-function formalism and the symmetries of the graph itself we construct
Introduction Autistic persons experience problems with movements and body awareness in everyday functionality, expressed in affected movement quality. Yet, there is a knowledge gap about the effects of interventions targeting these aspects in autistic persons. Objective To evaluate effects of Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) and treatment-as-usual (TAU), compared to TAU alone on movement qualit
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been shown to reduce liver fat compared to saturated fat, but effects of a novel “anti-lipogenic” diet replacing carbohydrates with PUFA (LCPUFA) or a low-fat healthy Nordic diet (HND) rich in whole-grains are unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of these diets, as compared with usual care (UC), on liver fat (primary outcome) a
