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English abstract: In this master’s thesis, I will investigate the portrayal of aliens through an analysis of nine American films from the 21st century. The analysis is based on a discursive reading of the different films as a way of building different subgenres or discursive formations in an attempt to differentiate the portrayal of aliens. Over the years, the alien narrative in film has evolved as an expression of social issues, which has developed different subgenres of the use of the alien. The thesis finds that the portrayal of aliens on film has evolved into three different subgenres based on their discursive commonalities. While the alien-invasion and alien-horror narratives are the oldest and most common subgenres of the alien narrative, this thesis argues for the existence of a new subgenre. This subgenre does not portray aliens as monsters or invaders but rather as enablers of human selfunderstanding. The premises of these films take the alien narrative and turn the focus inward to question human existence using moralizing messages about misinformation, racism, and climate change. Furthermore, this thesis concludes that the alien narrative on film has been a way of dealing with two major changes in the American political landscape. The first turning point is 9/11, and the latter is the election of Donald Trump. The portrayal of aliens in American cinema has accordingly seen a development from a focus on U.S. foreign policy, such as wars, to a focus on U.S. social issues and the domestic political landscape.

English Abstract: This thesis examines the organization, dissemination, and development of civilian first aid in Denmark from 1883 to 2006. This time frame captures the evolution of civilian first aid integration in Danish society, starting with the first civilian first aid courses offered by Danish Red Cross in 1883 and concluding in 2006, when obtaining driver's license required completing a traffic-related first aid course. The study aims to enhance the understanding of Danish welfare history through a historical-institutional lens, highlighting how private organizations filled gaps in the state capacity by addressing everyday dangers that the state could not adequately manage. I argue that Danish Red Cross and ASF (now known as Danish People's Aid) were pivotal in shaping the organization of civilian first aid throughout its history. The research is based on archival material from five Danish archives. Key sources include journals published by Danish Red Cross and ASF, complimented by meeting minutes, correspondences, public inquiries, and reports from the other achieves. The history of civilian first aid in Denmark can be divided into three phases: the establishment phase (1883-1938), the consolidation phase (1939-1988), and the integration phase (1989-2006). The establishment phase was defined by private actors, who sought to meet the need for first aid skills in society, through specialized first aid. During the consolidation phase, Danish Red Cross and ASF, while remaining key players, increasingly collaborated with government actors to meet the growing demand. This collaboration led to the realization that a broader approach was necessary, laying the groundwork for the integration phase, where the state recognized civil first aid as crucial in prehospital care, a development I argue is driven by the needs highlighted by previous phases. The thesis concludes that the Danish Red Cross and ASF were instrumental in the development and dissemination of first aid

This thesis examines the ideological core of the incel movement, and how cultural and political circumstances have shaped the ideology of the involuntary celibates, using source material written by incels from 2008-2023. Utilizing Michael Freeden’s method on defining ideologies, the analysis of the misogynist ideology will clarify three core concepts constituting incel ideology’s morphology: the lookism system, a dominance hierarchy, and the belief in the unequal distribution of sexual resources on a sexual market. Together they tackle the idea that women are biologically inferior to men, and consequently shouldn’t be able to choose romantic and sexual partners. The core concepts of the ideology lead to a belief system called blackpill, which is an expansion of a popular right-wing analogy. Therefore, incels believe in a hierarchy between men, where looks are the defining factor in attraction, in a post sexual revolution society ruled by women. This creates a detrimental hierarchy of dominance, that negatively affects the quality of life at the bottom of the hierarchy – a position incels’ view themselves as inhabiting. Awareness of their societal position causes an extreme worldview, that in some cases leads to terror acts against women. The incel movement wishes to implement a Sexual Marxist government structure to solve the incel problem, and thereby appropriating the political left, while maintaining the hierarchical make-up of the right.

The global surveillance and outbreak investigation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is amidst a paradigm shift from traditional biology to bioinformatics. This is due to developments in whole-genome-sequencing (WGS) technologies, bioinformatics tools, and reduced costs. The increased use of WGS is accompanied by challenges such as standardization, quality control (QC), and data sharing. Thus, there is global need for inter-laboratory WGS proficiency test (PT) schemes to evaluate laboratories' capacity to produce reliable genomic data. Here, we present the results of the first iteration of the Genomic PT (GPT) organized by the Global Capacity Building Group at the Technical University of Denmark in 2020. Participating laboratories sequenced two isolates and corresponding DNA of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Campylobacter coli, using WGS methodologies routinely employed at their laboratories. The participants' ability to obtain consistently good-quality WGS data was assessed based on several QC WGS metrics. A total of 21 laboratories from 21 European countries submitted WGS and meta-data. Most delivered high-quality sequence data with only two laboratories identified as overall underperforming. The QC metrics, N50 and number of contigs, were identified as good indicators for high-sequencing quality. We propose QC thresholds for N50 greater than 20 000 and 25 000 for Campylobacter coli and Escherichia coli, respectively, and number of contigs >200 bp greater than 225, 265 and 100 for Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Campylobacter coli, respectively. The GPT2020 results confirm the importance of systematic QC procedures, ensuring the submission of reliable WGS data for surveillance and outbreak investigation to meet the requirements of the paradigm shift in methodology., The global surveillance and outbreak investigation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is amidst a paradigm shift from traditional biology to bioinformatics. This is due to developments in whole-genome-sequencing (WGS) technologies, bioinformatics tools, and reduced costs. The increased use of WGS is accompanied by challenges such as standardization, quality control (QC), and data sharing. Thus, there is global need for inter-laboratory WGS proficiency test (PT) schemes to evaluate laboratories' capacity to produce reliable genomic data. Here, we present the results of the first iteration of the Genomic PT (GPT) organized by the Global Capacity Building Group at the Technical University of Denmark in 2020. Participating laboratories sequenced two isolates and corresponding DNA of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Campylobacter coli, using WGS methodologies routinely employed at their laboratories. The participants' ability to obtain consistently good-quality WGS data was assessed based on several QC WGS metrics. A total of 21 laboratories from 21 European countries submitted WGS and meta-data. Most delivered high-quality sequence data with only two laboratories identified as overall underperforming. The QC metrics, N50 and number of contigs, were identified as good indicators for high-sequencing quality. We propose QC thresholds for N50 greater than 20 000 and 25 000 for Campylobacter coli and Escherichia coli, respectively, and number of contigs >200 bp greater than 225, 265 and 100 for Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Campylobacter coli, respectively. The GPT2020 results confirm the importance of systematic QC procedures, ensuring the submission of reliable WGS data for surveillance and outbreak investigation to meet the requirements of the paradigm shift in methodology.

Purpose The aim of this study was to assess and compare the arterial uptake of the inflammatory macrophage targeting PET tracer [Cu-64]Cu-DOTATATE in patients with no or known cardiovascular disease (CVD) to investigate potential differences in uptake. Methods Seventy-nine patients who had undergone [Cu-64]Cu-DOTATATE PET/CT imaging for neuroendocrine neoplasm disease were retrospectively allocated to three groups: controls with no known CVD risk factors (n = 22), patients with CVD risk factors (n = 24), or patients with known ischemic CVD (n = 33). Both maximum, mean of max and most-diseased segment (mds) standardized uptake value (SUV) and target-to-background ratio (TBR) uptake metrics were measured and reported for the carotid arteries and the aorta. To assess reproducibility between different reviewers, Bland-Altman plots were made. Results For the carotid arteries, SUVmax (P = .03), SUVmds (0.05), TBRmax (P < .01), TBRmds (P < .01), and mean-of-max TBR (P = .01) were overall shown to provide a group-wise difference in uptake. When measuring uptake values in the aorta, a group-wise difference was only observed with TBRmds (P = .04). Overall, reproducibility of the reported uptake metrics was excellent for SUVs and good to excellent for TBRs for both the carotid arteries and the aorta. Conclusion Using [Cu-64]Cu-DOTATATE PET imaging as a marker of atherosclerotic inflammation, we were able to demonstrate differences in some of the most frequently reported uptake metrics in patients with different degrees of CVD. Measurements of the carotid artery as either maximum uptake values or most-diseased segment analysis showed the best ability to discriminate between the groups.

An increasing number of patients are living with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and/or heart failure. Treatment options and prognostic tools are lacking for many of these patients. Our aim was to investigate the prognostic value of imaging angiogenesis and macrophage activation via positron emission tomography (PET) in terms of functional improvement after cell therapy. Myocardial infarction was induced in rats. Animals were scanned with [18F]FDG PET and echocardiography after four weeks and randomized to allogeneic adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (ASCs, n = 18) or saline (n = 9). Angiogenesis and macrophage activation were assessed before and after treatment by [68Ga]Ga-RGD and [64Cu]Cu-DOTATATE. There was no overall effect of the treatment. Rats that improved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) had higher uptake of both [68Ga]Ga-RGD and [64Cu]Cu-DOTATATE at follow-up (p = 0.006 and p = 0.008, respectively). The uptake of the two tracers correlated with each other (r = 0.683, p = 0.003 pre-treatment and r = 0.666, p = 0.004 post-treatment). SUVmax at follow-up could predict improvement in LVEF (p = 0.016 for [68Ga]Ga-RGD and p = 0.045 for [64Cu]Cu-DOTATATE). High uptake of [68Ga]Ga-RGD and [64Cu]Cu-DOTATATE PET after injection of ASCs or saline preceded improvement in LVEF. The use of these tracers could improve the monitoring of heart failure patients in treatment.

Denne rapport består af en række uafhængige kapitler vedrørende klapning og klapningspraksis samt anbefalinger til Best Practice ved større klapninger typisk i forbindelse med anlægsarbejder. Den aktuelle forvaltningspraksis i en række europæiske lande er gennemgået med udgangspunkt i anbefalinger vedrørende praksis for klapning udarbejdet af HELCOM og OSPAR. Anbefalingerne fra HELCOM/OSPAR omfattes i rapporten af følgende emner: a) Hierarki for placering af opgravet marint materiale; b) Krav til ansøgninger om klapning; c) Plan for prøvetagning i forbindelse med klapninger både før og under klapningen; d) Krav til karakterisering af det opgravede materiale i relation til fysiske, biologiske og miljøkemiske parametre; e) Procedurer for udstedelse af klaptilladelse; f) Håndtering af klapningen herunder angivelse af ”Best Practice”; g) Iværksættelse af overvågning/monitering af klapningen; h) Krav til afrapportering til HELCOM og OSPAR. De enkelte landes praksis er vurderet i forhold til HELCOM/OSPARs anbefalinger med særligt fokus på den danske forvaltning, som den er beskrevet i Klapbekendtgørelsen. I tilhørende bilag til rapporten er angivet diverse krav til tilladelser til klapning i danske farvande samt internationale kriterier for tålegrænser for miljøfremmede stoffer. I Danmark er den foretrukne metode til dumpning af opgravet sedimentært materiale klapning. Det opgravede materiale placeres i en splitpram, og frigives ved åbning af klapperne i bunden af splitprammen, deraf navnet. Materialet synker straks efter klapning mod bunden forårsaget af materialets højere densitet. Der findes en række alternative metoder til klapning fra splitpram, som i dag anvendes forskellige steder i verden. Pumpning af det opgravede materiale til bunden evt. i kombination med en diffusor ved overgangen fra pumperør til bund er et alternativ, der vil fjerne spredning af finkornet materiale og frigivelse af næringsstoffer m.m. under transporten fra splitprammen til

Vi står over for en række bæredygtighedsproblemer, der skyldes et udbredt materialistisk- mekanistisk verdenssyn. I dette kapitel argumenteres der for, at der er behov for et alternativt verdenssyn, og at de tekniske og industrielle museer kan være nøglespillere i at skabe, praktisere og udbrede dette verdenssyn. Dette kræver en genforhandling af museernes kernefortælling om, at teknologi og videnskab entydigt er til gavn for menneskeheden.

Background and aims: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of semaglutide, a long acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, on atherosclerotic inflammation and calcification using a multimodality positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) approach. Methods: Atherosclerotic New Zealand White rabbits were randomized to an intervention- (n = 12) or placebo group (n = 11) receiving either semaglutide or saline-placebo. PET/CT imaging was done before and after 16-weeks of intervention. Three different radiotracers were used: [64Cu]Cu-DOTATATE for imaging of activated macrophages, [18F]FDG imaging cellular metabolism and [18F]NaF PET visualizing micro-calcifications. Tracer uptake was quantified by maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and target-to-background-ratio (TBRmax). Animals were euthanized for autoradiographic imaging and histological analyses. Results: A reduction in activated macrophage tracer-uptake was observed in the semaglutide group (SUVmax: p = 0.001 and TBRmax: p = 0.029). When imaging cellular metabolism, an attenuation of SUVmax and TBRmax was observed in the semaglutide group (p = 0.034 and p = 0.044). We found no difference in uptake of the micro-calcification tracer between the two groups (SUVmax: p = 0.62 and TBRmax: p = 0.36). Values of macrophage density in the vessel wall were significantly correlated with SUVmax values of the activated macrophage (r = 0.54, p = 0.0086) and cellular metabolism tracers (r = 0.51, p = 0.013). Conclusions: Semaglutide decreased vascular uptake of tracers imaging activated macrophages and cellular metabolism but not micro-calcifications compared to a saline placebo. This supports the hypothesis that semaglutide reduces atherosclerotic inflammation by means of decreased activated macrophage activity.

The third way is central to the market turn that has taken place across the Western world since the 1970s. In this article, we explore the origins of the third way in Denmark, focusing on economist and Social Democratic dissident Jørn Henrik Petersen. We show how Petersen from the late 1970s onwards imported a new economic perspective on politics in the form of public choice theories into Danish debates about the welfare state, which contributed to making the third way possible as a cross-ideological project by allowing politicians of different colours to criticize, defend and reform the welfare state.

Background Haloperidol is frequently used to treat delirium in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), but evidence of its effect is limited. Methods In this multicenter, blinded, placebo-controlled trial, we randomly assigned adult patients with delirium who had been admitted to the ICU for an acute condition to receive intravenous haloperidol (2.5 mg 3 times daily plus 2.5 mg as needed up to a total maximum daily dose of 20 mg) or placebo. Haloperidol or placebo was administered in the ICU for as long as delirium continued and as needed for recurrences. The primary outcome was the number of days alive and out of the hospital at 90 days after randomization. Results A total of 1000 patients underwent randomization; 510 were assigned to the haloperidol group and 490 to the placebo group. Among these patients, 987 (98.7%) were included in the final analyses (501 in the haloperidol group and 486 in the placebo group). Primary outcome data were available for 963 patients (97.6%). At 90 days, the mean number of days alive and out of the hospital was 35.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 32.9 to 38.6) in the haloperidol group and 32.9 (95% CI, 29.9 to 35.8) in the placebo group, with an adjusted mean difference of 2.9 days (95% CI, -1.2 to 7.0) (P=0.22). Mortality at 90 days was 36.3% in the haloperidol group and 43.3% in the placebo group (adjusted absolute difference, -6.9 percentage points [95% CI, -13.0 to -0.6]). Serious adverse reactions occurred in 11 patients in the haloperidol group and in 9 patients in the placebo group. Conclusions Among patients in the ICU with delirium, treatment with haloperidol did not lead to a significantly greater number of days alive and out of the hospital at 90 days than placebo.

BACKGROUND Haloperidol is frequently used to treat delirium in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), but evidence of its effect is limited. METHODS In this multicenter, blinded, placebo-controlled trial, we randomly assigned adult patients with delirium who had been admitted to the ICU for an acute condition to receive intravenous haloperidol (2.5 mg 3 times daily plus 2.5 mg as needed up to a total maximum daily dose of 20 mg) or placebo. Haloperidol or placebo was administered in the ICU for as long as delirium continued and as needed for recurrences. The primary outcome was the number of days alive and out of the hospital at 90 days after randomization. RESULTS A total of 1000 patients underwent randomization; 510 were assigned to the haloperidol group and 490 to the placebo group. Among these patients, 987 (98.7%) were included in the final analyses (501 in the haloperidol group and 486 in the placebo group). Primary outcome data were available for 963 patients (97.6%). At 90 days, the mean number of days alive and out of the hospital was 35.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 32.9 to 38.6) in the haloperidol group and 32.9 (95% CI, 29.9 to 35.8) in the placebo group, with an adjusted mean difference of 2.9 days (95% CI, -1.2 to 7.0) (P=0.22). Mortality at 90 days was 36.3% in the haloperidol group and 43.3% in the placebo group (adjusted absolute difference, -6.9 percentage points [95% CI, -13.0 to -0.6]). Serious adverse reactions occurred in 11 patients in the haloperidol group and in 9 patients in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS Among patients in the ICU with delirium, treatment with haloperidol did not lead to a significantly greater number of days alive and out of the hospital at 90 days than placebo.

An original interpretation of the neoliberal order's origins, The Marketizers is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the marketization of politics since the 1980s. The book traces the origins of the neoliberal order to public choice theory and argues that the reinvention of government on the model of the market would have been unimaginable without the emergence of this body of thought. The separation of provision and production in public services, the introduction of competition between service providers, the treatment of citizens as customers, and the use of performance incentives all have origins in the writings of public choice theorists. From the 1940s through the 1980s, these marketizers gradually eroded the differences between politics and the market as they applied the tools of economics to problems usually considered the purview of political scientists and political philosophers. In response to the extraordinary postwar growth in American public expenditures, they reimagined politics as a marketplace, redefined the relationship between the state and its citizens as a commercial transaction between a firm and its customers, and argued for the marketization of government.

This thesis examines the production of legitimacy during the handling of the Covid-epidemic in Denmark between the end of 2019 and the 3rd of February 2022. Its main analytical focus lies on the Danish government and its authorities’ communication to the public. The last chapter consists of a comparison between the government’s explanations of its own handling of the crisis to the knowledge production from the government’s advisory experts. This is done to explain why the second reopening of Denmark was politized, while the third was not. The Covid-epidemic has recently been investigated through numerous current themes but none of them has addressed how the Covid-19 epidemic crisis management could be legitimized in a modern western democracy like the Danish. This is the first contribution of the thesis. The question of legitimacy in epidemic crisis management has, however, been asked in terms of other, recent epidemics in other geographical and temporal spaces. But none of these has used an approach that emphasizes the importance of language in the production of legitimacy. This is the second contribution of this thesis. The theoretical and methodological framework of Michel Foucault’s historical discourse accentuates the important role of language in the production of legitimacy. It is an approach that makes it possible to give an account of how language is used for making sense of the experienced world and why people make the choices they do. Using this approach, the thesis argues firstly that the handling of the epidemic was a constant adaption to the changing perceptions and facts of government and authorities. To conceptualize and legitimize the constant adaption of the epidemic crisis management to the public, the government used words with historical and cultural notions that in some ways corresponded to the specific critical situation in question. Secondly, the thesis argues that this approach to epidemic crisis management with time evolved into a p, This thesis examines the production of legitimacy during the handling of the Covid-epidemic in Denmark between the end of 2019 and the 3rd of February 2022. Its main analytical focus lies on the Danish government and its authorities’ communication to the public. The last chapter consists of a comparison between the government’s explanations of its own handling of the crisis to the knowledge production from the government’s advisory experts. This is done to explain why the second reopening of Denmark was politized, while the third was not. The Covid-epidemic has recently been investigated through numerous current themes but none of them has addressed how the Covid-19 epidemic crisis management could be legitimized in a modern western democracy like the Danish. This is the first contribution of the thesis. The question of legitimacy in epidemic crisis management has, however, been asked in terms of other, recent epidemics in other geographical and temporal spaces. But none of these has used an approach that emphasizes the importance of language in the production of legitimacy. This is the second contribution of this thesis. The theoretical and methodological framework of Michel Foucault’s historical discourse accentuates the important role of language in the production of legitimacy. It is an approach that makes it possible to give an account of how language is used for making sense of the experienced world and why people make the choices they do. Using this approach, the thesis argues firstly that the handling of the epidemic was a constant adaption to the changing perceptions and facts of government and authorities. To conceptualize and legitimize the constant adaption of the epidemic crisis management to the public, the government used words with historical and cultural notions that in some ways corresponded to the specific critical situation in question. Secondly, the thesis argues that this approach to epidemic crisis management with time evolved into a p

Mixed-linkage glucan, which is widely distributed in grasses, is a polysaccharide highly abundant in cell walls of grass endosperm and young vegetative tissues. Lichenases are enzymes that hydrolyze mixed-linkage glucan first identified in mixed-linkage glucan-rich lichens. In this study, we identify a gene encoding a lichenase we name Brachypodium distachyon LICHENASE 1 (BdLCH1), which is highly expressed in the endosperm of germinating seeds and coleoptiles and at lower amounts in mature shoots. RNA in situ hybridization showed that BdLCH1 is primarily expressed in chlorenchyma cells of mature leaves and internodes. Disruption of BdLCH1 resulted in an eight-fold increase in mixed-linkage glucan content in senesced leaves. Consistent with the in situ hybridization data, immunolocalization results showed that mixed-linkage glucan was not removed in chlorenchyma cells of lch1 mutants as it was in wild type and implicate the BdLCH1 enzyme in removing mixed-linkage glucan in chlorenchyma cells in mature vegetative tissues. We also show that mixed-linkage glucan accumulation in lch1 mutants was resistant to dark-induced degradation, and 8-week-old lch1 plants showed a faster rate of starch breakdown than wild type in darkness. Our results suggest a role for BdLCH1 in modifying the cell wall to support highly metabolically active cells.

This article examines how Murray Rothbard, though he claimed to follow Ludwig von Mises very closely, ended up making a number of radical leaps that Mises never did. It argues that Rothbard constructed anarchocapitalism by repurposing Mises's economic theory. First, whereas Mises responded to interwar socialism, Rothbard redeployed his mentor's economics in response to the militarism of the right-wing. Second, whereas Mises defended the market as a consumers' democracy against ideas about economic democracy, Rothbard developed an anti-democratic view of the market in response to the egalitarianism of the counterculture. These differences in context account for the distinctiveness of anarchocapitalism.