STRUCTURE OF THE DESSERTATION The main part of the dessertation is 129 pages in length, including the main chapters as follows: Introduction: 3 pages, Chapter 1 - Literature overview: 28 pages, Chapter 2 - Subjects and methods: 18 pages, Chapter 3 - Results: 43 pages, Chapter 4 - Discussion: 34 pages, Conclusion: 2 pages, Recommendations: 1 page.