This thesis investigates control infinitives and ECM-infinitives in the history of Swedish. Both constructions are non-finite, based on infinitives with or without complements, but share some properties and functions with finite subordinate clauses. Control infinitives (to-infinitives) are headed by the infinitive marker att (which in some cases may be omitted) and have invisible PRO-subjects (“controlled” by, i.e. co-referential with, the subject or object of the matrix), whereas ECM-infinitives are headed by overt subjects, distinguished by their “exceptional case marking” (ECM) from the matrix verb, and never contain the infinitive marker. According to the proposed analyses, conducted within the theoretical framework of generative grammar, control infinitives are CPs, taking the infinitive marker as a non-finite complementizer in C, but lack the TP of the I-domain, whereas ECM-infinitives have no C-layer but, nevertheless, a (sort of) TP. The historical investigation shows that control infinitives have developed more clause like properties over time. In Old Swedish (1220–1526), they only rarely contained e.g. negations or auxiliaries. It is not until the seventeenth century that these elements have come into use in the same way as in modern Swedish. This is accounted for by assuming that the control infinitive in Old Swedish was a recent innovation that did not initially make any use at all of the I-domain. The ECM-infinitives, on the other hand, are taken to have the same structure and function in Old Swedish as in Modern Swedish, as their use and properties have not changed significantly. In addition, the status of the infinitive marker has changed through the history of Swedish. Etymologically a preposition, it is here analysed as a verb phrase element in Early Old Swedish, not as a (non-finite) complementizer as in Modern Swedish. In early Modern Swedish (1526–1732), the preposition till is used in much the same function as att giving rise to two new infinitive markers: till att and till. This development of new infinitive markers is also accounted for in the thesis.

Bone repair is modulated by different stimuli. There is evidence that the Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β) super-family of cytokines have significant effects on bone structure by regulating the replication and differentiation of chondrocytes, osteoblasts and osteoclasts. There is also significant evidence that interactions with extracellular matrix molecules also influence cell behaviour. This study aimed at determining the role of the TGF-βs, Collagen type I, Fibronectin and Laminin in bone cell behaviour. To do this MG63 bone cells were used to examine cell adhesion and alignment to different micro-contact printed ECM protein patterns of different widths. The study also aimed at examining how TGF-β1, 2 and 3 and their solvent and carrier (HCl and BSA, respectively) effected cell surface interactions, cell morphology, cell proliferation and integrin expression. Finally, this study also aimed at examining how the TGF-βs and their solvent and carrier influenced wound closure in an in vitro wound closure model and how TGF-βs influence ECM secretion and integrin expression. 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100μm wide repeat gratings of Collagen type I, Fibronectin and Laminin patterns were stamp patterned onto glass slides and plated with MG63 cells at 50,000 cells per coverslip. Cells on the fibronectin pattern attached and elongated soon after seeding, but did not adhere readily to collagen and laminin and appeared more rounded until 18hrs after seeding. Cells aligned significantly well on the 50μm and 100μm wide fibronectin patterned coverslips with mean angles of alignment ~7.87° ± 3.06SD and 6.45° ± 5.08SD, respectively, compared to those with smaller width (p<0.001). In comparison, cells aligned less readily to the other two ECM proteins, showing optimal alignments of 9.66° ± 4.18SD and 14.36° ± 1.57SD to the 50μm wide collagen and laminin patterns, respectively. Differences in cell length mirrored those of alignment, with cells acquiring the greatest length when showing the greatest degree of alignment. The results indicate that MG63 cells responded significantly better to 50 and 100μm wide fibronectin patterns compared to those with smaller width (p<0.001) indicating that the cells may attach mostly via fibronectin specific integrins. Cell surface attachment was examined via a trypsinisation assay in which the time taken to trypsinise cells from the surface provided a means of assessing the strength of attachment. The results indicated that treatment with the solvent (HCl), TGF-β1, 2 and 3 all decreased cell attachment, but this effect was significantly greater in the case of HCl and TGF-β3 (p<0.001). However, there were significant differences in trypsinisation rates between HCl and TGF-β3 (p<0.001). The wound healing response to the TGF-βs and their solvent/carrier was also investigated in 300μm ± 10-30μm SD wide model wounds induced in fully confluent monolayers of MG63 bone cells. The results indicated that TGF-β3 and HCl significantly enhance wound closure when compared against negative controls, TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 treatment (p<0.001). It was also found that TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 treatment significantly improved wound closure rate in comparison to the controls (p<0.001). Experiments were performed to determine if the HCl effects on wound closure were dose dependent. Cells were incubated with 20μM, 40μM, 80μM and 160μM concentrations of HCl prior to wounding and wound closure rates were recorded. Wound closure was dependent on HCl dose with the 80μM and 160μM concentrations inducing increases in wound closure rates that were both significantly greater than those induced by 20μM, 40μM and control treatments (p<0.001). However, there were significant differences in wound closure between the 80μM and 160μM treatment groups after 30hrs of treatment (p<0.001). The effect of different TGF-β isomers and their combinations on proliferation rate and cell length of human bone cells were also assessed. The results suggest that cell morphology changes were observed significantly more in cells treated with TGF-β(2+3) and TGF-β(1+3) (p<0.001). Any cell treated with TGF-β1, TGF-β(1+2) and TGF-β(1+2+3) showed significantly less elongation compared to the control and other TGF-β isomers. In terms of proliferation rate, TGF-β3 and TGF-β(2+3) increased cell numbers more than TGF-β1, TGF-β2 and other combinations. TGF-β1 and its combinations did not show significant proliferation and attachment compared to the control due to perhaps its inhibitory effect in contact with human bone cells. Immunostaining indicated that treatment with TGF-β3 significantly promoted the secretion of collagen type I and anti-human fibronectin in addition to integrin (α3 and β1) expression. Statistically TGF-β3 and their combinations showed significant differences in number of cells stained for collagen type I, anti-human fibronectin, α3 and β1 integrin. Any cell treated with TGF-β1 or any combination with TGF-β1 showed significantly lower cell number stained with the same proteins and integrins (p<0.001). Imaging with WSPR allowed observation of the focal contacts without the need for immunostaining. WSPR images revealed guided cells with high contrast band like structures at the border of cells distal to the edge of guidance cue to which they aligned and with less concentrically formed band like features across the cell body. It is believed that the high contrast features are associated with the formation of focal contacts on the edge of the cells distal to the edge of fibronectin patterns, which suggests that cell guidance is aided by a decrease in cell attachment along a guidance feature. The WSPR experiments also indicated that TGF-βs influenced the distribution of focal contacts. In the case of TGF-β1 treated cells the bright high contrast regions were intense but only arranged around the periphery of the cell. In TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 cells the bright contrast regions were weaker but again mostly localised around the periphery. These findings supported the earlier trypsinisation results.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

The theme of this work is to compare the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession and the Evangelical Methodist Church in Slovakia, the basic issues of faith and liturgical emphases, focusing on the contribution of the ecumenical environment to refer first to the historical and theological background and then the difference in understanding Christian worship and its liturgical expression, in further outline the importance of sacramentology, spirituality, religious dogmatic. We also attempt to compare the emphasis in the understanding of doctrine and traditions of individual churches. Both Churches with its Protestant character bear the common name "Evangelical Church" and that is the reason why to deal and examine the differences and look for the content of unity. We have considered that in spite of historical and liturgical divergences combines both these churches the fundamental reformation principle of "Sola Scriptura", which means that in practice it is possible creating mutual ecumenical cooperation not only at the Ecumenical Council of Churches (ERC) in Slovakia, but also at the level of inter-mission activities of the churches and parishes.

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) typically results from traumatic incidents; such as those presented from combat missions, where soft-tissue extremity injuries account for approximately 63% of diagnoses. These injuries lead to a devastating loss of function due to the complete destruction of large amounts of tissue and its native basement membrane, removing important biochemical cues such as hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), which initiates endogenous muscle regeneration by recruiting progenitor cells. Clinical strategies to treat these injuries consist of autologous tissue transfer techniques, requiring large amounts of healthy donor tissue and extensive surgical procedures that can result in donor site morbidity and limited functional recovery. As such, there is a clinical need for an off-the-shelf, bioactive scaffold that directs patient’s cells to align and differentiate into muscle tissue in situ. In this thesis, we developed fibrin microthreads, scaffolds composed of aligned fibrin material that direct cell alignment along the longitudinal axis of the microthread structure, with specific structural and biochemical properties to recreate structural cues lost in VML injuries. We hypothesized that fibrin microthreads with an increased resistance to proteolytic degradation and loaded with HGF would enhance the functional, mechanical regeneration of skeletal muscle tissue in a VML injury. We developed a crosslinking strategy to increase fibrin microthread resistance to enzymatic degradation, and increased their tensile strength and stiffness two- to three-fold. This crosslinking strategy enhanced the adsorption of HGF, facilitated its rapid release from microthreads for 2 to 3 days, and increased the chemotactic response of myoblasts twofold in 2D and 3D assays. Finally, we implanted HGF-loaded, crosslinked (EDCn-HGF) microthreads into a mouse model of VML to evaluate tissue regeneration and functional recovery. Fourteen days post-injury, we observed more muscle ingrowth along EDCn-HGF microthreads than untreated controls, suggesting that released HGF recruited additional progenitor cells to the injury site. Sixty days post-injury, EDCn-HGF microthreads guided mature, organized muscle to replace the microthreads in the wound site. Further, EDCn-HGF microthreads restored the contractile mechanical strength of the tissue to pre-injured values. In summary, we designed fibrin microthreads that recapitulate regenerative cues lost in VML injuries and enhance the functional regeneration of skeletal muscle.

The mechanical behavior of the arterial wall is determined by the composition and structure of its internal constituents as well as the applied traction-forces, such as pressure and axial stretch. The purpose of this work is to develop new theoretical frameworks and experimental methodologies to further the understanding of arterial mechanics and role of the various intrinsic and extrinsic mechanically motivating factors. Specifically, residual deformation, matrix organization, and perivascular support are investigated in the context of their effects on the overall and local mechanical behavior of the artery. We propose new kinematic frameworks to determine the displacement field due to residual deformations previously unknown, which include longitudinal and shearing residual deformations. This allows for improved predictions of the local, intramural stresses of the artery. We found distinct microstructural differences between the femoral and carotid arteries from non-human primates. These arteries are functionally and mechanically different, but are geometrically and compositionally similar, thereby suggesting differences in their microstructural alignments, particularly of their collagen fibers. Finally, we quantified the mechanical constraint of perivascular support on the coronary artery by mechanically testing the artery in-situ before and after surgical exposure.

As the size of an adaptive antenna array grows, the system is able to resist interference signals of increasing bandwidth. This is a result of the transmit pattern gain increasing, which raises the target's return power, and a greater number of degrees of freedom. However, once the interference signal decorrelates completely from one channel to the next, increasing array size will cease to improve detection capability. The use of tapped delay-line processing to improve correlation between channels has been studied for smaller arrays with single element antennas, but previous analyses have not considereded larger systems that are partitioned into subarrays. This thesis quantifies the effect that subarrays have on performance, as measured by the interference bandwidth that can be handled, and explains how tapped delay-line processing can maintain the ability to detect targets in an environment with high bandwidth interference. The analysis begins by deriving equations to estimate the half-power bandwidth of an array with no taps. Then we find that a single delay with optimal spacing is sufficient to completely restore performance if the interference angle is known exactly. However, in practice, the tap spacing will never be optimal because this angle will not be known exactly, so further consideration is given to this non-ideal case and possible solutions for arbitrary interference scenarios are presented. Simulations indicate that systems with multiple taps have more tolerance to increasing interference bandwidth and unknown directions of arrival. Finally, the tradeoffs between ideal and practical configurations are explained and suggestions are given for the design of real-world systems.

In this paper, we have employed non-linear model reexamine real interest parity (RIP) of five European economies with respect to the US. We focus on using linear and nonlinear unit root tests to test real interest rate differentials (RIRD). And we add time trend in the logistic and exponential smooth transition regression models to monthly data. The results are as follows. First, the evidence for the full-sample is favorable using three traditional unit root tests and one powerful nonlinear unit root test. Almost all economics are support real interest parity. Second, we use nonlinear error correction model to find which factors influence on RIRD. There are three economics influenced by both domestic and foreign factors at the same time.

Atmospheric convection is sensitive to the nature of the surface and its temperature. Both dry (without cloud) and moist (with cloud) convections depend on the surface temperature. Surface temperature is of critical importance in several practical applications like human comfort and crop cultivation. In the climate change scenario too, variations in the surface temperature take the center stage. Therefore, prediction of surface temperature is important. The evolution of the temperature is governed by the energy equation and the surface temperature by the surface energy balance. Important components of the surface energy balance are radiation (incoming solar radiation, reflected solar radiation, incoming and outgoing longwave radiation), sensible and latent heat fluxes and heat flux into the ground (called ground heat flux). A large number of individual and collective observations have been carried out in the past to understand the atmospheric boundary layer and the surface energy budgets. However a major share of the observations is from mid-latitudes. There have been few experiments carried out in India, for example, MONTBLEX, LASPEX, etc. One common drawback among these experiments is that the data time series is discontinuous and continuous measurements covering an entire season are lacking. Moreover these measurements were not comprehensive and hence did not allowed to calculate complete surface energy balance – in some cases radiation data is not available while in some humidity data. Therefore, continuous time series of sufficient duration and covering all variables needed to look at the seasonal energy balance based on measurements alone is missing in the Indian context. New programmes with the main objective of predicting convection are being planned in India. For example, PROWNAM (Prediction of Regional Weather with Observational Meso-Network and Atmospheric Modeling) is aimed at predicting the short term weather at SHAR and STORM (Severe Thunderstorms – Observations and Regional Modeling) aims to predict the occurrence of severe thunderstorms in the northeastern India. In both these programmes, measurement of all components of surface energy balance is one of the main objectives. However, the minimum configuration and data accuracy requirements for the flux towers, sensitivity of computed fluxes on data accuracy have not been carefully evaluated. This thesis is aimed at filling this gap. As a part of my work, a 10 m high micrometeorological tower was installed in an open area within the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Air Field. Temperature, relative humidity and wind speed and direction instruments were mounted at two levels, 2 m and 8 m. All components of radiation were measured. Data, sampled every 5 s and averaged for 2 minutes were continuously stored, starting May 2006 onwards. Soil temperature was measured at 4 depths, 5 cm, 10 cm, 15 cm and 20 cm. In addition, a sonic anemometer capable of measuring 3 components of velocity and air temperature was installed at 2 m height, and data was collected for more than a month to enable the calculation of momentum and buoyancy fluxes using the Eddy correlation method (ECM). The present work evaluated the sensitivity of the fluxes for small calibration errors and quantified the minimum data accuracies and configuration needed for flux measurement with the Profile method (PM). After applying corrections, the comparison of fluxes from PM and ECM are in good agreement. The complete long-term surface energy balances is calculated in terms of source and sink. One aspect that emerges from the observation is that the seasonal variation in the sink term is relatively small (150-170 Wm-2) whereas the source term shows much larger variation from 180-250 Wm-2. A method has been implemented by which the ground surface temperature can be estimated by using the subsurface temperature timeseries by the method of Fourier decomposition and using the Fourier heat conduction equation. In addition we can compute the thermal diffusivity of the soil by using the amplitude and phase information of the sub-surface soil time series. The estimated temperatures from this method and one that estimated from radiation method are in good agreement with the maximum difference being less than 0º C.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal