Syftet med detta examensarbete är att få inblick i hur verksamma lärare går tillväga i sitt val av matematikläromedel och om de anser att deras matematikläromedel lever upp till de nationella målen i matematik för årskurs 3 införda 2008. För att nå arbetets syfte genomfördes åtta kvalitativa intervjuer på fyra olika skolor i södra Sverige med lärare i årskurs 1-3. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att samtliga av de intervjuade lärarna ansåg sig ha möjlighet att påverka val och inköp av läromedel och att de alla i någon utsträckning använder sig av ett läromedel i sin matematikundervisning. Av resultatet framgår dock att alla lärarna på ett eller annat sätt kompletterade läroboken där de ansåg att denna inte var tillräcklig för att barnen ska utveckla de kunskaper de behöver för att nå de uppsatta målen. Vid valet av läromedel var det enligt lärarna de ekonomiska aspekterna och layouten i form av färg och bilder som vägde tyngst. I förhållande till de nationella målen för årskurs 3 lever läromedlet upp till dessa anser lärarna. / The purpose of this study is to learn how active teachers go perform their choice of mathematics textbooks and if the teachers regard their textbooks meet the national goals of mathematics in the syllabus for the third school year introduced in the year 2008. These issues were addressed by conducting eight qualitative interviews with teachers in the years 1-3 in four different schools located in southern Sweden. The results of the study show that all the interviewed teachers believed they were able to influence choices and purchases of textbooks and that they all to some extent used a textbook in their mathematics education. However, the results show that all teachers in one way or another complemented the textbook whenever they found that it was not sufficient for the pupils to gain the knowledge they need to reach the goals of the curriculum and syllabus. When choosing textbooks the economical aspects and the layout in form of colors and pictures mattered most, according to the teachers. The teachers considered that their textbooks reach the national goals for the third school year in mathematics.

<p>Apoptosis is a form of programmed cellular "suicide" which is activated in response to a variety of pro-death stimuli. Apoptotic cell death is orderly and energy-dependent, and cellular constituents are packaged into membrane-bound vesicles for consumption by phagocytes. Toxic intracellular signals are never exposed to neighboring cells or to the extracellular environment, and a host inflammatory response does not occur. Apoptosis is executed by the coordinated activation of caspase family proteins. Caspase-2 is an apical protease in this family, and promotes cell death after receipt of cues from intracellular stressor signals. Caspase-2 helps to initiate apoptosis by responding to cellular death stimuli and signaling for downstream cytochrome c release and executioner caspase activation.</p><p> Several years ago our lab determined that Xenopus laevis oocyte death is partly controlled by the activation of caspase-2. In the setting of oocyte or egg extract nutrient depletion, caspase-2 was observed to be activated upstream of mitochondrial cytochrome c. In fact, caspase-2 is suppressed in response to the nutrient status of the oocyte: nutrient-replete oocytes with healthy pentose phosphate pathway flux and abundant NADPH production are able to inhibit caspase-2 via S135 phosphorylation catalyzed by calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. Phosphorylation of caspase-2 at S135 is critical in preventing oocyte cell death, and a caspase-2 mutant unable to be phosphorylated loses its ability to respond to suppressive NADPH signals. </p><p> In this dissertation we examine the converse mechanism of metabolically-regulated caspase-2 activation in the Xenopus egg extract. We now show that caspase-2 phosphorylated at S135 binds the interactor 14-3-3 zeta, thus preventing caspase-2 dephosphorylation. Moreover, we determined that S135 dephosphorylation is catalyzed by protein phosphatase-1, which directly binds caspase-2. Although caspase-2 dephosphorylation is responsive to metabolism, neither PP1 activity nor binding is metabolically regulated. Rather, release of 14-3-3 zeta from caspase-2 is the point of metabolic control and allows for caspase-2 dephosphorylation. Accordingly, a caspase-2 mutant unable to bind 14-3-3 zeta is highly susceptible to activation. Although this mechanism was initially established in Xenopus, we now demonstrate similar control of murine caspase-2 by phosphorylation and 14-3-3 binding in mouse eggs. </p><p> In the second part of this dissertation we examine the paradigm of caspase-2 metabolic regulation in a mammalian somatic cell context. We observed that mammalian caspase-2 is a metabolically-regulated phosphoprotein in somatic cells, and that the site of regulation is caspase-2 S164. Phosphorylation at S164 appears to inhibit mammalian caspase-2 by preventing its induced proximity oligomerization, thus also preventing procaspase-2 autocatalytic processing. We further identify some of the molecular machinery involved in S164 phosphorylation and demonstrate conservation with the validated Xenopus regulators. Interestingly, we extend the findings of caspase-2 phosphorylation to a study of ovarian cancer, and show that caspase-2 S164 phosphorylation might be involved in determining cancer cell chemosensitivity. We further provide evidence that chemosensitivity can be modulated by the cellular metabolic status in a caspase-2-dependent manner. Thus, we have identified a novel phosphorylation site on mammalian caspase-2 in somatic cells, and are working further to understand the implications of caspase-2 signaling in the context of cancer cell responsiveness to chemotherapeutic treatments.</p> / Dissertation

Archaeological conservation is the process by which conservators prevent deterioration of archaeological remains and provide insight into the nature of recovered material. This thesis examines the effect of digital technology upon the ethics of the conservation profession and upon the attitude of the lay-public towards archaeology. The ethical issues raised by the use of digital technology are discussed, particularly the ways in which these issues differ from those raised by traditional conservation methods. Technological advancements, particularly those occurring in the 20th century, changed the way artifacts are conserved and studied. Conservation arose out of a craft-restoration tradition and evolved into a profession which, in addition to necessary artistic and aesthetic considerations, uses a demonstrable scientific method in order to preserve artifacts. The creation of guidelines for practice and various codes of ethics is the turning point in this evolution, marking the point after which conservation became a scientific profession. Advances in computer technology have permitted the widespread use of devices such as 3-D scanners, digital CT scanners, and digital cameras in the conservation of archaeological artifacts. All of these pieces of equipment produced digital files which must be stored. Currently, the pace of technological change renders most data inaccessible within ten years, and data conservation problems such as storage, access, and file format have not been adequately addressed by the professional conservation community. There is a distinct lack of formal ethical guidelines concerning these issues; this thesis concludes that there is an extreme need for measured consideration before digital methods are used in archaeological conservation. The creation of high-fidelity replicas presents a problem for the museum audience. The public connects with artifacts on an emotional level which is altered when a replica is displayed instead of an original. Digital reconstructions abound in popular culture, heavily influencing public opinion, and often resulting in widespread misperception of the information which can be extracted from archaeological evidence. As a result, conservators of the future must be cautious when creating digital artifacts, and must be meticulously careful to make the nature of digital reconstruction clear to the audience, in order to avoid spreading misinformation.

Chapter 1: Reaction of benzoaldehyde with wittig agents or isophone to build up conjugate carbon chain, then combined with electron acceptor to furnished the chromophores. The charge-transfer chromophores, which have the first molecular hyperpolarizability

We use stepwise [3+3] annulation to prepare the asymmetric glutarimides, and then establish a new approach to isoquinolone skeleton starting from glutarimides via regioselective nucleophilic addition and ring-closing metathesis reaction. Finally, we applied this method to the synthetic studies toward (¡Ó)-Xylopinine.

We can construct asymmetric glutarimide while using [3+3] annulation.Then we can build substituent group in C6 position after choosing regioselective addition reaction, and then apply it to synthetic studies toward polysubstituted pyridin-2-ones and Vitamin B6 derivatives.

The architectures of the control devices in active control algorithm are an important fact in civil structural buildings. Traditional research has limitations in finding the optimal architecture of control devices such as using predefined numbers or locations of sensors and dampers within the 2-and 3-dimensional (3-D) model of the structure. Previous research using single-objective optimization only provides limited data for defining the architecture of sensors and control devices. The Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control algorithm is used as the active control strategy. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) control benchmark building definition is used to develop the building system model. The proposed gene manipulation genetic algorithm (GMGA) determines the near-optimal Pareto fronts which consist of varying numbers and locations of sensors and control devices for controlling the ASCE benchmark building by considering multi-objectives such as interstory drift and minimizing the number of the control devices. The proposed GMGA reduced the central processing unit (CPU) run time and produced more optimal Pareto fronts for the 2-D and 3-D 20-story building models. Using the GMGA provided several benefits: (1) the possibility to apply any presuggested multi-objective optimization mechanism; (2) the availability to perform a objective optimization problem; (3) the adoptability of the diverse encoding provided by the GA; (4) the possibility of including the engineering judgment in generating the next generation population by using a gene creation mechanisms; and (5) the flexibility of the gene creation mechanism in applying and changing the mechanism dependent on optimization problem. The near-optimal Pareto fronts obtained offer the structural engineer a diverse choice in designing control system and installing the control devices. The locations and numbers of the dampers and sensors in each story are highly dependent on the sensor locations. By providing near-Pareto fronts of possible solutions to the engineer that also consider diverse earthquakes, the engineer can get normalized patterns of architectures of control devices and sensors about random earthquakes.

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Members of the tautomerase superfamily are characterized by a [beta-alpha-beta] structural fold motif as well as a catalytic N-terminal proline (Pro-1). Three members of the superfamily are involved in the degradation of the nematocide 1,3-dichloropopene; trans-3-chloroacrylic acid dehalogenase (CaaD), cis-3-chloroacrylic acid dehalogenase (cis-CaaD) and malonate semialdehyde decarboxylase (MSAD). CaaD and cis-CaaD are involved in the hydration of their respective 3-chloroacrylic acid isomers to generate malonate semialdehyde. Subsequently, MSAD is responsible for catalyzing the decarboxylation of malonate semialdehyde to generate acetaldehyde. All three of these enzymes contain an N-terminal proline (Pro-1) that functions as a general acid, in contrast to other tautomerase superfamily members, such as 4-oxalocrotonate tautomerase (4-OT) and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), where Pro-1 acts as a catalytic base. Two new members of the tautomerase superfamily have been cloned and characterized; FG41 MSAD, a homologue of MSAD from Coryneform Bacterium strain FG41, and Cg10062, a homologue of cis-CaaD from Corynebacterium glutamicum, with low-level cis-CaaD and CaaD activities. As part of an effort to delineate the mechanisms of CaaD, cis-CaaD and Cg10062, secondary activities for all three enzymes were characterized. The three enzymes function as efficient phenylpyruvate tautomerases (PPT), converting phenylenolpyruvate to phenylpyruvate. The activity also indicates that the active site of these three enzymes can ketonize enol compounds, thereby providing evidence for the presence of an enediolate intermediate. The characterization of FG41 MSAD uncovered an activity it shares with MSAD. FG41 MSAD catalyzes the hydration of 2-oxo-3-pentynoate, but at a rate that is 50-fold less efficient than that of MSAD (as assessed by kcat/Km values). Mutagenesis studies of FG41 MSAD revealed that a single mutation resulted in a 8-fold increase in the activity. The characterization of Cg10062 and attempts to enhance the low-level cis-CaaD activity demonstrated the need for a bacterial screen that could screen a library of mutants. The resulting bacterial screen could be used to screen other members of the superfamily for dehalogenase activity. An in-depth exploration of the Cg10062 and FG41 MSAD activities may lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of cis-CaaD and MSAD and further delineate the evolutionary pathway for the tautomerase superfamily. / text

n-3 fettsyror har en avgörande roll som komponent av plasmamembranets fosfolipider och tillhör gruppen fleromättade fettsyror. n- 3 fettsyrorna har en inverkan på cellstruktur och funktion och viktiga fettsyror är dokosahexaensyra (DHA) och eikosapentaensyra (EPA). DHA och EPA bildas från Alfalinolensyra (ALA) som är essentiell, det vill säga att den måste tillföras via kosten därför att kroppen inte kan tillverka den själv. ALA måste därför tillföras antingen genom fisk-och skaldjursintag och då framförallt fet fisk eller genom kosttillskott. EPA och DHA finns främst i hjärnan som till 60 % består av fett. Förlossningsdepression är en åkomma som drabbar ungefär 10-20 % av barnafödande kvinnor. Det är en komplex åkomma som kan bero på olika miljöfaktorer, genetiska anlag men kan även bero på kosten. Förlossningsdepression kan bli allvarligt både för modern och för barnet. Syftet med den här studien var att genom vetenskapliga artiklar undersöka om n-3 fettsyror kan ha en inverkan vid förlossningsdepression och isåfall genom vilka mekanismer. Det finns idag inget konkret svar på om n-3 fettsyror kan hjälpa vid förlossningsdepression samtidigt som många studier inom området har gjorts. Denna studie hade därför som syfte att eventuellt kunna bidra med ytterligare kunskap om n-3 fettsyror och förlossningsdepression och om fettsyrorna verkligen hjälper. Resultaten från de sex artiklar i studien som undersöktes visade inte på någon tydlig koppling mellan halten av n-3 fettsyror och förlossningsdepression. I tre av de sex studierna kunde dock en liten effekt observeras. En studie visade också att en högre snarare än en lägre nivå av fettsyror kunde öka risken för depression. Det behövs fler studier inom området för att få ett konkret svar.