As new technology has emerged in the digital era, the public can now choose from a variety of new media from which to get weather information. Weather applications (apps) and social media have emerged as some of the popular new media. This study sought to understand the extent to which these new media are used, how weather apps are perceived, how the news media used Twitter during Hurricane Irma, and how the public engaged with the news media’s tweets. A survey and dataset of tweets were used to evaluate the research questions and hypotheses of this research. The study found that most survey participants used digital sources for weather information, even in severe weather. The weather app was the most used source of all age brackets, though held a stronger majority amongst younger demographics. Numerous relationships were found between weather app usage and gender, smartphone brand and reliance, time of app usage, and app usage frequency. Participants who downloaded a non-standard weather app onto their phone had higher self-perceived weather knowledge and interest. Weather app users perceived their app to be accurate and sometimes inconsistent, which were both found to be correlated to trust. Perceived app accuracy was also moderately correlated with other aspects of the field of meteorology. Respondents indicated that they accounted for uncertainty in a forecast with time and for regional variability of weather when determining if the forecast verified. However, both conclusions will require further research. The final study of this dissertation found that content, frequency, and engagement with news media tweets during Irma fluctuated over the storm’s duration and a relationship was found between content and engagement. Smaller television markets showed less coverage and overall change in coverage and engagement compared to larger markets. Finally, a meteorologist’s tweeting of personal content prior to the storm was found to be weakly correlated with the number of retweets received during the storm.

DYAMO is a company who strive to empower students to succeed in their studies by setting them up with a mentor that the student can depend on for motivation and help. Furthermore, the students should be able to stay anonymous to the mentors. However, DYAMO does not yet have their own platform to work with. This report will serve as a rundown of how the app, specifically made for DYAMO, was developed. This will later be compared to the initial expectations set out before work on the app started. Finally, there will be some suggestions for what could be further developed in the app for the future. The app serves as a place where an adept (student) can communicate with their mentor by sending texts, files (including images and video) and receive reward-stickers. The responsibility of assigning and managing these conversations lies with the admins and moderators. A school management system is also in place, making it easier to manage and delegate responsibilities within said schools. The app mostly delivered on the final expectations, which exceeded the initial somewhat conservative expectations. The one thing not achieved being that notifications on some devices do not work with the app in the background. / DYAMO stravar efter att mojliggora for studenter att lyckas med sina studier genom att para ihop dem med en mentor som studenten kan lita p_a for motivation och hjalp. Studenten ska dessutom kunna forbli anonym gentemot mentorn, dock har inte DYAMO annu n_agon egen app att utfora detta med. Den har rapporten kommer att agera som en genomg_ang av hur appen, som var speci_kt gjord for DYAMO, blev utvecklad. Detta kommer senare att jamforas med de ursprungliga forvantningarna som sattes innan utvecklingen av appen p_aborjades. Slutligen, kommer det _nnas n_agra forslag p_a vad som skulle kunna vidare jobbas p_a om utvecklingen av appen skulle fortsatta. Appen fungerar s_a att en adept (student) kan kommunicera med en mentor genom att skicka text-meddelanden, _ler (inklusive bilder och videor) och ta emot beloningsklisterm arken. Ansvaret av att tilldela och hantera konversationer faller hos admins och moderatorer. Ett skolhanteringssystem _nns ocks_a p_a plats, for att underlatta hantering och delegering av ansvar inom skolorna. Appen levererade mestadels p_a de slutgiltiga forvantningarna, som i sin tur overskred de ursprungliga n_agot konservativa forvantningarna. Det enda som inte uppfylldes var att noti_kationerna p_a vissa enheter inte fungerar nar appen kors i bakgrunden.

Application mobile devient un canal important de l'accès internet mobile. Trois groupes d'utilisateurs finaux affiliés avec deux plates-formes bifaces sur le marché d'applications mobiles ont attiré une attention considérable. App store (App-store) est une plate-forme de distribution de l'application connectée avec les développeurs et les utilisateurs. Plateforme de publicitaire (Ad-store) fournit des services de publicité pour les annonceurs grâce à des applications de développeurs. Sur ce marché, les développeurs, les annonceurs et les utilisateurs sont trois groupes d'utilisateurs finaux. Le marché de l'application mobile est un marché biface compliqué. Il y a des externalités de réseau étendues et interactives. L’étude se concentre sur les stratégies de tarification pour la plate-forme App-store. L'App-store et Ad-store sont les deux plates-formes bifaces. L’App-store partage les revenus des ventes d'applications avec les développeurs. L'Ad-store partage les revenus publicitaires avec les développeurs. La plate-forme App-store met en oeuvre la tarification asymétrique côté développeur et côté utilisateur. Côté développeur est le côté de la subvention ainsi que du côté des recettes pour la plateforme App-store. Le cout d'achat de l'appareil mobile est une déterminante particulière de tarification. Les redevances d'adhésion sont négligeables dans ce marché et les redevances d'utilisation sont réalisables. C'est un duopole sur le marché des applications mobiles. Le modèle des ventes d'appareils mobiles d'Apple et le modèle d'in-app publicité de Google sont extrêmement réussis. App-store, Ad-store et les appareils mobiles sont les trois points de génération de profits. / Mobile app is becoming an important mobile internet access channel. Three groups of end users affiliated with two Two-sided platforms in the mobile app market have attracted considerable attention. App store platform (App-store) is an app distribution platform connected with developers and users. App ad platform (Ad-store) supplies advertising services for advertisers through developers’ apps. Developers, users and advertisers are end users. Mobile app market is a complicated two-sided market. There are widespread and interactive network externalities. The study focuses on the pricing strategies for the app store platform. App-store shares paid app sales and in-app purchase revenues with developers. Ad-store shares in-app advertising revenues with developers. The App-store platform implements asymmetric pricing to developer side and user side. Developer side is the subsidy side as well as the revenue side for App-store platform. Mobile device purchasing cost constitutes a particular App-store platform pricing determinant. Membership fees are negligible in the mobile app market. Usage fee is workable. It is a duopoly in the mobile app market. Apple and Google are the two giants with distinct business models. Both Apple’s mobile device sales model and Google’s in-app advertising model are extremely successful. App-store, Ad-store and mobile devices are the three key profit makers in this market. Vertical integration inside this ecosystem will generate considerable revenues. Chinese users have higher price elasticity of demand and they are particularly sensitive to the app prices when compared with the French.

Durch den Wandel von herkömmlichen industriellen Produktionsprozessen hin zur Industrie 4.0 sowie die höhere Dynamik der Märkte werden auch Arbeitsprozesse dynamischer. Dies erzeugt hohe Anforderungen an die Mitarbeiter, die in diesem anspruchsvollen Umfeld arbeiten, und an das Management der beteiligten Workflows und Softwarewerkzeuge. Apps, also Programme mit engem Funktionsumfang, die auf die Lösung einer bestimmten Aufgabe spezialisiert sind, eignen sich als Grundbaustein für interaktive Systeme, die an die neuen Flexibilitätsanforderungen in Produktionsprozessen angepasst sind. In dieser Arbeit wird eine Methode vorgestellt, die es ermöglicht, spezialisierte Apps so zu kombinieren, dass nicht nur bestimmte isolierte Aufgaben, sondern auch komplexe Geschäftsprozesse damit bearbeitet werden können. Diese Methode, App-Orchestrierung genannt, ist ein Beitrag zum Forschungsgebiet der formalen Methoden der Mensch-Computer Interaktion und zur Bewältigung der Dynamisierung von komplexen Arbeitsprozessen im Zuge von Industrie 4.0. Die formale Modellierungssprache AOF-L, die auf BPMN und dem Semantic Web Stack aufbaut, wird entwickelt, und ein Software-Framework zur Modellierung und Ausführung von App-Ensembles mittels der AOF-L wird implementiert. In einer Nutzerstudie wird ein darauf aufbauendes industrielles Wartungsszenario evaluiert. / The transformation of industrial processes towards Industry 4.0 and the increasing dynamics of the markets are strong drivers for more dynamic industrial workflows. This development creates vast challenges to the staff that works in these ever changing environments and to the management of workflows and software tools. Apps — programs with a restricted set of functionality, tailored to a specific problem and its solution — are becoming more and more ubiquitous, especially on mobile devices. They are suitable as a building block for interactive systems ready to cope with the new requirements of flexible production processes. This work presents a method for combining specialized apps so that they can be used to fulfill complex business processes. The App-Orchestration approach is a contribution to the field of formal methods for human-computer interaction and to dealing with the new requirements of complex work environments in Industry 4.0 scenarios. The formal modeling language AOF-L which is based on BPMN and the semantic web stack, is presented. It can be employed to model interactive systems comprised of self-contained apps that are connected in a purposeful manner. Additionally, a software framework to model and execute App-Ensembles is implemented. In a user study an industrial maintenance scenario that was built using the developed method is evaluated.

iTrak is a combined mobile and web application that takes advantage of the GPS to allow travelers to share their experience while travelling. The application gathers GPS data and broadcasts it via a web interface or social networks such as Facebook to update user’s status during a trip. iTrak is also equipped with other features such as writing notes or recording video journals to offer a rich experience and provide an interactive diary, along with a real-time tracking ability, for travelers. / text

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Long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs) through drinking water has been associated with cognitive impairment in children and adults; however, the related pathogenic mechanisms have not been completely described. Increased or chronic inflammation in the brain is linked to impaired cognition and neurodegeneration; iAs induces strong inflammatory responses in several cells, but this effect has been poorly evaluated in central nervous system (CNS) cells. Because astrocytes are the most abundant cells in the CNS and play a critical role in brain homeostasis, including regulation of the inflammatory response, any functional impairment in them can be deleterious for the brain. We propose that iAs could induce cognitive impairment through inflammatory response activation in astrocytes. In the present work, rat cortical astrocytes were acutely exposed in vitro to the monomethylated metabolite of iAs (MMA(III)), which accumulates in glial cells without compromising cell viability. MMA(III) LD50 in astrocytes was 10.52 μM, however, exposure to sub-toxic MMA(III) concentrations (50-1000 nM) significantly increased IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, COX-2, and MIF-1 gene expression. These effects were consistent with amyloid precursor protein (APP) and β-secretase (BACE-1) increased gene expression, mainly for those MMA(III) concentrations that also induced TNF-α over-expression. Other effects of MMA(III) on cortical astrocytes included increased proliferative and metabolic activity. All tested MMA(III) concentrations led to an inhibition of intracellular lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. Results suggest that MMA(III) induces important metabolic and functional changes in astrocytes that may affect brain homeostasis and that inflammation may play a major role in cognitive impairment-related pathogenicity in As-exposed populations.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for around 60-70% of cases. AD encompasses large-scale neuronal loss, resulting in progressive memory and other cognitive decline. Presently, there is no cure for dementia and in light of the ageing population demographic, this represents a clear unmet medical and socioeconomic challenge Worldwide. Much of the current AD research focuses on studying the brain once hallmark amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tangle pathologies have presented. However their appearance is extremely end stage and to date, any therapeutic interventions aimed at alleviating them having failed to halt symptoms progression. It may therefore be beneficial to look for earlier changes, with metabolic and oxidative stress events as well as reduced cerebral metabolism thought to occur early on in disease progression. Evidence from rare, familial AD cases suggests a causative role for A in AD pathogenesis. For this reason, the enzyme beta-site amyloid precursor protein (APP) cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), the rate-limiting step in A production is currently of great therapeutic interest. With the prevailing view being that reducing BACE1 levels will be beneficial in AD, there remains a need to better understand the physiological roles of BACE1 to avoid potential side effects of BACE1 inhibition. Herein is presented data showing that, in agreement with the previous literature, BACE1 is fundamentally regulated by cell stress. Notably, both acute and prolonged bouts of oxidative and metabolic stress result in significant increases in BACE1 and APP protein expression. These changes also result in a shift in APP metabolism, with amyloidogenic processing of APP predominating during times of stress. It has also been shown that chronic elevation of BACE1 and/or manipulation of APP processing can alter cellular glucose uptake and use. These changes were determined through the use of radiolabelled substrate uptake and oxidation as well as extracellular flux assays. These data highlighted a fundamental shift in cellular metabolism, with aerobic glycolysis being utilised over oxidative metabolism of glucose. These changes were later shown to come as a result of metabolic lesions, which acted to impair substrate delivery to the electron transport chain of the mitochondria. Taken together, these data show that overexpression of the AD-associated protein BACE1 phenocopies a number of the earliest detectable changes observed in the brains of people who later develop AD. Finally, these data highlighted the potential importance of a number of novel pathways (Sirtuin, AMP-activated protein kinase, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- coactivator signalling) that may underlie these changes and offer therapeutic avenues for earlier and more targeted treatment to halt AD progression.

Novel approaches are required to address Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in our ageing population, with recent interest focused on inflammation and oxidative stress (OS). Disruption of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signalling increases OS and promotes AD. Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is intimately linked with AD, with the Swedish mutation (<i>hAPP_swe</i>) used in numerous transgenic models. Furthermore, increasing importance has been placed on the suggested link between nutritional status and AD. To assess Nrf2 as a potential target in AD, we examined the effect of metabolic stress, by chronic high fat (HF) feeding or acute lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment on the brains of aged WT, <i>Nrf2^-/-</i>, hAPPswe and <i>Nrf2^-/-/hAPP_swe</i> mice. <i> </i><i>Nrf2^-/- mice displayed impaired enthorinal cortex-dependent cognition, with raised basal hippocampal inflammation. The inflammatory state was attenuated by chronic HF feeding, whilst maintaining insulin sensitivity. In contrast, <i>hAPP_swe</i> did not display an inflammatory response to HF feeding, but demonstrated impaired insulin signalling; in line with AD-associated insulin resistance. Additionally, <i>Nrf2^-/-</i> mice display increased glial cell activation and activation of mitogen activated protein kinases and mitochondrial impairment. These may be indicative of OS-induced cellular dysfunction and is supported by an aggravated response to LPS, which potentiates IL-1β production. Furthermore, despite an attenuated LPS response following the induction of tolerance, <i>Nrf2^-/-</i> mice maintain glial cell activation following treatment which may be suggestive of a primed immune environment within the brain. </i> In conclusion, these data indicate altered glucose homeostasis in both <i>Nrf2^-/-and <i>hAPP_swe</i> mice, as previously reported. Further, we advocate that Nrf2 plays a key role in mitochondrial function and health and may be important for the ameliorative effects of HF feeding. Taken together, mitochondrial dysregulation and associated OS may help explain the development of cognitive impairment in <i>Nrf2^-/-</i> mice. This may be relevant for AD given the age-dependent decline in Nrf2 expression in humans.

The purpose of this study was to delve into the factors that might influence someone to adopt a health app and to ultimately adopt a healthy behavior. This research extended the use of diffusion of innovations theory to health-related mobile apps. In knowing more about the way that innovation attributes are used in real-world health app descriptions and in how those descriptions might influence the adoption decisions, not just of the health app but of the related health behavior, we might be able to impact the way that professionals communicate the need for healthy behaviors to people. This study used a content analysis of the top-rated mobile health app product descriptions and user reviews to design experimental stimuli that mirrored real-world app description pages. The experiment manipulated the use of statements of innovation attributes and examined the way participants described their likelihood to adopt an app and the associated healthy behaviors. The study found that diffusion of innovation attributes did not influence participants’ likelihood to adopt a health app or healthy behaviors, but those participants who reported tracking their own health, physical activity, and diet were more likely to download a health app and to perform the associated healthy behaviors. The study has implications for the qualities health educators or healthcare professionals attempt to educate and persuade people about their health.