In the present thesis dietary markers for intake of milk fat, associations between intake of milk fat and risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD), and the effects of supplementation with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) to healthy humans are investigated. The dietary fat quality is one of the main lifestyle factors affecting risk for CHD. When studying the associations between diet and health it is important to have accurate dietary information. Objective dietary markers increase the possibilities to interpret dietary surveys. In a study of 62 men we demonstrated that the milk fatty acid pentadecanoic acid (15:0) measured in serum lipids can be used as marker for intake of fat from milk products. In the same study we observed inverse correlations between intake of milk fat and certain risk factors for CHD, especially anthropometric variables. To further investigate these findings we supplemented humans with CLA, naturally present in milk. CLA has in animals and in vitro been ascribed positive effects on adiposity and glucose and lipid metabolism. When supplementing humans with CLA we observed a slight decrease in body fat, but no effects on other anthropometric variables or serum lipids. However, markers of lipid peroxidation and inflammation increased. From a second supplementation study we concluded that CLA trans 10, cis 12 induced lipid peroxidation more than did a mixture of isomers. We conclude that the inverse associations between milk fat intake and CHD risk factors, and the effects of CLA, are interesting and need further investigation. However, according to current knowledge, the general population is still advised to have a limited intake of total and saturated fat and to instead choose unsaturated fats. In addition, there is to date no medical reasons for humans to take CLA as supplements.

Radio-frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF~MEMS) are highly miniaturized devices intended to switch, modulate, filter or tune electrical signals from DC to microwave frequencies. The micromachining techniques used to fabricate these components are based on the standard clean-room manufacturing processes for high-volume integrated semiconductor circuits. RF~MEMS switches are characterized by their high isolation, low insertion loss, large bandwidth and by their unparalleled signal linearity. They are relatively simple to control, are very small and have almost zero power consumption. Despite these benefits, RF~MEMS switches are not yet seen in commercial products because of reliability issues, limits in signal power handling and questions in packaging and integration. Also, the actuation voltages are typically too high for electronics applications and require additional drive circuitry. This thesis presents a novel MEMS switch concept based on an S-shaped film actuator, which consists of a thin and flexible membrane rolling between a top and a bottom electrode. The special design makes it possible to have high RF isolation due to the large contact distance in the off-state, while maintaining low operation voltages due to the zipper-like movement of the electrostatic dual-actuator. The switch comprises two separately fabricated parts which allows simple integration even with RF circuits incompatible with certain MEMS fabrication processes. The two parts are assembled by chip or wafer bonding which results in an encapsulated, ready-to-dice package. The thesis discusses the concept of the switch and reports on the successful fabrication and evaluation of prototype devices. Furthermore, this thesis presents research results in wafer-level packaging of (RF) MEMS devices by full-wafer bonding with an adhesive intermediate layer, which is structured before bonding to create defined cavities for housing MEMS devices. This technique has the advantage of simple, robust and low temperature fabrication, and is highly tolerant to surface non-uniformities and particles in the bonding interface. It allows cavities with a height of up to many tens of micrometers to be created directly in the bonding interface. In contrast to conventional wafer-level packaging methods with individual chip-capping, the encapsulation is done using a single wafer-bonding step. The thesis investigates the process parameters for patterned adhesive wafer bonding with benzocyclobutene, describes the fabrication of glass lid packages based on this technique, and introduces a method to create through-wafer electrical interconnections in glass substrates by a two-step etch technique, involving powder-blasting and chemical etching. Also, it discusses a technique of improving the hermetic properties of adhesive bonded structures by additional passivation layers. Finally, it presents a method to substantially improve the bond strength of patterned adhesive bonding by using the solid/liquid phase combination of a patterned polymer layer with a contact-printed thin adhesive film. / QC 20100617

La Tesis Doctoral está dedicada al estudio de ciertas propiedades de los radios sucesivos de los cuerpos convexos (funcionales definidos a partir de circunradios e inradios de proyecciones o secciones del cuerpo). Comenzamos estableciendo las nociones básicas necesarias para el desarrollo de los contenidos. A continuación calculamos los radios sucesivos de familias particulares de conjuntos (p-bolas, anchura constante, cuerpos tangenciales), y estudiamos la conexión existente entre estos funcionales y los números de Gelfand y Kolmogorov. En el tercer capítulo consideramos el problema de Pukhov-Perel'man sobre la mejor cota superior para un cierto cociente de radios, determinando desigualdades para problemas de este tipo que van a permitir mejorar los resultados existentes en ciertos casos. Finalmente, estudiamos cómo se relacionan los radios sucesivos de la suma de Minkowski (Firey) de dos cuerpos convexos con los correspondientes funcionales de los conjuntos, obteniendo los resultados óptimos en todos los casos. / The Doctoral Thesis is focused in the study of some properties of the successive radii of convex bodies (functionals defined by means of circumradii and inradii of projections or sections of the set). We start establishing the basic notions that will be needed further on. Next, we compute the successive radii of particular families of sets (p-balls, constant width sets and tangential bodies), and study the connection between these functionals and the Gelfand and Kolmogorov numbers. In the third chapter we consider the Pukhov-Perel'man problem on the best upper bound for a particular ratio of radii, determining inequalities for some problems of this type which will allow to improve the known results in particular cases. Finally we study how the successive radii of the (Firey)-Minkowski addition of two convex bodies are related with the corresponding functionals of the sets, obtaining the optimal results in all cases.

The homoaldol reaction is one of the most powerful methods for the construction of C–C bonds as well as 1,4-oxygenated compounds yet this reaction remains in challenging tasks due to the instability of homoenolates which spontaneously cyclize to the cyclopropanolate. A regioselective catalytic homoaldol equivalent reaction of 3-bromo vinyl acetate with aldehydes under Cr(III)-Mn(0) redox condition was developed. This homoaldol equivalent reaction allows access to the 1,4-oxygenated compounds that are not possible by a conventional aldol process. Mild hydrolysis of the vinyl acetate and reduction of the homoaldol adducts generated diols and lactols in high yield (99%). Further manipulation including stereoselective epoxidation and cyclopropanation was achieved in an efficient manner. Furans, found in many natural products and utilized in drug discovery, have been well studied but current synthetic methods toward furans have some limitations in functional group tolerance, substrate scope, and low product yield in many cases. A highly efficient and catalytic cycloisomerization reaction that transforms acetylenic α,β-epoxides to 2,3,5-tri-substituted furans under InCl3 catalysis was developed. This reaction sequence allows access to rapid construction of highly valuable, tri-substituted furan derivatives. Cross-coupling reactions utilizing transition metals and Lewis acids are important synthetic tools for the formation of C–C and C–N bonds and a number of cross-coupling reactions between α-bromo carbonyl compounds and metal reagents such as aryl metals, alkenyl metals, and alkyl metals have been reported. Transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction for the construction of α-alkynyl carbonyl compounds has reported in a limited case. The first approach to secondary α-alkynyl carbonyl compounds from secondary α-bromo esters and amides with tributyl(phenylethynyl)stannane under palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction conditions was developed. This synthetic method allows access to secondary α-alkynyl carbonyl compounds which are valuable precursors in pharmaceuticals and agricultural applications.

This thesis presents an independent, sediment-based record of landscape change within an agricultural hinterland. Established historical and archaeological sequences document the primary occupation of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka’s ancient capital, beginning ca. 400 BC and lasting until it was largely abandoned in AD 1017. Anuradhapura is located in the island’s dry zone, which depends almost completely on the unpredictable Northeastern Monsoon for water. Oral history and historical narratives have long held that large-scale irrigated rice cultivation took place in the hinterland to produce an agricultural surplus that sustained the urban and monastic populations. However, until the onset of the Anuradhapura Hinterland Project in 2005, the archaeological record of the hinterland was undocumented, leaving existing narratives untested. The geoarchaeological research presented here was undertaken as part of the Hinterland Project, in order to document the chronology and cultural and environmental processes that contributed to the formation of this irrigated landscape. Optical dating of sediments demonstrates that the onset of large-scale irrigation began ca. 400 BC, and the construction of new works continued until Anuradhapura’s late occupation period. Sampled reservoirs and channels began to infill, indicating widespread disuse, within ca. 100 years of Anuradhapura’s abandonment. Soil micromorphology and bulk sediment characterisation document hinterland habitation, water management, and cultivation activities prior to the establishment of large-scale irrigation. This work illustrates the coping strategies that people employed to deal with the vagaries of the dry zone environment and demonstrates that hinterland land use changed throughout the primary occupation period. Although largescale irrigation works infilled relatively rapidly, cultural activity and land use re-emerged following this period of disuse.

In this thesis we study several properties of finitely presented groups, through the unifying paradigm of encoding sought-after group properties into presentations and detecting group properties from presentations, in the context of Geometric Group Theory. A group law is said to be detectable in power subgroups if, for all coprime m and n, a group G satisfies the law if and only if the power subgroups G(^m) and G(ⁿ) both satisfy the law. We prove that for all positive integers c, nilpotency of class at most c is detectable in power subgroups, as is the k-Engel law for k at most 4. In contrast, detectability in power subgroups fails for solvability of given derived length: we construct a finite group W such that W(²) and W(³) are metabelian but W has derived length 3. We analyse the complexity of the detectability of commutativity in power subgroups, in terms of finite presentations that encode a proof of the result. We construct a census of two-generator one-relator groups of relator length at most 9, with complete determination of isomorphism type, and verify a conjecture regarding conditions under which such groups are automatic. Furthermore, we introduce a family of one-relator groups and classify which of them act properly cocompactly on complete CAT(0) spaces; the non-CAT(0) examples are counterexamples to a variation on the aforementioned conjecture. For a subclass, we establish automaticity, which is needed for the census. The deficiency of a group is the maximum over all presentations for that group of the number of generators minus the number of relators. Every finite group has non-positive deficiency. For every prime p we construct finite p-groups of arbitrary negative deficiency, and thereby complete Kotschick's proposed classification of the integers which are deficiencies of Kähler groups. We explore variations and embellishments of our basic construction, which require subtle Schur multiplier computations, and we investigate the conditions on inputs to the construction that are necessary for success. A well-known question asks whether any two non-isometric finite volume hyperbolic 3-manifolds are distinguished from each other by the finite quotients of their fundamental groups. At present, this has been proved only when one of the manifolds is a once-punctured torus bundle over the circle. We give substantial computational evidence in support of a positive answer, by showing that no two manifolds in the SnapPea census of 72 942 finite volume hyperbolic 3-manifolds have the same finite quotients. We determine examples of sizeable graphs, as required to construct finitely presented non-hyperbolic subgroups of hyperbolic groups, which have the fewest vertices possible modulo mild topological assumptions.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-12-14Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:32:33Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 singulani_rad_me_mar.pdf: 954890 bytes, checksum: 77cf8b7a31d5876fe89035b83b6e7573 (MD5) / Esta pesquisa surgiu de indagações referentes à forma como os espaços ocupados pelas crianças de zero a três anos são organizados na creche. Por meio de estudos sobre a Teoria histórico-cultural e relativos à organização dos espaços em escolas italianas, a hipótese levantada foi de que um espaço organizado intencionalmente para ampliar o contato das crianças com a cultura favoreceria seu desenvolvimento e possibilitaria uma nova relação entre criança e educadora. Com base nesses pressupostos e orientada por essa hipótese, a pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar, sob a ótica da teoria histórico-cultural, como o espaço da creche pode ser reorganizado, levando as crianças a ampliar seu contato com os bens culturais, realizar atividades significativas e estabelecer uma relação mais humanizadora com as educadoras, com seus pares e a cultura. A metodologia consistiu na observação do espaço da creche organizado inicialmente sem planejamento intencional, de conversas mensais realizadas entre a pesquisadora e as educadoras, intervenções pontuais no espaço das salas das turmas de zero a três anos e observações no processo de reorganização do espaço. Os resultados apresentados demonstram que quando o espaço da creche possibilita o acesso das crianças a brinquedos e objetos diversificados da cultura, favorecemos a realização de atividades significativas na creche, o desenvolvimento das funções psicológicas superiores das crianças, o enriquecimento de suas experiências, o desenvolvimento da autodisciplina e o envolvimento maior e intencional das educadoras nas atividades e brincadeiras das crianças. A reorganização dos espaços traz na perspectiva da teoria histórico cultural a possibilidade de um novo olhar para a educação das crianças pequenininhas / This research has arisen with queries concerning to way of organizing the spacies in a Day nursery occupied by children from 0 to 3 years old. After studies about historic-cultural theory and readings about space organization in Italian schools, the hypothesis that has initially raised was that an intentionally organized space to enlarge contact of children with their culture would enhance their development and would enable a new relationship between child and educator. Based on this presuppositions and orientated by this hipothesis the research aims to analyse under a point of view of historic-cultural theory how the spaces of a day nursery can be organized to take the children to enlarge their contact with the cultural goods, performing meaningful activities and establishing one more humanizing relatation with the educators, their peers and culture. Methodology has consisted by formerly observating the spaces without an intencional planning and by monthly talks among educators and researcher as well as little changes in the classrooms and remarks about the process of reorganizating the space. Showed results demonstrate if the day nursery possibilities the access of the children to toys and diversified objets of culture, we’ll favour the achievement of meaningful activities in enrichment of their experiences, the development of auto-discipline and the involvement of educators in activities and games of the children. The organization of spaces in the perspective of the historic-cultural theory brings possibilities of a new look to toddler education

Orientador: Suely Amaral Mello / Banca: José Milton Lima / Banca: Cyntia Guizilim Girotto / Resumo: Esta pesquisa surgiu de indagações referentes à forma como os espaços ocupados pelas crianças de zero a três anos são organizados na creche. Por meio de estudos sobre a Teoria histórico-cultural e relativos à organização dos espaços em escolas italianas, a hipótese levantada foi de que um espaço organizado intencionalmente para ampliar o contato das crianças com a cultura favoreceria seu desenvolvimento e possibilitaria uma nova relação entre criança e educadora. Com base nesses pressupostos e orientada por essa hipótese, a pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar, sob a ótica da teoria histórico-cultural, como o espaço da creche pode ser reorganizado, levando as crianças a ampliar seu contato com os bens culturais, realizar atividades significativas e estabelecer uma relação mais humanizadora com as educadoras, com seus pares e a cultura. A metodologia consistiu na observação do espaço da creche organizado inicialmente sem planejamento intencional, de conversas mensais realizadas entre a pesquisadora e as educadoras, intervenções pontuais no espaço das salas das turmas de zero a três anos e observações no processo de reorganização do espaço. Os resultados apresentados demonstram que quando o espaço da creche possibilita o acesso das crianças a brinquedos e objetos diversificados da cultura, favorecemos a realização de atividades significativas na creche, o desenvolvimento das funções psicológicas superiores das crianças, o enriquecimento de suas experiências, o desenvolvimento da autodisciplina e o envolvimento maior e intencional das educadoras nas atividades e brincadeiras das crianças. A reorganização dos espaços traz na perspectiva da teoria histórico cultural a possibilidade de um novo olhar para a educação das crianças pequenininhas / Abstract: This research has arisen with queries concerning to way of organizing the spacies in a Day nursery occupied by children from 0 to 3 years old. After studies about historic-cultural theory and readings about space organization in Italian schools, the hypothesis that has initially raised was that an intentionally organized space to enlarge contact of children with their culture would enhance their development and would enable a new relationship between child and educator. Based on this presuppositions and orientated by this hipothesis the research aims to analyse under a point of view of historic-cultural theory how the spaces of a day nursery can be organized to take the children to enlarge their contact with the cultural goods, performing meaningful activities and establishing one more humanizing relatation with the educators, their peers and culture. Methodology has consisted by formerly observating the spaces without an intencional planning and by monthly talks among educators and researcher as well as little changes in the classrooms and remarks about the process of reorganizating the space. Showed results demonstrate if the day nursery possibilities the access of the children to toys and diversified objets of culture, we'll favour the achievement of meaningful activities in enrichment of their experiences, the development of auto-discipline and the involvement of educators in activities and games of the children. The organization of spaces in the perspective of the historic-cultural theory brings possibilities of a new look to toddler education / Mestre

Innerhalb der Fachdomäne Logistik ist ein ausgeprägter Bedarf zur Unterstützung von immer komplexer werdenden und dynamischen Dienstleistungsprozessen durch mobile Informationssysteme festzustellen. Besonders neue Kommunikationstechnologien ermöglichen die Neugestaltung zugehöriger logistischer Wertschöpfungssysteme durch die Vernetzung von produzierenden Unternehmen, Dienstleistern und Endkunden entlang der Supply Chain. Für die Logistik wird die Technologie Augmented Reality (AR) als nutzenstiftendes Werkzeug zur Prozessunterstützung und Realisierung von zwischenmenschlichen Kollaborationen als auch Mensch-Maschine-Kollaborationen bewertet. Hierzu zählen besonders Datenbrillen, sogenannte „Smart Glasses“, die als Trägersystem für die augmentierte Prozessunterstützung zum Einsatz kommen. Zielsetzung dieser Forschungsarbeit ist die Gestaltung von logistischen Wertschöpfungssystemen mittels augmentierter Prozessunterstützung auf Basis Smart-Glasses-basierter Assistenzsysteme. Dazu werden zunächst (1) domänenspezifische als auch branchenübergreifende nutzenstiftende Anwendungsfälle identifiziert und aggregiert, (2) ein Vorgehensmodell zur Konzeption, Integration und Implementierung von entsprechen mobilen Informationssystemen erstellt und (3) Gestaltungsrichtlinien für mensch-zentrierte Assistenzsysteme und zugehörige Kollaborationsfunktionen mit Fokus auf die Gebrauchstauglichkeit (engl. Usability) etabliert. Mittels eines gestaltungsorientierten Vorgehens (Design Science Research) wird der identifizierte Forschungsbedarf mit Erkenntnissen aus einem in der Dienstleistungslogistik verorteten Konsortialforschungsprojekt als auch mehreren prototypischen Instanziierungen praktisch fundiert. Die vorliegende Arbeit erweitert durch die Gestaltung von gebrauchstauglichen Smart-Glasses-basierten Assistenzsystemen und die Schaffung entsprechender Kollaborationsfunktionen das Forschungsgebiet der Mensch-Computer-Interaktion und hier speziell den Forschungsbereich der Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Zusätzlich wird der Bereich des Service Systems Engineering als Teildisziplin der Wirtschaftsinformatik mit Gestaltungswissen ergänzt. Zugleich wird die Wissensbasis der Fachdomäne Logistik (und hier speziell der Dienstleistungslogistik) um konkrete Anwendungsfälle für eine augmentierte Prozessunterstützung erweitert.

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