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The long-range goal of this project is to investigate the protective effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) against carcinogenesis. In this dissertation, we demonstrate the mechanisms of CLA action on cell cycle progression and repression of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-induced Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in breast and colon cancer cells. CLA reduced the expression of factors required for G1 to S-phase transition including cyclins D1 and E, and hyperphoshorylated retinoblastoma Rb protein. In contrast, the over-expression of mutant p53 (175Arg to His) in MCF-7 cells prevented the CLA-dependent accumulation of p21 and the reduction of cyclin E levels suggesting that the expression of wild-type p53 is required for CLA-mediated activation of the G1 restriction point. We also report, CLA reduced the expression of COX-2 promoter activity induced by the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-ligand benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). Mutagenesis or deletion of potential xenobiotic responsive elements (XREs) within the COX-2 promoter abrogated its ability to be induced by the high affinity AhR-ligand TCDD. In addition, promoter studies using a XRE-dependent CYP1A1 plasmid revealed CLA can inhibit PAH-induced AhR/XRE-driven genes. In both studies, the t10,c12-CLA isomer was more effective than c9,t11-CLA in inhibiting cell proliferation and AhR/XRE-dependent genes. Taken together, these data suggest that the anti-cancerous properties of CLA appear to be a function, at least in part, of the relative content of specific isomers and their 1) ability to elicit a p53 response that leads to the accumulation of pRb and cell growth arrest, and 2) ability to inhibit PAH-induced cyclooxygenase-2 promoter activity through an AhR-dependent mechanism.

SAMMANFATTNING Problem: Soliditet AB:s kreditvärderingsmodell baseras främst på finansiella mått vid kreditklassificering. Således undrar vi om användandet av icke-finansiella mått kan förklara AAA-företagens stabila finansiella framgång jämfört med andra kreditvärdiga företag. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att genom en enkätstudie av AAA- samt B-företagens användande och hur väl de presterar i de icke-finansiella måtten se om de icke-finansiella måtten har någon betydelse för ett bättre eller sämre kreditbetyg. Teori: Vi har använt oss av det balanserade styrkortet, den dynamiska multidimensionella modellen, det resursbaserade perspektivet och Henris´ fyra kapaciteter. Metod: Vi har valt att genomföra en enkätstudie. Vidare har vi valt att genomföra ett t-test för att fastställa genomsnittliga och statistiska skillnader (p-värden) mellan företagen. Empiri: Medelvärden av respondenternas svar redovisades i figurer och tabeller. Medan p-värden redovisades i tabeller. Slutsatser: Vi kunde inte finna några övergripande samband mellan de icke-finansiella måtten och ett visst kreditbetyg.

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The purpose of this research paper is to study the circulation of discourses in Le Moyen de parvenir. To do so, we will consider two types of circulation in Beroalde de Verville's book. / The first type of circulation that we will study is the generic circulation. In the first part of our study, we will try to seize this circulation by identifying all the different genres that appear in Le Moyen de parvenir. Through this analysis, we will see that the book contains a multiplicity of genres which are sometimes in contradiction. Furthermore, we will establish that Beroalde de Verville's work doesn't belong to any defined genre and this is why it is so ambiguous from a generic point of view. / The second type of circulation, the circulation of enounciation, will be approached through Bakhtin's theory of dialogism and Gerard Genette's notion of transtextuality. By analysing this mode of circulation, it will be possible to see that this type of circularity corresponds aesthetically and epistemologically to a plurivocal awareness which corroborates the generic ambiguity noticed in the first part of our text.

Arbetets syfte är att ta reda på hur lärare använderde nationella proven i sitt bedömningsarbete. Data samlades inmed en kvalitativ metoddär lärare från två olika skolor intervjuas. Resultatet visar attlärarna som intervjuades hade liknande uppfattningar angående de nationella provens roll i bedömningsarbetet. Flera av lärarna påpekadeatt proven används både summativt och formativt, formativt framförallt i årskurs 3 och summativt i årskurs 6.En uppfattning är att användningen av resultatet av de nationella proven har ändrat karaktär sedan de istället från att ha skrivits i årskurs 5 nu skrivs i årskurs 6.Elevernas resutat på de nationella proven är en del av underlaget som används vid bedömningen och betygsättningen av eleverna men elevens tidigare prestationer ska också väga in.

Non-repudiation techniques are to ensure any communication taking place between two or more parties will be undeniable. Therefore it is crucial to include digital signatures of the involving parties while the communication is taking place. In medical practices, involved parties include; patient(s), doctor(s), pharmacist(s), who are involved in series of visits, diagnosis, prescriptions, and possible operations. To avoid possible conflicts, deploying non-repudiation techniques help immensely. This thesis considers this issue in a wireless medium and studies the Quality of Service (QoS)/Security requirements in terms of network parameters and performance metrics. In terms of research contributions, this thesis embodies a thorough research on layered and cross-layer QoS and security schemes, in particular, featuring an adaptive Forward Error Correction (FEC) at the application layer, adapting to channel conditions. This leads to a cross layer design, which considers various QoS and security parameters export and import to and from various layers with a special focus on the application layer. The aim of this thesis is to consider a practical implementation and associated complexities of a non-repudiation system, including analytical and experimental testbeds and results. The security schemes are based on Suite-B cryptographic algorithms, including: The Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) for key agreement, the Advanced Encryption Standard - Galois/Counter Mode (AES-GCM) for encryption and authentication, the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) for digital signatures, and the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) for integrity. A key aspect of Suite-B is the deployment of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). The non-repudiation aspect of this thesis is based on the Suite-B’s digital signature scheme; ECDSA. The digital signature and the hashing function target the entire multimedia data (i.e., text, video, and voice) and the challenge is to offer such extensive security treatment, while guaranteeing certain Quality of Service settings. These settings include: minimum round trip delay, maximum overhead, and minimum bandwidth allocation.

Assembly of intestinal chylomicron particles (lipid-protein complexes) is the fundamental mechanism by which we absorb dietary fat. Two intestinal lipid transporters, Cluster of Differentiation 36 (CD36) and fatty acid-binding protein 1 (FABP1), have been shown to play a role in lipid absorption, however, it remains unclear how knockdown of these proteins bleads to aberrant intestinal chylomicron secretion. In an enterocyte-like cell culture model, Caco-2 cells, we hypothesized that knockdown of CD36 or FABP1 using short-hairpin RNA interference techniques would impair triacylglycerol (TG) and apolipoprotein B (apoB) secretion. Surprisingly, knockdown of these lipid transporters lead to an increase in TG and apoB secretion that was associated with an increase in fatty acid synthase and fatty acid transport protein 4 (FATP4) protein levels. De novo fatty acid synthesis was slightly increased in CD36-, but not FABP1-knockdown Caco-2 cells. This study highlights the importance of fatty acid targeting in regulating chylomicron production.

Assembly of intestinal chylomicron particles (lipid-protein complexes) is the fundamental mechanism by which we absorb dietary fat. Two intestinal lipid transporters, Cluster of Differentiation 36 (CD36) and fatty acid-binding protein 1 (FABP1), have been shown to play a role in lipid absorption, however, it remains unclear how knockdown of these proteins bleads to aberrant intestinal chylomicron secretion. In an enterocyte-like cell culture model, Caco-2 cells, we hypothesized that knockdown of CD36 or FABP1 using short-hairpin RNA interference techniques would impair triacylglycerol (TG) and apolipoprotein B (apoB) secretion. Surprisingly, knockdown of these lipid transporters lead to an increase in TG and apoB secretion that was associated with an increase in fatty acid synthase and fatty acid transport protein 4 (FATP4) protein levels. De novo fatty acid synthesis was slightly increased in CD36-, but not FABP1-knockdown Caco-2 cells. This study highlights the importance of fatty acid targeting in regulating chylomicron production.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a significant global threat to human health due to its ability to cause chronic infections that can lead to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). While the process by which HBV increases the risk of HCC is unclear, evidence suggests that the hepatitis B X protein (HBx) may be a contributing factor. Cellular senescence is an important barrier to tumorigenesis, blocking the proliferation of cells that harbor excessive DNA damage or contain activated oncogenes. Autophagy is a non-proteasomal degradative pathway used by cells to recycle cytoplasmic contents under periods of nutrient starvation. This pathway is induced in response to a wide range of cellular stress factors, and has also been characterized as an effector mechanism for the establishment of cellular senescence. In this study, retroviral transduction of HepG2 cells with HBx resulted in the induction of cellular senescence and autophagy. The mechanism by which HBx can induce senescence is unclear. However, an increase in the accumulation of DNA damage was observed. HBx did not modulate the levels of the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, or Mcl-1, which can inhibit autophagy through interactions with the autophagy regulator Beclin 1. As well, the activity and phosphorylation status of JNK/SAPK, an inducer of autophagy via Bcl-2 phosphorylation, was unchanged. These results suggest that senescence may act as a barrier to HBx-induced oncogenesis, and may offer some explanation as to why HBx does not function as a more potent oncogene. Also, we propose that HBx modulates autophagy through a mechanism other than Bcl-2 phosphorylation or expression over the time course of this study.