In this study I investigated the community establishment and utilization of mental health services among refugee adolescents who received resident permit in Sweden in 2010. I compared a group of 20 adolescents –boys and girls- mainly from Afghanistan and Somalia, living in small residential care by the Social service management in Stockholm – Socialförvaltningen (SF) - with a group of 10 adolescents from the same countries, living in family homes. The study showed clear differences in adolescents´ adaptation processes. Those who were living in small residential care by SF had a better chance to adapt quickly into their new society compared with the other group. The study showed that refugee adolescents from both groups underutilized mental health services.

Recent research has shown that the main challenge regarding urban resilience planning is to broaden the views and go beyond resilience in relation to climate change, and incorporate other important societal aspects. The aim of this thesis is therefor to analyse contemporary planning aims and practices relating to the adaptation and resilience of urban social change. How and to what extent is social change aspects incorporated within the aims and practices of contemporary planning for urban resilience? What means are needed to bridge the gap between urban resilience planning for environmental change and social change? The method used is a textual analysis of five case studies; three international and two Swedish studies, which results in a comparative and theme based analytical matrix. The main findings show that urban resilience is still dominated by its environmental change aspects, and that social urban resilience is not yet a commonly used phrase within contemporary urban planning. By adapting some of the approaches used within environmental urban resilience when planning for social changes however, cities will be more resilient and be able to better identify, adapt to and improve the changing social patterns such as demographic changes and social exclusion.

Chez les plantes céréalières d'hiver, le temps de floraison est retardé jusqu'à ce que les conditions favorables de croissance arrivent. Ce retard est modulé par les basses températures via le processus de vernalisation. Ce processus est régulé par au moins deux gènes clés, VRN1 et VRN2. Ces gènes sont caractérisés chez le blé diploïde (Triticum monococcum), un blé non cultivé. Le gène VRN1 est aussi caractérisé chez le blé hexaploïde (Triticum aestivum) et il est nommé TaVRT-1(Triticum aestivum Vegetative to Reproductive Phase 1). Un troisième gène nommé TaVRT-2 est identifié chez le blé hexaploïde. L'expression de ce gène durant le processus de la vernalisation est associée à la floraison. Cependant, les interactions entre ces trois gènes clés et leur rôle respectif durant le processus de vernalisation sont peu connus. Pour mieux comprendre leurs relations, nous avons cloné les trois copies de VRN2 (TaVRN2) qui correspondent aux trois génomes A, B et D et déterminé leur patron d'expression durant la vernalisation chez le cultivar de blé d'hiver (cv Norstar) et celui de printemps (cv Manitou). Les résultats montrent que l'expression de TaVRN2 est constitutive chez Manitou alors que son expression est négativement régulée durant le processus de vernalisation chez Norstar. Son expression est aussi régulée par la photopériode. Certains stress abiotiques comme le choc thermique, la déshydratation, le stress salin, les blessures et l'hormone ABA répriment son expression. L'analyse du promoteur révèle la présence d'éléments cis impliqués dans la régulation de ces stress abiotiques. Les études sur la spécificité et localisation tissulaire par hybridation in situ montrent que le gène s'accumule dans les jeunes feuilles et au niveau des cellules du méristème. La séquence codante de la copie B du gène TaVRN2 a été clonée dans un vecteur pTrcHisB contenant une queue histidine et exprimée dans la bactérie Escherichia coli. La protéine recombinante est vérifiée par immuno-buvardage de type western en utilisant un anticorps Anti-His et l'identité de la protéine a été confirmée par séquençage au spectomètre de masse. Les études d'interactions protéiques en utilisant le système de double hybride chez la levure, révèlent que la protéine TaVRN2 interagit avec les protéines TaVRT-1 et TaVRT-2. Des expériences de transrépression du promoteur de TaVRT-1 fusionné avec GFP agissant comme gène rapporteur au niveau des feuilles de tabac et en utilisant la protéine TaVRN2 comme un effecteur ont été menées. Les résultats indiquent que TaVRN2 seul ne réprime pas l'activité du promoteur Tavrt-1. Cependant le complexe TaVRT-2 et TaVRN2 réprime l'activité du promoteur. La surexpression de TaVRN2 chez Arabidopsis thaliana montre un retard de floraison chez les plantes transgéniques de plus de dix jours,ce qui suggère queTaVRN2 peut agir comme répresseur de la floraison chez les dicotylédones.

This dissertation applies to the study of adaptation principles of rhetoric, transtextual analysis and visual semiotics. It posits that adaptations are imitations-with-variations and that rather than existing in binary, one-to-one correspondence with their models, adaptations and their models accrue semiosis, forming large “megatexts.” These megatexts are composed of networks of associations that have meaning and change according to their contexts. Adaptation analysis becomes a matter of reading associations and textual linkages, or “reading through” the accrued texts. Eurhythmatic analysis, an analytical strategy drawn from both ancient and modern rhetoric, accounts for these variations while emphasizing the material contexts out of which variations emerge. This project uses these rhetorical strategies to address issues particular to new media adaptations, such as the nature of authorial ethos and identity in a marketplace of competing adaptations and collaborative creation. It examines the process of rhetorical identification that occurs in video game adaptations which ostensibly claim the same model, yet vie for legitimacy – children squabbling for the birthright of the recognized heir. Finally, this thesis examines the new adaptive possibilities opened up by the DVD anthologizing process whereby diverse texts are brought under a titular umbrella. These texts and the navigational overlays designed to constrain and control them, blur the otherwise clear boundaries between adaptation and model, between inside and out. In transtextual terms, this distinctive adaptive form is an internal hypertext, or an adaptation situated on the threshold that distinguishes the paratext from the hypertext.

This thesis explores the limits of homology-based inference of protein function and evolution, where overall similarity between sequences can be a poor indicator of functional similarity or evolutionary relationships. Each case presented has undergone different patterns of evolutionary change due to differing selective pressures. Surface adaptations and regulatory (e.g., gene expression) divergence are examined as molecular determinants of novel functions whose patterns are easily missed by assessments of overall sequence similarity. Following this, internal repeats and mosaic sequences are investigated as cases in which key evolutionary events involving fragments of protein sequences are masked by overall comparison. Lastly, virulence factors, which cannot be unified based on sequence, are predicted by analysis of elevated host-mimicry patterns in pathogenic versus non-pathogenic bacterial genomes. These patterns have resulted from unique co-evolutionary pressures that apply to bacterial pathogens, but may be lacking in their close relatives. A recurring theme in the proteins/genes/genomes analyzed is an involvement in microbial pathogenesis or pathogen-defense. Due to the ongoing "evolutionary arms race" between hosts and pathogens, virulence and defense proteins have undergone—and will likely continue to generate—evolutionary novelties. Thus, they demonstrate the necessity to look beyond overall sequence comparison, and assess multiple dimensions of functional innovation in proteins.

The purpose of this study was to analyze kinetic and kinematic data of individuals with unilateral transtibial limb loss and the effect different alignments have on the individual’s gait while they walk over uneven terrain. Individuals with lower limb loss are currently having their prostheses dynamically aligned to ensure a satisfactory walking gait on level ground with smooth surfaces, usually in the clinician's office or hallway. This study was looking to determine whether or not current prosthesis alignment procedures are adequate for determining a satisfactory walking gait on non-level and non-smooth terrains as well level smooth surfaces. An effective and efficient walking pattern is necessary to prevent degenerative conditions within the bones, muscles or other tissues of the body, due to compensations of the gait pattern. Sometimes, individuals are able to mask any compensations if their safety is unaffected by their surroundings and they are able to maintain a gait that appears normal or optimal. However, if terrains used on a daily basis present a sense of insecurity, gait compensations could be more problematic to the individual and they need to be addressed and corrected as best they can. This study determined that while there were some changes in gait on the uneven surface, due to the number of subjects it is unclear whether the changes are significant. The individuals showed a decrease in walking speed and step length and an increase in step width. There were also changes in the peak axial force.

Involving community participants in the adaptation of culturally-specific programs has the potential to greatly enhance program fit, particularly for socio-politically distinct implementation sites. Findings from a case study of a leadership-training program for Latina survivors of domestic violence in Atlanta, GA support a participant-centered approach to program adaptation and evaluation. A summary of the adaptation process and themes from a qualitative analysis of structured interviews with program facilitators are presented. Implications for the leadership program and future research in the area of program adaptation are discussed.

Purpose: This study asks whether active horizontal angular Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR) gain is capable of monocular adaptation after 4 hours of wearing 10 dioptres (D) of induced anisometropia in healthy human adults. Method: The participants (average age 28 years) wore a contact lenses/spectacles combination for 4 hours. The power of the spectacle was +5. 00D (magnified images 8. 65%) in front of the right eye and ?5. 00D (minified images 5. 48%) for the left eye, while the power of the contact lenses was equal to the subjects? habitual correction, summed with the opposite power of the spectacle lens. Eye and head position data was collected in complete darkness, in one-minute trials before adaptation and every 30 minutes for 2 hours after adaptation. Eye and head position data obtained using a video-based eye tracking system, was analyzed offline using Fast Fourier Transform in MATHCADTM 11. 1 software to calculate VOR gain. The VOR gain was compared between the right eyes and left eyes for the trials before and after adaptation. Results: In the first post-adaptation trial, a significant decrease in VOR gain (? 6%) occurred in the left eye in response to the miniaturizing lens. The right eye VOR gain did not show a significant change in the first post-adaptation trial (?2% decrease). During the remaining trials in the 2 hour follow-up time, both eyes showed a significant decrease compared to the baseline trial. This might indicate habituation of the VOR from repeated testing, or fatigue. Conclusion: There was monocular adaptation of VOR in response to the combined contact lenses/spectacles, but it was not complete and it was not as we expected. However, trying different amounts of anisometropia in one or two directions, a longer adaptation period (more than 4 hours) or monitoring the gain for more than 2 hours after adaptation with a longer separation between trials, might show different results.

This dissertation applies to the study of adaptation principles of rhetoric, transtextual analysis and visual semiotics. It posits that adaptations are imitations-with-variations and that rather than existing in binary, one-to-one correspondence with their models, adaptations and their models accrue semiosis, forming large “megatexts.” These megatexts are composed of networks of associations that have meaning and change according to their contexts. Adaptation analysis becomes a matter of reading associations and textual linkages, or “reading through” the accrued texts. Eurhythmatic analysis, an analytical strategy drawn from both ancient and modern rhetoric, accounts for these variations while emphasizing the material contexts out of which variations emerge. This project uses these rhetorical strategies to address issues particular to new media adaptations, such as the nature of authorial ethos and identity in a marketplace of competing adaptations and collaborative creation. It examines the process of rhetorical identification that occurs in video game adaptations which ostensibly claim the same model, yet vie for legitimacy – children squabbling for the birthright of the recognized heir. Finally, this thesis examines the new adaptive possibilities opened up by the DVD anthologizing process whereby diverse texts are brought under a titular umbrella. These texts and the navigational overlays designed to constrain and control them, blur the otherwise clear boundaries between adaptation and model, between inside and out. In transtextual terms, this distinctive adaptive form is an internal hypertext, or an adaptation situated on the threshold that distinguishes the paratext from the hypertext.

This thesis explores the limits of homology-based inference of protein function and evolution, where overall similarity between sequences can be a poor indicator of functional similarity or evolutionary relationships. Each case presented has undergone different patterns of evolutionary change due to differing selective pressures. Surface adaptations and regulatory (e.g., gene expression) divergence are examined as molecular determinants of novel functions whose patterns are easily missed by assessments of overall sequence similarity. Following this, internal repeats and mosaic sequences are investigated as cases in which key evolutionary events involving fragments of protein sequences are masked by overall comparison. Lastly, virulence factors, which cannot be unified based on sequence, are predicted by analysis of elevated host-mimicry patterns in pathogenic versus non-pathogenic bacterial genomes. These patterns have resulted from unique co-evolutionary pressures that apply to bacterial pathogens, but may be lacking in their close relatives. A recurring theme in the proteins/genes/genomes analyzed is an involvement in microbial pathogenesis or pathogen-defense. Due to the ongoing "evolutionary arms race" between hosts and pathogens, virulence and defense proteins have undergone—and will likely continue to generate—evolutionary novelties. Thus, they demonstrate the necessity to look beyond overall sequence comparison, and assess multiple dimensions of functional innovation in proteins.