The mevalonate pathway is an important biosynthetic pathway, found in all cells of virtually all known pro- as well as eukaryotic organisms. This thesis is an investigation into the use of two drugs, originally developed for different applications, but both affecting the mevalonate pathway, in to models of fracture repair. Using two different rodent models of fracture repair, a commonly used cholesterol lowering drug (statin) and two drugs used to treat osteoporosis (bisphosphonate) were applied both systemically as well as locally in order to enhance fracture repair. Papers I and II investigate the potential of simvastatin to improve the healing of femoral fractures in mice. Papers III and IV explore the use of two bisphosphonates to improve early fixation of stainless steel screws into rat bone. The statin simvastatin lead to an increased strength of the healing cellus. The application of bisphosphonates increased early screw fixation. It seems clear that both drugs have uses in orthopaedic applications. One interesting avenue of further research would be to combine the two classes of drugs and see if we can get the benefits while at the same time diminishing the drawbacks.

This thesis deals with the evaluation of the quality of life in rural communities in the Region of Prachatice. The thesis is also focused on the evaluation of the economic weakness of the municipalities, its causes and manifestations, and, at least, the possibility of improving life in these communities. An integral part of this work is finding those sources of funding and the related use of funds and grants. In the theoretical part, I have discussed the importance of the regional and social policy focusing on rural issues and their development, with the development of the regions linked to the use of subsidies and the disbursement of funds, especially funds of the European Union. In the practical part, contingency tables and cluster analysis are used, as well as special methods. The results of this study has confirmed that quality of life in LFA municipalities and their economic weakness depends on the size of the village. The conclusion provides an overall assessment of the work and its results.

A célula estromal pode influenciar o desenvolvimento do tumor no sítio primário e secundário, mas pouco é conhecido sobre as características moleculares das células estromais presentes na medula óssea de pacientes com câncer de mama. Nosso objetivo foi avaliar a expressão gênica diferencial entre as células estromais oriundas de medula óssea na presença ou ausência de célula tumoral oculta. Coletamos dez aspirados de medula óssea das pacientes com câncer de mama. A classificação do comprometimento da medula por células tumorais ocultas foi realizada pela detecção da expressão de CK19 por Nested-RT-PCR e quatro entre dez pacientes apresentaram presença de célula tumoral na medula óssea. Estabelecemos culturas primárias de células estromais de todas as amostras e, selecionamos amostras originárias de duas pacientes contendo linfonodos comprometidos e presença de célula tumoral oculta em medula e também de duas pacientes que não apresentavam linfonodos comprometidos e nem célula tumoral oculta na medula. As pacientes selecionadas eram pós-menopausadas com diagnóstico de carcinoma ductal invasor e expressão imunohistoquímica positiva para receptor de estrógeno e progesterona. Realizamos avaliação do perfil de expressão gênica entre estes dois grupos, o que nos revelou 21 genes diferencialmente expressos dentre os 4.608 genes imobilizados em lâmina de cDNA microarray; nove genes hiperexpressos em célula estromal de medula comprometida (PTHLH, TLOC1, NCOA6, C17orf57, ANAPC11, MAST4, POLR3E, CPNE1 e B4GALT5) e doze genes hipoexpressos em célula estromal de medula comprometida (MRPL2, NAT10, DAP, RNF2, FLOT2, FKBP10, SLIT3, EBNA1BP2, SLC35B2, MICAL2, GPR3, TSPAN17). Nossos dados sugerem que apesar da expressão gênica de células estromais oriundas de medula óssea comprometida ou não por micrometástases ser semelhante, algumas diferenças podem ser identificadas. / Stromal cells may influence tumor development in primary and secundary sites, however, molecular characteristics of bone marrow stromal cells from breast cancer patients are almost unknown. Our aim was to evaluate the differential gene expression of bone marrow stromal cells from breast cancer patients in the presence or abscence of occult tumor cells. Bone marrow (BM) aspirates were obtained from 10 breast cancer patients. The presence of occult bone marrow disseminated tumor cells was detected by CK19 expression quantified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Presence of tumoral cell was detected in four of ten BM samples. Stromal cells primary cultures were established and samples from two patients with positive lymph nodes and presence of occult tumor cells in bone marrow and samples from two patients with negative lymph nodes and abscence of occult tumor cells in bone marrow were selected. All the included patients were postmenopausal with invasive ductal carcinoma and positive estrogen and progesterone receptors detected by immunohistochemical analysis. Gene profile evaluated in cDNA microarray slides containing 4.608 spotted genes revealed 21 differencially expressed genes, nine upregulated (PTHLH, TLOC1, NCOA6, C17orf57, ANAPC11, MAST4, POLR3E, CPNE1 e B4GALT5) and twelve downregulated (MRPL2, NAT10, DAP, RNF2, FLOT2, FKBP10, SLIT3, EBNA1BP2, SLC35B2, MICAL2, GPR3, TSPAN17) in stromal cell derived from bone marrow in the presence of tumor breast cancer cell. Our data suggest that gene expression from bone marrow derived stromall cells in the presence or abscence of occult tumor cells seems similar, however small differences may be identified.

Introdução: A ressecão hepática é considerada um tratamento potencialmente curativo para metástases hepáticas de câncer colorretal (MHCCR), mas os benefícios a longo prazo oferecidos pela complementação do tratamento com quimioterapia sistêmica não foram completamente comprovados. Existe ganho já bem estabelecido para sobrevida livre de doença com o uso de quimioterapia perioperatória, mas não existe ganho de sobrevida global demonstrado em ensaios clínicos randomizados (ECR). Objetivo: Comparar sobrevida global e livre de doença em pacientes com MHCCR submetidos apenas ao tratamento cirúrgico com intenção curativa com aqueles que além da cirurgia também receberam tratamento complementar com quimioterapia sistêmica, independentemente do regime utilizado. Métodos: Construção de revisão sistemática com meta-análise avaliando estudos publicados entre 1991 e 2013 e que compararam o tratamento cirúrgico isolado ao associado à quimioterapia sistêmica para o tratamento de MHCCR ressecáveis. Os ECR foram avaliados através da ferramenta Cochrane para detecção de viéses, e os estudos observacionais comparativos (EOC) de boa qualidade foram incluídos no processo meta-analítico após terem sido selecionados seguindo a metodologia MINORS (índice metodológico para análise de ensaios clinicos não randomizados). Sobrevidas global e livre de doença foram comparadas utilizando modelos fixos e randômicos de efeitos de tratamento e razão de riscos (RR). Resultados: Na avaliação de sobrevida global foram incluídos 5 estudos (3 ECR e 2 EOC), compreendendo 2475 pacientes, com 1024 pacientes recebendo quimioterapia complementar e apresentando ganho relativo de sobrevida global de 23 % quando comparados com cirurgia isolada (RR 0.77, 95% IC. 0.67 - 0.88, p < 0.001). Quatro estudos reportaram sobrevida livre de doença e foram incluídos nesta análise (3 ECR e 1 EOC) totalizando 1592 pacientes e nestes, o uso de quimioterapia (702 pacientes) também reduziu o risco de recidiva em 29% (RR 0.71, 95% IC 0.61 - 0.83, p < 0.001). Conclusões: Esta revisão sistemática com meta-análise demonstrou que o uso de quimioterapia para pacientes submetidos à hepatectomia com intenção curativa como tratamento de MHCCR é uma estratégia terapêutica que propicia ganho de sobrevida global e livre de doença / Introduction: Hepatic resection is considered a potentially curative treatment for patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). The benefits of the use systemic chemotherapy in these patients have not been proven. It is likely to improve recurrence free-survival (RFS); however, no differences in overall survival (OS) have been demonstrated yet. Objective: Comparison between surgery plus systemic chemotherapy, regardless of the timing of administration, with surgery alone looking for long term outcomes in patients with CRLM who underwent curative-intent liver resection. Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published from January 1991 to December 2013 that compared surgery alone and surgery plus chemotherapy for patients with CRLM who underwent curative-intent liver resection. Randomized clinical trials (RCT\'s) were evaluated by Cochrane risk of bias tool. Selection of high-quality observational comparative studies (OCS) was based on a validated tool (Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies - MINORS). RFS and OS were compared using fixed and random effects model and Hazard Ratio (HR). Results: Concerning OS, 5 studies (3 RCT and 2 OCS), comprising 2475 patients were analyzed and chemotherapy (750 patients) relatively improved OS rates in 23% when compared to surgery alone (HR of 0.77, 95% C.I. 0.67 - 0.88, p < 0.001). Four studies described RFS (3 RCT and 1 OCS), totalizing 1592 patients, and chemotherapy (702 patients) also decreased the risk of recurrence in 29% (HR 0.71, 95% C.I 0.61 - 0.83, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis has demonstrated that the use of chemotherapy for patients with CRLM who underwent curative-intent resection is a worthwhile strategy to improve both RFS and OS

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / The focus of this exploratory study was on competency profile development, specifically the factors impacting on the validity of its development. Given the paucity of research both nationally and internationally into the development of criteria feeding employment practices, as well as the conjectured enigmatic disjuncture between theory, which promotes the almost indispensability of job analysis, and organisational reality which attests to it seldom being performed or performed in a way which would satisfy scientific standards, a qualitative enquiry and a two tiered research design was developed to explore this phenomenon. Through excavating documentary data, the first phase of research intensively explored the work of the City of Cape Town's Competency Framework Team, their particular job analysis processes and their methodology for developing a competency profile for a single incumbent position, namely that of the City Manager's position. The medium of the case study allowed the reader to enter the world of a pulsing organisation and witness such researchers' dilemmas as contemplating whether there is a standard recipe for competency profile generation, the factors influencing choice of methodology, judgment around the relevancy of competencies developed to lead the change process, accurately responding to and managing dramatically skewed samples, the types of interventions to design, etc. The three key results from this phase of research confirmed that: the complexity of change within the City of Cape Town, as well as the types of decisions the various HR functions had to make on the basis of the profile, influenced decisions on how to profile and which methods to use; that stakeholders actively shaped the design and understanding of the particular components of the competency profile as they bring human volition to the areas of challenge arising within the organisation; and on the issue of whether racial composition of a sample was anticipated to have an effect on the competencies generated, it was clear that is not possible to ascertain whether the differences noticed in the behavioural repertoire of an individual are as a function of race or a myriad of other competing variables. The second phase of research studied the behavioural competencies elicited from a sample of Chief Executive Officers when using different job analysis methods to develop these competencies. The results confirmed that the distinctive features of a job analysis method selected or developed may impact on the behavioural competencies generated. These results not only sensitise practitioners to the role of methodology in influencing the derivation of competencies, but also to the many variables within, as well as between chosen methodologies, and to the reality that choice of methodology may influence the degree of confidence with which one interprets the results attained. The study concluded that despite this being a case study, limiting the conclusiveness and generalisability of its findings, the facets of the phenomenon of competency profiling illuminated may have much salience for the art and practice of profiling in general, for users and developers of job analysis processes, instruments, and leadership models, as well as practitioners entrusted with organisational design and redesign.

The theoretical part of this master thesis lists all the necessary prerequisites which are needed in order to carry out a full and comprehensive reliability assessment of any given process. To do so it provides an overview of reliability in general, mathematical and statistical guidance together with a more detailed picture of the application and description of the process by quantifiable indicators. Furthermore it gives an overview of two important analysis tools, such as FTA and FMEA, accompanied by the basic principle and summary of the Six Sigma methodology and tools. The practical part of the thesis deals with the detailed description, quantification and goals of the process of safety helmet manufacturing and testing in order to be able to carry out a suitable assessment of the reliability by using the necessary set of tools and methods in order to identify the failures and their causes in the process by addressing them with suitable means of changes and corrective actions.

This thesis is concerned with image picture analysis, especially with images obtained by diagnostic LBIC method. The individual defects occuring on solar cells are described in theoretical part, including methods which serve for making referential image. Furthermore, the creation of difference image is analysed, from whom the interferences will be evaluated. The aim of practical part is to focus on generation of algorithms which investigate the defects, and the description of application for program control is described in conclusion.

Objective of this thesis is to make a summary elaboration of particular proposals, which can reform the financial situation of the company and target the elimination of inconvenient financial indicators. In this thesis, there are used the financial analysis methods to parse financial situation of the company. For a consideration of the company financial results are proposed the processes to improve the financial situation of the company.

The electronic and magnetic structure of the colossal magneto resistance material La1-xSrxMnO3, the high-k and strain tailoring compounds REScO3 (Sm, Gd, Dy) and the multiferroic LuFe2O4 was investigated by means of x-ray spectroscopic techniques. SQUID measurements of La1-xSrxMnO3 (x = 0.125, 0.17, 0.36) were compared with XMCD results. The very good agreement between these two experiments proofs the applicability of the correction factor for the spin magnetic moment and the importance of charge transfer. The magnetic moment measured by SQUID and that determined from XMCD proofs that the magnetic moment is completely localized at the Mn ions for different temperatures and magnetic fields. For x = 0.125 the orbital magnetic moment determined from XMCD corresponds to the structural changes in the phase diagram. Additionally the measured orbital moments correspond to anomalies in magnetization versus temperature curves. The magnetic and electronic structure of the rare earth scandates (SmScO3, GdScO3 and DyScO3) were investigated by means of XPS, XES, XAS, SQUID and neutron powder diffraction. The magnetic measurements reveal antiferromagnetic coupling at low temperatures in agreement with neutron diffraction data. With XAS and XES at the O K-edge in comparison with band structure calculations of the unoccupied oxygen states, the band gaps of REScO3 were determined and it was found that these values are corresponding to the Sc-O mean distances. The electronic and magnetic structure of LuFe2O4 was presented. The valence state of Fe ions was determined to 50% divalent and 50% trivalent by XPS of Fe 2p and 3s levels. The big orbital magnetic moment found by XMCD could explain a discrepancy between the magnetic measurements and the spin configuration, which was confirmed by XMCD.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden Musterbildungsphänomene auf Submikrometerskalen in reaktiven Adsorbaten auf einkristallinen Katalysatoroberflächen theoretisch untersucht. Da auf solch kleinen Skalen Fluktuationen nicht mehr vernachlässigt werden können, wird eine mesoskopische Theorie entwickelt, die zwischen mikroskopischen Gittermodellen und Reaktions-Diffusions-Systemen vermittelt. Sie beschreibt die Dynamik lokal gemittelter Adsorbatbedeckungen im Rahmen eines Kontinuumsmodells unter Berücksichtigung interner Fluktuationen. Dieser Ansatz wird auf verschiedene Systeme angewendet, in denen sich Muster auf Längenskalen ausbilden, die kleiner als die charakterist ische Diffusionslänge sind, die typischerweise im Mikrometerbereich liegt. Wie beispielsweise in kürzlich durchgefh hrten Experimenten mit einem vergleichsweise schnellen Rastertunnelmikroskop beobachtet wurde, können attraktive Adsorbat-Adsorbat-Wech sel wirkungen zu verschiedenen Mustern auf Nanometerskalen führen. Hier wird zunächst eine einzelne Adsorbatspezies betrachtet. In Abwesenheit von Nichtgleichgewichtsreaktionen können hinreichend starke attraktive laterale Adsorbatwechselwirkungen einen Phasenh bergang erster Ordnung in der Adsorbatbedeckung induzieren. Die mesoskopische Entwicklungsgleichung wird auf die Modellierung der Kinetik dieses Phasenh bergangs angewendet. Berücksichtigt man zusätzlich eine Nichtgleichgewichtsreakti on, so können sich stationäre räumlich periodische Mikrostrukturen aufgrund der Konkurrenz zwischen dem Phasenh bergang und der Reaktion ausbilden. Die Vorraussetzungen für deren Auftreten und ihre charakteristischen Eigenschaften werden hier detailliert analysiert. Unter anderem werden alternierende Wechselwirkungen diskutiert und der Einfluß globaler Kopplung durch die Gasphase auf die Musterbildung wird betrachtet. Außerdem wird gezeigt, da8 die Mikrostrukturen auch durch vergleichsweise starke interne Fluktuationen nicht zerstört werden. Im nächsten Schritt wird ein hypothetisches Modell für zwei verschiedene Adsorbatspezies untersucht, in dem ein ähnlicher Mechanismus zur Bildung von laufenden und stehenden Wellenmustern auf der Nanoskala führt. Werden vergleichsweise starke interne Fluktuationen berücksichtigt, so brechen diese Wellenmuster auf und man beobachtet eine komplexe Dynamik miteinander wechselwirkender Wellenfragmente. Im letzten Beispiel wird anhand der Analyse eines einfachen Modells gezeigt, da8 sich auf Skalen unterhalb der Diffusionslänge selbstorganisierte Mikroreaktoren in einer einzelnen reaktiven Adsorbatspezies ausbilden können, ohne daß die Teilchen miteinander wechselwirken. Sie entsprechen lokalisierten Strukturen, die aufgrund des Zusammenspiels einer Nichtgleichgewichtsreaktion, der Diffusion und eines adsorbatinduzierten strukturellen Phasenh bergangs in der Substratoberfläche entstehen. / Nanoscale pattern formation in reactive adsorbates on single crystal surfaces is investigated theoretically. Because on such small scales fluctuations become important, a mesoscopic theory for the adsorbate coverage is developed, which aims at providing a link between microscopic lattice models and reaction-diffusion equations. It describes the dynamics for the locally averaged adsorbate coverages in a continuum model taking into account internal fluctuations. This approach is applied to several systems, where patterns on scales smaller than the characteristic diffusion length, which typically lies in the micrometer range, can be formed. As has been observed e.g. in recent experiments with fast scanning tunneling microscopy, a variety of nanoscale patterns can result from the presence of attractive adsorbate-adsorbate interactions. Here, at first a single species of such an adsorbate is considered. In the absence of nonequilibrium reactions, strong enough attractive lateral interactions can induce a first-order phase transition in the adsorbate coverage. The mesoscopic evolution equation is applied to model the kinetics of this phase transition. If additionally a nonequilibrium reaction is present, stationary spatially periodic microstructures may arise as a result of the competition of the attractive lateral interactions and the reactions. The conditions for their appearance and their properties are investigated in detail, e.g. alternating lateral interactions are discussed and the influence of global coupling through the gas phase is analyzed. Furthermore, it is shown that they are not destroyed by relatively strong internal fluctuations. In the next step, a hypothetical model for two different reactive adsorbate species is investigated, where a similar mechanism leads to the formation of nanoscale traveling and standing waves. In the presence of relatively strong internal fluctuations these waves break up and a complex dynamics of interacting wave fragments is observed. In the last example, it is shown in the analysis of a simple model that self-organized nonequilibrium microreactors with submicrometer sizes may spontaneously develop in a single reactive adsorbate species without attractive lateral interactions. They represent localized structures resulting from the interplay between reaction, diffusion and an adsorbate-induced structural transformation of the surface.