The purpose of this study was to: 1. develop indices which would demonstrate by a ranking process the relative attractiveness of various competitors of labor in an area and to apply this tool to a sample to determine its feasibility of operation; 2. determine which job factors have the closest association to the overall image; and 3. identify which biographical variables vary significantly with the overall image. The method by which this objective was accomplished consisted of a questionnaire which was administered to 224 high school seniors in the Christiansburg-Radford area of which 182 were applicable in this study. Two indices were constructed to accomplish the first objective: 1. an index of preferability or overall image index, and 2. an index of desirability or treated image index. These two indices were found to be identical in the rankings of the firms which indicates that they validly confirm or support one another. By the use of coefficients of correlation the second objective outlined above was accomplished. This study found that certain job factors do have a close relationship with the overall image. The five job factors analyzed were those appearing in the cluster obtained from the students’ rankings of job factors in the last question of the questionnaire. The major finding here was that although job security is the students' most important job factor, it has a slight relationship to the overall image. An analysis of variance was utilized to accomplish the third objective outlined above. It was found that certain biographical variables do not vary significantly with the image of a firm an individual possesses. The firm itself or the character traits which make up the firm's personality have the greatest effect on the students' image of firms as employers. A recommendation for further study would be to alter the sample used in this study from graduating high school seniors to unemployed workers in the area to determine if their image indices would differ significantly from those in this study. / M.S.

No description available.

This is a study about the ways in which pictures can be interpreted and the ways in which they are interpreted; the latter, specifically, in a relatively remote part of Peru. Chapter II reviews an assortment of picture tests which bring to light differences in the ways pictures are perceived. Chapter III examines the specific cultural context in which a fairly informal picture test was administered. Chapter IV presents some results and asks what cultural and situational factors may have contributed to the variety in interpretations evident. The drawing of firm conclusions is precluded by the absence of any systematic approach to the interpretations or to the pictures themselves, and it is this which the second half of the study attempts to remedy; by providing a theoretical framework for the assessment of verbalized responses to pictures. Chapter V offers a definition of "picture" and locates it within a typology of indices. It also examines the notion of "visual resemblance", eventually adopting the view that any picture is infinitely ambiguous. Chapter VI introduces two methodological necessities consequent on this ambiguity: a stipulation as to the identity and the taxonomic specificity of any signified object; and a stipulation as to the spatial extension of its signifier. No other methodological content is presented. Chapter VII classifies types of verbalized responses in terms of their visual motivation, and the degree to which they interrelate the stipulated pictorial units. Chapter VIII acknowledges that signification may continue beyond the representational level. Further, postrepresentational, types of responses are classified in terms of the nature of the link maintained with the representational signified.

Interferon γ is an important T-cell helper type 1 (Th1) cytokine involves in antimicrobial immunity. It is a part of the inflammatory immune response in the site of infection. However, for its proper function, the regulation of immunity is necessary to avoid injury of the tissue caused by long-term inflammation. While interferon γ triggers expression of proinflammatory genes, it also regulates genes which inactivate immune response. The B7-H1 molecule belongs among these inhibitory regulators. Furthermore, antitumour effect of interferon γ is well-known as well. After extensive experiments, interferon γ was tested as an immunotherapeutic drug against melanomas in clinical trials. However, the trials had to be terminated prematurely because of unsuccessful results. It started to be clear that interferon γ could have also a protumour effect. Interferon γ upregulates the expression of B7-H1 molecule which aids tumour in escape from immunity. The B7-H1 molecule possesses a binding site for interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) in its promoter region. This IRF-1 is induced by interferon γ - JAK/STAT signalling pathway. In our previous research, we observed interferon γ induced DNA demethylation of promoters in genes that are involved in antigen presenting machinery. Additionally, DNA methylation of...

This thesis explores the ways in which gender and contemporary anthropology interact, with the special emphasis on the areas frequently referred to as "poststructuralist" or "postmodern." More specifically, I look at one aspect which postmodern approaches and feminist theories have in common: questioning of the dominant narratives. This questioning then leads through a series of constructed realities (or hyperrealities) to the realization of the importance of the concept of difference(s) in all its aspects. The ethnographic examples are from the Republics of Slovenia (primarily concerning feminist groups and scholars) and Macedonia (the region of Prespa, in the southwestern part of the country). In both countries the fall of communism has created a sort of a power hiatus, filled with questions about identity, the future and ways to organize the newly emerging societies (since both countries became independent in 1991). In that regard, both countries are hyper real. After the Introduction, I outline the debates surrounding "postmodern" approaches in anthropology, different theoretical assumptions, as well as the area(s) where these approaches can inform anthropological research. I start with the overview of the working definitions of "postmodernism" and the attitudes towards it that characterize current anthropological theory, continuing with what I regard to be the most illustrative examples of it being misunderstood and misrepresented, and concluding with the meeting point of postmodern anthropology and the study of gender. In the following chapters I present the results of my field research in Macedonia and in Slovenia, concluding with the theoretical implications of contemporary anthropological approaches to the study of gender, as well as the reasons for presenting it as basically a social construct. In Conclusion, I point out at the fact that gender studies seem to be the only area where postmodernism and anthropology interact in the most positive way, primarily through the full exploration of the concept of difference(s).

This thesis is an examination of the use Edward III made of various resources at his disposal in order to patronize a number of individuals destined for the parliamentary peerage or beyond. Primarily through a judicious use of escheats, forfeitures and expectancies, though also through his control over the marriages of his tenants-in-chief, Edward managed to endow a considerable number of new men with properties both suitable to their existing estates and commensurate with their new ranks. Edward's use of these sources, along with temporary forms of patronage such as wardships, annuities, offices and smaller token forms of favour, unsurprisingly sparked a considerable amount of contemporary reaction. However, unlike previous favourites, though Edward's new men did have to contend with a substantial amount of opposition at an individual level - especially in the law courts - popular reaction in general was surprisingly mute. Though there were instances when these men were singled out for criticism, for the most part landed society as a whole, and the established nobility in particular, received them with a degree of toleration rarely exhibited to parvenus. In part due to Edward's use of propaganda, but also to the terms on which he granted out a large portion of the patronage, Edward's new creations were seen as complementing rather than threatening the existing order. Indeed, it was Edward himself who may be said to have limited the powers of his 'new nobility' not only by making them dependent on his goodwill, but also by not allowing for much of the patronage granted out to remain out indefinitely. In the end, then, this thesis is about the first coherent realization by an English monarch of the importance of controlling the composition of the parliamentary peerage at a time when its membership was becoming increasingly predetermined.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第21637号 / 医博第4443号 / 新制||医||1034(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 河本 宏, 教授 松田 道行, 教授 小川 誠司 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第23801号 / 医博第4847号 / 新制||医||1058(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 小林 恭, 教授 竹内 理, 教授 金子 新 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

B7-H6, un membre de la famille B7, est exprimé sur diverses cellules tumorales humaines et active les cellules NK via NKp30. En revanche, B7-H6 n'est pas détecté à la surface d'aucunes cellules saines testées. Mon projet de thèse était d'identifier les mécanismes impliqués dans l'induction du gène B7-H6 et savoir si d'autres conditions que la transformation tumorale peuvent induire l'expression de B7-H6.Nous avons montré que B7-H6 est induit de façon sélective à la surface de neutrophiles et de monocytes CD14+CD16+, suite à des stimulations de type inflammatoire in vitro et in vivo. De plus, cette expression est de mauvais pronostic pour la survie de patients atteints de sepsis sévère. Nous avons également mis en évidence une forme soluble de B7-H6 produite, in vitro par des monocytes et des neutrophiles activés, et in vivo chez certains patients atteints de sepsis sévère à Gram négatif. Fait intéressant, cette forme soluble semble bloquer l'activité des cellules NK et avoir une tendance à être de mauvais pronostic pour la survie de ces patients.Par conséquent, mes travaux renforcent le concept immunologique selon lequel les ligands des récepteurs NK activateurs sont sous-exprimés dans les cellules saines et subissent une dérégulation qui les surexprime dans les cellules qui subissent. De plus, B7-H6 apparait comme un acteur potentiel dans l'immunité innée antibactérienne. La description systématique du profile de B7-H6 chez les patients atteins de sepsis pourrait permettre d'envisager de nouvelles prises en charge thérapeutiques basé sur les cellules NK et B7-H6 et aider à classer les patients en fonction de leur risque de développer une forme sévère de la maladie. / B7-H6, a new member of the B7 family, is expressed on several human tumor cells and triggers NKp30-mediated activation of human NK cells. However, B7-H6 is not detected in any normal cells tested. My thesis project was to identify the mechanisms causing the induction of B7-H6 gene and whether conditions other than tumor transformation could lead to B7-H6 expression. During my thesis, we showed that B7-H6 is selectively induced at the surface of neutrophils and CD14+CD16+ monocytes upon inflammatory stimulation in vitro and in vivo, these cells could also triggers NKp30-mediated activation of human NK cells in a context of inflammation. Moreover, this expression is a poor prognosis for survival of patients with severe sepsis. We also detected a soluble form of B7-H6 produced in vitro by activated neutrophils and monocytes, and in vivo in some patients with severe Gram-negative sepsis. Interestingly, this soluble form appears to block the activity of NK cells and have a tendency to be a poor prognosis for survival of these patients.Therefore, my work supports the immune concept that ligands of NK activating receptors are downregulated in normal cells and undergo deregulation that overexpressed in cells upon stress such as tumors, infection and inflammation. In addition, B7-H6 appears as a potential player in the antibacterial innate immunity. The systematic description of B7-H6 in patients with sepsis could allow to envisage new therapeutic treatment based on NK cells and B7-H6 and help classify patients according to their risk of developing a severe form of disease.

Un des mécanismes d’évasion des cellules tumorales au système immunitaire fait intervenir la famille des molécules de type B7. Ces molécules de costimulation ont aussi un rôle dans les mécanismes de tolérance immunitaire. La molécule B7-H1 (PD-L1 ou CD274) inhibe directement les lymphocytes T cytotoxiques (CTL) et est fortement exprimée à la surface de nombreux types de cellules tumorales. Les mécanismes de régulation de son expression ne sont pas bien connus. Il existe une augmentation d’expression de cette molécule après stimulation par l’IFNγ et récemment les ligands des Toll-Like-Receptor (TLR) 2, 4 et 9 ont été impliqués dans sa régulation au niveau du myélome multiple. L’implication possible des TLR dans l’expression de B7-H1 suggère un rôle possible de pathogènes dans l’échappement des tumeurs au système immunitaireIl n’existe aucune donnée dans la littérature sur l’expression des TLR au niveau des cellules blastiques de patients atteints de leucémies aigues myéloblastique (LAM). Nous avons dans un premier temps étudié l’expression des TLR dans les LAM et l’inductibilité de l’expression de la molécule B7-H1 par les ligands des TLR en cytométrie en flux. Nos résultats montrent que les TLR sont exprimés dans les LAM, avec une grande variabilité suivant les patients. On observe une augmentation significative de l’expression de B7-H1 après stimulation par le LPS (ligand TLR4) alors qu’elle n’est pas significative pour les autres ligands (PGN et ODN). Comme dans les tumeurs solides et le myélome multiple, l’expression de B7-H1 est augmentée par l’IFN γ. Des tests de lyse CTL sont en cours afin de confirmer le rôle fonctionnel de cette expression de B7-H1 via les TLR dans les LAM.Une autre partie de l’étude a été réalisée sur deux lignées murines leucémiques : DA1-3B et WEHI-3B, afin de disposer de modèles expérimentaux d’expression de B7-H1. On retrouve sur ces deux modèles l’augmentation d’expression de B7-H1 après stimulation par l’IFN γ et les ligands des TLR. L’utilisation de différents inhibiteurs chimiques des voies de signalisation suggère le rôle des voies MEK/ERK et de la voie JAK/STAT dans l’expression de cette molécule. La voie PI3kinase/Akt semble au contraire jouer un rôle inhibiteur. Le travail se poursuit avec la transfection de transdominants négatifs des différentes voies et de mutants constitutivement actifs. L’objectif à terme est de tester des stratégies d’immunothérapies des LAM par blocage pharmacologique de l’expression de B7-H1. / B7-H1 (PD-L1) is a B7-related protein that inhibits T-cell responses. B7-H1 participates in the immunoescape of cancer cells and is also involved in the long-term persistence of leukemic cells in a mouse model. B7-H1 can be constitutively expressed by cancer cells but is also induced by various stimuli. We therefore examined the constitutive and inducible expression of B7-H1 and the consequences of expression in human acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We analyzed B7-H1 expression in a cohort of 79 patients with AML. Blast cells were also studied after incubation with interferon-gamma or TLR ligands. Functionality was evaluated by cytotoxic T-cell activity against blast cells. Expression of B7-H1 at diagnosis was high in 18% of patients. Expression of toll-like receptors (TLR) 2, 4, and 9 was detected in one-third of AML samples. Expression of TLR2 and TLR4 ligands or IFN- induced by B7-H1 was found to protect AML cells from CTL-mediated lysis. Spontaneous B7-H1 expression was also found to be enhanced at relapse in some patients. MEK inhibitors including UO126 and AZD6244 reduced B7-H1 expression and restored CTL-mediated lysis of blast cells. In AML, B7-H1 expression by blasts represents a possible immune escape mechanism. The inducibility of B7-H1 expression by IFN- or TLR ligands suggests that various stimuli, either produced during the immune response against leukemia cells or released by infectious microorganisms, could protect leukemic cells from T-cells. The efficacy of MEK inhibitors against B7-H1-mediated inhibition of CTLs suggests a possible cancer immunotherapy strategy using targeted drugs.