Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1982.

No description available.

In a climate change perspective, increased air temperatures are already a reality and are expected to increase even more in the future, especially in areas at high latitudes. The present thesis therefore addresses the influence of climate change on the physical properties and the phytoplankton communities of typical small and oligotrophic lakes in northern Sweden (62-64˚N). In the first part of the study, we found a significant trend (10 lakes from 1916 to 2010) of ice break-ups occurring increasingly earlier. The timing of ice break-up was strongly influenced by the April air temperature indicating that expected increases in air temperature in the future will also result in an earlier ice break-up. We also used concentrations of chlorophyll a (chl a) as estimations of phytoplankton biomass and discovered a positive relationship between surface water temperature and concentrations of chl a in Lake Remmaren (from 1991 to 2008). The second part of the thesis focuses on climatic conditions and cyanobacteria abundance in three small, oligotrophic lakes in northern Sweden; Lake Remmaren, Lake S. Bergsjön and Lake Gransjön. The concentration and relative abundance of cyanobacteria differ between 2011 and 2012, with different climatic conditions. The "warm" year of 2011 had higher concentrations and relative abundance of cyanobacteria than the "cold" year of 2012. Trends in increasing surface water temperatures as well as increasing abundance of cyanobacteria in August were found in Lake Remmaren (from 1988 to 2011). The direct or indirect effects of warming had a positive effect on the cyanobacteria abundance, since nutrients (Tot N and Tot P) did not display an increasing trend in Lake Remmaren. An analysis on the composition of phytoplankton species in Lake Remmaren, Lake S. Bergsjön and Lake Gransjön revealed that the cyanobacteria Merismopedia sp. was more common in 2011 than 2012. If different cyanobacteria become more common in oligotrophic lakes in the future, the functioning of lake ecosystems may be impacted. Small zooplankton eats small phytoplankton and if smaller phytoplankton species, e.g. cyanobacteria, increase at the expense of other phytoplankton groups, an extra step in the food chain might be added. Less energy might be transferred to the upper levels because many cyanobacteria contain toxic compounds and are less edible than other phytoplankton groups. An increase of toxic containing cyanobacteria in lakes can also make lakes less attractive for recreational purposes in the future.

The purpose of this study is to highlight play and learning in the lower school ages in organized and non-organized break actives. The premise is that the break is a part of the schoolday and that the school has responsibility to live up to the goals and guidelines of the curriculum even in recess. Leisuretime-pedagogy and the professional competence the pedagogs possess about games and the social relations of children are also in focus in this study. The study is a qualitative study where the empirical material consists of observations in a schoolyard environment during one week and interviews with children. The material has then been interpreted and analyzed using Lev S. Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective. The conclusions are, that the break is an opportunity for children to socialize with peers and in a playful way learn social skills of friendship, how to behave as a boy or a girl, and what works for one's age. The study also shows that children crave active adults in the schoolyard during recess and leisure-pedagogs have the skills required to support children's development by supporting the children's building of relationships and offer educational activities.

Until recently, research has been scarce in the field of physical modelling of dam breaching. Over the past few years, teams from the University of Ottawa, Canada, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, and HR Wallingford, United Kingdom have worked on several physical models to help determine how various dam breaching characteristics vary due to changes in dam geometry and geotechnical properties. The purpose of this project is to use these new experimental data sets to compare and validate the applicability range of two existing pieces of software, MIKE11-DB and BREACH developed by the Danish Hydraulic Institute and National Weather Service, respectively. Several breaching characteristics such as the outflow hydrograph, peak flow, lag time, breaching time, breach width, and water level are considered in the present study. A sensitivity analysis is also performed on the model’s main input parameters and their sensitivity and performance is ranked accordingly.

Numerical dam break analyses of Kirazlik&ouml / pr&uuml / Dam are performed under various hydraulic scenarios. Kirazlik&ouml / pr&uuml / Dam is located on the G&ouml / kirmak River near the city of Bartin. The objective of these analyses is to investigate adverse effects of such dam break failure on the regions downstream of the dam. The numerical model used in the simulations is FLDWAV, which is developed by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States. It appears that most adversely effected regions are those that are closest to the dam location. The results of these simulations can be used sufficiently to prepare emergency action plans in case of possible failures.

Radiation therapy targets cancer cell death by overwhelming cells with harmful DNA damage. Understanding how cells repair radiation damage and in particular how they become resistant to radiation therapy is important for effective cancer treatment. Our lab made the novel discovery that Bcl10, a cytoplasmic protein important for NF-B activation, localizes to endogenous H2AX foci in the nucleus of breast cancer cells. We determined that following radiation treatment Bcl10 is recruited to ionizing radiation-induced foci in a dose-dependent matter and that it is important for the repair of radiation-induced DNA damage. We also observed that breast cancer cells are extremely sensitive to Bcl10 knockdown, causing cellular senescence, while normal breast epithelial cells are insensitive. Our findings identify Bcl10 as potent anti-cancer target. / Experimental Oncology

No description available.

Neste estudo foram analisados 40 países para o período mais longo disponível no IFS, através do teste de cointegração de Johansen (1995) e Vetores de Correção de Erro (VEC) para explorar as evidências sobre a capacidade de hedge dos ativos acionários com relação à inflação. Além disso, incluiu-se um teste de cointegração com quebra estrutural a fim de testar a relação entre as séries que não cointegraram através do teste principal de Johansen (1995). Cabe ressaltar que, ao contrário dos artigos que analisam as variáveis em diferença, ao considerarmos as variáveis em nível, um equilibrio de longo prazo entre estas foi encontrado, e mesmo que o retorno ao equilíbrio seja lento, ele existe e, após um periodo suficientemente longo, ambas as variáveis retornarão ao equilíbrio de longo prazo. Além disso, o equilíbrio de longo prazo encontrado para a maioria dos países decorreu do teste sem a inclusão de quebra estrutural. Assim, a relação de longo prazo entre as variáveis permanece estável para 29 países, indicando que choques reais ou monetários, mesmo permanentes, não são capazes de afetar a dinâmica entre estas variáveis. / This study analyses 40 countries for the longest sample available at IFS, through the cointegration test of Johansen (1995) and Vector Error Correction Models (VECM), in order to explore the evidences concerning the stock assets capability of hedging inflation. Besides, this paper includes a cointegration test with structural break in order to test the long run relationship between the series of countries that did not cointegrate using the Johansen (1995) test. We can’t stress enough that, contrary to the other studies that use variables in difference, when we consider them in level a long run relationship arrises, and even though the return to equilibrium is slow, it exists and after a sufficiently long period, both variables will reach a long run equilibrium. Beyond that, a long run relationship was found for most countries before considering the existance of a structural break. Hence, the long run relationship remains stable for 29 countries, indicating that any real or monetary shocks, even those permanent, did not affect the long run dinamic between stock prices and goods prices.

Landfill covers are designed as impermeable caps on top of waste containment facilities after the completion of landfill operations. Geocomposite drain (GD) materials consist of a geonet or geospacer (as a drainage core) sandwiched between non-woven geotextiles that act as separators and filters. GD provides a drainage function as part of the cover system. The stability performance of landfill cover system is largely controlled by the interface shear strength mobilised between the elements of the cover. If a GD is used, the interface shear strength properties between the upper surface of the GD and the overlying soil may govern stability of the system. It is not uncommon for fine grained materials to be used as cover soils. In these cases, understanding soil softening issues at the soil interface with the non-woven geotextile is important. Such softening can be caused by capillary break behaviour and build-up of water pressures from the toe of the drain upwards into the cover soil. The interaction processes to allow water flow into a GD core through the soil-geotextile interface is very complex, and have been defined herein as Capillary Related Interface Breakthrough (CRIB). The infiltration test using small column on CRIB conditions for GD in contact with fine grained soils confirmed the development of capillary break at the interface. The effect of water build-up on the interface leads to soil softening in fine grained soils layer and reduce the interface shear strength hence potential instability of the system. Two series of fine grained soil/GD interface shear strength tests conducted to determine the interface shear strength behaviour for a range of soil water contents. The soil softening at the interface due to soaked behaviour show a reduction in interface shear strength and this aspect should be emphasized in design specifications and construction control. Comparison on the main behaviour using field measurements on the trial landfill cover at Bletchley were conducted to increase confidence in the understanding of the implications for design of cover systems.