In recent years, Green Building Promotion program has made a significant progress where 1359 cases have acquired the Green Building Candidate Certificate. Among them, 245 cases or 18% in total, eventually received the Green Building Label which is considered low and need to be improved. On the other hand, in United States where LEED is applied, the Commissioning, abbreviated as Commissioning, has been deemed as a Pre-Requisite Requirement for all LEED Projects. In ASHRAE design guides, Commissioning has been defined as a procedure through testing, adjusting, and balancing, to Perform in Conformity with the Design Intent. The goals of Owners, designers, and engineering contractors can all be integrated and optimized where design intent can be fulfilled with traceable records during the Commissioning process. Though Testing, Adjusting, Balancing, and Commissioning, building energy efficiency can be upgraded where energy savings and CO2 emission reduction can be obtained.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Down syndrome (DS) is caused by three copies of human chromosome 21 (Hsa21) and results in phenotypes including intellectual disability. Ts65Dn mice, the most extensively studied DS model, have three copies of ~50% of the genes on Hsa21 and display many phenotypes associated with DS, including cognitive deficits. DYRK1A is a dosage-sensitive gene found in three copies in humans with Trisomy 21 and in Ts65Dn mice and is involved in CNS development. Overexpression of DYRK1A is hypothesized to cause many of the cognitive and developmental deficits observed in DS and has been touted as a target for drug development in DS. Definitive evidence that excessive expression/activity of Dyrk1a directly contributes to specific phenotypes in DS mouse models is limited, and there is no direct evidence that verified pharmacological inhibition of Dyrk1a in vivo causes enduring improvement in DS cognitive phenotypes. In part, this reflects the remarkably limited knowledge of the temporal regulation of Dyrk1a expression and activity in different brain regions across development in DS mouse models. To establish the therapeutic potential of Dyrk1a inhibitors, the first aim of this study was to determine when and in what brain regions excessive Dyrk1a is evident and to identify developmental periods when elevated expression of Dyrk1a may be contributing to enduring aberrant functional development. This aim provided systematic quantification of Dyrk1a protein level at key postnatal (P) ages (P12, P15, P18, P24 P30, P42) in Ts65Dn mice, at ages of translational relevance to clinical applications in humans (birth, early adolescence, late adolescence, young adult). Western blot analysis showed that significant elevation of Dyrk1a with the largest effect sizes occurred in trisomic mice on P15. The second aim of this study was to test whether treating Ts65Dn with a novel Dyrk1a inhibitor (CX-4945) during the time of Dyrk1a elevation would rescue the behavioral and structural abnormalities observed. From P14-P18, Ts65Dn and euploid mice were treated with 75mg/kg CX-4945 or DMSO (vehicle) and tested on a homing task and locomotor activity in a novel arena on P17-P18, counterbalanced for order. At the cessation of treatment, hippocampal cell proliferation was assessed. While there was a lack of statistically significant improvements with CX-4945 treatment, there were modest effect sizes. In addition, several of the behavioral studies were significantly underpowered, making it difficult to conclusively ascertain the efficacy of CX-4945 on specific phenotypes. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that Dyrk1a is dynamically expressed across development in mice, and suggests that consideration of the spatial and temporal expression of Dyrk1a may well be critical in the development of therapeutics for DS.

This study investigated how gastrointestinal and skin bacterial infections were affected by differential expression of connexin (Cx) 26 and a disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) 17 in vitro. Cx26 is a component of gap junctions, which facilitate the transfer of small molecules between two cells. Recessive mutations in Cx26 cause non syndromic hearing loss (NSHL), and in certain populations, specific mutations account for the majority of Cx26 related NSHL. Their common occurrence suggests that they may provide a heterozygous, protective advantage to carriers. In this study adherence by the attaching and effacing pathogen Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) was significantly reduced in cells expressing mutant Cx26 compared to wild type Cx26. Furthermore, EPEC adherence and invasion of an alternative enteric pathogen, Shigella flexneri were reduced following treatment with Cx26 short-interfering-RNA in intestinal cells. These findings suggest that the loss of functional Cx26 expression improves protection against enteric bacteria. ADAM17 releases substrates including tumour necrosis factor alpha and ligands of the epidermal growth factor receptor and therefore is involved in the induction of immune responses and maintenance of the epidermal barrier. This study demonstrated that ADAM17 provides protection during Staphylococcus aureus infection of keratinocytes. Subsequently the protective effects of ADAM17 mediated protection were explored. Secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines Interleukins 6 and 8 correlated with ADAM17 activity. Additionally gene expression profiling was performed which identified the IL-17 signalling pathway, which is known to be important during S. aureus infection, as a potential downstream target of ADAM17. In summary, based on these findings, Cx26 and ADAM17 may represent potential therapeutic targets for gastrointestinal and skin bacterial pathogens.

In this thesis,we report recent results on existence for variational inequalities in infinite-dimensional spaces under generalized monotonicity.

O câncer de colo do útero é o segundo tumor mais frequente entre as mulheres brasileiras, os tratamentos disponíveis trazem complicações de curto a longo prazo e estudos que avaliam a qualidade de vida destas mulheres ainda são escassos no Brasil. Isto é justificado pela falta de instrumentos específicos e validados para esta finalidade em língua portuguesa (Brasil). Neste estudo objetivou-se testar as propriedades psicométricas dos questionários EORTC QLQ-CX24 e FACT-CX em uma amostra de mulheres brasileiras com câncer do colo do útero. O estudo é metodológico e foi realizado com 100 mulheres tratadas no Hospital de Câncer de Barretos, por meio de três avaliações (no início do estudo, 15 dias e 18 a 24 meses após o início). Foi testada a consistência interna (alfa de Cronbach), reprodutibilidade (coeficiente de correlação intraclasse), validade convergente (correlação com o questionário SF-36 e com o questionário EORTC QLQ-C30), a validade discriminante pelo estadiamento, tipo de tratamento e autoclassificação de saúde e a responsividade pelo método de distribuição dos dados, além da análise da facilidade de compreensão das questões e dos questionários. Confirmou-se a confiabilidade do questionário EORTC QLQ-CX24, a reprodutibilidade foi baixa nas escalas de preocupação sexual, atividade sexual e prazer sexual, bons resultados observou-se ao avaliar a validade convergente e discriminante. A análise da responsividade não confirmou todas as hipóteses. Ao avaliar o questionário FACT-CX, por meio da consistência interna, exceto pela escala de bem-estar emocional, as demais apresentaram valores de Alpha de Cronbach superiores a 0,70. A reprodutibilidade foi satisfatória nas cinco escalas que compõem o FACT- CX. Na análise da validade convergente, somente as escalas de bem-estar físico e bem-estar emocional mostrou boa correlação com as escalas do SF-36. Em geral, o questionário revelou boa validade discriminante, principalmente em relação a autoclassificação da saúde. Resultado satisfatório encontrou-se na análise da responsividade. Em geral observou-se um bom grau de entendimento das questões e dos questionário. Concluindo os questionários desenvolvidos para medir a QVRS em mulheres com câncer de colo do útero EORTC QLQ-CX24 e FACT-CX obtiveram resultados aceitáveis recomendando-se que outros estudos testem a responsividade por outros métodos / Cervical cancer is the second most common tumor among Brazilian women. Available treatments bring short and long-term complications, and studies assessing the quality of life of these women are still rare in Brazil. Such situation is warranted by the lack of specific and validated tools in (Brazilian) Portuguese for such a purpose. The goal of this study was to test the psychometric properties of EORTC QLQ-CX24 and FACT-CX questionnaires in a sample of Brazilian women affected by cervical cancer. This is a methodological study and it was conducted on 100 women treated at the Barretos Cancer Hospital by way of three assessments (at baseline, 15 days and 18 to 24 months after the onset). We tested the internal consistency (Cronbach\'s alpha), reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient), convergent validity (correlation with the SF-36 questionnaire and the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire), the discriminant validity by way of staging, type of treatment and health self-classification and responsiveness by the method of data distribution, as well as the analysis of how easy it was their understanding of questions and questionnaires. The reliability of the EORTC QLQ-CX24 questionnaire was confirmed, reproducibility was low in the scales of sexual worry, sexual activity and sexual enjoyment, and good results were observed when evaluating the convergent and discriminant validity. The analysis of responsiveness did not confirm all hypotheses. Upon evaluation of the FACT-CX questionnaire through internal consistency, except for the scale of emotional well-being, the others showed Cronbach\'s alpha values above 0.70. Reproducibility was satisfactory in the five scales comprising FACT-CX. In convergent validity analysis, only the scales of physical well-being and emotional well-being showed good correlation with the scales of the SF-36. In general, the questionnaire demonstrated good discriminant validity, especially in relation to the self-ratings of health. Satisfactory result was found in the analysis of responsiveness. In general there was a good degree of understanding of questions and questionnaires. In conclusion, questionnaires developed to measure HRQOL in women with cervical cancer such as EORTC QLQ-CX24 and FACT-CX achieved acceptable results, and we do recommended that further studies are performed to assess responsiveness by other methods

O câncer de colo do útero é o segundo tumor mais frequente entre as mulheres brasileiras, os tratamentos disponíveis trazem complicações de curto a longo prazo e estudos que avaliam a qualidade de vida destas mulheres ainda são escassos no Brasil. Isto é justificado pela falta de instrumentos específicos e validados para esta finalidade em língua portuguesa (Brasil). Neste estudo objetivou-se testar as propriedades psicométricas dos questionários EORTC QLQ-CX24 e FACT-CX em uma amostra de mulheres brasileiras com câncer do colo do útero. O estudo é metodológico e foi realizado com 100 mulheres tratadas no Hospital de Câncer de Barretos, por meio de três avaliações (no início do estudo, 15 dias e 18 a 24 meses após o início). Foi testada a consistência interna (alfa de Cronbach), reprodutibilidade (coeficiente de correlação intraclasse), validade convergente (correlação com o questionário SF-36 e com o questionário EORTC QLQ-C30), a validade discriminante pelo estadiamento, tipo de tratamento e autoclassificação de saúde e a responsividade pelo método de distribuição dos dados, além da análise da facilidade de compreensão das questões e dos questionários. Confirmou-se a confiabilidade do questionário EORTC QLQ-CX24, a reprodutibilidade foi baixa nas escalas de preocupação sexual, atividade sexual e prazer sexual, bons resultados observou-se ao avaliar a validade convergente e discriminante. A análise da responsividade não confirmou todas as hipóteses. Ao avaliar o questionário FACT-CX, por meio da consistência interna, exceto pela escala de bem-estar emocional, as demais apresentaram valores de Alpha de Cronbach superiores a 0,70. A reprodutibilidade foi satisfatória nas cinco escalas que compõem o FACT- CX. Na análise da validade convergente, somente as escalas de bem-estar físico e bem-estar emocional mostrou boa correlação com as escalas do SF-36. Em geral, o questionário revelou boa validade discriminante, principalmente em relação a autoclassificação da saúde. Resultado satisfatório encontrou-se na análise da responsividade. Em geral observou-se um bom grau de entendimento das questões e dos questionário. Concluindo os questionários desenvolvidos para medir a QVRS em mulheres com câncer de colo do útero EORTC QLQ-CX24 e FACT-CX obtiveram resultados aceitáveis recomendando-se que outros estudos testem a responsividade por outros métodos / Cervical cancer is the second most common tumor among Brazilian women. Available treatments bring short and long-term complications, and studies assessing the quality of life of these women are still rare in Brazil. Such situation is warranted by the lack of specific and validated tools in (Brazilian) Portuguese for such a purpose. The goal of this study was to test the psychometric properties of EORTC QLQ-CX24 and FACT-CX questionnaires in a sample of Brazilian women affected by cervical cancer. This is a methodological study and it was conducted on 100 women treated at the Barretos Cancer Hospital by way of three assessments (at baseline, 15 days and 18 to 24 months after the onset). We tested the internal consistency (Cronbach\'s alpha), reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient), convergent validity (correlation with the SF-36 questionnaire and the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire), the discriminant validity by way of staging, type of treatment and health self-classification and responsiveness by the method of data distribution, as well as the analysis of how easy it was their understanding of questions and questionnaires. The reliability of the EORTC QLQ-CX24 questionnaire was confirmed, reproducibility was low in the scales of sexual worry, sexual activity and sexual enjoyment, and good results were observed when evaluating the convergent and discriminant validity. The analysis of responsiveness did not confirm all hypotheses. Upon evaluation of the FACT-CX questionnaire through internal consistency, except for the scale of emotional well-being, the others showed Cronbach\'s alpha values above 0.70. Reproducibility was satisfactory in the five scales comprising FACT-CX. In convergent validity analysis, only the scales of physical well-being and emotional well-being showed good correlation with the scales of the SF-36. In general, the questionnaire demonstrated good discriminant validity, especially in relation to the self-ratings of health. Satisfactory result was found in the analysis of responsiveness. In general there was a good degree of understanding of questions and questionnaires. In conclusion, questionnaires developed to measure HRQOL in women with cervical cancer such as EORTC QLQ-CX24 and FACT-CX achieved acceptable results, and we do recommended that further studies are performed to assess responsiveness by other methods

No description available.

Kreosot är ett träskyddsmedel som förstärker träet mot röta och levande organismer vid impregnering. Problemet är att ämnet kreosot klassas som hälsofarligt och påverkar miljön i flera aspekter. Kemikalieinspektionen har beslutat om en förlängd användning av ämnet fram till år 2018. Därefter riskerar bekämpningsmedlet en gradvis utfasning i hela landet. En stor del av elkraftstolparna som Skellefteå Kraft AB använder i deras elnät är kreosotimpregnerade stolpar. Vid utfasning av ämnet kommer företaget att behöva ha en ny strategi angående elkraftstolpar. Med hjälp av undersökningar och analyser ska denna rapport beskriva en lämplig strategi för Skellefteå Kraft AB att använda sig av när kreosot förbjuds. På grund av de goda egenskaperna hos materialet trä och dess låga belastning på miljön avgränsas rapporten för just undersökning av metoder och medel som endast involverar materialet trä, bland annat furu på grund av dess goda förmåga vid inträngning av träskyddsmedlet. Rapporten undersöker först miljöpåverkan för kreosotstolpar genom studier av så kallade livscykelanalyser (LCA). En sådan undersökning inkluderar alla utsläpp som uppstår under en kreosotstolpes livslängd och dess påverkan på naturen och människan. Här utfördes en energiteknisk beräkning av det totala utsläppet för två olika exempel, en kortare (150 mil) och en längre (500 mil). Resultatet av denna analys visar att energiåtgången var bara ca 1/3 högre för den längre transporten. Det största utsläppet var växthusgasen koldioxid vilket skedde i betydligt större omfattning för den längre transportsträckan. Rapporten fortsätter att undersöka vilka impregneringsmetoder som används i Sverige och vilka medel som används. Detta görs för att analysera vilken av dessa metoder som kan vara en lämplig ersättning för kreosotimpregnering. En samlad bedömning av resultat och data från denna undersökning visade att Skellefteå Kraft AB kan fortsatt använda sig utav kopparsaltimpregnerade stolpar (Wolmanit CX-8 eller Wolmanit CX-8N) ifall kreosot fasas ut. Dessutom föreslås tryckimpregneringsmetoderna (fullcell eller Lowry metoden) behållas. Skellefteå Kraft AB har redan ett inköpsavtal med Rundvirke Poles AB angående beställning av nya stolpar. Rundvirke Poles AB tillverkar kopparsaltstolpar i alla dimensioner och storlekar och för Skellefteå Krafts del kan det tills vidare vara lämpligt att inköpsavtalet fortsätter gälla. Företag som Skellefteå Kraft bör dock vara öppna för nya och bättre medel och träskyddsmetoder som kan ge bättre prestanda och en mer fördelaktig livscykel. Ett sådant kan vara RVP Repellent som Poles AB utvecklar men här bör fördjupade tester, livscykelanalyser och kontroller utföras på träskyddsmedlet och produkten.

In der soziologischen, philosophischen, kulturwissenschaftlichen und erziehungswissenschaftlichen Forschung ist in den letzten Jahrzehnten ein starkes Interesse für Aufmerksamkeit zu verzeichnen, eine gestiegene Aufmerksamkeit für Aufmerksamkeit, die sich nicht zuletzt in einer steigenden Zahl von empirischen Studien, insbesondere im Schulunterricht, niederschlägt. Mithilfe der pädagogisch-phänomenologischen Videographie geht die vorliegende Arbeit mit ihrem Anspruch allerdings über eine empirisch-videographische Studie zur Aufmerksamkeit hinaus. Sie bietet zudem eine Reflexion darauf, wie unterrichtliche Aufmerksamkeit als nicht unmittelbar sichtbare pädagogische Erfahrung und Praxis sowie als pädagogisches Phänomen methodisch angemessen und gehaltvoll beschrieben, tentativ angenähert und zugänglich gemacht, produktiv interpretiert und analysiert werden kann, ohne diese auf Verhalten zu reduzieren; denn die pädagogisch-phänomenologische Videographie setzt die pädagogische Erfahrung, genauer gesagt die leibliche, intersubjektive, vor-sprachliche, vor-reflexive, vor-prädikative Aufmerksamkeitserfahrung der Lernenden und Lehrenden in den Mittelpunkt. Außerdem bietet diese Arbeit in Anlehnung an die Theorien der Aufmerksamkeit von Waldenfels und Meyer-Drawe eine phänomenologische Theorie der Aufmerksamkeit, die sich historisch orientiert, mit unterschiedlichen Diskursen auseinandersetzt und diese pädagogisch konkretisiert. Diese Theorie geht über die kognitive Perspektive heraus und bezeichnet Aufmerksamkeit als ein Zwischengeschehen, das weder eindeutig auf das Subjekt noch eindeutig auf das Objekt zurückgeführt. Nicht zuletzt liefert die Arbeit noch eine interkulturelle Perspektive auf chinesischen und deutschen Schulunterricht, mit der Aufmerksamkeit interkulturell beschrieben und in unterschiedlichen Praxen verglichen werden. / In sociological, philosophical, cultural studies, and educational research, the topic of attention has received a great deal of interest and attention in recent decades, which is reflected in an increasing number of empirical studies, especially in the school classroom. however, with pedagogical-phenomenological videography, which focuses on the pedagogical experience, more precisely on the bodily, intersubjective, pre-linguistic, pre-reflexive, pre-predicative attentional experience of the students and teachers, this dissertation goes beyond an empirical videographic study of attention. It also offers a reflection on how attention as a not directly visible pedagogical experience and practice as well as a pedagogical phenomenon can be methodologically appropriately described, tentatively approached and made accessible, productively interpreted and analyzed. Furthermore, following the attention theories of Waldenfels and Meyer-Drawe, this thesis offers a phenomenological theory of attention that is historically oriented, engages with different discourses, and concretizes them pedagogically. According to this theory, this paper will go beyond the cognitive conception of attention and consider attention as an 'in-between event' that cannot be unambiguously attributed to neither the subject nor the object. Last but not least, the paper provides an intercultural perspective on school teaching in China and Germany. With this perspective, attention is described interculturally and compared in different practices.

Abstract Organisationer investerar numera i artificiell intelligens inom området kundupplevelser, så kallat customer experience, CX. CX är kundernas eller användarnas holistiska uppfattning av ett företag, organisation eller varumärke under hela kundresan, som omfattar planering av köp, genomförande av köp och upplevelsen efter ett köp, i synnerhet kundens köpresa. AI, artificiell intelligens och CX har diskuterats som koncept ända sedan 1950–1960-talet men det är på senare år som både AI och CX har blivit två starka modeord. Det finns mycket forskning sedan många år tillbaka kring AI och CX som separata ämnen men området ”AI inom CX” utifrån affärsperspektiv är relativt nytt. Alltså AI som används för att förbättra kundupplevelsen som i tur ska förbättra organisationens resultat. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka och analysera hur investeringar i AI-tjänster, för kundupplevelser i utvalda organisationer, kan skapa affärs- och verksamhetsnytta. Undersökningen består av litteraturstudier och kvalitativa intervjuer eller så kallade semistrukturerade, med totalt fyra respondenter från organisationer både i den offentliga och privata sektorn. Intervjuerna genomfördes via kommunikationsverktyget Zoom. Litteraturstudien leder fram till en modell över affärsnytta med AI-tjänster som tar hänsyn till flera aspekter: AI-tjänster inom kundupplevelser, kunder och segmentering, upplevd kundnytta, AI-tjänster internt, upplevd affärs- och verksamhetsnytta och organisationens mål med AI-tjänsterna. Uppsatsstudiens viktigaste slutsatser är att AI-tjänster inom kundupplever skapar affärs-och verksamhetsnytta och har förändrat kundupplevelsen till det bättre trots att det är ett relativt nytt AI-tillämpningsområde. Exempel på AI-tjänster inom CX är AI-Chatbotar, röstrobotar och AI-baserade sök-och rekommendationstjänster. Tre av fyra organisationer i undersökningen anger att AI-tjänster inom kundupplevelser har bra avkastning på investeringen.