This research was conducted to study the effects of supplemental L-Methionine (L-Met) and DL-Methionine (DL-Met) on nutrient metabolism, muscle gene expression, and growth performance of pigs. Twenty crossbred young barrows (initial Body Weight (BW) 21.2 ± 2.7 kg) were randomly assigned to 2 treatments. Crystalline L-Met and DL- Met were supplemented to the diets in Treatment 1 and 2 (both at 0.13%, ased basis), respectively. After 4 weeks of an ad libitum feeding trial, BW and feed intake were measured to calculate Average Daily Gain, Average Daily Feed Intake, and Gain: Feed. The blood samples were collected from the jugular vein for analyses of plasma AA and metabolite concentrations. The longissimus dorsi muscle samples were collected for analysis of myogenesis gene expression. The findings from this study (from gene expression to animal growth performance) suggest that the bioefficacy of L-Met is the same as for DL-Met, indicating the highly efficient conversion of D-Met to L-Met in young growing barrows.

Endorsement is a popular marketing communications tool that has been used by marketers for many years. However, traditional methods of marketing are now being surpassed as sophisticated consumers become more cynical and seek out unofficial, noncommercial information about brands. Due to the advent of technology, consumers are able to communicate independently via the internet in order to seek out, and provide, their own endorsements for products and brands. This study differentiates between different forms of dependent (paid-for) endorsements and independent (non-paid-for) endorsements; namely regular consumer endorsements, expert endorsements and association endorsements, and investigates their relative effects on brand trust. In addition, this study introduces a new form of endorsement, namely implied independent association endorsement, and tests its effect on brand trust. First, a conceptual framework of the structure of the relationship between endorsements and brand trust was compiled from relative endorsement literature. The study then investigated these relationships amongst South African nutritional supplement users who make use of the Internet to gather product information. The study made use of an Internetbased experimental research design. The study divided subjects into two experimental groups and one control group. The effect of each form of endorsement on brand trust was tested comparatively between the groups. The measurement instrument used to measure brand trust was an adapted version of the brand trust scale (BTS) designed by Delgado-Ballester (2004:573-592). Three one-way between-groups ANOVAs were conducted to compare the variability of brand trust scores between the different experimental groups. The covariate brand familiarity was included to account for previous experience with the brand used in the experiment. One-way between-groups ANCOVA’s were used to control the potential confounding that the covariate brand familiarity had on each dependent variable. The results indicate that neither dependent nor independent regular consumer endorsements have an affect on brand trust scores. However, whilst independent expert and independent association endorsements do significantly influence brand trust scores, dependent expert and dependent (implied independent) association endorsements do not. Finally, it was found that independent endorsements have a greater affect on brand trust scores than dependent (implied independent) endorsements in the association endorsement category. The first implication for managers is that different forms of endorsement influence brand trust differently, therefore, managers should be able to distinguish between different forms of endorsement available to them to use in their marketing communications mix. Secondly, managers should start investigating methods of monitoring or influencing independent expert and association endorsements to benefit from their positive influence on brand trust, which in turn has a positive affect on brand equity, consumer loyalty, brand extension acceptance and retailer re-purchases decisions. Copyright / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Marketing Management / MCom / Unrestricted

Remarriage has gained special attention in the past couple of decades from clinicians, researchers, and educators because of the unique issues faced by individuals entering such a relationship. Recognition of these issues increased marriage practitioners' hope that a shift in the social climate had led individuals to prepare for remarriage through various means. This study sought to, one, gain a current perspective on remarriage preparation; two, learn how individuals rate the helpfulness of preparation; and three, note any differences in remarital quality (remarital satisfaction and adjustment) and perceptions of preparedness between individuals who did or did not participate in preparation. Data were analyzed from the Utah Newlywed Study. Results showed that most individuals prepared by talking to others or read ing written information, and most individuals who participated in some form of preparation found it helpful. Despite a high number of participants who reported remarriage preparation as helpful, nonparticipants were more plentiful than participants. The majority of those who did not participate reported preparation as unnecessary. Remari tal quality varied based on the preparation form considered. Based on the resu lts, it was suggested that marriage practitioners should do more to increase individuals' views that preparation is valuable, as those who participated generally found it to be helpful.

Studien har som mål att upptäcka hur elevers lösningar skiljer sig vid tre olika svårighetsgrader inom slutna problemlösningar i årskurs 2. Trettiofyra34 elever deltar i studien och genomför sex stycken problemlösningsuppgifter. Teoretiskt vilar studien på ett ramverk över representationsformer och Heddens (1986) teori. Ramverket beskriver fem olika representationsformer och de är talade symboler, skrivna symboler, bilder, omvärldssituationer och manipulativa modeller. Heddens (1986) teori handlar om hur elevers kunskapsutveckling sker i fyra nivåer från konkret nivå, semikonkret nivå, semiabstrakt nivå till abstrakt nivå. Analysen inriktas på elevernas lösningar till de slutna problemlösningsuppgifterna där fokuset ligger på vilken representationsform som dominerar i varje svårighetsgrad samt vilka nivåer som eleverna uppvisar genom sina representationsformer. I resultatet uppkom det att uppgift 5 var svår. Resultatet uppvisar att eleverna visar en större variation i sina representationsformer vid en lägre svårighetsgrad än vid högre svårighetsgrader då eleverna vid högre svårighetsgrader oftare använder representationsformer som är kopplade till den abstrakta nivån. Därmed visar resultatet att eleverna i studien har en tendens att låsa sig vid vissa representationsformer eller glömma dem när svårighetsgraden på problemlösningarna höjs.

本研究旨在探討同一文本不同形式讀物對國小高年級學生閱讀理解與創作之影響。學生閱讀純文字形式或圖文形式文本後，以閱讀理解測驗來檢測不同形式文本對學生閱讀理解之影響。在創作部份，透過續寫創作來了解不同形式文本對學生創作力表現之影響。最後，從課程問卷了解學生在閱讀圖文形式文本時對文字與圖畫關係的看法以及閱讀活動之喜好。 本研究以臺北市某國小之高年級學生為研究樣本，實驗組與對照組皆為28人，採準實驗設計和問卷調查法。依據學生之閱讀理解和創作前後測成績，用T檢定和單因子共變數分析來分析比較兩組學生之閱讀理解表現和創作力表現。從學生問卷填答狀況來統計分析學生對圖文關係之看法和閱讀活動的喜好順序。根據研究結果，可獲得以下結論： 一、 國小高年級學生閱讀圖文版文本在閱讀理解表現明顯優於閱讀文字版文本且不受性別因素影響。 二、 國小高年級學生閱讀圖文版文本時認為圖像與文字具有輔助、對稱與增強之關係。 三、 國小高年級學生閱讀圖文版在創作表現明顯優於閱讀文字版。 四、 國小高年級學生最喜歡的閱讀活動為影片欣賞，其次是續寫創作，而喜歡程度最低為閱讀理解測驗挑戰活動。 最後，根據本研究結果提出建議，以作為國小閱讀課教材選擇、課程設計與未來研究之參考。

Pterins belong to an important group of compounds, acting as inhibitors, sensiziters, enzymes, coenzymes, pigments etc. and together with carotenoids and anthraquinones are responsible for characteristic coloration of bugs. This work was focused on the development of a capillary electrophoretic separation method for the analysis of six pterine derivatives, namely biopterine, neopterine, isoxanthopterine, leukopterine, xanthopterine and erythropterine and on their identification in the real samples. Separation was conducted in an uncoated fused-silica capillary termostated at 30 řC. Separation electrolyte contained boric acid, tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. The effects of buffer pH, concentration of electrolyte components, separation voltage and wavelength of UV detection on electromigration behavior and detection sensitivity were studied. Under the optimized separation conditions, organic extracts of the three forms of Graphosoma semipunctatum bugs were analyzed.

Följande studie syftar till att undersöka behandlingspersonalens perspektiv om hur arbetet på särskilda ungdomshem (SIS-hem) för flickor ser ut i praktiken samt öka kunskapen om hur det relationsskapande arbetet fungerar inom tvångsvård. Mer specifikt kommer relationen mellan behandlingspersonalen och flickorna på SIS-hem att undersökas utifrån behandlingspersonalens perspektiv. Studien har genomförts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med behandlingspersonal, som är eller har varit anställda under det senaste året på något av de SIS-hem i Sverige som tar emot flickor. Resultaten från intervjuerna har analyserats med hjälp av begreppet makt, Michel Foucaults teori om maktens olika former och Arlie Russell Hochschilds emotionssociologi. Studiens slutsatser belyser att fenomenet makt ständigt förekommer i relationen mellan personalen och flickorna, samtidigt som makten dessutom kommer till uttryck i alla dess olika former likväl i relationen som i det dagliga arbetet. Relationerna utgörs av kommersialiserade relationer där personalens relationsskapande arbete präglas av ett emotionellt lönearbete, där de anpassar både sina känslor och emotioner utifrån vad som anses acceptabelt utifrån de organisatoriska målen. Anledningen till att studien har genomförts är för att belysa personalens perspektiv samt bidra med andra aspekter av tvångsvård. / The following study aims to examine the treatment staff's perspective on how the work at special youth homes (SIS-homes) for girls looks like in practice and to increase knowledge of how the relationship-building work functions within compulsory care. More specifically, the relationship between the treatment staff and the girls in SIS-homes will be examined from the perspective of the treatment staff. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with treatment staff, who are or have been employed during the past year at one of the SIS-homes in Sweden for girls. The results from the interviews have been analyzed using the concept of authority, Michel Foucault's theory of the different forms of power and Arlie Russell Hochschild's sociology of emotions. The study's conclusions highlight that the phenomenon of authority constantly occurs in the relationship between the staff and the girls, while power is also expressed in all its different forms, both in the relationship and in the daily work. The relationships consist of commercialized relationships where the staff's relationship-building work is characterized by emotional wage work, where they adjust both their feelings and emotions based on what is considered acceptable in accordance with the organizational goals. The reason why the study has been conducted is to shed light on the staff's perspective and to contribute with other aspects of compulsory care.

Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-04T12:36:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009 / Este trabalho propõe analisar o fenômeno da terceirização desenvolvido ao longo das duas últimas décadas em Bio-Manguinhos. Trata-se de um estudo de caso realizado na unidade de produção de vacinas e reagentes para diagnóstico da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Inicialmente foi realizado um estudo de cenário, analisando a política de gestão do trabalho desenvolvida pelo Estado brasileiro para as instituições públicas. A seguir, a análise passou a verificar a inserção da Fiocruz nessas políticas, desde a sua criação e no decorrer de vigência de diferentes formas de contratação, alternando da extrema rigidez para a total flexibilidade sempre com foco na gestão do trabalho, e, como essas políticas se refletiram no desempenho de Bio-Manguinhos. Baseado no contexto da conformação do Estado e na análise do desempenho da unidade, o trabalho critica a falta de planejamento e de prospecção dessas políticas, que favoreça a inovação de processos, produtos e procedimentos e o desempenho pleno de uma unidade de produção de insumos para a saúde, tão necessários ao atendimento das necessidades da população brasileira. Critica também, a ausência de um modelo de Estado consolidado que sirva de arcabouço à formulação dessas políticas. Devido às fortes críticas dos órgãos de controle acerca da extrapolação dos limites da terceirização praticada nas últimas duas décadas e à falta de definição clara desses marcos legais, o trabalho apresenta uma metodologia baseada nas atribuições dos cargos do plano de carreiras da Fiocruz e culmina com a apresentação de uma matriz de atribuições passíveis de serem realizadas por contratação indireta. Conclui pela necessidade de convivência de dois quadros de trabalhadores: um permanente formado por servidores, estáveis e de carreira e outro flexível, executado por contratação indireta, de caráter eventual, temporário ou de apoio às atividades relacionadas à missão de Bio-Manguinhos. O trabalho ainda sugere a aplicação da mesma metodologia às demais unidades da Fiocruz e que a instituição afirme, frente aos órgãos de controle, quais atividades que ela precisa manter no quadro de servidores permanente e quais ela quer delegar a terceiros sem contudo, ferir a legislação vigente. Por fim, constata-se que a metodologia apresentada ameniza, mas não resolve o problema, dessa forma, recomenda-se à Fiocruz buscar mecanismos que altere o modelo de gestão pelo qual está submetida a fim de viabilizar as duas formas de incorporação de mão-de-obra.