Rich fens are calcareous and nutrient poor wetlands with a rich flora of orchids, sedges and mosses. As many as one hundred plant species are rich fen specialists. Many wetlands have been drained historically, and transformed to agricultural land or production forests. Today rich fens cover only 2-3% of the total mire area in Sweden. Rich fen is a rare and valuable habitat also from a European perspective and is protected in the Natura 2000-network. To increase and maintain the biodiversity and ecosystem services rich fens can offer, it is important to increase the rich fen area by restoration and management. Rich fen restoration can be carried out in different ways. In this report the restoration method of top soil removal is investigated. The method has never been tested before in Sweden and therefore it is important to evaluate the suitability of the method for further conservation work.   Before restoration, the study area had been drained, used as arable land and pasture, and finally become abandoned and overgrown by tall eutrophic herbaceous vegetation. An excavator dug away the layer of nutrient rich top soil and then the site was left for spontaneous development. Adjacent to the restored area, there is a small remnant of rich fen. Monitoring of the restored area was performed during the first five years after the restoration. I repeated the monitoring after ten years, and analyzed the long-term succession of plants and snails, in comparison with the status in the reference fen.   The vegetation in the restored parts is approaching the one in the reference fen. For example, the number of rich fen specialists has increased steadily. However, the colonization of bryophytes is slow. They cover at most 20 % in the restored parts, while 80 % in the reference fen, possibly because of dispersal limitation and the fact that the restored area is drier than the reference fen. More species of herbs can be found in the restored parts than in the reference fen. Another difference is the high cover of bare soil in the restored areas, compared to none in the reference fen. Some trees and bushes are growing in the area, primarily birch (Betula pubescens) and different species of Salix. The land snails have successfully colonized the restored areas. After two years the same number of species was found in the restored area, as in the reference fen. The total number of species found in the restored areas was 26, compared to 29 in the reference fen, among them three rare rich fen indicator species.   The results show how the restored site has developed from bare mineral soil to a rich fen site, approaching the species composition of the reference fen. Several species of rich fen specialists among vascular plants, bryophytes and land snails have established in the restored areas. The small rich fen close to the restored area functions as a source from where plants and animals can spread. Overall the restoration shows very positive results, going from bare soil to rich fen vegetation in only ten years.

Parametric visual effects such as texture generation and shape grammars can be controlled to produce visually perceptible variation. This variation can be rendered on avatars in groupware systems in real time to represent user information in online environments. This type of extra information has been shown to enrich recognition and characterization, but has previously been limited to iconic representations. Modern, highly graphical virtual worlds require more naturalistic and stylistically consistent techniques to represent information.<p> A number of different parametric texture generation techniques are considered and a set of texture characteristics are developed. The variations of these texture characteristics are examined in a study to determine how well users can recognize the visual changes in each. Another study is done to determine how much screen space is required for users to recognize these visual changes in a subset of these texture characteristics.<p> Additionally, an example shape generation system is developed as an example of how shape grammars and L-systems can be used to represent information using a space ship metaphor.<p> These different parametric visual effects are implemented in an example prototype system using space ships. This prototype is a complete functioning groupware application developed in XNA that utilizes many parametric texture and shape effects.

<p>The ability of iron (Fe) to easily transition between two valence states makes it a preferred co-factor for innumerable biochemical reactions, ranging from cellular energy production, to oxygen transport, to DNA synthesis and chromatin modification. While Fe is highly abundant on the crust of the earth, its insolubility at neutral pH limits its bioavailability. As a consequence, organisms have evolved sophisticated mechanisms of adaptation to conditions of scarce Fe availability. </p> <p>Studies in the baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have shed light into the cellular mechanisms by which cells respond to limited Fe-availability. In response to Fe-deficiency, the transcription factors Aft1 and Aft2 activate a group of genes collectively known as the Fe-regulon. Genes in this group encode proteins involved in the high-affinity plasma membrane Fe-transport and siderophore uptake systems, as well as Fe-mobilization from intracellular stores and heme re-utilization. Concomitant with the up-regulation of the Fe-regulon, a large number of mRNAs encoding Fe-dependent proteins as well as proteins involved in many Fe-dependent processes are markedly down regulated. Thus, in response to low Fe-levels the cell activates the Fe-uptake and mobilization systems, while down-regulating mRNAs involved in highly Fe-demanding processes leading to a genome-wide remodeling of cellular metabolism that permits the funneling of the limiting Fe to essential Fe-dependent reactions. </p> <p>The Fe-regulon member Cth2 belongs to a family of mRNA-binding proteins characterized by an RNA-binding motif consisting of two tandem zinc-fingers of the CX8CX5CX3H type. Members of this family recognize and bind specific AU-rich elements (AREs) located in the 3'untranslated region (3'UTRs) of select groups of mRNAs, thereby promoting their rapid degradation. In response to Fe-limitation, Cth2 binds ARE sequences within the 3'UTRs of many mRNAs encoding proteins involved in Fe-homeostasis and Fe-dependent processes, thereby accelerating their rate of decay. </p> <p>Work described in this dissertation demonstrates that the Cth2 homolog, Cth1, is a bona fide member of the Fe-regulon, binds ARE-sequences within the 3'UTRs of select mRNAs and promotes their decay. Cth1 and Cth2 appear to be only partially redundant; Cth1 preferentially targets mRNAs encoding mitochondrial proteins, while Cth2 promotes the degradation of most of Cth1 targets in addition to other mitochondrial and non-mitochondrial Fe-requiring processes. The coordinated activity of Cth1 and Cth2 results in dramatic changes in glucose metabolism. In addition, experiments described in this dissertation indicate that the CTH1 and CTH2 transcripts are themselves subject to ARE-mediated regulation by the Cth1 and Cth2 proteins, creating an auto- and trans-regulatory circuit responsible for differences in their expression. Finally, work described here demonstrates that Cth2 is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein and that shuttling is important for the early determination of cytosolic mRNA-fate.</p> / Dissertation

Reversion-inducing cysteine-rich with Kazal motif (RECK) is a cell surface anchoring protein, which known for the ability to inhibit matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and participate in angiogenesis regulation. The inhibition of membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP), MMP-2, MMP-7 and, MMP-9 by RECK has been demonstrated. Our previous studies show that RECK expression is suppressed by Ras and Her-2/neu oncogene. In addition, oncogenic Ras activates downstream ERK signaling pathway to increase Sp1/HDAC promoter binding affinity which results in reduction of RECK gene transcription and increase of tumor progression and metastasis. From the clinical investigation, RECK expression is down-regulated in a number of cancer types. In breast cancer, RECK expression is associated with the prognosis of the patients. Recently, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of RECK promoter have been suggested to be linked with survival rate and prognosis of breast cancer patients. Whether SNP of the RECK promoter has any effect on RECK expression and its clinical significance is still unclear. . In this study, we investigate -402 SNP at RECK promoter and find this SNP directly affects RECK expression through progesterone receptor binding. Additionally, we also address the -402 SNP in the sample collected from patients and analyze its association with clinicopathological parameters to clarify its clinical significance. Our results suggest that RECK SNP may be an valuable prognosis factor for breast cancer.

A testing method was developed to cycle quickly and repeatably Ni60Ti40 (wt. %) SMA specimens through temperature-induced transformation while under constant stress until failure. Previous works have shown fatigue cracks to initiate in or around Ni3Ti precipitates during repeated thermal cycling in this highly Ni-rich alloy. Actuation fatigue tests were conducted on specimens produced from material from different material suppliers and direction relative to cold-rolling. The specimens were placed under a constant applied stress of 200 MPa and thermally cycled through complete transformation. Some of the specimens were homogenized for 1 hour in a vacuum furnace and the rest were homogenized for 2 hours in a nitrogen furnace, and were all aged for 20 hours. It was seen during actuation fatigue testing that specimens homogenized for two hours had higher actuation strain, accumulated more irrecoverable strain and had longer actuation fatigue lives compared to specimens homogenized for one hour. Another trend observed was that specimens with the greatest amount of accumulated irrecoverable strain, which was caused predominately by transformation induced plasticity, had the longest actuation fatigue lives. Postmortem analysis showed a change in cracking behavior with precipitate orientation. Cracks initiated inside the Ni3Ti precipitates oriented parallel to the loading direction and at the interface between the precipitate and matrix when perpendicular. Two dimensional plane stress finite element simulations of a linear elastic ellipsoidal precipitate inside a non-linear transforming SMA matrix were conducted to explain further the change in cracking behavior by analyzing the stress fields in and around the precipitates. The results showed the stress inside the precipitate was greater when oriented parallel than perpendicular to the loading direction, which explains the observed change in cracking behavior. Another objective of actuation fatigue testing is to generate useful data to create predictive tools for future SMA actuator designs. A work-based method has been developed using actuation fatigue results found in literature. The method is shown to fit accurately data found in literature to a curve with only two material parameters. The results of this method show promise to predict accurately the actuation fatigue life of SMA components, however more testing is necessary to validate completely the method.

No description available.

<p>Ma’at Solution är ett Österrikiskt företag beläget i Linz, som utvecklar affärssystem specialiserade på aktieportföljsoptimering och värdepappers hantering. Företaget önskar komplettera sin nuvarande produkt Ma’at Invest med en Internetversion som delvis ska fungera som substitut men också som komplement till huvudprogrammet.Projektet kallades Ma’at Online. Man vill använda sig av de fördelar som finns i och med det nuvarande Java-utvecklingsverktyget- Eclipse. Exempel på fördelar är möjligheten att förstora och förminska önskade fönster vid behov. Genom det nyutvecklade Adobe (förut Macromedia) Flex är detta nu möjligt även på Internet. Ur denna idé utvecklades ett övergripande mål:</p><p>- Skapa ett användarvänligt gränssnitt för Ma’at Online med hjälp av Adobe Flex.</p><p>Initialt analyserades arbetsflödet i det existerande programmet med hjälp av UMLnotation. På så sätt var det enklare att förstå hur programmet var uppbyggt och vilka funktioner som ansågs nödvändiga. Vidare definierades målgruppen för att förstå hur programmet ska användas och vilka krav som bör ställas. Dessa krav utarbetades ytterligare och användes sedan för att omforma arbetsflödet från den nuvarande applikationen. Därefter utvecklades en alternativ design som mötte de utsatta kraven. Slutligen testades programmet på användarna för att säkerställa användbarheten.</p><p>Ytterligare lades kraft på att skapa ett gränssnitt som tog vara på fördelarna med animation och användarmanipulation för att skapa ett bättre och enklare arbetsflöde som förhindrar frustration och misstag och som istället hjälper användaren vid behov.</p><p>Ur datateknisk synpunkt undersöktes vilka komponenter som borde användas och hur de kunde skapas i Adobe Flex med hjälp av programmeringsspråket ActionScript.</p><p>Projektet resulterade i ett användarvänligt och estetiskt gränssnitt baserad på ny revolutionerande teknik som talar till rätt målgrupp och uppfyller de för programmet uppsatta målen.</p><p>Av utvecklingsarbetet med Adobe Flex har slutsatsen dragits att tekniken fortfarande har komplikationer, men att inom ett par år kommer de funktioner som är vanligt förekommande i standardprogram användas på Internet.</p> / <p>Ma’at Solutions is an Austrian software company located in Linz. The company is specialized in financial business applications such as portfolio management systems.The company wishes to extend its existing product Ma’at Invest with an Internet version that will work as a substitute or complement to the main program. The project is named Ma’at Online. Ma’at Solutions would like to use the advantages in the present program developed in the Java development environment -Eclipse. An example of features that the company would like to transfer to the online version is that the user can enlarge or minimize windows on request. Through the newly released Adobe (former Macromedia) Flex this is possible even on the Internet. From this a general goal was established:</p><p>- Create the Ma’at Online interface with an optimal usability approach in Adobe Flex.</p><p>The workflow in the existing application was analyzed with UML-modeling notation. In this way it was easier to understand the purpose of the program and which functions were required. Furthermore the target user was defined to acquire the needs of the users. These requirements were then developed even more and were used in the remodeling of the workflow to better suit an Internet version. In addition to that, an alternative design was developed, that met the requirements stated in the prior stage. At last an evaluation was performed and a test study of the finished prototype was conducted to make sure that the program meets the requirements.</p><p>During the development process, time was spent on trying to use the advantages of animations and interaction manipulations to create a better and easier workflow that prevents the user from frustration and errors. Instead it is supposed to provide help to the user when needed. The components in the Adobe Flex were investigated and tested to see how they could be created in the scripting language Action Script and if they could fit into the application.</p><p>The result of the project was that the application is user-friendly and has an aesthetic interface based on an edge-cutting technology.</p><p>The conclusion of the development process in Adobe Flex is that the technology still has complications, however in a few years, the eatures used in standalone programs will be used on the Internet.</p>

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-195). Issued in print and online. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations.

Background: The problem of poverty in Hong Kong is worsening, particularly the disparity between the rich and poor. Although much of the public concern about this problem has concentrated on the physical development of children, the effect of disparity between the rich and poor on their psychological well-being remains relatively underexplored. A review of the literature revealed that most studies on the psychological effect of disparity between the rich and poor have been conducted in Western countries only. This study aimed to bridge this gap. Its objectives were (1) to compare the self-esteem, depressive symptoms and quality of life (QoL) of children from low- and high-income families, (2) to identify the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics affecting the psychological well-being of children, (3) to compare the livelihoods of children from low- and high-income families, and (4) to examine the effectiveness of adventure-based programme in promoting the psychological well-being of children living in poverty. Methods: This study consisted of a survey study and a pilot RCT. The survey study was conducted in 12 primary schools from the three highest and the three lowest median household income districts. A total of 1,725 children were recruited, with 898 from low-income families and 827 from high-income families. The self-esteem, depressive symptoms and QoL of them were assessed and compared. Additional 42 children were chosen to have semi-structured interviews. As for the pilot RCT, it was conducted in two primary schools in Kwai Chung Estate. A total of 120 children were recruited, of whom 56 were randomly assigned to the experimental group to receive adventure-based programme and 64 to the control group to have placebo programme. Results: For the survey study, the results showed that the children from low-income families scored significantly lower on self-esteem and QoL, and higher on depressive symptoms than the children from high-income families. Moreover, the disparity between the rich and poor was found to have the greatest impact on children's self-esteem. Regression analyses showed that housing type made the largest contribution to children's self-esteem, depressive symptoms and QoL. Additionally, the daily lives of children from low-income families were seriously affected in terms of living environment, physical health, social lives and ability to function at school. Concerning the pilot RCT, mixed between-within subjects ANOVA showed that the children in experimental group scored significantly lower on depressive symptoms and higher self-esteem than those in control group. However, such a significant effect was not found on QoL. Conclusion: The survey study provides further evidence that disparity between the rich and poor has a negative effect on children's psychological well-being. Additionally, the pilot RCT demonstrated the effectiveness of adventure-based programme in promoting the psychological well-being of children living in poverty. Implications for practice: It is vital for healthcare professionals to develop and implement appropriate interventions that promote the psychological well-being of this vulnerable group. Moreover, healthcare professionals should go beyond their normal roles to build multidisciplinary partnerships with schools and the community to promote psychological well-being among children living in poverty. / published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Philosophy