Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2004. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-155). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis--Carleton University. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

University, Diss., 2002--Freiburg (Breisgau).

Universiẗat, Diss., 2001--Bonn.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2003--Bonn.

Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is an autoimmune disease that resolves with or without permanent scars depending on the subtype. Interferons (IFNs), including the skin specific IFNλ mainly activate STAT1, which results in inflammation in CLE and may play a significant role in scar formation in chronic discoid CLE. IL-22 activates STAT3 and it is emerging as a mediator with significant impact on normal wound repair, epidermal hyperproliferation and prevention of fibrosis. This work focussed on understanding the regulation and functional impact of IL-22 and IFNλ on skin cells. The counter-regulatory effect of IL-22 on the activities of IFNλ was assessed through downstream interferon stimulated genes (ISGs) expression in healthy and CLE keratinocytes. Cell proliferation and gap closure were investigated in skin resident cells using cell trace dye and scratch assay. Dermal fibroblasts were assessed for the presence of IFNλR1 and IL-22R1, downstream activities of the receptors. Results showed that IL-22 accelerated “scratch” closure in keratinocytes while IFNλ caused a delay in closure. IL-22 significantly downregulated IFNλ-induced chemokines expression in healthy, but not CLE keratinocytes. Reduced IL-22R1 expression and “STAT3 signature genes” was observed in CLE keratinocytes. A key finding of this project is that dermal fibroblasts respond to both IFNλ and IL-22. This work shows that IL-22 can reduce the damaging effect of IFNs in inflamed skin and also identifies dermal fibroblasts as important cells in skin immune responses. In conclusion, IL-10 family members can have both beneficial and destructive effects on the skin organ depending on the micro milieu and cell-type involved. Manipulating the balance of IL-10 family members in the skin may offer new therapeutic approach for both psoriasis and CLE.

abstract: Natural Language Processing is a subject that combines computer science and linguistics, aiming to provide computers with the ability to understand natural language and to develop a more intuitive human-computer interaction. The research community has developed ways to translate natural language to mathematical formalisms. It has not yet been shown, however, how to automatically translate different kinds of knowledge in English to distinct formal languages. Most of the recent work presents the problem that the translation method aims to a specific formal language or is hard to generalize. In this research, I take a first step to overcome this difficulty and present two algorithms which take as input two lambda-calculus expressions G and H and compute a lambda-calculus expression F. The expression F returned by the first algorithm satisfies F@G=H and, in the case of the second algorithm, we obtain G@F=H. The lambda expressions represent the meanings of words and sentences. For each formal language that one desires to use with the algorithms, the language must be defined in terms of lambda calculus. Also, some additional concepts must be included. After doing this, given a sentence, its representation and knowing the representation of several words in the sentence, the algorithms can be used to obtain the representation of the other words in that sentence. In this work, I define two languages and show examples of their use with the algorithms. The algorithms are illustrated along with soundness and completeness proofs, the latter with respect to typed lambda-calculus formulas up to the second order. These algorithms are a core part of a natural language semantics system that translates sentences from English to formulas in different formal languages. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Computer Science 2010

My thesis is devoted to the resistance of pollen beetle (Meligethes aeneus, son. Brassicogethes aeneus Fabricius, 1775) to pesticides in selected localities in southern Moravia. Collecting adults was performed in the spring of 2013 by tapped into polyethylene bags. Adults are collected from the stands of oilseed rape, mustard and poppy. Tests were performed on the basis of the methodology of Insecticide Resistance Action Committee number 011, 021, 025. In total, we tested the pollen population from 18 locations. For testing, we used the following chemical substances: Biscaya 240 OD, cypermethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, tau-fluvalinate, etofenprox, chlorpyrifos(ethyl). We evaluated 100% of the registered dose of pesticides after 24 hours. From the results of the individual populations, we found large differences in resistance to chemicals.

Submitted by Marcio Filho (marcio.kleber@ufba.br) on 2017-06-06T12:48:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Monitoramento eletrônico da mistura ar combustível em motores de combustão interna ciclo otto.pdf: 6024771 bytes, checksum: e9d1a1a7829df147cb49aa16989599de (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vanessa Reis (vanessa.jamile@ufba.br) on 2017-06-16T15:00:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Monitoramento eletrônico da mistura ar combustível em motores de combustão interna ciclo otto.pdf: 6024771 bytes, checksum: e9d1a1a7829df147cb49aa16989599de (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-16T15:00:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Monitoramento eletrônico da mistura ar combustível em motores de combustão interna ciclo otto.pdf: 6024771 bytes, checksum: e9d1a1a7829df147cb49aa16989599de (MD5) / Legislações ambientais restringem as emissões dos motores de forma rígida, em especial dos veículos automotores, o que exige dos fabricantes o desenvolvimento de tecnologias para redução das emissões de gases, entre elas o gerenciamento eletrônico. Os sistemas de gerenciamento de motores visam um controle preciso da relação ar combustível admitida pelo motor e do sistema de ignição, permitindo que centelhas elétricas no momento e potência adequados sejam descarregadas pelas velas de ignição na mistura comprimida pelos pistões. Para efetuar essa tarefa, os sistemas utilizam informações coletadas em diversos sensores que vão desde temperatura do motor, posição da borboleta de aceleração e vazão de ar admitida até quantidade de oxigênio presente nos gases de escapamento. A principal limitação atual para a melhoria da eficiência do sistema e, por conseguinte, torná-lo apto a novos desafios de restrição de emissão de poluentes é a ausência de uma informação mais precisa do processo de combustão que ocorre no interior dos cilindros do motor. Este trabalho descreve o sistema de gerenciamento eletrônico de motores, suas características e componentes e apresenta as soluções empregadas pela indústria para monitorar a combustão em motores, descrevendo as tecnologias empregadas, características e desafios encontrados. O trabalho apresenta também os dados levantados em experimentos realizados em um motor instrumentado, demonstrando as características do sistema de monitoramento mais usado, através do uso de sensores de oxigênio.As informações descritas demonstram as limitações dos sistemas de monitoramento atual e suas conseqüências ante à operação de um motor de combustão interna representativo.

O presente trabalho testa uma alternativa de ajuste da estrutura a termo da taxa de juros brasileira bem como a sua previsão através de uma variação do modelo Diebold e Li (2006) focando principalmente em seu fator de decaimento exponencial. Esta variação do fator de decaimento ocorre distintamente em dois momentos do trabalho, primeiramente no ajuste da curva e após quando da previsão desta. No ajuste, o encontro deste parâmetro é feito através de ferramenta computacional, buscando o fator de decaimento que reduz a diferença de mínimos quadrados em relação aos pontos originais capturados no mercado de juros futuro brasileiro em conjunto dos três outros fatores do modelo. A previsão da estrutura a termo utiliza modelos auto regressivos para estimar as próximas curvas no horizonte de um período. A importância deste estudo reside em conhecer a aderência do modelo proposto à curva de juros brasileira testando sua eficiência quando utilizados os pressupostos enunciados. / This study tests an alternative adjustment of the term structure of Brazilian interest rate and its prediction through a variation of the Diebold and Li (2006) model focusing mainly on his exponential decay factor. The variation of the decay factor occurs in two distinct moments of this work, in the curve fitting and after this in the forecasting. During the setting, this parameter is mesured through computational tool, seeking the decay factor that reduces the difference in least squares relative to the original points captured in the Brazilian market future interest together the other three factors of the model. To Forecast the term structure is used auto regressive models to estimate the upcoming curves. The importance of this study lies in knowing the adherence of the proposed to the Brazilian yield curve testing its efficiency when utilized the assumptions listed in the model.