The study attempted to quantify the elemental concentrations and possible accumulation levels in the antelope's organ tissue at Rheinmetal Denel Munitions (RDM), as well as to correlate the findings with the surrounding environment. To achieve this, the elemental concentrations within the kidney, liver and lung tissue of the antelope, and environmental factors such as the soil, vegetation and waterholes were quantified. STATISTICA was used to determine meaningful differences between variables and Canoco to determine the relationship between the different datasets. PCA analyses of the vegetation confirmed that the natural slope at RDM could have contributed to the distribution and variation of the elemental concentration. It became apparent that positive associations existed between the liver tissue and the K, the kidney tissue and Ni and Cd, and the lung tissue had a positive association with Mg, Mn, V, Rb and Co elemental concentrations. It became evident in this study that the elemental concentrations of Al and Ni were higher in the liver and kidney tissue of the antelope than the recommended concentration for livestock (Puls, 1994). The elemental concentration of Al, Ca, Fe and Mn also exceeded the recommended elemental concentration for livestock, in the water sampled at RDM (Puls, 1994). Four distinct areas were identified within the study area, the area above the factory, the area under the factory, the testing area and the area under the factory. Significant differences between the testing area and the area under the factory were found regarding the Tl, Ag, Hg and B elemental concentrations in the vegetation. Furthermore, it became apparent that the amount of precipitation could have contributed to the variation of the elemental concentrations and distribution in the study area as well as in the organ tissue of the antelope. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Science and Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

美國的少數幾家大型影視產業資本不僅主導了境內市場，也在全球市場占有領先的份額，因而對美國影視產業的批判經常出自於反壟斷、反帝反傾銷的動機，目的在保護民族市場或多元文化。然而美國是最早讓動態影像（motion picture）商業化、產業化，使資本能藉之積累擴張，而不必由政府以長期固定的財政手段支持的少數國家之一；並且不同於大量進口產品與技術的後進國，美國很早就成為影視產品的淨出口國，同時在傳播科技與生產手段上持續革新，一至如今。藉由探索美國影視產業的發展史，有助於我們理解影視產業資本的運動軌跡；也就是探討在影視產業內，資本如何剝奪剩餘價值、發達生產力、擴大生產規模的政治經濟歷程。 一般而言，個別資本為擴大利潤率而不斷地更新生產技術以提升生產力，長期卻總體地導致利潤率下降的結果。或說資本運動具有周期性：按利潤率的波動，一再地經歷危機、蕭條、復甦、高漲的循環。美國影視產業史已經說明了這些階段，然而利潤率如何變遷，以及相應生產手段的更替、生產關係的變革，還有待釐清。 藉長時段的國民所得與生產帳（National Income and Product Account, NIPA）以及產業稅務報告所登錄的資料，本文得到 1947年至1997年間電影業前後一貫可比較的利潤率計算根據。資料顯示，二十世紀下半的美國電影利潤率幾經波動，長期有明顯下降的趨勢。按Weisskopf所提的利潤率要項拆解法，就各周期利潤率作進一步分析，可知戰後利潤率轉壞主因為市場萎縮減產，七○年後利潤率轉壞則因為工資上升與資本投入過速的效果。 在回顧美國電影業百年來的流通手段與生產過程歷程後，與利潤率變遷材料與分析結果互為理解，可知晚近利潤率轉壞的主因為資本仰賴少數廠外秀異生產者，使對生產者的工資議價力降低。與早年的量產制相較，這是資本解散廠內長聘勞動隊伍，使生產外部化造成的非意圖後果。為突破量產時代的生產力發展瓶頸，資本逐漸集中到少量差異化的高質量特製電影製作上，以爭取更深更廣的流通，實現更高的利潤份額，同時節省量產所需的人力。長期下來造成資本的兩極分配，使勞動者的晉升、流動乃至於再生產出現困難。 資本因應秀異者高工資的利潤擠壓以及勞動者再生產困難的困局，是藉全球化之便作生產外逃，使產業空洞化。除了取他國低廉勞動力與製作補貼的外因以解釋晚近美國電影業深化全球分工的格局，本文試圖提供長時段資本運動的內因，作為理解當代全球好萊塢構造的另一途徑。 / A few giant corporations dominate US domestic motion picture market and also play key roles in global markets. So people who criticize this situations are usually motivated by goals of anti-monopoly, anti-imperialist or anti-dumping and want to protect their own national market or pluralistic culture. However, motion pictures in US have been commercialized and traded for capital accumulation and expansion since their birth. Not like other countries' governments give stable financial support to their movie and TV industries, US motion picture industry seldom received government direct supports and US has been major exporter of video goods and new communication technology after 1910s. By exploring the history of motion picture industry we would understand the capital movement of this industry. In other words, we need to identify the political economic process of capital exploits video goods, occupies surplus value, and promotes the innovation of technology and expansion. Generally speaking, individual capital renews production technology and upgrades productivity for higher rate of profit while makes macro/total profit rate falling in the long run. It is said that the movement of capital is cyclic and production would experiences phases like crisis, recessionary, recovery, and upswing. We could identify these phases in the history of US motion picture industry, but we didn't know exactly how and why profit rate fluctuated and the mode of production, relation of production changed correspondingly. I collected raw data from National Income and Product Account published by Bureau of Economic Analysis and corporation tax reports published by Internal Revenue System which were calculated for for profit rate of motion picture industry from 1947 to 1997. The result shows that the rate of profit falling in the long run. And I used Weisskopf's method to analysis the factors of profit rate and have conclusions that the first falling rate of profit after 2nd world war was caused by market shrinking and the second one was caused by rising wage and organic composition of capital. By reviewing the history of US motion picture industry, especially the process of means of circulation and production changed, then comparing the history with trend of profit rate, I argue that the main reason of falling rate in last decades is stronger bargaining power of a few elite talents who asked for ultra-high compensations. When capital faced shrinking market and tried to saved normal cost by dismissing lots of in-house labour and production outsourcing, it could not help but rely "free" workers and accepted unexpected high wages while more and more fund and resources were concentrated on fewer and fewer production projects. A few ultra-high quality films which circulate more widely and deeply would realize more profit and save labour cost for capital. But in the long run this would polarize capital using and make upgrading, mobility and reproduction of labour more difficult. Furthermore, the accumulation of capital is difficult too as profit rate falling. Capital responded to this plight by production runaway. This is the main issue of Global Hollywood. Besides the factors of cheaper labour or subsidies from foreign governments, I try to argue the inner logic of capital movement would lead the same result. That's why global Hollywood globalized.

The dissolved silicon (DSi) has a crucial role for growth of a large group of primary producers – diatoms and, hence, impact on functioning of the aquatic food web. This thesis contributes to an increased understanding of the modifications of the DSi cycling in the Baltic Sea. The results provide new information about spatial and temporal changes in DSi concentrations and nutrient ratios for the period 1970-2001 as well as during the 20th century. For the period 1970-2001, the declining DSi trends were found at the majority of monitoring stations all over the Baltic Sea. This decrease is assumed to be mainly due to the ongoing eutrophication. It is supported by the increasing trends of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus. The trends have implications for the nutrient ratios, DSi:DIN and DSi:DIP, which are important indicators of the state of an ecosystem. The long-term retrospective DSi budget has shown that the DSi concentrations before major hydrological alterations and eutrophication were about twice the present ones. This decrease is related to both eutrophication and anthropogenic perturbations in the catchment. The occurrence of DSi concentrations close to the potentially limiting levels has been also analysed. While DSi concentrations are still high in the northern regions of the Baltic, other areas may be at risk of developing Si limitation if the decrease in DSi concentrations persists. The results depict the Baltic Sea journey from being water body with DSi levels sufficient to support diatom production to one that may experience Si limitation and its adverse ecological consequences. / Löst kisel (DSi) har en viktig roll för tillväxten av en stor grupp av primärproducenter – kiselalger, och därmed även påverkar hela den akvatiska näringskedjan. Denna avhandling bidrar till en ökad förståelse av förändringarna i DSi kretsloppet i Östersjön. Resultaten tillhandahåller ny information om rumsliga och tidsmässiga förändringar i DSi koncentrationer såväl för perioden 1970-2001 som för hela 1900-talet. För perioden 1970-2001 återfanns minskade DSi koncentrationer på mätstationer över hela Östersjön. Minskningen antas främst bero på den pågående övergödningen. Detta antagande stöds av stigande halter av oorganiskt kväve och fosfor. Sammantaget har dessa trender en inverkan på ekosystemets tillstånd och näringsämnenas kvoter, DSi: DIN och DSi: DIP. Ur ett längre tidsperspektiv kan man se att innan övergödningen och de stora hydrologiska ombildningar i Östersjöområdet var DSi koncentrationerna ungefär dubbelt så höga som idag. Dagens förekomst av DSi koncentrationer som ligger nära de potentiellt begränsande nivåerna har också analyserats. DSi koncentrationerna är fortfarande höga i norra delar av Östersjön, men är i andra områden i riskzonen för att utveckla Si begränsning om minskningen av DSi koncentrationer fortsätter. Resultaten skildrar Östersjöns resa från att vara ett havsområde med DSi halter som är tillräckliga för att understödja kiselalgernas produktion till ett sådant som kan uppleva Si begränsning och dess negativa ekologiska konsekvenser.

Insulin resistance is an early marker of Type II diabetes. Excessive lipid accumulation in muscle and liver leads to insulin resistance, and lowering tissue lipids causes an enhancement of insulin action. The enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is activated when cellular energy levels are compromised, such as during exercise; this enhances fuel oxidation and inhibits energy consuming processes. The hypothesis in this thesis was that activating AMPK in a lipid-induced insulin resistant state leads to tissue lipid reduction and improved insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistant high-fat fed (HF-) rats were administered 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-??-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR), a specific AMPK activator. During an euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp performed 24h later, HF-rats showed increased whole body, muscle and liver insulin action, independent of changes in PKB-phosphorylation. The liver had reduced triglycerides, malonyl-CoA and increased IkB-a content. A lowering of muscle malonyl-CoA was consistent with conditions favouring increased lipid utilisation. Normal, chow-fed rats also showed improved insulin action post-AICAR. Further studies showed that basal glucose uptake was not increased 24h after AICAR, suggesting that AMPK activation had caused an increase in insulin sensitivity. Diacylglycerols and triglycerides, but not ceramides, were reduced in the liver of AICAR treated HF-rats, suggesting lipid reduction as a likely mediator of enhanced liver insulin action. These lipid species were not reduced in muscle. AICAR administration to HF-rats lowered plasma glucose and fatty acids (FA) acutely, probably due to increased muscle glucose uptake and FA oxidation. Glycogen was reduced in liver and increased in muscle, suggesting glucose mobilisation from liver to muscle. Adrenergic blockade excluded the sympathetic nervous system in the acute AICAR effects. AMPK was activated in white muscle and liver of HF-rats immediately after AICAR, the same tissues that exhibited later improved insulin sensitivity. Tracer technologies used to investigate glucose and lipid fluxes showed that AMPK activation in white muscle simultaneously increased both glucose and FA uptake and their metabolism, with glucose also being stored as glycogen. The liver showed lower lipid synthesis, consistent with reduced liver lipid accumulation observed 24h post-AICAR. In conclusion, these results suggest that activation of AMPK leads to selective tissue lipid reduction and improved insulin action, and is a potential target for the treatment of insulin resistance and type II diabetes.

Thèse (M.Sc.T.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2006. / La p. de t. porte en outre: Mémoire présenté à l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi comme exigence partielle de la maîtrise en science[s] de la terre. CaQCU Bibliogr.: f. 120-125. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Esta pesquisa tem como principal objeto de estudo os repertórios de ação e mobilização utilizados durante e ao redor da Ocupação da Câmara de Vereadores de Porto Alegre (10-18 de julho de 2013). A partir da experiência etnográfica e do engajamento militante no Bloco de Lutas pelo Transporte Público, busca-se compreender de que formas o Bloco se organizou e quais são os valores que nortearam esta organização. Ao mesmo tempo, atenta-se para os sujeitos responsáveis por essas práticas e por esses meios, procurando identificar as redes sociais que os aproximam e suas trajetórias de vida. Assembleias, atos, comissões, ocupações, redes sociais e cine-debates servem para analisar as disputas dentro do Bloco de Lutas e ao redor da Ocupação da Câmara de Vereadores de Porto Alegre. É priorizado o recorte etnográfico e o diálogo com outros autores que pensam as práticas de governo e os sentidos das políticas nesses tempos e nesses espaços. Finalmente, identificam-se as divergências estratégicas como o principal problema do Bloco, as ocupações como uma forma de ação coletiva integral e a potencialidade da antropologia pública e das camadas de autoria. / This research has as its main object of study the repertoires of action and mobilization used in and around the Occupation of the City Council of Porto Alegre (10-18 July 2013). From the ethnographic experience and militant engagement in the Fight Block for Public Transportation, we seek to understand what this Block was organized like, and what values are the ones that guided this organization. Meanwhile, we focused on the subjects responsible for these practices and means, trying to identify social networks that link them and their life trajectories. Meetings, acts, commissions, occupations, social networks and cine-debates served to analyze disputes within the Fight Block and about the Occupation of the City Council of Porto Alegre. It is prioritized the ethnographic research and dialogue with other authors who think government practices and senses of policies in these times and spaces. Finally, it identifies the strategic divergences as the main problem of the Block, the occupations as a form of full collective action and the potential of public anthropology and authory layers.

Charles University Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology Student: Anežka Lalinská Supervisor: PharmDr. Lukáš Červený, Ph.D. Title of diploma thesis: Study of interactions of antiretroviral drug tenofovir and its prodrug tenofovir disoproxil fumarate with placental nucleoside transporters Tenofovir (TFV) in the form of ester prodrug tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is an essential part of combination antiretroviral therapy. It is often used in the prevention of perinatal HIV transmission. However, precise mechanism(s) involved in transfer of TFV/TDF from mother to fetus are not described in detail. Since these drugs are nucleoside analogues, there is a possibility that the mechanisms of their transplacental passage might include nucleoside transporters (NTs), either equilibrative or concentrative (ENTs/CNTs). The aim of the diploma thesis was to investigate the role of placental NTs in membrane transfer of TFV and TDF. To address this issue, we performed in vitro accumulation in the BeWo cell line derived from placental choriocarcinoma. By evaluating experiments, we found out that both TFV and TDF might not be substrates of NTs, thus the role of these transporters in TFV/TDF placental pharmacokinetics was not confirmed. Therefore, the drug-drug interactions on NTs...

Charles University Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology Student: Martin Huličiak Supervisor: PharmDr. Lukáš Červený, Ph.D Title of diploma thesis: Study of interactions of antiviral drugs with intestinal drug efflux ABC transporters P-gp, MRP2 and BCRP are efflux transporters, members of the family of ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters. These transporters are located on the apical membrane of the intestinal epithelium, where they may limit absorption of orally administered drugs. Study of drug interactions with/on intestinal efflux transporters is necessary to provide safe and effective treatment. The Caco-2 cell line is FDA recommended in vitro model of intestinal barrier and it is used for bidirectional testing of substrates and inhibitors of ABC transporters in preclinical research. However, this methodology has several shortcomings, so the need of introduction of new experimental models is increasing and the ex vivo method based on human or rat intestine is a promising option. Precision-cut intestinal slices (PCIS) represent a mini-model of the organ and contain all types of cells of the tissue. We used both in vitro model using Caco-2 cell monolayers for drug transport study and in our lab established ex vivo method of PCIS for accumulation study...

[pt] Após identificar que uma trinca de fadiga permanecia fechada durante parte do ciclo, Elber assumiu que o dano era induzido apenas pela fração do carregamento acima da carga necessária para abrir a trinca. Diversos modelos foram propostos utilizando o Delta Keff como força motriz da propagação, como os modelos da faixa plástica (strip-yield), que são amplamente utilizados para prever vida residual de componentes trincados. Embora o fenômeno do fechamento da trinca esteja provado, sua real importância na propagação da trinca de fadiga ainda é controversa. Outros mecanismos, além do fechamento da trinca, foram utilizados na tentativa de explicar os efeitos de sequência do carregamento na propagação em amplitude variável como o campo de tensão residual à frente da trinca. Mesmo após mais de 50 anos de pesquisas desde a proposição da primeira regra de propagação por Paris ainda não há consenso nem sobre o mecanismo nem sobre a modelagem. Esse trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar uma modelagem para prever propagação da trinca de fadiga com base na hipótese de que o dano acumulado por deformação plástica seria a força motriz para propagação. A modelagem proposta se diferença de outros modelos de acúmulo de dano por permitir que o contato existente entre as superfícies da trinca exerça influência sobre as deformações plástica à frente de sua ponta. Os resultados mostram que a modelagem proposta possui capacidade de reproduzir curvas de propagação semelhante ao modelo strip-yield. / [en] After identify that a fatigue crack remains closed during part of the load cycle, Elber assumed the damage was induced only by the cycle part over the load required to open the crack. Several models were developed based on Delta Keff as the strip-yield ones, which are widely used to predict residual lives of cracked components. Although the crack closure phenomenon is well proven its actual significance for the propagation is still controversial. Others mechanisms, beyond the crack closure, were used in trying to explain the sequence effects on variable amplitude crack propagation like the residual stress field ahead of the crack tip. However even after more than 50 years of research since the first propagation rule proposed by Paris there is no neither about the mechanism neither about modelling. This work has the aim of present a modelling to predict fatigue crack growth based on the hypothesis that the damage accumulated by cyclic plastic strain would be propagation the drive force. The modelling proposed differs from others damage accumulation models by allowing the existed contact between the crack surfaces to exercise its influence on plastic strain ahead of the crack tip. The results show that the proposed model is able to reproduce propagation curves similar to the model strip-yield.

The axiomatic theory of ` Zelazko defines a variety of general spectra where specified axioms are satisfied. However, there arise a number of spectra, usually defined for a single element of a Banach algebra, that are not covered by the axiomatic theory of ` Zelazko. V. Kordula and V. M¨uller addressed this issue and created the theory of regularities. Their unique idea was to describe the underlying set of elements on which the spectrum is defined. The axioms of a regularity provide important consequences. We prove that the set of Koliha-Drazin invertible elements, which includes the Drazin invertible elements, forms a regularity. The properties of the spectrum corresponding to a regularity are also investigated. / Mathematical Sciences / M. Sc. (Mathematics)