Three aspects of renal function were measured in the toad, Bufo marinus (N=lO): (1) effect of rate of blood volume expansion on renal functions (UFR; GFR; urine and plasma ion concentrations; and ion excretion rates), (2) effect of hypo- and hyperosmotic blood volume expansions on renal functions, and (3) role of GFR and tubular processes in the differential response of UFR under different osmotic expansion stresses. Renal responses to differential rates of blood volume expansion have not been investigated in amphibians. Rate responses will be analyzed considering effects: ( 1) during infusion (neural, or, short term regulation of extracellular fluid volume) and (2) post infusion (hormonal, or, long term regulation of extracellular fluid volume). Volume expansions were administered with hypoosmotic (0.4%) saline and hyperosmotic (1.4%) saline, and ranged in rate from 4.0 to 20.6 ml/kg/min. This protocol is designed to present volume regulatory mechanisms with increased volume stimuli and different osmotic stimuli. Overall, infusion rate had no significant effects on renal responses measured: urine flow rate (UFR); glomerular filtration rate (GFR); urine and plasma ion concentrations; natriuresis; or kaliuresis. This was true for the infusion period and for the observed post infusion period (90 min). Rate was correlated with GFR in the hypoosmotic group (r=0.30, p=0.04) and natriuresis in the hyperosmotic group (r=0.34, p=0.03). A significant positive correlation was observed between UFR and GFR. Relative to treatment, UFR differed significantly; GFR response was inherently similar despite differences at individual intervals, indicating UFR differences between the treatments is due to tubular processes. Responses to hypoosmotic infusion included a significant diuresis, natriuresis, and a decreased urine sodium concentration, relative to hyperosmotic infusion. At low UFRs the hyperosmotic group produced urine relatively concentrated in sodium. Urine sodium concentration and UFR were positively correlated in the hypoosmotic infusion group -- at high UFRs, kidneys were unable to produce a dilute urine.

No description available.

No description available.

Background: The following thesis explores the use of UGC pictures as part of the product presentation in the online shop of a fashion retailer. Of interest are four variables and which influence these are having on the perception of the UGC pictures through the lens of authenticity. The theoretical background and the analysis are done through a developed model based on the SOR model of Mehrabian and Russell (1974). Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to gain deeper insights about the role of authenticity on the perception of consumers towards UGC pictures which are part of the product presentation of a fashion online shop. Method: This thesis follows a qualitative study by conducting two focus group sessions with in total 15 participants, as well as semi-structured interviews with four participants of the focus group. Findings: Resulting from the findings of this thesis it could be argued, that UGC pictures would be theoretically well suited as part of the product presentation. However, not in terms of authenticity, as consumers have an existing attitude towards content from social media. Value: The findings of this thesis are providing valuable insights into the perception of UGC pictures in the context of an online shopping setting through the lens of authenticity. The presented findings are beneficial and are giving tangible advice for online shop providers to not only understand the perception of consumers to the UGC pictures but also how authenticity is influencing this perception.

Narcissists typically present themselves in self-enhancing ways to gain validation (through positive social appraisals) of grandiose, yet uncertain self-views. Using e-mail, Studies 1 and 2 investigated several intra- and interpersonal variables that may influence narcissists� self-presentational behaviour. University students rated themselves on self domains requiring either external validation (e.g., attractiveness) or internal validation (e.g., morality), after being randomly assigned to be either accountable or non-accountable to an evaluative audience for their self-ratings (Study 1), to present their self-ratings to either a single or multiple person evaluative audience (Study 2), and to expect to present their self-ratings to either a high or low status evaluative audience (Studies 1 and 2). Results suggested that when degree of external self-worth contingency (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001) was high, narcissists were insensitive to strategic self-presentational requirements, presenting themselves in a typically self-enhancing manner on external domains when accountable and when presenting to a multiple person audience. Non-narcissists showed more contextual sensitivity when degree of external self-worth contingency was high, and were more modest when these social contextual variables were present. Participants in Study 3 were given bogus positive or negative personality feedback on either their moral virtue or competitive spirit. Narcissists reported greater anger after receiving negative feedback, while also responding to negative feedback with inflated self-presentations. A key finding was that the combination of a high degree of self-worth contingency and negative feedback resulted in increases in self-reported depression and drops in state self-esteem in narcissists. Results suggest that narcissists are chronically vigilant for self-enhancement opportunities, but may be insensitive to social constraints and norms in their efforts to construct their grandiose identities. Narcissists are especially vigilant for self-enhancement opportunities on contingent domains, yet when negative feedback is received in these domains where self-worth is staked, depression and lowered self-esteem may result.

Using web-based knowledge management systems has become the mainstream when enterprises adopt the strategy of knowledge management. With the accumulated amount of materials, the issue of information reuse is emphasized, and how to properly design a knowledge management system to improve the efficiency of information reuse is becoming extremely important. In the past there were two approaches for improving the efficiency of information reuse. One is knowledge map that focuses on information retrieval to promote the efficiency, and the other is usability of Human-Computer Interaction that focuses on the effect of different information representation styles and the user's liking. According to Task-Technology Fit, the greater the degree of adherence to an ideal fit profile, the better the performance. In this study we discussed the impact of information presentation styles on information reuse with different reuse tasks on knowledge management systems. The study is intended as an experimental design to investigate the impact of information presentation styles on information reuse within a knowledge management system. We use an experiment involving 83 subjects. The results of this study indicate that information presentation styles have a significant impact on information reuse. We found that for retrieval tasks, the impact on information reuse would be enhanced with the hierarchical presentation style. Additionally, the result also shows that when increasing the complexity of the task, information presentation styles have no differences to the impact on information reuse. And according to the results of two kinds of questionnaires, the users all had higher liking and partialities for the hierarchical presentation style. Finally, suggestions for the vision information design based on the results of this study are provided.

<p>In this Ph.D. dissertation, the capacity of cultured bovine polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) to passively acquire functional membrane proteins from apoptotic or necrotic cells was examined. The rapid transfer of membrane proteins from a variety of syngeneic, allogeneic and xenogeneic donor cells to PMNs was observed. In contrast to PMNs from other species, bovine PMNs did not express endogenous major histocompatability class II (MHC II) protein, either constitutively or inducibly. The entire bovine PMN population was, however, able to acquire detectable levels of surface MHC II or cluster of differentiation (CD) 3 protein following PMN co-culture with cells in conditions which permitted close contact with dieing cells. Therefore, it was hypothesized that membrane lipids and proteins were acquired by bovine PMN following fusion with microparticles (MPs) shed from either apoptotic or necrotic cells. </p> <p>It was then determined whether the lifespan of bovine PMNs could be sufficient to provide an opportunity for PMNs to interact with T cells. Lymphocyte recruitment to sites of inflammation often occurs 3-5 days after the initial PMN recruitment. PMN survival would need to span this interval to provide an opportunity for an interaction between PMNs and lymphocytes. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interferon (IFN)-ã and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were observed to prolong the lifespan of cultured PMNs beyond 96 hours. These observations supported the conclusion that it was biologically possible for PMNs and T cells to interact at sites of inflammation.</p> <p>Using confocal microscopy, direct evidence was provided for the formation and release of MPs from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the attachment of these MPs to bovine PMNs. A time-dependent integration of both MP membranes and integral membrane proteins into the PMN plasma membrane was also observed. The passively acquired membrane lipids and proteins then diffused throughout the PMN plasma membrane. Another observation was the formation of MPs which contained donor cell cytoplasmic proteins and subsequent transfer this cytoplasmic protein to recipient PMNs. These observations raised the possibility that MPs could also transfer genetic material. Thus, confocal microscopy provided direct evidence that MPs were one mechanism by which bovine PMNs could passively acquire membrane lipids and integral membrane proteins.</p> <p>Finally, the functional consequences of passive acquisition of membrane proteins were examined using two different approaches. A significant increase in green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene expression was observed following PMN infection using the GFP expressing bovine adenovirus vector (BAV304). These PMNs had passively acquired membranes from an adenovirus permissive cell line. This observation provided indirect evidence for the passive acquisition of a functional viral receptor protein. Direct evidence that PMNs passively acquired functional membrane proteins was provided by the observation that the passive transfer of ovine MHC II molecules to bovine PMNs enabled these cells to induce antigen-specific proliferation and cytokine expression by xenoreactive T cell lines. Despite a reduction in amplitude and duration, T cell responses induced by PMNs were qualitatively similar to those observed following activation by the stimulator B cell line. These observations supported the conclusion that PMNs could function as antigen presenting cells (APCs) following the passive acquisition of MHC II protein.</p> <p>In conclusion, this research project provided evidence that bovine PMNs have an impressive ability to acquire membranes and functional integral membrane proteins from dead or dying cells. The implications of this transfer of immunological information are discussed within the context of the role which PMNs might play in both innate and adaptive immune responses. </p>

En portfolio tas vanligen fram för att visa på vilka kunskaper man förfogar över. I vissa fall handlar det om att visa upp grafiska verk, i andra fall handlar det om att visa tekniska kunskaper. Ibland handlar det dock istället om att slå ihop dessa båda. Det är främst i möjligheten att kombinera presentationen med tekniska och grafiska kunskaper en webbportfolio skiljer sig från en traditionell portfolio. Målet med det här examensarbetet inom IT, medier och design har varit att ta fram en webbportfolio som är tillgänglighetsanpassad för olika typer av människor, då det oavsett målgrupp kan förekomma personer med funktionsnedsättning. Med dessa kommer speciella förutsättningar och större krav ställs på tillgängligheten. Vidare har webben kommit att flyttas från stationära datorer i hemmiljöer till att följa med och vara tillgängligt i stort sett när som helst och var som helst. Detta ställer särskilda krav på en webbplats i form av att förutsättningarna för att titta på denna inte längre går att förutspå på samma sätt som när internet för det mesta användes på stora skärmar. Rapporten syftar till att beskriva den fortgående arbetsprocess som skett under hela examensarbetet, och även att belysa de olika aspekter som behöver tas hänsyn till under arbetet.

Varje dag fattas beslut som kan komma att förändra människors liv. Årligen berörs omkring 50 000 barn av föräldrars separation där cirka 7000 av fallen leder till en vårdnadstvist som löses i tingsrätten. Familjerättens utredning blir ofta avgörande för domstolsbeslutet om vem som tillskrivs vårdnaden över barnet. Följande studie fokuserar på att ur ett deskriptivt beslutsteoretiskt perspektiv finna vilka faktorer som influerar bedömningsprocessen med fokus på könsdiskriminering och presentationsordningseffekt, alltså huruvida ordningen av föräldrarnas utsaga påverkar bedömningen. För att undersöka hur individen blir påverkad i sitt beslutsfattande fick en deltagargrupp med högskolestudenter läsa ett vårdnadstvistfall där modern och faderns utsaga presenteras för att sedan ta ställning till bland annat vilken förälder de ansåg vara mest trovärdig. Resultatet visade ingen signifikant effekt av presentationsordning, men selektiva könseffekter framkom.

Gesture-based interaction has long been seen as a natural means of input for electronic presentation systems; however, gesture-based presentation systems have not been evaluated in real-world contexts, and the implications of this interaction modality are not known. This thesis describes the design and evaluation of Maestro, a gesture-based presentation system which was developed to explore these issues. This work is presented in two parts. The first part describes Maestro's design, which was informed by a small observational study of people giving talks; and Maestro's evaluation, which involved a two week field study where Maestro was used for lecturing to a class of approximately 100 students. The observational study revealed that presenters regularly gesture towards the content of their slides. As such, Maestro supports several gestures which operate directly on slide content (e.g., pointing to a bullet causes it to be highlighted). The field study confirmed that audience members value these content-centric gestures. Conversely, the use of gestures for navigating slides is perceived to be less efficient than the use of a remote. Additionally, gestural input was found to result in a number of unexpected side effects which may hamper the presenter's ability to fully engage the audience. The second part of the thesis presents a gesture recognizer based on discrete hidden Markov models (DHMMs). Here, the contributions lie in presenting a feature set and a factorization of the standard DHMM observation distribution, which allows modeling of a wide range of gestures (e.g., both one-handed and bimanual gestures), but which uses few modeling parameters. To establish the overall robustness and accuracy of the recognition system, five new users and one expert were asked to perform ten instances of each gesture. The system accurately recognized 85% of gestures for new users, increasing to 96% for the expert user. In both cases, false positives accounted for fewer than 4% of all detections. These error rates compare favourably to those of similar systems.