No description available.

O setor de serviços tem fundamental importância para a economia global, porém o layout de organizações deste setor tipicamente não é abordado com a mesma intensidade com que se discute arranjo físico em ambientes industriais. O objetivo desta dissertação reside na aplicação de sistemáticas de concepção de layout com vistas ao planejamento e aprimoramento do arranjo físico e agrupamento de recursos de uma biblioteca. Como objetivos específicos, traz a aplicação do planejamento sistemático de layout (SLP) para o posicionamento de recursos e organização dos fluxos de uma biblioteca, e a adaptação do algoritmo Close Neighbor para agrupamento de materiais bibliográficos (livros) em prateleiras de acordo com sua área de abrangência. Para tanto, inicialmente apresentam-se as características da Biblioteca da Faculdade de Farmácia da UFRGS (local de aplicação do estudo), a análise da movimentação de pessoas e de materiais, a abordagem proposta e as diretrizes para organização do arranjo físico da biblioteca e do acervo de livros. Dentre outros procedimentos operacionais, fez-se necessária a realização de reuniões com a equipe da biblioteca e com a direção da Faculdade de Farmácia, visando a estabelecer prioridades e definir características desejadas para o arranjo físico do espaço em estudo. Na sequência, implantou-se a proposta de layout selecionada, seguida de uma discussão acerca do desempenho da biblioteca antes e depois da implantação do novo layout; tal discussão foi baseada tanto em resultados numéricos (análise quantitativa) como na percepção da equipe envolvida (análise qualitativa). / The service sector is of fundamental importance to the global economy, but the layout of organizations in this sector is typically not approached with the same intensity with which physical arrangement is discussed in industrial environments. The objective of this dissertation is to apply layout design systematics with a view to planning and improving the physical arrangement and grouping of library resources. As a specific goal, the application of systematic layout planning (SLP) for the positioning of resources and organization of a library's flows, and the adaptation of the Close Neighbor algorithm for grouping bibliographic materials (books) into shelves according to their area of comprehensiveness. In order to do so, the characteristics of the Library of the Faculty of Pharmacy of UFRGS (place of application of the study), the analysis of the movement of people and materials, the proposed approach and the guidelines for the organization of the physical arrangement of the library and of the collection of books. Among other operational procedures, it was necessary to hold meetings with the library staff and the Faculty of Pharmacy, in order to establish priorities and define desired characteristics for the physical arrangement of the space under study. Next, the selected layout proposal was implanted, followed by a discussion about the library's performance before and after the implementation of the new layout; such a discussion was based on both numerical results (quantitative analysis) and the perception of the team involved (qualitative analysis).

O setor de serviços tem fundamental importância para a economia global, porém o layout de organizações deste setor tipicamente não é abordado com a mesma intensidade com que se discute arranjo físico em ambientes industriais. O objetivo desta dissertação reside na aplicação de sistemáticas de concepção de layout com vistas ao planejamento e aprimoramento do arranjo físico e agrupamento de recursos de uma biblioteca. Como objetivos específicos, traz a aplicação do planejamento sistemático de layout (SLP) para o posicionamento de recursos e organização dos fluxos de uma biblioteca, e a adaptação do algoritmo Close Neighbor para agrupamento de materiais bibliográficos (livros) em prateleiras de acordo com sua área de abrangência. Para tanto, inicialmente apresentam-se as características da Biblioteca da Faculdade de Farmácia da UFRGS (local de aplicação do estudo), a análise da movimentação de pessoas e de materiais, a abordagem proposta e as diretrizes para organização do arranjo físico da biblioteca e do acervo de livros. Dentre outros procedimentos operacionais, fez-se necessária a realização de reuniões com a equipe da biblioteca e com a direção da Faculdade de Farmácia, visando a estabelecer prioridades e definir características desejadas para o arranjo físico do espaço em estudo. Na sequência, implantou-se a proposta de layout selecionada, seguida de uma discussão acerca do desempenho da biblioteca antes e depois da implantação do novo layout; tal discussão foi baseada tanto em resultados numéricos (análise quantitativa) como na percepção da equipe envolvida (análise qualitativa). / The service sector is of fundamental importance to the global economy, but the layout of organizations in this sector is typically not approached with the same intensity with which physical arrangement is discussed in industrial environments. The objective of this dissertation is to apply layout design systematics with a view to planning and improving the physical arrangement and grouping of library resources. As a specific goal, the application of systematic layout planning (SLP) for the positioning of resources and organization of a library's flows, and the adaptation of the Close Neighbor algorithm for grouping bibliographic materials (books) into shelves according to their area of comprehensiveness. In order to do so, the characteristics of the Library of the Faculty of Pharmacy of UFRGS (place of application of the study), the analysis of the movement of people and materials, the proposed approach and the guidelines for the organization of the physical arrangement of the library and of the collection of books. Among other operational procedures, it was necessary to hold meetings with the library staff and the Faculty of Pharmacy, in order to establish priorities and define desired characteristics for the physical arrangement of the space under study. Next, the selected layout proposal was implanted, followed by a discussion about the library's performance before and after the implementation of the new layout; such a discussion was based on both numerical results (quantitative analysis) and the perception of the team involved (qualitative analysis).

L'hyperthermie magnétique est une technique de traitement de cancers en plein essor. Cette conversion d'une énergie électromagnétique en énergie thermique par des nanoparticules soumises à une excitation magnétique oscillant à haute fréquence est étudiée depuis près de deux décennies mais elle est encore mal décrite pour des systèmes complexes.Le travail présenté ici s'attache à compléter la connaissance de ce phénomène en reliant l'état de dispersion de nanoparticules à leurs propriétés d'hyperthermie.Tout d'abord sont présentés la caractérisation et le contrôle de dispersions dans des milieux complexes tels qu'un liquide ionique ou une matrice polymère.En effet, l'obtention d'une dispersion colloïdalement stable dans un liquide ionique soulève de nombreux défis. Une étude approfondie du rôle de la charge de surface des particules, contrôlée à l'aide du pH dans un liquide ionique protique, a permis de mieux comprendre le rôle du solvant et la nature des interactions dans ce type de milieu.En outre, disperser finement des nanoparticules hydrophiles dans une matrice hydrophobe telle qu'une matrice siliconée est également une tâche délicate et une méthode nouvelle d'évaporation d'émulsion ferrofluide-dans-matrice polymère est présentée ici, ainsi que l'étude des dispersions ainsi obtenues.Enfin est exposée une étude du pouvoir chauffant de nanoparticules dans des états de dispersion variés, faisant notamment intervenir une méthode de mesure développée dans le cadre de cette thèse. Ces résultats soulignent l'influence de l'agrégation des particules qui provoque une baisse significative de leur échauffement ainsi que le rôle clef de la compacité des agrégats formés. / Magnetic hyperthermia is a promising therapeutic technique against cancer. It consists in turning electromagnetic energy into heat thanks to nanoparticles that are excited by a radiofrequency oscillating magnetic field. Although this phenomenon has been studied for more than two decades, it remains poorly described. This work aims at filling the gap of knowledge about magnetic hyperthermia through the study of the correlations between the dispersion state and the heating efficiency of the particles. The characterisation and the control of dispersions in complex media such as ionic liquids or a polymer matrix is dealt with in the first part. Obtaining a colloidally stable dispersion in an ionic liquid proves indeed a challenging task. The particles surface charge can be controlled in a protic ionic liquid by tuning the pH. A thorough study of the influence of this parameter allowed a better insight into the role of the solvent and the nature of the interactions. Furthermore, the formation of a fine dispersion of hydrophilic nanoparticles in a hydrophobic silicon matrix is also a ticklish task. A new method is presented here, that consists in the evaporation of a ferrofluid-in-polymer matrix emulsion. The dispersion state of the resulting materials is then characterised.The heating efficiency of particles showing different dispersion states is studied in the last part. It includes results obtained with a new measurement method developed in the scope of this thesis. These results highlight that the particles aggregation causes a decrease of their heating properties. They also evidence the key role of the aggregates compactness in this respect.

Le hématopoïétique protéine adaptateur spécifique SLP-76 est un élément clé des voies de transduction du signal en aval du récepteur des cellules T (TCR). Analyse des lignées de cellules T SLP-76 déficient et SLP-76 souris knock-out montré que SLP-76 est indispensable pour le développement des lymphocytes T et de réactivité des cellules T matures. Les travaux antérieurs de notre laboratoire en utilisant des lignées de cellules T a conduit à l'identification et la caractérisation d'une boucle de rétroaction négative impliquant SLP-76, qui module la signalisation TCR-dépendante et l'activation des cellules T. Cependant, la signification physiologique de ce mécanisme de régulation n'a pas été abordé jusqu'à présent. L'objectif de cette thèse est de répondre à la fonction de ce mécanisme de régulation in vivo par l'analyse de la fonction des cellules T dans une souche de souris généré récemment "knock-in", exprimant un mutant SLP-76-S376A. Basé sur les résultats précédents, était attendu ce mutant de perturber la boucle de rétroaction négative SLP-76-dépendante. Je montre ici que l'expression de SLP-76-S376A ne donne pas lieu à des modifications phénotypiques significatives de thymocytes matures ou des sous-ensembles de cellules T, ce qui suggère que ce mutant ne modifie pas de manière significative le développement des cellules T. En outre, aucune différence n'a été observée dans le taux de prolifération ou la mort cellulaire induite par activation de cellules T mutantes par rapport aux témoins, et l'expression des marqueurs d'activation de surface n'a été que légèrement affectées. Cependant, une activation accrue de plusieurs protéines de signalisation a été observée dans les cellules CD4 + et CD8 + T stimulées in vitro, conformément aux résultats précédents dans les lignées de cellules T humaines. In vitro les cellules T CD4 + activés ont montré une augmentation significative de la sécrétion de l'interleukine-4 et -5, tandis que d'autres cytokines comme l'interleukine-2 et l'interféron-γ est apparu insensible. Ces résultats suggèrent que le réglage de la signalisation TCR-dépendante par la boucle de rétroaction négative SLP-76-dépendante peut favoriser réponses de type Th2, avec des conséquences potentielles dans certaines pathologies telles que l'asthme ou les infections parasitaires. Ainsi, nous avons utilisé un modèle expérimental de l'asthme d'évaluer la réponse des cellules eosinophiles in vivo. En effet, les résultats préliminaires ont montré que l'antigène contesté souris mutantes d'asthme induisant recrutent beaucoup plus d'éosinophiles dans les poumons par rapport aux souris témoins. Pris ensemble, ces données suggèrent que les cellules SLP76-S376A T comprennent modulations dans proximale signal de transduction TCR qui peuvent générer un biais vers la production de cytokines Th2 en réponse à la stimulation du TCR. / The hematopoietic specific adapter protein SLP-76 is a key element of signal transduction pathways downstream of the T cell receptor (TCR). Analysis of SLP-76-deficient T cell lines and SLP-76 knockout mice showed that SLP-76 is indispensable for T cell development and for responsiveness of mature T cells. Previous work of our laboratory using T cell lines led to the identification and characterization of a negative-feedback loop involving SLP-76, which modulates TCR-dependent signaling and T cell activation. However, the physiological significance of this regulatory mechanism was not addressed thus far. The aim of this PhD thesis is to address the function of this regulatory mechanism in vivo by analyzing T cell function in a recently generated “knock-in” mouse strain expressing a SLP-76-S376A mutant. Based on previous results, this mutant was expected to disrupt the SLP-76-dependent negative feedback loop. I show here that expression of SLP-76-S376A does not result in significant phenotypic alterations of thymocytes or mature T cell subsets, suggesting that this mutant does not significantly affect T cell development. Furthermore, no differences were observed in proliferation rates or activation-induced cell death of mutant T cells compared to controls, and the expression of surface activation markers was only slightly affected. However, an increased activation of several signaling proteins was observed in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells stimulated in vitro, in line with previous results in human T cell lines. In vitro activated CD4+ T cells showed a significant increase in secretion of interleukin-4 and -5, whereas other cytokines like interleukin-2 and interferon- appeared unaffected. These results, suggest that tuning of TCR-dependent signaling by the SLP-76-dependent negative feedback loop may favor Th2-type responses, with potential consequences in specific pathologies such as asthma or parasite infections. Thus, we have employed an experimental model of asthma to evaluate the eosinophil response in vivo. Indeed, preliminary results showed that asthma-inducing antigen challenged mutant mice recruit significantly more eosinophils to the lung compared to control mice. Taken together, these data suggest that SLP76-S376A T cells comprise modulations in proximal TCR signal transduction that may generate a bias towards production of Th2-cytokines in response to TCR stimulation.

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often suffer from variable impairments in language and pragmatic abilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate language and pragmatics in children with ADHD and/or ASD (D-group) compared with a control group with no diagnose (ND-group). 22 children with diagnose, 4 girls and 18 boys aged 9:4–13:6, and 26 children with typical development, 10 girls and 16 boys, aged 10:5–13:4 were tested with a battery of tests concerning language and pragmatics. Their parents filled in a questionnaire regarding pragmatic abilities. The D-group performed poorer than the ND-group in all tests. Correlations were found between several pragmatic and language tests results in the D-group, and a few correlations were found in the ND-group. Some tests were particularly difficult for the D-group. An attempt was made to find subgroups in the D-groups test results via cluster analysis, but without success. The results emphasize the need of routine speech-language pathologist assessment during diagnostic evaluation of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. / Barn med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar som Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) och/eller autismspektrumtillstånd (ASD) uppvisar ofta mer eller mindre subtila svårigheter med språk och pragmatik. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka språkliga och pragmatiska förmågor hos barn med ADHD och/eller ASD (D-grupp) jämfört med en kontrollgrupp utan diagnos (ND-grupp). 22 barn med diagnos varav 4 flickor och 18 pojkar i åldrarna 9:4–13:6, och 26 barn i åldrarna 10:5–13:4 rekryterades och testades med ett batteri av språkliga och pragmatiska tester. Deras föräldrar fyllde även i ett formulär om barnens pragmatiska förmågor. D-gruppen hade sämre resultat än kontroll-gruppen i alla tester. Korrelationer hittades mellan flera pragmatiska och språkliga testresultat i D-gruppen, och några korrelationer hittades även i ND-gruppen. Vissa test var speciellt svåra för D-gruppen. Ett försök att finna undergrupper i D-gruppens testresultat via klusteranalys gjordes även, men utan framgång. Resultaten understryker vikten av logopedisk bedömning som del i multiprofessionell neuropsykiatrisk utredning.

No description available.

No description available.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder marked by social interaction impairment, verbal and non-verbal communication deficit, and repetitive and restricted interests and behaviors. Individuals with ASD who have complex communication needs (CCNs), meaning they have impaired speech or language expression and/or comprehension that limit their social participation, can benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). However, accessing AAC services in developing countries, such as Saudi Arabia, is limited due to the lack of professionals who can provide such services. Speech language pathologists (SLPs) are the main health practitioners who are responsible for assisting those with communication disorders, especially individuals with CCNs. The purpose of this study is to address Saudi Arabian SLPs' perceived competence in providing AAC technologies and services as well as to examine the relationship between their perceived competence and other factors, including education, clinical training, and experience. This study addresses three primary aims. The first aim is to describe the SLP participants’ background. The second aim is to collect data about SLPs' attitudes and perceived competence in providing AAC services to those with ASD. The third aim is to highlight whether education, training, and years of experience are related to SLPs' perceived competence in providing AAC interventions.

Avdelningen Aviation på Eltel Networks Infranet AB arbetar ständigt för att erbjuda kostnadseffektiva tjänster för flygtrafiken för att säkerställa hög luftsäkerhet. Eltel Networks verksamhet är helt kundorderstyrt. Verksamhetslayouten är statisk och anpassas inte utefter kundernas behov. Eltel Networks vill få större kontroll på materialflödet och skapa en mer flexibel verksamhet. Inför ett layoutplaneringsprojekt kan metoden systematisk lokalplanläggning användas på ett systematiskt tillvägagångssätt. Metoden används av organisationer för att designa eller omdesigna en anläggning. Det finns även en förenklad version av systematisk lokalplanläggning. Syftet med studien var att jämföra två layoutmetoder samt ge förslag på ny verksamhetslayout utifrån jämförelsen. En jämförelsestudie genomfördes av de två layoutmetoderna med utgångspunkt vilken metod som passar bäst för mindre materialflöde och minde lokalyta. Förslag på en ny layout ska ges med hänsyn till att hitta en mer flexibel verksamhet. Utifrån jämförelsen framkom det att metoden förenklad systematisk lokalplanläggning är bäst lämpad att genomföras för en layout med mindre materialflöde och mindre lokalyta. Förslag till en mer flexibel verksamhetslayout har presenteras utifrån metoden förenklad systematisk lokalplanläggning. / The department Aviation at Eltel Networks Infranet AB is constantly working to offer cost effective air traffic services to ensure high air safety. Eltel Networks business is completely customized. The business layout is static and does not match customer needs. Eltel Networks want to gain more control over the material flow and create a more flexible business. Facing a layout planning project, the method systematic layout planning can be used in a systematic approach. The method is used by organizations to design or redesign a facility. There is also a simplified version of systematic layout planning. The purpose of the study was to compare two layout methods as well as propose a new business layout based on the comparison. A comparison study was carried out by the two layout methods based on which method best suits less material flow and less space. Proposals for a new layout should be given with regard to finding a more flexible business. Based on the comparison, it was found that the simplified systematic layout planning method is best suited for a layout with less material flow and less space. Proposals for a more flexible business layout have been presented based on the simplified systematic layout planning method.