Palmitoylation refers to the covalent attachment of fatty acids, such as palmitate, onto the cysteine residues of proteins. This process may subsequently alter their localization and function. Nearly all of the enzymes that catalyze palmitoylation, zDHHC protein acyl transferases (PATs), are implicated in neurological disorders, infectious diseases, and cancer in humans. Of particular interest to those who study palmitoylation are Ras family GTPas and zDHHC9-GCP16, the zDHHC PAT that palmitoylates Ras proteins. Erf2-Erf4 is the zDHHC PAT that palmitoylates Ras proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Currently, there are no methods to therapeutically target palmitoylation for the treatment of disease. One of the barriers to identifying a modulator of palmitoylation is the lack of a reliable high-throughput screening system. To date, few assay systems have been developed to examine the kinetics and mechanism of that palmitoylation reaction. This lab has developed a fluorescence-based coupled assay to gain insight into the enzymology, biochemical mechanism, and kinetics of the palmitoylation reaction. This assay may be used to identify specific inhibitors of autopalmitoylation. In the first step of this reaction, the palmitoyl-moiety from palmitoyl-CoA is transferred to the zDHHC9 PAT cysteine side chain to form a palmitoyl:enzyme intermediate. The second step of palmitoylation is the subsequent transfer of the palmitoyl-moiety from the palmitoyl:enzyme intermediate to the cysteine residue of the substrate protein. This fluorescence-based coupled assay was utilized to screen a natural products library and a unique synthetic compound library for inhibitors of Erf2 autopalmitoylation. These screens led to the identification of fungal metabolite extracts and ten bis-cyclic piperazine compounds that inhibit Erf2 autopalmitoylation in the low micromolar range. This effect is similar to known inhibitors of palmitoylation that lack specificity for the palmitoylation reaction itself.

This study addresses an individual's performance, relating it to eyesight changes due to the aging of the individual and to color computer screens used for computer-based-instruction not designed specifically for older students. This study determines how existing research in gerontology, human-computer interface, and color use in visual graphics can be applied to the design of computer screen displays containing color text and backgrounds and how various color combinations will affect performance by adult learners forty years of age and older. The results of this research provide software developers and instructional designers guidelines to use when designing computer screen displays for use in instructional computing settings involving older adults.

Deferred shading är en renderingsteknik som har blivit allt mer populär i och med att hårdvaraukraven för tekniken inte längre är ett hinder. Ett problem med deferred shading är fortfarande hur transparenta objekt ska hanteras. Rapporten utvärderar två olika deferred pipelines som hanterar transparent geometri på olika sätt, de två renderingsmetoderna är Inferred Lighting samt Light Pre Pass med framåtrendering för hantering av transparent geometri.

Svenskarna och   internet (2014) points out that the use of smartphones continues to grow,   despite this only 14 percent of the elderly in the age of 60 or more,   interacts with a smartphone daily. The reason why older people do not use   smartphones are thought to be because the technology is difficult and hard. The purpose of this   study was to find shortcomings in usability for older people when interacting   with a smartphone as well as what improvements should be made to increase the   usability. To achieve this purpose five older respondents in the age of 60   years or older were observed and interviewed. Furthermore, a separate model   has been created based on previous research to analyze the results. The analysis   resulted in a revised model with existing shortcomings and pronounced   improvement proposals. The shortcomings found in smartphone user interfaces   are lack of information on how to perform different tasks, which means they   are guessing solutions, another lack is that icons are alike. According to   the study, descriptive texts should be provided to each icon. The   improvements that older people would prefer to increase the usability are   that it should be one gesture to navigate through the phone which is the   dragged gesture, pointed information in a smartphone how they perform their   tasks and icons as well as buttons should be named after performance.   Proposals for future research are to investigate differences between older   novices and older skilled users of smartphones and at what age older people   are getting worse in interacting with smartphones.

Gathering statistics in sports is a tool to provide useful information to different parties such as trainers, club executives and spectators. They have in some instances also become mandatoryas a part of a national association. In order to provide a digital tool to improve the gathering for one such club, a web-based prototype was developed. This prototype was based on specifications outlined by an ice hockey club in the Swedish Allsvenskan division and on previous research on mobile devices. It was tested in two iterations. The result of the tests indicates that a digital, platform independent software not only helps greatly reduce the workload but also provides new abilities and benefits for the clubs.

The newly released Google Chromecast has generated an increasing amount of interest for so called second-screen experiences in the market. Although the technology behind such experiences has existed for a couple of years, end users are now truly starting to grasp the concept and benefits of multi-screen. The company, at which the thesis was performed at, provides a cloud-based messaging solution for Internet connected devices, which enables multi-screen use cases. To increase the amount of supported platforms in the solution, new technologies frequently needs to be integrated. In this thesis I have performed an exploratory research & development project with the aim to integrate the Google Cast technology in this multi-screen solution. The fundamental difference in how the two ecosystems were designed resulted in a companion device framework that acted as a wrapper over the technologies. The framework was implemented on the Android platform together with a set of demo applications. The proposed solution should be seen as a starting point for integrating different multi-screen technologies within a single companion device framework. While combining these technologies, a fundamental difference in the user experience between them became apparent. The Google Cast ecosystem relies on the companion device as the interaction point for the end user, whereas television (TV) applications usually have the main interaction point on the actual TV itself via a dedicated remote control. Having this kind of inconsistency within the same set of applications increases the risk of confusion among end users. Therefore I suggest that development of such multi-screen experiences, that combines these technologies, should strive for a high consistency throughout the whole user experience, independent of platforms and technology.

La myogénèse est un processus multi-étapes hautement régulé impliquant la prolifération et la différenciation de myoblastes. Bien que la myogenèse ait été largement décrite, les mécanismes de régulation qui régissent ce processus complexe sont encore mal connus, notamment les réseaux de gènes et les interactions potentielles entre les voies de signalisation impliquées. Afin d'identifier de nouveaux gènes jouant un rôle dans la différenciation myogénique, j’ai mis en place un nouveau protocole in vitro, basé sur la lignée myoblastique C2C12, l’utilisation de l’ARN interférence et l'analyse quantitative d'images d'une grande quantité de myoblastes différenciés. J’ai pu inactiver une centaine de gènes et par une analyse quantitative de la densité cellulaire, de la quantité de myotubes, de la morphologie du myotube et de l'indice de fusion, j’ai pu montrer que six gènes parmi les 100 sont impliqués à la fois dans la prolifération et la différenciation des cellules C2C12 et 13 gènes jouant un rôle uniquement dans l’étape de différenciation. Nos résultats montrent que notre crible peut être un outil efficace pour détecter aussi bien les phénotypes subtils permettant l'identification de nouveaux régulateurs myogéniques chez les mammifères. / Myogenesis is a highly regulated multi-step process involving myoblast proliferation and differentiation. Although studies over the last decades have identified several factors governing these distinct major phases, many of them are not yet known. In order to identify novel genes, we took advantage of the C2C12 myoblastic line to establish a functional siRNA screen combined with quantitative-imaging analysis of a large amount of differentiated myoblasts. We knocked down 100 mouse-preselected genes without a previously characterized role in muscle. Using image analysis, we tracked gene-silencing phenotypes by quantitative assessment of cellular density, myotube quantity, myotube morphology and fusion index. Our results have revealed six genes involved in both stages of C1C12 myogenesis and 13 genes specific to the differentiation stage. These findings prove that our RNAi-based screen could be an efficient tool to detect clear and subtle phenotypes allowing the identification of new myogenic regulators in Mammals.

Digitala verktyg förekommer allt mer i skolan vilket leder till att lärare behöver ha kunskap om hur de digitala verktygen kan påverka elevers kunskapsutveckling. Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är därför att belysa eventuella skillnader mellan skärmläsning och traditionell läsning angående läsförståelse, läshastighet och fysisk påverkan på läsaren. Mot denna bakgrund formulerades tre frågeställningar: • Vilka möjliga skillnader i läsförståelse skildras i en jämförelse av skärmläsning och traditionell läsning? • Vilka slutsatser kan dras angående läshastighet vid traditionell läsning gentemot skärmläsning? • På vilka sätt kan skärmläsning eventuellt påverka läsaren fysiskt? För att få svar på frågeställningarna har flera vetenskapliga publikationer analyserats och förts in i en analytisk tabell. Texternas relevans i förhållande till studiens syfte avgjordes med hjälp av uppsatta kriterier gällande skärmläsning, läsförståelse och publiceringsår. Om materialet uppfyllde kriterierna inkluderades det i urvalet. Urvalet består av flera internationella tidsskriftartiklar och en svensk doktorsavhandling.Beträffande studiens två första frågeställningar visar resultatet inget tydligt svar. Flera studier hävdar att det inte är någon skillnad i läsförståelse och läshastighet vid traditionell läsning och skärmläsning, medan andra studier hävdar att det finns tydliga skillnader. Gällande studiens tredje frågeställning visar resultatet att skärmläsning påverkar läsaren fysiskt i form av eyestrain. Någon slutsats angående läsförståelsen och läshastighet har inte kunnat dras, men den fysiska påverkan verkar göra att majoriteten anser att traditionell läsning är behagligare än skärmläsning.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / Apoptosis is a process in which a cell programmes its own death. It is a highly organized physiological mechanism in which injured or damaged cells are destroyed. Apart from physiological stimuli however, exogenous factors can induce apoptosis. Many anti-cancer drugs work by activating apoptosis in cancer cells. Natural substances have been found to have the ability to induce apoptosis in various tumour cells and these substances have been used as templates for the construction of novel lead compounds in anticancer treatment. On the other hand, alkylating agents such as cisplatin, cis- [PtCl2 (NH3) 2] have been widely used as antineoplastic agents for a wide variety of cancers including testicular, ovarian, neck and head cancers, amongst others. However, the use of cisplatin as an anticancer agent is limited due to toxicity and resistance problems. The aim of this present study was to screen the leaves of Rhus laevigata, a South African indigenous plant, for the presence of pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative natural compounds and also to screen newly synthesised palladium based complexes (15 and 57) and a platinum based complex (58) for their antineoplastic activities tested against a panel of cell lines. Results. The results showed that crude methanol extracts from Rhus laevigata as well as the newly synthesised palladium based complexes (15 and 57) and a platinum based complex (58) induced apoptosis in the cell lines tested, as demonstrated by the externalization of phosphatidylserine, mitochondrial membrane permeabilization, caspase-3 activation, and DNA fragmentation. Caski (cervical cancer) and H157 (non small cell lung carcinoma) cell lines treated with the methanol extract from Rhus laevigata however, were more resistant to apoptosis induction. Among the metallocomplexes, complexes 15 and 57, palladium based complexes, were the most active. Conclusion The methanol extract from the leaves of Rhus laevigata contain pro-apoptotic and antiproliferative natural compound(s), which need to be characterised and elucidated as they could provide the much-needed lead compounds in the fight against cancer. On the other hand the newly synthesized palladium complexes also need further evaluation to see if they can be used as anticancer agents that can overcome the problems associated with cisplatin.

The purpose of this study was to explore graduate student perceptions of use and the ease of use of multi-modal tablets to access electronic course materials, and the perceived differences based on students’ gender, age, college of enrollment, and previous experience. This study used the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to identify the constructs that may explain a graduate student’s intention to use a multi-modal tablet in graduate course work. This study administered the UTAUT to 224 graduate students from four different colleges at a regional university. The models developed from the UTAUT explained 80% of the variability in Behavioral Intention values and 55% of the reported Use values. The results of the study showed that only Performance Expectancy, Social Influence, Hedonic Motivation, and Habit showed significance in explaining Behavioral Intention. Performance Expectancy, Hedonic Motivation, and Habit also showed moderately strong to strong correlations with Behavioral Intention. The regression analysis revealed a positive significant relationship with reported Use and Habit and reported Use and Behavioral Intention. Habit and Behavioral Intention both had strong correlations with reported Use. Habit affects the relationship of Performance Expectancy and Behavioral Intention. Habit, Price Value, or Hedonic Motivation did not have a significant affect on the relationship between Behavioral Intention and Effort Expectancy or Behavioral Intention and Social Influence. When trying to explain a graduate student’s intention to use a multi-modal tablet, only Performance Expectancy, Habit, Social Influence, Hedonic Motivation, and Previous Experience appeared to sufficiently explain whether a student intends to adopt the device. Across age groups, intention to use the tablet device does not vary by age in this study. There were no differences in Behavioral Intention among groups by college enrollment. Individuals with more experience using a tablet, as measured in years, have a higher predicted intention to use the tablet in the future than individuals with no previous experience using a tablet. Individuals with 5 or more years using a multi-modal tablet have a higher intention to use the device than those with less than 3 years experience. The results of this study support the concept that Habit is the strongest predictor of Use in the framework.