BACKGROUND: Exercise on Prescription (EoP) means that a doctor writes out a customized form of exercise to the patient instead of medicine, or in combination with medication. The activity becomes a part of the treatment. Since many today do not follow recommendations for physical activity occurs in the long term a number of public health diseases. EoP promotes health and prevents disease. AIM: The aim of this paper is toexamine whether EoP from a patient perspective perceived to be an efficient and effective method of treatment. METHOD: A qualitative approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone. The target audience was adults over age 18 who received EoP. RESULTS: The findings of the interviews were that the experience of EoP was largely positive and that most understood why it was important to have physical activity. A visit to a health care raised the direct motivation to exercise, but declined unless follow-up occurred. Several had been needed more help and advice from a contact person or coordinator that the patient could turn to. CONCLUSION: By getting more help with motivation probably more of the respondents had received better results from EoP. / BAKGRUND: Fysisk aktivitet på recept (FaR) innebär att en läkare skriver ut en anpassad träningsform till patienten istället för medicin, eller i kombination med medicin. Aktiviteten blir en del i behandlingen. Eftersom många idag inte följer rekommendationerna för fysisk aktivitet uppstår på sikt en rad folkhälsosjukdomar. FaR främjar hälsan och förebygger sjukdom. SYFTE: Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka huruvida FaR ur ett patientperspektiv upplevs vara en effektiv och fungerande behandlingsmetod. METOD: En kvalitativ ansats har använts. Semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts via telefon. Målgruppen var vuxna personer över 18 år som fått FaR. RESULTAT: Det som framkom av intervjuerna var att upplevelsen av FaR i stort sett var positiv och att de flesta förstod varför det var viktigt med fysisk aktivitet. Besöket hos sjukvården höjde direkt motivationen till att träna, men sjönk om inte uppföljning skedde. Trots den positiva upplevelsen så hade det i flera fall behövts mer råd och hjälp. Det saknades i många fall en kontaktperson eller samordnare som patienten kunde vända sig till. SLUTSATS: Genom att få mer hjälp med motivation och stöttning hade troligen flera av respondenterna fått bättre resultat av FaR.

The routing of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline plays an important role in the future energy security of the European Union. The natural gas pipeline is planned to run from the natural gas fields in the Caspian Sea through Turkey. This project is a case study for a Geographic Information System (GIS) least-cost route analysis of a section of the proposed pipeline in Western Turkey. The route analysis comprised of weighting multiple types of criteria in a compiled risk assessment map that was analyzed by a least-cost algorithm to display the least hazardous route through the study area. Multiple varieties of criteria were considered such as, lithology, slope of terrain, environmental and social risk factors, e.g. proximity to natural reserves and urban centers, to provide the least hazardous route through the region. The derived least cost paths were more efficient than the proposed route in the relative cost associated with each route.

This thesis examines the sensitivity of the marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) method to sub-seafloor resistivity structure, with a focus on gas hydrate and free gas occurrences. Different analysis techniques are applied with progressive sophistication to a series of studies based on simulated and measured data sets. CSEM data are modelled in time domain for one-dimensional models with gas hydrate, free gas and/or permafrost occurrences. Linearized and non-linear inversion methods are considered to infer subsurface models from CSEM data. One study applies forward modelling and singular value decomposition to estimate uncertainties for permafrost models of the Beaufort Sea. This simulation study analyzes the resolution of the CSEM data for shallow water depth which is a challenging case because the electromagnetic signature of the air-water boundary may mask the sub-seafloor response. The results reveal a blind window as a function of water depth in which the CSEM data are insensitive to the sub-seafloor structure. However, the CSEM data are sensitive to the top and the bottom of the permafrost with increasing uncertainties with depth. The next study applies non-linear Bayesian inversion to CSEM data acquired in 2005/2006 on the Northern Cascadia margin to investigate sub-seafloor resistivity structure related to gas hydrate deposits and cold vents. Bayesian inversion provides a rigorous approach to estimate model parameters and uncertainties by probabilistically sampling of the parameter space. The resulting probability density function is interpreted here in terms of posterior median models, marginal and joint marginal probability densities for model parameters and credibility intervals. The Bayesian information criterion is applied to determine the amount of structure (number of layers) that can be resolved by the data. The parameter space is sampled with the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm in principal-component space. Non-linear, probabilistic inversion allows the analysis of unknown acquisition parameters such as time delays between receiver and transmitter clocks or unknown source amplitude. The estimated posterior median models and credibility intervals from Bayesian CSEM inversion are compared to reflection seismic data to provide a more complete geological interpretation. The CSEM data on the Northern Cascadia margin generally reveal a 1 to 3 layer sediment structure. Inversion results at the landward edge of the gas hydrate stability zone indicate a sediment unconformity as well as several potential cold vents which were previously unknown. The resistivities generally increase upslope due to sediment erosion along the slope. Inversion results on the middle slope infer several vent systems close to well-known Bullseye vent in agreement with ongoing interdisciplinary observations. Finally, a trans-dimensional (trans-D) Bayesian inversion is applied to CSEM data acquired in 2012 in the German North Sea to investigate possible free gas occurrences. Trans-D inversion treats the number of layers as an additional unknown sampled probabilistically in the inversion. %over the parameter space by evaluating probabilistically the transition to a higher or lower number of interfaces. Parallel tempering is applied to increase sampling efficiency and completeness. Inversion results for the German North Sea yield resistivities at the seafloor which are typical for marine deposits, while resistivities at greater depth increase slightly and can be correlated with a transition from fine-grained marine deposits (Holocene age) to coarse-grained, glacial sediments (Pleistocene age), which is observed in a sediment core. The depths of layer interfaces estimated from CSEM inversion match the seismic reflector related to the contrast between the two depositional environments. The CSEM survey targeted a strong, phase-reversed, inclined seismic reflector within the glacial sediments, potentially indicating free gas. While interface-depth estimates from CSEM inversion do not correlate closely with this reflector, resistivities are generally elevated above the strong seismic amplitudes and the thickness of the resistive layer follows the trend of the inclined reflector. However, the uncertainties of deeper interface depth estimates increase significantly and overlap with the targeted reflector at some of the measurement sites. Relatively low resistivities of a third layer correlate with sediments of late-Miocene origin with a high gamma-ray count indicating an increased amount of fine-grained sediments with organic material. The interface at the bottom of the third layer has wide uncertainties which relates to the penetration limit of the CSEM array. / Graduate

Cyclophilin A (CypA) is the well-studied member of a group of ubiquitous and evolutionarily conserved families of enzymes called peptidyl–prolyl isomerases (PPIases). These enzymes catalyze the cis-trans isomerization of peptidyl-prolyl bond in many proteins. The distinctive functional path triggered by each isomeric state of peptidyl-prolyl bond renders PPIase-catalyzed isomerization a molecular switching mechanism to be used on physiological demand. PPIase activity has been implicated in protein folding, signal transduction, and ion channel gating as well as pathological condition such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and microbial infections. The more than five order of magnitude speed-up in the rate of peptidyl–prolyl cis–trans isomerization by CypA has been the target of intense research. Normal and accelerated molecular dynamic simulations were carried out to understand the catalytic mechanism of CypA in atomistic details. The results reaffirm transition state stabilization as the main factor in the astonishing enhancement in isomerization rate by enzyme. The ensuing intramolecular polarization, as a result of the loss of pseudo double bond character of the peptide bond at the transition state, was shown to contribute only about −1.0 kcal/mol to stabilizing the transition state. This relatively small contribution demonstrates that routinely used fixed charge classical force fields can reasonably describe these types of biological systems. The computational studies also revealed that the undemanding exchange of the free substrate between β- and α-helical regions is lost in the active site of the enzyme, where it is mainly in the β-region. The resultant relative change in conformational entropy favorably contributes to the free energy of stabilizing the transition state by CypA. The isomerization kinetics is strongly coupled to the enzyme motions while the chemical step and enzyme–substrate dynamics are in turn buckled to solvent fluctuations. The chemical step in the active site of the enzyme is therefore not separated from the fluctuations in the solvent. Of special interest is the nature of catalysis in a more realistic crowded environment, for example, the cell. Enzyme motions in such complicated medium are subjected to different viscosities and hydrodynamic properties, which could have implications for allosteric regulation and function.

I investigated SL trans-splicing in the troponin I gene of Ciona intestinalis. Experimental mutation of the AG dinucleotide adjacent to the natural trans-splice acceptor site (-64) in CiTnI/nuclacZ constructs eliminated trans-splicing to that site in Ciona embryos but activated trans-splicing at cryptic acceptor sites at -76 and -39, adjacent to the nearest AG dinucleotides. However, not all AG dinucleotides specify cryptic acceptor sites because outron internal deletions or 3'truncation mutants were trans-spliced at a far-upstream AG-adjacent cryptic site (-346), leaving many AGs in the retained outron segments. Thus, additional sequence elements that are present only in the -346 and -76/-64/-39 regions are required for cryptic acceptor activity. All mutant constructs generated detectable beta-gal enzyme expression, although the mutant with the longest retained-outron segment appeared less active. Therefore, mRNA accumulation and translation do not require trans-splicing to the natural acceptor site, although they may be facilitated by the normal removal of the outron during trans-splicing.

The application of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in the determination of nutrition labeling component data (NLCD) was investigated, with the intent of using this methodology as a primary method to calibrate FTIR instrumentation for NLCD confirmation or screening on a routine basis. Unlike previous NMR studies, this work used three strategies to attain accuracy and reproducibility of NLCD through: (i) appropriate setting of operational parameters for spectral acquisition; (ii) resonance selection by optimizing the signal in proportion to the nuclei population and (iii) integration of resonances by pre-defined fixed chemical shift ranges. Both of 13C NMR spectra and 1H NMR spectra were shown to provide robust and acceptable results on the condition of appropriate acquisition of spectra for quantization purposes and the adoption of standard procedures for spectral processing, integration and calculation purposes. A quantitative approach of NLCD including trans content was determined by the interpretation resonance signals of 13C's and 1H's from methylene groups presented in triglyceride complex of fats and oils. An alternative method based on partial-least-squares (PLS) calibrations was provided as well, the latter proved to be especially useful in dealing with overlapping bands frequently found in 1H spectra. With the diagnostic provided by PLS, the trans and cis signals were shown to be separated in 1H spectra. It is the premise for the trans fat determination based on 1H spectra. Unit conversion from mole to weight % was addressed and a solution was developed based on NMR data per se, without significant assumptions. Validation involving the analysis of three different lipid types (model triacylglycerols, refined and hydrogenated oils) demonstrated that NMR predictions of NLCD were in good agreement with those results either from samples' actual values as well as those obtained using GC and FTIR predictions. Thus with appropriate integration of instrumentation, software and spectral processing accessories, both 13C and 1H NMR can determine NLCD, but with the capability to determine trans, 1H NMR is more practical than 13C NMR due to its much shorter spectral acquisition time. Thus NMR can serve as a primary method for the calibration of FTIR instrumentation, a practical instrumental method for routine NLCD determination and screening.

Trans-11 vaccenic acid (VA) is the predominant trans fatty acid in dairy fat and is the major precursor to endogenous synthesis of cis9,trans11-conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in humans and animals. Epidemiological studies have shown the positive association between trans fat intake and incidence of coronary heart disease. Nevertheless, CLA, categorized as a group of trans fatty acids, has been shown to possess anti-carcinogenic, hypolipidemic and anti-diabetic benefits in several animal models as well as certain human populations, possibly via activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) related metabolic pathways. The subsequent effort in enriching CLA in dairy products (e.g. butter) has led to a concomitant increase in VA, whose bioactivity and health implications were not fully appreciated. Interestingly, VA is the major natural trans fat found in the diet. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were to assess the effect of dietary supplementation of synthetic VA on lipid metabolism especially during conditions of dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome, and to delineate the intestinal and hepatic metabolic pathways potentially modulated by VA. The JCR:LA-cp rat model, when homozygous for the cp trait (cp/cp), develop leptin receptor deficiency which leads to symptoms of metabolic syndrome and pre-diabetes including obesity, insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, hypertriglyceridemia and exacerbated production of hepatic very low-density lipoproteins and intestinal chylomicrons (CM). Gas chromatography analysis on nascent lymph shows that VA was effectively absorbed into the intestine. In addition, VA from natural source (i.e. beef fat) showed higher intestinal bioavailability compared to synthetic VA. Dietary supplementation of 1.0% (w/w) synthetic VA to JCR:LA-cp rats (but not lean healthy controls) demonstrated a profound reduction in plasma triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, non-esterified fatty acid and haptoglobin concentrations (51%, p<0.001; 40%, p<0.001; 50%, p<0.05; 20%, p<0.05 and 50%, p<0.001; respectively), as well as improvement in hepatic steatosis and postprandial lipaemia. Gastric infusion of VA also resulted in an acute reduction in CM secretion in response to a fat load (p<0.05). We also found that the overall hypolipidemic benefits of VA might be partially contributed by suppression of hepatic de novo lipogenesis, activation of PPAR- activity as well as up-regulation of PPAR- and PPAR- expression in the intestine. In conclusion, VA as a natural trans fat, possesses beneficial properties in a rat model of dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome, suggesting potential for the prevention of cardiovascular disease risk. / Nutrition and Metabolism

This thesis consists of three essays on the regulation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and trade in open economies. The rst chapter investigates the di erences in Intellectual Property Rights between countries. The analysis of a cross-country panel reveals that the protection of IPRs is higher in countries that are (i) richer, (ii) more productive in R&D and (iii) more open to trade. It is then shown that the rst two facts can be explained in a model where innovations are a global public good and where demand for innovations is non-homothetic in income. The second chapter addresses the third observation. If trade is driven by large di erences in productivities across countries and sectors then having strong IPR protection can become more bene cial for the individual country, since a part of the associated costs are passed onto the trading partners. The third chapter aims to explain why and when countries link agreements on trade with agreements that regulate the provision of global public goods. It shows that a linkage is particularly attractive if countries are di erent in size.

Hate crime laws in both Canada and the United States purport to promote equality using the language of antidiscrimination law. National criminal codes in both countries authorize enhanced punishment for crimes motivated by “sexual orientation” but not “gender identity” or “gender expression.” Cities and states in the United States have also adopted hate crime laws, some of which denounce both homophobic and trans-phobic crimes. Hate crime penalty enhancement laws have been applied by courts in both Canada and the United States to establish a growing jurisprudence. In both countries, moreover, other hate crime laws contribute to official legal knowledge by regulating hate speech, hate crime statistics, and conduct equivalent to hate crimes in schools, workplaces, and elsewhere. Yet, despite the proliferation of hate crime laws and jurisprudence, governmental officials do not control all legal knowledge about hate crimes. Sociological “others” attend criminal sentencing proceedings and provide support to hate crime victims during prosecutions, but they also frame their own unofficial inquiries and announce their own classification decisions for hate-related events. In both Canada and the United States, nongovernmental groups contend both inside and outside official governmental channels to establish legal knowledge about homophobic and trans-phobic hate crimes. In two comparable Canadian and American cities, similar groups monitor and classify homophobic and trans-phobic attacks using a variety of information practices. Interviews with representatives of these groups reveal a relationship between the practices of each group and hate crime laws at each site. The results support one principal conclusion. The availability of local legislative power and a local mechanism for public review are key determinants of the sites and styles of nongovernmental contention about hate crimes. Where police gather and publish official hate crime statistics, the official classification system serves as both a site for mobilization, and a constraint on the styles of contention used by nongovernmental groups. Where police do not gather or publish hate crime statistics, nongovernmental groups are deprived of the resource represented by a local site for social contention, but their styles of contention are liberated from the subtle influences of an official hate crime classification system.

This thesis describes the features of the phonology, morphology and syntax of Oksapmin, a Papuan (Non-Austronesian) language of Papua New Guinea. Oksapmin is spoken by around 8000 people, most of whom reside in the Tekin valley in Sandaun Province. The analysis in this thesis is based on the study of data from both elicitation and text collection undertaken on two field trips between 2004 and 2006: from May to October 2004, and from October 2005 to January 2006. / A general introduction is provided in Chapter 1, phonology, phonotactics and morphophonology are discussed in Chapter 2, word classes in Chapter 3, demonstratives in Chapter 4, nouns in Chapter 5, postpositions in Chapter 6, noun phrase syntax in Chapter 7, verbs in Chapter 8, coverbs in Chapter 9, clausal syntax in Chapter 10, phrasal clitics in Chapter 11, and clause combining in Chapter 12. Four sample texts are provided as appendices. Sound files are provided on the accompanying CD for many of the examples scattered throughout the thesis, as well as for all the texts in the appendices. / The most interesting and important grammatical subsystem in Oksapmin is the evidential one, which permeates various areas of the grammar. Without proper knowledge of this system, one cannot make a single grammatical sentence in the language. Recall that evidentiality is, roughly speaking, when a speaker marks how he or she came about the knowledge on which a given utterance is based. Evidentiality in Oksapmin is indicated with past tense verbal inflection, with enclitics, and with a number of other constructions. The evidential system is typologically unusual in that the primary contrast it marks is participatory/factual versus visual/sensory evidence; this distinction is made in the verbal inflection. Participatory/factual evidentials are not widely attested cross-linguistically, and those systems that do exist have been largely ignored in the typological literature. / Some of the other areas of grammar discussed in this thesis include prenasalised consonants with nasal allophones, noun phrases with a complex syntactic structure, a range of demonstratives which distinguish for elevation, a large vocabulary of kin terms including a set of dyadic kin terms, extensive use of complex predicates consisting of a light verb plus a coverb, and a variety of clause combining strategies including clause chaining.