La DMAE es la principal causa de ceguera en pacientes por encima de los 65 años. La investigación de esta enfermedad está adquiriendo gran importancia desde hace años por su alta prevalencia a nivel mundial. Desde la introducción de los fármacos anti-VEGF ha mejorado de manera sustancial el pronóstico de los pacientes afectos por la forma húmeda de esta enfermedad. El propósito de esta tesis es evaluar nuestra experiencia en un centro terciario de referencia con el uso de los anti- VEFG en la práctica clínica diaria para el tratamiento de esta enfermedad. En concreto nuestros objetivos son estudiar los resultados anatómico funcionales con nuestra pauta de tratamiento basada en 2+ PRN, comparar los principales fármacos utilizados ( Bevacizumab y Ranibizumab) y evaluar algunos factores de riesgo generales, locales y maculares para predecir si los mismos pueden influir en el resultado funcional final. Inicialmente se realiza una revisión de la literatura. Se profundiza en la etiopatogenia, epidemiología, factores de riesgo y clasificación de la enfermedad, para terminar revisando de manera amplia la evolución de los diferentes tratamientos utilizados para el tratamiento de la DMAE neovascular. El estudio diseñado es prospectivo, intervencional, comparativo y no randomizado y comprende una muestra de 94 ojos, homogénea a nivel de características demográficas y oculares basales, con valores medios en cuanto a las características poblacionales coincidentes con los de la típica población utilizada en la mayoría de los grandes estudios randomizados, todos los casos cuentan con un seguimiento mínimo de 6 meses. Se utiliza en todos los pacientes una pauta de 2+ PRN y como tratamiento se administra Bevacizumab, Ranibizumab o bien tratamiento combinado. Como conclusión los resultados obtenidos nos muestran que nuestra pauta utilizada de 2 inyecciones en la fase de carga presenta mayor número de recidivas y peores resultados visuales finales que las pautas de 3 inyecciones +mantenimiento usadas en la mayoría de series publicadas y que no hay diferencias entre los dos fármacos principales a estudio Ranibizumab y Bevacizumab a nivel de resultados anatómicos y funcionales finales, pero parece que el Ranibizumab es más efectivo a corto plazo. En cuanto al estudio de los factores de riesgo, se observa que la hipertensión arterial, el colesterol total y la edad son los factores que influyen de manera directa en el pronóstico funcional final. / AMD is the leading cause of blindness in patients over 65 years. The investigation of this disease has gained considerable importance over the years by its high prevalence worldwide. Since the introduction of anti-VEGF drugs have substantially improved the prognosis of patients affected by the wet form of the disease. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate our experience in a tertiary referral center with the use of anti-VEGF in clinical practice for the treatment of this disease. Specifically our objectives are to study the functional anatomical results with our treatment regimen based on 2 + PRN, comparing the main drugs used (Bevacizumab and Ranibizumab) and evaluate some general risk factors, local and macular to predict whether they can influence the final functional outcome. Initially we review the literature. It delves into the pathogenesis, epidemiology, risk factors and disease classification, to finish reviewing comprehensively the evolution of the different treatments used to treat neovascular AMD. The study design is prospective, interventional, nonrandomized comparative and includes a sample of 94 eyes, homogeneous level of baseline demographic and ocular, with mean values, in terms of population characteristics, that match those of the typical population used in most of large randomized studies, all cases have a follow up 6 months or more. It is used in all patients a pattern of 2 + PRN and as treatment is administered Bevacizumab, Ranibizumab or combination therapy. In conclusion the results show that our regimen of 2 injections used in the loading phase shows more relapses and worse final visual results than patterns of 3 injections + manteinance used in most published series. They also indicate that there is no difference between the two main drugs Lucentis and Avastin in late anatomical and functional results, but it seems that Ranibizumab is more effective the short-term. As for the study of risk factors, we observe that high blood pressure, total cholesterol and age are factors that directly influence the functional prognosis.

Inflammation can be up-regulated by microglia and macrophages through the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Excess production of TNF-α can lead to a variety of diseases and even tissue necrosis. Recently, the expression of alpha seven acetylcholine receptors (α7AChR) by microglia have been shown to decrease the amount of TNF-α released. This anti-inflammatory pathway has been studied extensively where researchers are able to reduce TNF-α concentration through α7AChR expression and increases in the concentration of its ligand. I have shown that Neuregulin is able to increase the expression of α7AChR in microglia and macrophages. Using three immortalized cell lines, BV-2, EOC-20 and RAW 264.7, and primary microglial cells harvest from mice I investigated the role that neuregulin plays in the anti-inflammatory process. Neuregulin signals through the ErbB receptors, a family of tyrosine kinase receptors, to facilitate the effects on ACh expression. My results show that ErbB4 is expressed in BV-2, EOC-20 and RAW 264.7 cell lines while ErbB2-4 receptors are expressed in primary microglia. As well, I was able to show that ErbB4 became phosphorylated upon binding to NRG in immortalized cell lines. Using an Enzyme Linked Immunsorbent Assay to analyze TNF- α concentration in microglia and macrophages, I was able to demonstrate that increased levels of α7AChRs did not result in a reduction in TNF-α concentration. These results showed that NRG is able to increase α7AChRs in microglia and macrophages after the phosphorylation of the ErbB4 receptors. As well, this increase in α7AChR does not relate to a reduction in TNF-α, thus under these experimental conditions does not have an effect on the anti-inflammatory pathway.

This dissertation proposes a multi-level explanatory framework that strengthens explanations of variation in European Union member states’ compliance with the Anti-Discrimination Directives, and offers novel approaches to testing relationships between key constructs situated at multiple levels of analysis. The framework entails three different yet inter-related levels: system structure, organizational design of public agencies, and the attitudinal and behavioral attributes of civil servants. The theoretical model, proposed in this dissertation, conceptualizes compliance from an integrative approach, and also enables more accurate explanations of the role of information in modifying compliance behavior. This dissertation relies on a multi-method empirical approach, and a combination of secondary and primary sources (i.e. surveys, interviews, observations, and primary documents) to provide answers to the research questions raised in this dissertation.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur terrorismbegreppet presenteras och används i svenska läromedel i samhällskunskap för gymnasieskolan, både före och efter terrorattackerna den 11 september 2001. Eftersom definitionen av termen terrorism i högsta grad är en politisk fråga kan man således även anta att användningen av begreppet har förändrats under de senaste decennierna. Studien har genomförts utifrån följande frågeställningar:Skiljer sig egentligen framställningen och användningen av begreppet terrorism åt i de äldre läroböckerna jämfört med de läroböcker som publicerades efter den 11 september 2001 och i så fall hur? Vilken bild lyser igenom i läroböckerna av den potentielle/aktuelle terroristen och av det potentiella/aktuella offret och hur väl stämmer egentligen denna bild överens med kravet på en skola för alla?De resultat som min studie har frambringat visar att de grupper och organisationer som läroboksförfattarna kopplar till terrorismverksamhet har förändrats från att huvudsakligen handla om nationella befrielserörelser och politiska och religiösa ytterlighetspartier till att numera främst handla om islamistiska grupper och organisationer. Resultaten behandlas avslutningsvis i en diskussion om hur väl dessa resultat stämmer överens med skolans anspråk på att vara en skola för alla.

Inflammation can be up-regulated by microglia and macrophages through the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Excess production of TNF-α can lead to a variety of diseases and even tissue necrosis. Recently, the expression of alpha seven acetylcholine receptors (α7AChR) by microglia have been shown to decrease the amount of TNF-α released. This anti-inflammatory pathway has been studied extensively where researchers are able to reduce TNF-α concentration through α7AChR expression and increases in the concentration of its ligand. I have shown that Neuregulin is able to increase the expression of α7AChR in microglia and macrophages. Using three immortalized cell lines, BV-2, EOC-20 and RAW 264.7, and primary microglial cells harvest from mice I investigated the role that neuregulin plays in the anti-inflammatory process. Neuregulin signals through the ErbB receptors, a family of tyrosine kinase receptors, to facilitate the effects on ACh expression. My results show that ErbB4 is expressed in BV-2, EOC-20 and RAW 264.7 cell lines while ErbB2-4 receptors are expressed in primary microglia. As well, I was able to show that ErbB4 became phosphorylated upon binding to NRG in immortalized cell lines. Using an Enzyme Linked Immunsorbent Assay to analyze TNF- α concentration in microglia and macrophages, I was able to demonstrate that increased levels of α7AChRs did not result in a reduction in TNF-α concentration. These results showed that NRG is able to increase α7AChRs in microglia and macrophages after the phosphorylation of the ErbB4 receptors. As well, this increase in α7AChR does not relate to a reduction in TNF-α, thus under these experimental conditions does not have an effect on the anti-inflammatory pathway.

No description available.

For the shortage of energy and the environmental issues, the development of solar cells has become an important technology. However, solar cells have low efficiency of energy conversion due to their high surface reflection on a flat Si substrate which is 38 %. To decrease the surface reflectance of the silicon solar cells, anti-reflection coatings (ARCs) are proposed on the solar cells. We use Lighttools software to investigate several kinds of ARCs to decrease the surface reflectance. We first consider the reflectance of the single-layer ARC with quarter wavelength. It can effectively decrease about 30 % surface reflection as compared with a flat Si substrate. The half-cylinder texture and the wave texture are designed on a PMMA single-layer coating. It is found that the half-cylinder ARC and the wave ARC can usefully diminish the surface reflectance for perpendicular light. Low reflectance can be achieved in the hemispherical microlens ARCs over an extended spectral region for omnidirectional incident light. The impact of the microlens sizes, periods, and arrangements are investigated. The lowest normal reflectance of the closely-packed triangular-lattice hemispherical microlens ARC is 4.8%. By adding smaller hemispherical microlenses, the surface reflectance of the hemispherical microlens ARC can be as low as 1.86 %. To obtain the lowest average surface reflectance, both-sided patterned surface texture ARCs are designed. Their lowest average surface reflectance is 2.24%. Finally, we simulate the reflectance of the nanowire ARCs. The influence of the wire length and the angle of inclination are discussed for high-efficiency and low-cost solar cells.

The soft corals of the species Paralemnalia thyrsoides was found to be a rich source of sesquiterpenoids, such as nor-nardosinane, nardosinane, neolemnane, and eremophilane, and other related skeletons. Continuing investigation on the chemical constituents of Paralemnalia thyrsoides has led to the isolation of nine new compounds, including one dinor-nardosinane 1, one neolemnane 2, five nardosinanes 4, 6¡V9, and two nor-nardosinanes 10 and 11, along with eleven known compounds, 2-deoxy-7-O-methyllemnacarnol (3), 2-deoxy-12£\-methoxy-7-O-methyllemnacarnol (5), paralemnolin Q (12), paralemnolin R (13), 4-acetoxy-2,8-neolemnadien-5-one (15), paralemnolin E (16), flavalins E (17), isoparalemnanone (18), paralemnolin K (19), and nor-nardosinane sesquiterpenoids (14 and 20). The structures of these compounds were determined on the basis of their spectroscopic analysis (1H, 13C NMR, 1H¡V1H COSY, HSQC, HMBC, IR and HRESIMS) and by comparison of the physical and spectral data with those of the related known compounds. The relative stereochemistry and assignments of 1H NMR chemical shifts were determined by NOESY and coupling constants. The absolute stereochemistry of dinor-nardosinane 1 was further determined by application of the Mosher¡¦s method. The cytotoxicity against of P-388 (murine lymphocytic leukemia), HT-29 (human colon adenocarcinoma), and A-549 (human lung epithelial carcinoma) cells as well as the anti-HCMV (human cytomegalovirus) activities of metabolites 1, 2, 4, 6¡V11 were evaluated. Metabolites 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 exhibited significant activity against P-388 cell in vitro ( ED50 ¡Ø 4 £gg/ mL) Keywords: Paralemnalia thyrsoides, sesquiterpenoids, cytotoxicity, anti-HCMV

High-resolution and low-cost fabrication techniques are essential for nanotechnology to overcome the commercialization barrier to benefit our society. Since its inception nanoimprint has become the ideal technology to fabricate dense sub-micron structures over large areas with low cost, which are important to many applications such as high-density storage disks and diffractive optical devices. The decade-long development in nanoimprint equipment has reached a point where large-scale manufacturing of high-density nanostructures are possible. However, there are a few remaining issues that need to be studied before the advent of commercial application of nanoimprint. In this work we look at a pressing issue, long-term stability of the mold surfactant coating. It is important to understand the details of the surfactant wear during nanoimprint in order to limit defect density to a tolerable threshold in a high-volume manufacturing process. To study this we went through a nanoimprinting procedure and measured chemical and physical alterations in the coating. The surfactant wear information also helps to optimize the time interval for surfactant recoating to keep the fabrication throughput as high as possible. In this paper we characterize the stability of two commonly used surfactants as well as prescribe a new technique for mold anti-adhesion. Through this work we see that FDTS and OTS undergo significant degradation in air and gradual degradation by chain scission is observed during the nanoimprint procedure. It is also noted that an embedded anti-adhesion layer is effective for mold releasing.

The thesis consists of two aspects: (1) Research on regrowth by molecular beam epitaxy, and (2) Silicon monoxide coating. In part one, we used (NH4)2Sx to passivate the InAlGaAs/InP surface. From the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the passivated surface shows a dramatic reduce of oxidation. A preparation chamber for the regrowth has been setup to proceed the sulfur passivation method. We can obtain a clean surface for regrowth after heating and putting samples in the high vacuum chamber. In the design of regrowth layers, we have found the best waveguide structure by regrowth. When the ridge width is 2.5 mm with etching depth 1.4 mm, a circular mode profile can be obtained by Fimmwave simulation. In the integration between devices, we have designed the best waveguide structure after regrowth by BeamProp 3D. The best design will make the propagation loss smaller than 0.21%. The second part is anti-reflection (AR) coating by silicon monoxide (SiO) deposition. The SiO refractive index of 1.8837 was obtained by transmission, and ellipsometer measurements. The corresponding AR coating thickness for InP substrate is 2057 &#x00C5;. In order to make AR coating on lasers of different effective index, we design the double-layer coating. For Beam Expander Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (BESOA), SiO2 / SiO and Si3NX / SiO double-layer coatings were compared with SiO single layer. The reflectance (R) was reduced 16.86 % and 25.12 %, respectively, and the R < 1% bandwidth extends 200 &#x00C5;.