Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of the body's own cells. While cancer rates increase with age, this disease afflicts both young and old. Traditional cancer therapy has had three major facets: 1) chemotherapy, which can non-specifically damage healthy tissue, 2) radiation, which can make some types of cancer more likely in the future, and 3) surgery, which can be physically traumatic and is not effective in removing unseen microtumors or circulating metastases. Immunotherapy, by its very nature, is drastically different. Immunotherapy seeks to employ cells or molecules from the immune system, in their original or a modified form, to augment, assist or replace missing elements of the native functioning immune system. Our immunotherapeutic approach has been to develop novel chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) and deliver the engineered transgene into hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). We have developed a novel single chain TCR (scTCR) in which the TCR V-alpha and V-beta segments are joined by a flexible linker. In addition to our scTCR we developed a single chain antibody molecule (scFv) to increase avidity to the tumor antigen and avoid the potential limitation of MHC restriction. Our lab has previously developed a signaling cassette based on the CD3 zeta chain, CD28 and p56Lck proteins which are prominent in the T-cell signaling pathway. The single chain specificities are linked to the signaling cassette that we have shown to function in T-cells. With specificity and signaling coupled, the chimeric antigen receptor can be transduced into hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) via a lentivirus vector. This adoptive immunotherapy can potentially eliminate malignant cells or supplement traditional therapies by providing engineered specificity and a useful method to transfer and expand tumor specific T-cells. We show in this study that the CAR can be delivered effectively to HSC and that the introduced transgene is expressed in multiple cell lineages. We also have developed a novel method of increasing lentiviral transduction efficiency. Both transduced fraction of cells and overall expression can be increased by proper timing and coordination of cell growth, cell cycle phase, vector addition and treatment with heat shock.

In racing, it is useful to analyze vehicle performance and driving strategies to achieve the best result possible in competitions. This is often done by simulations and test driving. In this thesis optimal control is used to examine how a racing car should be driven to minimize the lap time. This is achieved by calculating the optimal racing line at various tracks. The tracks can have arbitrary layout and consist of corners with non-constant radius. The road can have variable width. A four wheel vehicle model with lateral and longitudinal weight transfer is used. To increase the performance of the optimization algorithm, a set of additional techniques are used. The most important one is to divide tracks into smaller overlapping segments and find the optimal line for each segment independently. This turned out to be useful when the track is long. The optimal racing line is found for various tracks and cars. The solutions have several similarities to real driving techniques. The result is presented as driving instructions in Racer, a car simulator.

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000178 EndHTML:0000005278 StartFragment:0000002640 EndFragment:0000005242 SourceURL:file://localhost/Volumes/NAMNLOS/Examensarbete%20kortisol.doc Föreliggande studie syftar till att försöka utläsa skillnader mellan två olika perioder då den personliga stressfaktorn upplevs vara olika intensiv. Undersökningen syftar även till att studera huruvida den mänskliga kortisolutsöndringens diurnala upp - och ned gångar följer en intraindividuell stabilitet av CAR (cortisol awakening responce). Detta skulle innebära ett upprepande mönster av kortisolkoncentrationens magnitud och mätvärde inom varje individ från dag till dag, vid uppvaknandet och 30 minuter efter. Undersökningen har genomförts som en pilotstudie där en försökspersons kortisolkoncentration i saliv har mätts genom enzymkopplad immunabsorberande analys (ELISA). För att jämföra mätserierna inom de olika perioderna med varandra har även en variationsanalys av typen Analysis of variance (ANOVA) utförts med hjälp av programvaran SPSS. Då provernas mätvärde har analyserats och jämförts med varandra har ett resultat kunnat fastställas. Eftersom utsöndringen av den individuella kortisolkoncentrationen lätt påverkas av omgivningsfaktorer användes endast en försöksperson, författaren, vilket underlättade en detaljerad analys där observation av påverkande faktorer lätt kunde tas med i beräkningen för att fastställa ett tillförlitligt resultat. Försökspersonen, kvinna 21 år, utförde 6 provtagningar under två perioder som upplevdes ha olika hög stressfaktor. Perioderna innehöll två arbetsdagar. Parallellt med provtagningen fördes noggranna dagboksanteckningar för att underlätta analyseringsarbetet. Resultatet uppvisar en intraindividuell stabilitet av CAR hos försökspersonen. Studien visar även en skillnad mellan de två perioderna genom en högre procentuell ökning av CAR under den period då stressfaktorn upplevdes som mer intensiv. Den tydliga skillnaden av kortisolkoncentrationens mätvärde mellan de olika dagarna indikerar även att livsstil, fysisk aktivitet och drömmar kan påverka utseendet av kortisolkoncentrationskurvans diurnala upp – och nedgångar.

Uppsala municipality´s goal is to reduce the CO2 emissions by 2050 to an amount of 0.5 ton CO2 per capita per year. This value is a combination of different parts e.g. electricity consumption, isolation of houses and transportation. The transport sector is one of the largest polluters when it comes to CO2 emissions in Uppsala. Therefore the aim of this thesis is to find out, with the help of two future scenarios in the transport field, how it is possible to minimize emissions and come closer to reaching Uppsala’s goal. The two future scenarios were constructed for the transportation sector. They give possible ideas about how to reach a part of that goal. The first scenario suggests taking away all cars in a specially defined environmental zone and expanding public transport so that most of the inhabitants in the city do not need to use a car. Public transport including buses and taxis will be driven with alternative drive systems such as biogas or electricity. Goods transport will be carried out using electrical overhead lines. The information and data used were collected with the help of Uppsala’s municipality, UL, Trafikverket, IVL. The computer simulation program LEAP was fed with the assumptions stemming from these data. This was done in time periods of 10 years, 2013-2020, 2020-2030, 2030-2040 and 2040-2050. In the second scenario, the cars in Uppsala are not be banished, but their engine types will be changed to hybrid, electrical or bioenergy driven ones. The local traffic expansion as well as the use of bionergy discussed in the thesis will also happen in 10 year periods. Whichever scenario is adopted the thesis demonstrates that it is possible to drastically reduce and minimize the quantity of emissions.

Bakalauro darbą sudaro: kūrybinis darbas, teorinis aprašas, pristatomasis video ir verslo planas. Pateikiamas kūrybinis darbas – automobilio sėdynių užvalkalai, pritaikyti Ford Focus Mk I. Sėdynių apmušalai pasiūti iš tamsiai mėlynos ir geltonos spalvų odos ir juodos spalvos veliūro audinio. Po veliūru įsiūtas porolono paminkštinimas, kad sėdėjimas būtų komfortabilesnis. Sėdynių šonai pasiūti iš patvaresnės ir ilgaamžiškesnės medžiagos – odos. Teorinėje dalyje aprašomos odos panaudojimo transporto priemonėse ištakos: arklių kinkymo amunicija, odos panaudojimas karietose, pirmųjų automobilių interjeras bei pirmųjų motociklų sėdynės. Taip pat apžvelgiamos Lietuvos ir užsienio įmonės, užsiimančios transporto priemonių salono „tiuningu“ bei trumpai paminėta konkretesnė jų veikla, naudojamos medžiagos, kontaktai ir kita informacija. Tokių įmonių veikla apima ne tik automobilių ir motociklų apdailą. Jos gali atnaujinti ir lėktuvus, laivus, kemperius, autobusus, karietas ir dauguma kitų transporto priemonių. Įmonių veikloje aptinkamas atnaujinimas beveik visų transporto priemonių salono detalių: sėdynių, panelių, durelių, pavarų svirties, vairo, grindų ir lubų. / Undergraduate work includes: creative work, a theoretical description, video and business plan. A creative work – car seat covers, customize Ford Focus Mk I. Seat upholstery made of dark blue and yellow skin and black velour. Under a sewn velour foam pads that are more comfortable sitting. Seat sides are made from durable material – leather. The theoretical part describes the use of skin-vehicle Origins: Sled horse ammunition, the use of skin carriage, the first car and the interior of the first motorcycle seat. It also provides an overview of the Lithuanian and foreign companies engaged in the vehicle interior "tuning" and a brief mention of their specific activities, materials used, contacts and other information. These companies include not only cars, motorcycles and finish. They can update and airplanes, boats, campers, buses, coaches and most other vehicles. Business activity is detected updating almost any vehicle interior components: seats, panels, door panels, gear lever, steering wheel, floor and ceilings.

The mobile parking system is designed in this project. This system have to make the mobile parking payment easier, to save drivers dear time and money, to reduce traffics and pollution in the centre of the city. Implementing our mobile parking system we will avoid all these problems. Our clients will be all users who has cars and terminal ware (personal computer with connection to the internet, mobile phone which has WAP or GPRS function, laptop). Payment will be very simple, if the place is reserved for you, from that moment the money is begin to count from your account. If it is possible, you will received full information how to drive to your reserved place.

Banks today are the largest financial institutions around the world, with branches and subsidiaries throughout everyone’s life. However, commercial banks are facing risks when they are operating. Credit risk is one of the most significant risks that banks face, considering that granting credit is one of the main sources of income in commercial banks. Therefore, the management of the risk related to that credit affects the profitability of the banks. The aim of the research is to provide stakeholders with accurate information regarding the credit risk management of commercial banks with its impact on profitability.   The main purpose of the research is to investigate if there is a relationship between credit risk management and profitability of commercial banks in Europe. We also aim to investigate if the relationship is stable or fluctuating. In the research model, ROE and ROA are defined as proxies of profitability while NPLR and CAR are defined as proxies of credit risk management. The research collects data from the largest 47 commercial banks in Europe from 2007 to 2012 and formulates four hypotheses which are related to the research question. A series of statistical tests are performed in order to test if the relationship exists. Other statistical tests are performed to investigate if the relationship is stable or not.   The findings reveal that credit risk management does have positive effects on profitability of commercial banks. Between the two proxies of credit risk management, NPLR has a significant effect on the both ROE and ROA while CAR has an insignificant effect on both ROE and ROA. However, from 2007 to 2012, the relationships between all the proxies are not stable but fluctuating.

Time-to-event data is used in this thesis to analyze private cars’ longevity in Sweden. Thedataset is provided by Trafikanalys and contains all registered, deregistered or temporary deregisteredcars in Sweden during the time period 2000 - 2012.A Cox proportional hazards model is fitted, including variables such as car manufacturer andcar body. The results show that directly imported cars have a much shorter median survivalcompared to non-imported cars. The convertible cars have the longest median survival amongthe five different car bodies. Sedan and station wagon body types have the shortest mediansurvival. Volvo and Mercedes have the longest survival while Renault, Ford and Opel have theshortest survival. The model fits the data reasonably well, and the assumption of proportionalhazards holds for most of the variables.

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The research programme aimed to identify and investigate the tactics and strategies adopted by the car manufacturers to manage and control their dealers in the distribution channel in the UK market, and consequently deduce their effects on the manufacturer-dealer power relationships. A literature review outlining the main sources of power possessed and employed by the manufacturer combined with the information collected from initial interviews with a panel of channel players enabled to identify the main tactics of control adopted by the manufacturers over the dealers in the car industry. The dealer agreement, the training programmes, the dealer assessment procedures, the communications systems and manufacturer's general support appeared to represent the prime tactics of control possessed and employed by the car manufacturers. The first three elements were investigated separately and qualitatively analysed following a quantitative approach. They unveiled the nature of the dealers' operations controlled by the manufacturers and the techniques implemented by them to exert that control. The repressive and coercive nature of these tactics of control emphasised an imbalance of power favouring the manufacturers, and confirmed their dominant position in the marketing channel. The last two tactics of control mentioned above did not lead to any specific studies. Nevertheless, they were explored in Chapter 8 and referred to throughout the thesis. A field survey carried out with a large sample of car dealers established their perceptions to manufacturers' controls. The survey empirically confirmed that the car manufacturers highly control and influence certain business areas by setting-up some constraints, restrictions, limitations and targets to achieve, and consequently the leadership of the manufacturers was demonstrated and verified. The strategies implemented by the manufacturers, whose tactics are deduced from, enabling them to control their dealer network were analysed. The study highlighted the main strategic decisions made by the suppliers and showed how they affect the power balance between the channel participants favouring the suppliers. A lack of consistency in manufacturers' strategic approach was detected and appeared to be detrimental to dealers' welfare. In order to improve manufacturer-dealer relationships and to create a greater equilibrium between the two parties, the adoption of a partnership approach was highly recommended. As a result, the whole study of the car distribution channel enabled the researcher to conclude that a franchise arrangement tends to give a manufacturer more power over an intermediary than a non-franchise trading relationship.