Centrosomes are major microtubule organizing centres that set up an internal microtubule (MT) network contributing to cell shape and to the formation of the mitotic spindle during cell division. Rearrangement of this MT array can be dictated by the centrosome and occurs during cell adhesion, polarization and migration. However, little is known about what regulates centrosome assembly and maintenance. beta1-integrins are common cell surface receptors and we show that beta1-integrin signalling is necessary for modulation of centrosome dynamics. In an attempt to identify the downstream components of beta1-integrin signalling involved, we also discovered that the activation of focal adhesion kinase or integrin linked kinase are not required in maintaining centrosome integrity. This would indicate that a non-canonical signalling beta1-integrin pathway might be involved in controlling centrosomal dynamics. This gives us greater insight into the mechanisms that control centrosomal stability and may lead to the better understanding of diseases like cancer and diseases, i.e. lissencephaly, which involve defects in cell polarization and asymmetric cell division, where the centrosome seems to have an important role.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the level of reading comprehension of young readers when one group of students read an interactive CD-ROM storybook and another group of students read the same story from a conventionally printed book. The participants were 39 second-grade students from two intact classrooms in an urban elementary school in the Midwest.Students from one classroom read the story from an interactive CD-ROM storybook; students in the other classroom read the same story from a conventionally printed book. Students reading the CD-ROM storybook could ask the computer for pronunciation of unknown words. Students reading the conventionally printed book could ask the researcher to pronounce words they did not know. Words for which pronunciation was requested were recorded automatically by the computer; the researcher recorded the words requested by the book group. Students reading the CD-ROM storybooks requested the pronunciation of more words than those students reading the conventionally printed books.The following hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of significance:Hypothesis I: There will be no significant difference between the mean scores of reading comprehension on oral retellings for students reading a traditionally printed storybook and students reading the same text from an interactive CD-ROM storybook.Hypothesis II: There will be no significant difference between the mean scores of reading comprehension on a comprehension test for students reading a traditionally printed storybook and students reading the same text from an interactive CD-ROM storybook.An univariate analysis of variance was used to test the hypotheses. There was no significant difference in mean scores on the retellings between the two groups, therefore hypothesis I failed to be rejected.There was a significant difference in mean scores on the comprehension test between the two groups, therefore hypothesis II was rejected. When comprehension was measured through the use of comprehension questions, students reading the CD-ROM storybook scored higher. Although results were mixed on comprehension measures, observations from this study indicate that the use of CDROM storybooks may be beneficial for young children, particularly those who are reading below grade level. / Department of Elementary Education

It is a great challenge in the design of the PBMR to accurately predict gas flow and heat transfer in the reactor. Understanding the heat transfer at the core-reflector interface in particular is a very important aspect as the reactivity of the control rods housed in the reflectors is highly temperature dependent. It is also very important because the core-reflector interface is on the critical path for heat removal during accident conditions. PBMR has developed an OECD/NEA coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic benchmark to aid in the understanding of the different modelling approaches currently employed at PBMR. A comparison of THERMIX-KONVEK and DIREKT results showed large temperature differences at the core-reflector interfaces. Further investigation showed that these differences are as a result of the numerical methods used i.e. Cell-Centred (CC) vs. Vertex-Centered (VC). The present study extended this comparison to Star-CD (CC) and Flownex (VC) which are also used to simulate the reactor at PBMR. An ID MATLAB program that mimics the CC and VC numerical methods was verified against Star-CD and Flownex. This program was then used to model an ID version of the OECD/NEA benchmark. Results were compared with DIREKT and THERMIX-KONVEK. Although the results compared well, there were significant errors at the core-reflector interfaces. The findings of this study were that different numerical methods will predict different temperatures, heat fluxes and (temperature-dependent) sink terms. It was also shown that in addition to the differences resulting from numerical methods, differences were seen between Star-CD and DIREKT and Flownex and THERMIX-KONVEK in the region of the core-reflector boundary. In general, for complicated simulations like that of the pebble bed, the numerical basis of software used to simulate the problem needs to be understood for the problem to be correctly modelled. / Thesis (M.Sc. Engineering Sciences (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

It is a great challenge in the design of the PBMR to accurately predict gas flow and heat transfer in the reactor. Understanding the heat transfer at the core-reflector interface in particular is a very important aspect as the reactivity of the control rods housed in the reflectors is highly temperature dependent. It is also very important because the core-reflector interface is on the critical path for heat removal during accident conditions. PBMR has developed an OECD/NEA coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic benchmark to aid in the understanding of the different modelling approaches currently employed at PBMR. A comparison of THERMIX-KONVEK and DIREKT results showed large temperature differences at the core-reflector interfaces. Further investigation showed that these differences are as a result of the numerical methods used i.e. Cell-Centred (CC) vs. Vertex-Centered (VC). The present study extended this comparison to Star-CD (CC) and Flownex (VC) which are also used to simulate the reactor at PBMR. An ID MATLAB program that mimics the CC and VC numerical methods was verified against Star-CD and Flownex. This program was then used to model an ID version of the OECD/NEA benchmark. Results were compared with DIREKT and THERMIX-KONVEK. Although the results compared well, there were significant errors at the core-reflector interfaces. The findings of this study were that different numerical methods will predict different temperatures, heat fluxes and (temperature-dependent) sink terms. It was also shown that in addition to the differences resulting from numerical methods, differences were seen between Star-CD and DIREKT and Flownex and THERMIX-KONVEK in the region of the core-reflector boundary. In general, for complicated simulations like that of the pebble bed, the numerical basis of software used to simulate the problem needs to be understood for the problem to be correctly modelled. / Thesis (M.Sc. Engineering Sciences (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Los microcontroladores están inmersos en nuestra forma de vida. Los encontramos en automóviles, lavarropas, celulares, reproductores MP3, agendas y en un sinfín de sitios en nuestra vida cotidiana. La capacidad de integración a muy alta escala (VLSI) -con crecimiento casi exponencial en los últimos años-, hace que estos dispositivos cada día contengan más y más funciones que antes eran impensadas. Debido a ello, una agrupación de estos dispositivos conectados en red, configura un sistema de control muy poderoso, que dotado de algún protocolo normalizado que permita su interconexión a Internet, le da un alcance prácticamente ilimitado y de gran escalabilidad. Por lo expuesto, en esta tesis se estudiará la implementación de una red de microcontroladores, definiendo funciones de Control y adquisición de datos, equivalentes a los sistemas de Control y Adquisición de Datos (SCADA) de gran escala. Sobre la definición efectuada, surgirá un protocolo de aplicación que permitirá así un desarrollo Top-Down del sistema. Sobre la base de la definición lograda, este primer capítulo describe en un modo general los alcances de la tesis, donde se estudiarán entre otros aspectos, los protocolos de capas de comunicaciones para llegar a dos de las implementaciones más populares utilizadas en los ambientes industriales: RS485 y Ethernet. Si bien la primera es mucho más antigua, sigue aún vigente y se ha potenciado a partir de la creación de interfaces compatibles, citando como ejemplo la inmunidad a ruido eléctrico que le provee una interfase transparente sobre fibra óptica. La segunda, más moderna, ya fija una tendencia debido a su ubicuidad y amplitud de prestaciones.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

[Truncated abstract] Chronic liver injury results from many etiologies ranging from viral infection to inborn errors of metabolism. A common result of liver injury is activation of hepatic stellate cells and portal fibroblasts to myofibroblasts. In chronic injury, production of extracellular matrix by activated myofibroblasts results in liver fibrosis and ultimately cirrhosis. Kupffer cells and monocytes may play an important role in the pathogenesis of certain liver diseases. Endotoxin-responsive macrophages and recruited monocytes (CD14-positive cells) are potential sources of profibrogenic factors but their potential role in the pathogenesis of liver disease has not previously been examined. The first aim of this thesis described in chapter 3 was to evaluate the hypothesis that CD14-positive macrophages/monocytes are present in the livers of patients with hereditary haemochromatosis (HH), primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), chronic hepatitis C (HCV) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and contribute to the pathogenesis of fibrosis as evidenced by co-localization of these cells with activated myofibroblasts. Liver specimens from control subjects and those with HH, PBC, HCV and NASH were immunostained for CD14, CD68 and α-smooth muscle actin and the number of cells expressing these antigens was determined. The total number of hepatic CD68-positive cells was similar in diseased and control livers. The number of CD14-positive cells correlated with advanced fibrosis in HH, PBC, HCV but not in NASH. The number of CD14-positive cells was increased with advanced inflammatory activity in HCV. CD14-positive cells were often associated with α-smooth muscle actin-positive myofibroblasts in fibrous septa. In conclusion, many forms of human chronic liver disease demonstrate increased numbers of CD14-positive macrophages/monocytes which are associated with fibrous septa and myofibroblasts. To determine whether CD14-positive cells contribute to fibrogenesis, experimental models of liver injury were used in chapters 5 and 6. The aim of chapter 5 was to determine whether CD14-positive macrophages/monocytes are detected in a bile duct ligation model of liver injury. To accomplish this aim, a novel antibody to rat CD14 was developed as described in chapter 4. A time-course study was undertaken in rats following bile duct ligation for up to 14 days. An increase in the number of hepatic CD14-positive cells was detected early following bile duct ligation, and was associated with increased gene expression of α-smooth muscle actin and procollagen I. Thus, myofibroblastic transformation in this model was associated with increased numbers of CD14-positive cells suggesting a possible relationship between the two phenomena. In order to specifically evaluate the role of CD14 in myofibroblastic transformation, a final study in CD14 knockout (KO) mice was undertaken in chapter 6

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Feb. 6, 2008). Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of Toledo, 2007. / "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences." Title from title page of PDF document. Bibliography: p. 120-176.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2002. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.