A quantitative competitive binding "triple sandwich" enzyme immunoassay was used to evaluate pathogen/class-specific antibody responses in Holstein-Friesian calves vaccinated against Clostridium perfringens B-toxin at various ages postpartum. Vaccination of dams at six weeks and again at two weeks prepartum increased pathogen-specific antibody levels in their colostrum and respective calf's serum. Calves initially vaccinated at three days produced both a primary and secondary pathogen-specific antibody response, whereas calves initially vaccinated at 12 and 21 days produced only secondary responses. Maternally-derived antibodies were found to suppress neonatal antibody production following primary immunization. They were also found to influence secondary humoral immune responses, although in a diminished capacity. Pathogen-specific IgG and IgM concentrations in dams' sera and colostra were found related to subsequent pathogen-specific IgG and IgM neonatal serum concentrations. Only pathogen-specific IgA in dams' colostra was correlated to neonatal levels, possibly owing to a different origin and role of this immunoglobulin class. All class-specific colostral immunoglobulin levels were related to subsequent neonatal concentrations. Based on results from this experiment, it is recommended that calves be vaccinated at three days postpartum with a booster administered at 63 days.

The Internet and Web have brought in a new era of information sharing and opened up countless opportunities for people to rethink and redefine communication. With the development of network-related technologies, a Client/Server architecture has become dominant in the application layer of the Internet. Nowadays network nodes are behind firewalls and Network Address Translations, and the centralised design of the Client/Server architecture limits communication between users on the client side. Achieving the conflicting goals of data privacy and data openness is difficult and in many cases the difficulty is compounded by the differing solutions adopted by different organisations and companies. Building a more decentralised or distributed environment for people to freely share their knowledge has become a pressing challenge and we need to understand how to adapt the pervasive Client/Server architecture to this more fluid environment. This thesis describes a novel framework by which network nodes or humans can interact and share knowledge with each other through formal service-choreography specifications in a decentralised manner. The platform allows peers to publish, discover and (un)subscribe to those specifications in the form of Interaction Models (IMs). Peer groups can be dynamically formed and disbanded based on the interaction logs of peers. IMs are published in HTML documents as normal Web pages indexable by search engines and associated with lightweight annotations which semantically enhance the embedded IM elements and at the same time make IM publications comply with the Linked Data principles. The execution of IMs is decentralised on each peer via conventional Web browsers, potentially giving the system access to a very large user community. In this thesis, after developing a proof-of-concept implementation, we carry out case studies of the resulting functionality and evaluate the implementation across several metrics. An increasing number of service providers have began to look for customers proactively, and we believe that in the near future we will not search for services but rather services will find us through our peer communities. Our approaches show how a peer-to-peer architecture for this purpose can be obtained on top of a conventional Client/Server Web infrastructure.

Introduction: Pulmonary Surfactant reduces surface tension in the terminal airways thus facilitating breathing and contributes to host's innate immunity. Surfactant Proteins (SP) A, B, C and D were recently identified as inherent proteins of the CNS. Aim of the study was to investigate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) SP levels in hydrocephalus patients compared to normal subjects. Patients and methods: CSF SP A-D levels were quantified using commercially available ELISA kits in 126 patients (0±84 years, mean 39 years). 60 patients without CNS pathologies served as a control group. Hydrocephalus patients were separated in aqueductal stenosis (AQS, n = 24), acute hydrocephalus without aqueductal stenosis (acute HC w/o AQS, n = 16) and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH, n = 20). Furthermore, six patients with pseudotumor cerebri were investigated. Results: SP AÐD are present under physiological conditions in human CSF. SP-A is elevated in diseases accompanied by ventricular enlargement (AQS, acute HC w/o AQS) in a significant manner (0.67, 1.21 vs 0.38 ng/ml in control, p<0.001). SP-C is also elevated in hydrocephalic conditions (AQS, acute HC w/o AQS; 0.87, 1.71 vs. 0.48 ng/ml in controls, p<0.001) and in Pseudotumor cerebri (1.26 vs. 0.48 ng/ml in controls, p<0.01). SP-B and SP-D did not show significant alterations. Conclusion: The present study confirms the presence of SPs in human CSF. There are significant changes of SP-A and SP-C levels in diseases affecting brain water circulation and elevation of intracranial pressure. Cause of the alterations, underlying regulatory mechanisms, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic consequences of cerebral SP's requires further thorough investigations.

This three-article dissertation explores the first year of a sheltered university bridge program (also commonly known as "pathway" programs-see Winkle, 2011) for ESL students at a large public university in the American southwest. "Sheltering" is the practice of offering "academic courses taught in the second language" where "native and non-native [...] students are not mixed in any one class" (Snow & Brinton, 1984, p. 8), a model commonly found in K-12 settings (Echevarria & Graves, 1998; Freeman, Freeman & Gonzalez, 1987; Weinhouse, 1986), though there are sheltered programs in university settings (see, for example, the University of Ottawa Program-Burger, Weinberg & Wesche, 2013). The labels "bridge" and "pathway" refer to pre-matriculation programs that "feature a hybrid of credit-bearing coursework and instruction in English language and academic skills" (Redden, 2010, para 1). Bridge and Pathway Program (BPP) curricula typically follow the adjunct model in which ESL courses are linked with mainstream, unsheltered university courses, with the ESL course providing support. The model in the current study follows the sheltered convention of ESL-only cohorts, but adds the adjunct convention of offering linked support. As international student interest in studying at U.S. universities has grown over recent decades (Open Doors Report, 2015), a subset of international students has emerged that may have lower-than-institutional-benchmark English proficiency for admission based on exams like the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. BPPs primarily serve this subset of students by offering non-testing curricular paths (linked ESL/university courses) to full matriculation that focus on "achievement, as opposed to proficiency alone" (Dooey, 2010, p. 185). One can expect that BPPS will continue to proliferate given that they bring in previously inadmissible international enrollees to add to the now essential revenue stream that international students represent for universities (Andrade, 2006; Marshall, 2005; Redden, 2010; 2014). This dissertation adds to a growing body of recent research (e.g. Dooey, 2010; Fiocco, 2006; Redden, 2010; 2014, Winkle, 2011) about these models. Article 1 (Appendix A): The Past, Present, and Future of Combined ESL/University Study Programs: From Ad Hoc ESL Interventions to Bridge and Pathway Programs. This article is both a critical literature review and "state-of-the-field" piece (Canagarajah, 2006) that situates the evolution of postsecondary ESL support historically. It explores how postsecondary ESL has gone from an ad hoc, situational endeavor focused on remediating language deficiencies to a multifaceted field of program offerings replete with varying curricular models and dedicated faculty and recruiting structures, a field that has evolved into current BPPs. Article 2 (Appendix B): Exploring Dynamics and Dimensions in Two Linked Adjunct/Content Courses in a Sheltered University Pathway Program for ESL Students: A Case Study. This case study considers the nuances of a sheltered university pathway program for ESL students in its first year of existence. It follows the research framework of an Unlu and Wharton (2015) study using grounded theory analysis. By reconciling classroom observations in two university general education courses (Introduction to Anthropology and US History) and their linked EAP courses (EAP Bridge to Anthropology and EAP Bridge to American History) with participant interviews, I explore the dynamics between students, content instructors, and EAP support instructors. I form a theory about the pedagogy constituted by (and constitutive of) participant actions and beliefs in the observed classes, and argue that the current program may uphold uncritical, remedial predispositions vis-à -vis EAP, as well as content instruction and learning. Finally, I discuss future considerations for this, and other, linked course programs couched in EAP literature. Article 3 (Appendix C): Team-Teaching in a First-Year Composition Course for ESL Students: A Participant-Observational Reflexive Account of One Sheltered University Pathway Context. This case study takes place in a first-year composition course in a sheltered university pathway program for ESL students. It focuses on a specific and complex essay assignment: the Text-in-Context essay (TICE). I consider the assignment parameters, primary and secondary texts offered for completion, interviews with students and instructors, field notes, notes from tutoring sessions, written student reflections, the assignments themselves, and a reflexive narration of my research experience to describe the milieu of the TICE. The description suggests a community of practice (Wenger, 2002) in which a team-teaching approach helps to facilitate the completion of a complex analytical task, while also fostering the growth of the ESL students as academic writers.

Background: In this study, six enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), intended for routine porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) herd monitoring, are tested for their ability to detect PRRSV specific antibodies in the serum of pigs after vaccination with an inactivated PRRSV type 1 vaccine and subsequent infection with a highly pathogenic (HP) PRRSV field strain. For this reason, ten piglets (group V) from a PRRSV negative herd were vaccinated twice at the age of 2 and 4 weeks with an inactivated PRRSV vaccine. Ten additional piglets (group N) from the sameherd remained unvaccinated. Three weeks after second vaccination, each of the piglets received an intradermal application of an HP PRRSV field strain. Serum samples were taken before first vaccination as well as before and 3, 7, 10 and 14 days after HP PRRSV application. All serum samples were tested for PRRSV RNA by reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) as well as for PRRSV antibodies with all six study ELISAs. Results: At the beginning of the study (before vaccination), all of the piglets were PRRSV antibody negative with all study ELISAs. They also tested negative for PRRSV RNA measured by RT-qPCR. From day 3 after HP PRRSV application until the end of the study, a viremia was detected by RT-qPCR in all of the piglets. On day 0 (day of HP PRRSV application), nine out of ten piglets of the pre-vaccinated group tested PRRSV antibody positive with one of the tested ELISAs, although with lower S/P values than after infection. On day 10 after HP PRRSV application, all study ELISAs except one had significantly higher S/P or OD values, respectively more positive samples, in group V than in group N. Conclusions: Only one of the tested ELISAs was able to detect reliably PRRSV antibodies in pigs vaccinated with an inactivated PRRSV vaccine. With most of the tested ELISAs, higher S/P values respectively more positive samples after PRRSV infection were seen in the pre-vaccinated group than in the non-vaccinated.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a major public health concern. There are limited recent national-level population-based epidemiological data on AMI in England. As a result, the current burden of disease is difficult to quantify. Aim: This thesis addresses gaps in knowledge on AMI in England. It aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of AMI epidemiology over the last decade. Methods: This is a population-based study using person-linked routine hospital and mortality data for England for the period from 1 April 1998 to 31 March 2008. Main outcome measures include: trends in event rate, case fatality, and mortality for AMI, as well as trends in characteristics of, and hospital care for, the AMI patient population between 1999 and 2007; rates of occurrence and case fatality for first and recurrent AMI in 2007; and five-year survival and risk of a second AMI for 2003 to 2007. Results: Total age-standardised AMI mortality rate fell by around half, while the age-standardised event rate and case fatality rate each declined by around one third between 1999 and 2007. Approximately half of the decline in AMI mortality was attributed to a decline in event rate and half to improved survival. During the 2000s, the hospitalised AMI patient population became increasingly elderly, presented with more comorbidities, underwent more revascularisation procedures, and spent less time in hospital. In 2007, approximately 90,000 AMIs occurred in England, of which around one third were fatal, one in seven were reinfarctions, and three quarters were AMIs in those aged 65 years and older. Among 30-day survivors of a first AMI, around one in three men and one in four women died within five years, and about one in eight men and one in six women experienced a second AMI in the same time period. Conclusions: There have been substantial improvements in AMI occurrence, survival, and mortality over the last decade in England. This was driven by improvements in prevention and acute medical treatment. The results in this thesis emphasise the importance of both.

Seven families of XX and YY homozygous Oreochromis niloticus were produced by mitotic gynogenesis from XY neofemales and their genetic status was verified by multilocus DNA fingerprinting and progeny testing. Two of these gynogenetic families and their corresponding diploid controls were used with 64 AFLP primer combinations in different levels of screening (XX/YY grand pool; XX/YY family pool; XX/YY gynogenetics and XX/XY control individuals) to search for sex-linked or sex-specific markers. Grand pool screening did not reveal any sex-linked markers. Subsequent family pool and individual level screening identified four sex-linked AFLP markers from two primer combinations, three Y-linked (OniY425, OniY382, OniY227) and one X-linked (OniX420). Two of these (OniX420, OniY425) were shown to be allelic. Single locus PCR markers were developed for all of those markers. Linkage analysis of these markers and the sex locus within the source families revealed tight linkage, with estimated map distances of 13cM, 17cM and 20cM for OniY382, OniY227 and OniX420/OniY425 respectively. However, these sex-linked AFLP markers failed to consistently identify sex in unrelated individuals. To develop an effective system for parentage analysis in normal and gynogenetic progeny, AFLPs and multiplexed polymorphic microsatellite loci were investigated. Both were found to be effective, but microsatellites were more appropriate since they are codominant and some loci showed high gene-centromere recombination rates, suitable for discriminating meiotic from mitotic gynogenetics, while AFLPs are dominant markers. Spontaneous diploidization of the maternal chromosome set (SDM) was observed in gynogenetic progeny of one XY neofemale. Maternal inheritance and ploidy status were verified by multilocus DNA fingerprinting and chromosome karyotyping. Close genetic linkage between the red gene and an autosomal sex-reversal gene(s) in gynogenetic progeny and influences of autosomal sex-reversal gene(s) producing males in a fully inbred XX clonal line were previously reported in O. niloticus. To test if the same autosomal sex-reversal locus was responsible in both cases, a series of test crosses was carried out involving XX clonal neomale(s) and homozygous red females. The results indicated the involvement of more than one autosomal sex-reversal locus, one of which is linked to red body colour.

The goal of the diploma thesis is to describe stochastic processes in the combination of mortgage loan and fund-linked life insurance, and to construct and analyze suitable mathematical models related to them. The idea of the combination of mortgage loan and fund-linked life insurance consists in serving the debt via paying up the interest only and investing the rest of the instalment within a fund-linked life insurance, instead of amortizing the debt gradually. At the maturity time, the principal sum will be amortized at once, using assets which have been invested within a fund-linked life insurance.

That Barack Obama's race was a factor, for both blacks and whites, in the 2008 general election is well-documented. As the majority in this country, the white electorate's response to the nation's first successful African-American presidential contender is of particular interest because it revealed the persistent effects of racism. Scholars have suggested contemporary forms of racism (e.g., Ditonto et al., 2013) explained the reluctance of white citizens to cast their ballots for an African American. This dissertation approaches the topic from a different angle, arguing deep-seated beliefs about which individual characteristics define a legitimate president, race in this project, affected voting decisions, especially among whites. Such beliefs, or "status expectations" (Ridgeway&Berger, 1986), are evident every day in social interactions and are also reflected in the mass media, especially in the vivid medium of television, which was proposed to reinforce status beliefs about presidential legitimacy among white viewers. African Americans, in contrast, were hypothesized be inured to status beliefs represented in television campaign coverage because of a protective, ingroup orientation called "linked fate," (Dawson, 2004), the belief that life chances of the individual are inextricably intertwined with life chances of the black race as a whole. Therefore, while mass media would affect whites' assessments of presidential legitimacy, linked fate would lead African Americans to reject the status beliefs about presidential legitimacy embedded in televised content because this medium has historically derogated their "ingroup". Findings, however, did not support this proposed insulating effect of linked fate, which was operationalized as perceived black racial group favoritism. In fact, moderating relationships, even when statistically significant, typically added little explanatory value to or confounded interpretation of the presidential legitimacy models. Thus, baseline models with main effects were the clearest and most statistically powerful in discerning which variables had the greatest impact on Obama and McCain presidential legitimacy assessments. For both candidates, party identification and race were consistently the most influential predictors. But, for McCain, the effect of conservative partisanship was particularly acute, with an effect size more than three times the effect size of race and four times the size of the most powerful media effect, Fox News believability. In contrast, multiple predictors of comparable effect size factored into Obama legitimacy assessments. Measured by both number of statistically significant media variables and magnitude of effect sizes, Obama's legitimacy assessments were more affected by media predictors than were McCain's. For Obama presidential legitimacy, the most influential variables were Democratic partisan identification, black race, Fox News believability (negatively related), and perceived black racial group favoritism. The next most influential predictors were CNN believability, MSNBC believability, and a status expectation measure of Obama's legitimacy. A third grouping of influential predictors consisted of broadcast believability, an education control variable, and a status expectation measure of McCain's legitimacy (negatively related). These predictors yielded a model that explained 43% of the variance in Obama legitimacy assessments, in contrast to the 28% of variance explained by the model without media variables. Though McCain's presidential legitimacy evaluations were driven primarily by Republican partisan identification and, to a lesser extent, race, several media variables attained statistical significance in the McCain model: the number of days respondents watched television for campaign news, CNN believability, and Fox News believability, all of which augmented McCain's legitimacy assessments. The proportion of variance in McCain legitimacy assessments explained by the model with media effects was 20%, compared to 16% in the model without media predictors, figures substantially lower than the 43% and 28% in the respective Obama models. The range of predictors in the Obama legitimacy model implied myriad perspectives notably absent in the McCain legitimacy model, a pattern that mirrored the diverse coalition that ultimately supported him. Therefore, despite only partial support for this dissertation's hypotheses, the results were consistent with the current partisan and racial divisions in this country, divisions that were affected by the media in the 2008 election.

[pt] O termo dados interligados refere-se a conjuntos de triplas RDF organizados segundo certos princípios que facilitam a publicação e o acesso a dados por meio da infraestrutura da Web. Os princípios para organização de dados interligados são de grande importância pois oferecem uma forma de minimizar o problema de interoperabilidade entre bancos de dados expostos na Web. Este trabalho propõe enriquecer um banco de dados que contém descrições em RDF de cubos de dados, interligando seus componentes com entidades definidas em fontes de dados externas através de triplas owl:sameAs. O trabalho propõe uma arquitetura composta por dois componentes principais, o enriquecedor automático e o enriquecedor manual. O primeiro componente gera triplas owl:sameAs automaticamente enquanto que o segundo componente permite ao usuário definir manualmente as ligações. Em conjunto, estes componentes facilitam a definição de cubos de dados de acordo com os princípios de dados interligados / [en] The term Linked Data refers to a set of RDF triples organized according to certain principles that facilitate the publishing and consumption of data using the Web infrastructure. The importance of the Linked Data principles stems from the fact that they offer a way to minimize the interoperability problem between databases exposed on the Web. This dissertation proposes to enrich a database that contains Linked Data cube descriptions by interconnecting the components of the data cubes with entities defined in external data sources, using owl:sameAs triples. The dissertation proposes an architecture consisting of two major components, the automatic enriching component and the manual enriching component. The first component automatically generates owl:sameAs triples, while the second component helps the user manually define owl:sameAs triples that the automatic component was not able to uncover. Together, these components therefore facilitate the definition of data cubes according to the Linked Data principles.