The present thesis work is dedicated to the implementation of novel electrochemical methods for the assay of drug compounds such as paracetamol and ascorbic acid and biologically relevant biothiols such as cysteine and glutathione. Particular attention has been paid to the development and application of amperometric detectors allowing for a readily surface renewing and for highly selective and sensitive assays.<p>Coupling of a screen printed electrochemical detector with a monolithic chromatographic column was performed for high-throughput analysis along with selectivity, sensitivity and good precision. The modification of a glassy carbon electrode with a perm-selective membrane was investigated in order to provide an electrochemical sensor for on-site analysis. Acetaminophen was investigated as a model drug compound because of its extensive use in drug “pain killer” medication.<p>Along with the aims of this thesis, a silver polycrystalline electrode was investigated as a sensitive and class selective electrode for the assay of small thiol-based molecules. The silver electrode was implemented for the first time as an amperometric detector coupled to liquid chromatography for the assay of thiols. Application to the study of thiol species present in white wines was realized in order to illustrate the potential of the silver working electrode as amperometric detector. / Doctorat en Sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In this thesis, the author deals with a topic focusing on use of plasma screens and plasma technologies in contemporary news channel CT24 broadcasting. The thesis is contained of theoretical and practical part. In the theoretical part, the author summarizes existing findings of the television news field. The theoretical part includes a basic definition of television news and its subsequent changes, primarily because of digitalization process. In the connection with digitalization, the author also deals with new formats of television news, such as TV graphics. In the second half of theoretical part, the author focuses on characteristics of Czech Television and CT24 news channel. It contains of brief description of programs and studies, from which CT24 broadcasts, and which are closely related to use of plasma technologies. In the practical part, the author then focuses on the specific use of plasma technologies in the broadcast of CT24 channel. First, the author offers a basic division of what these elements are used for in broadcasting. Based on his own experience and interviews with Czech Television staff, he then describes the use of plasma technologies in individual programs and studios and offers their comparison.

The objective of this thesis is to clarify the term efective reading and what belongs to this topic, also to explore how the meaning of this term changes in the field of the electronic documents. This work also examines the reader's options of working with text and his view in this matter. Eye movements are analysed in first chapter. The term efective reading and its related concepts are analysed in chapter two. Third chapter is dealing with efective screen reading and characteristics of electronic texts. The possibilities of user work with texts on e- book readers and software e-book readers are examined in fourth chapter. Fifth chapter assesses online e-book readers. Questionnaire survey concerning reading of electronic documents is evaluated in chapter six.

<p>  </p> <p>A multidisciplinary study that evaluated Quality Control (QC) laboratory (lab) accreditation, and a salt screen for bedaquiline. Medicines testing facilities always seek to ensure the accuracy of data from their QC labs by attaining accreditation. This research proposed that an understanding of the cross-linkages in the requirements for implementing the 2 most widely used lab standards will facilitate testing efficiencies, and reduce the risks of accreditation failures. For the salt project, the study proposed that new salts of bedaquiline will be formed from acid-base reactions following the pKa rule. Characterizing the salts will provide specifications for the new molecular entities, and form a selection-criteria for a lead candidate.</p> <p>The research reviewed 2 lab standards: the ISO/IEC17025:2017 and the WHO Good Practices for Pharmaceutical QC labs, and identified the areas of overlap in their requirements. It then developed and tested affordable models that mitigate the 3 identified areas of high risks to lab accreditation. Additionally, it mixed<em> equimolar amounts of bedaquiline base with select counterions that have ≥ 2 pKa units in organic solvents, to yield salts</em>. ICHQ6 guidance was used to characterize the new salts.</p> <p>The highest risks to laboratory accreditation were linked to 3 quality system metrics, namely: ‘Proficiency Testing’, ‘Validation’, and ‘Measurement Traceability’. Using the identified areas of overlap in the 2 laboratory standards, this research provided tutorial videos, a competency matrix, and some instrument validation data, to optimize the requirements for lab accreditation. For the salt screen, five new candidates were synthesized as alternatives to the existing fumarate salt of bedaquiline. The results of their physicochemical properties were used for selecting a lead moiety.</p> <p>The research provided evidence that the multipronged models developed will improve efficiencies in QC labs, and increase their chances of attaining international accreditations. It also discovered the best modes for synthesizing the new salts of bedaquiline, and provided critical data to help Pharma make an informed choice for a lead candidate.</p>

No description available.

Background. Emerging evidence suggests that youth with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may engage in sub-optimal health behaviors including high levels of screen time, low physical activity participation, and consumption of poor diets. These are independent risk factors for adverse health outcomes, and health-related behavior patterns established in childhood can track into adulthood. Thus, identifying and addressing dietary and physical activity habits in sub-populations of youth have important implications for health over the lifespan. The specific aims of this dissertation were to: (1) compare screen time between youth with and without ADHD and to assess its relationship to ADHD symptomatology; (2) compare participation in physical activity (PA) between adolescents with and without ADHD and to assess the relationship of PA participation to ADHD symptomatology; and (3) evaluate the association of diet quality and dietary patterns to ADHD symptomatology among youth ages 8-15 years. Methods. The aforementioned outcomes of interest were analyzed using data from the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2004. These waves of NHANES included a structured DSM-IV-based interview administered to parents that identified youth with ADHD and also yielded symptom counts for hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention. Screen time and physical activity data were obtained from questionnaires that queried the amount of time spent watching television, playing videos, or using the computer outside of school time, and also surveyed the types, frequency, and duration of PA in which youth participated. Diet quality and dietary patterns, which included consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), total calorie intake, and eating frequency, were obtained by a 24-hour dietary recall using the Automated Multiple Pass Method of interviewing. Linear and logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic factors and anxiety/depression were employed to address the specific aims. Results. The findings suggest that youth with ADHD are at the same, if not higher, risk for engaging in suboptimal health behaviors. Overall, youth participating in NHANES engaged in excessive amounts of screen time, failed to acquire sufficient physical activity, and consumed diets of poor quality. However, our findings suggest that ADHD symptomatology places youth at higher risk for sedentary behavior and poor diet quality. Relative to screen time, youth with ADHD showed a trend toward increased screen time, as did youth who took medication. ADHD symptoms were also associated with over two hours of daily TV viewing and overall increased screen time, and this was particularly true for children ages 8-11 years. Relative to physical activity, the outcomes did not differ between youth with and without ADHD, but the majority of youth did not meet the recommended guidelines of 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous PA each day. Diet quality was poor across the population of youth who participated in NHANES, and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms were associated with an even greater decrease in diet quality in both children and adolescents. In males, the presence of hyperactive/impulsive symptoms was associated with a decrease in diet quality, whereas in females, inattentive symptoms accounted for a decrease in diet quality. No differences in the other dietary patterns (i.e., SSB consumption, total energy intake, and eating frequency) were observed. Conclusions. The diagnosis of ADHD and/or its symptoms are associated with less-than-recommended levels of screen time and poor diet quality, though youth in general were found to be engaging in suboptimal sedentary, physical activity, and dietary behaviors. The mechanisms for why youth with ADHD may have increased vulnerability to poorer health behaviors are not yet well understood. The findings from this dissertation support the need for ongoing efforts to address lifestyle factors among the nation’s youth generally, but may also stimulate new hypotheses about the needs of youth with ADHD from both public health and clinical perspectives, and encourage research on the implications of ADHD symptomatology on health-related behaviors and lifestyle factors.

Due to the increasing online commerce in Sweden there are more and more companies who are focusing on their online business and more and more customer are buying clothes online. This means that there has been a transition from the physical store form to the online commerce. Based on this development in the market it aroused an interest in studying customer service, online. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to study customers experience of customer service from clothing companies within the online industry in Sweden. This carries out by studying if customers experience that they are being encouraged to customer service, what kind of customer service they prefer and the reasons for it. Therefore, we initially make an introductory study of some of the websites belonging to the following clothing companies: H&amp;M, Gina Tricot, Nelly, Boozt, Ellos and Bubbleroom. The main empirical study consists of 15 participants who are divided into three focus groups. To be able to analyse the collected material, three theories are applied: The Customer Contact Theory, Customer Service Life Cycle theory and Social Presence Theory. In terms of the results we alltogether, observe that the participants experience that companies are encouraging customers to use customer service, mainly through different options available on their website, instead of direct contact over the phone. It is also generally shown that the participants prefer screen-based customer service rather than telephone-based customer service. This study is written in the Swedish language. / På grund av den ökande näthandeln i Sverige fokuserar allt fler företag på sin online verksamhet och allt fler kunder handlar kläder online där det har skett en övergång från den fysiska butiksformen till online handeln. Utifrån denna utveckling på marknaden väckte det ett intresse att studera kundservice online. Syftet med denna undersökning är att undersöka konsumenters upplevelse av kundservice som erbjuds av företag som bedriver online handel inom klädbranschen i Sverige. Detta sker genom att studera om konsumenter upplever att de uppmuntras till kundservice, vilken form av kundservice de föredrar och vad som står bakom detta. Därmed görs det först en inledande studie av en del webbsidor som tillhör klädföretag inom online handeln, närmare bestämt: H&amp;M, Gina Tricot, Nelly, Boozt, Ellos och Bubbleroom. Den huvudsakliga empiriska studien består av 15 deltagare fördelat på tre fokusgrupper. För att analysera det insamlade materialet tillämpas tre teorier: The Customer Contact Theory, Customer Service Life Cycle Theory och Social Presence Theory. När det gäller resultatet observerar vi sammantaget att deltagarna upplever att företag uppmuntrar kunder att använda kundservice, främst genom olika alternativ som finns tillgängliga på deras webbsida istället fördirekt kontakt via telefon. Det visar sig även generellt sett att kunder föredrar skärmbaseradkundservice framför telefonbaserad kundservice.

Der Gen-Knockdown mittels RNAi hat sich als essentiell erwiesen, um Inhibitoren der induzierten Transdifferenzierung in C. elegans zu identifizieren (Tursun et al., 2011). Bakterienstämme, die dsRNA exprimieren, das die Expression spezifischer Gene mindert, können dem Wurm direkt zugefüttert werden, um einen genomweiten RNAi-screen der insgesamt 20.000 Gene in C. elegans durchzuführen. Allerdings werden die meisten biologischen Prozese durch mehr als ein Gen reguliert, was den Bedarf nach einer Methode generiert, die es erlaubt, zwei oder mehr Gene gleichzeitig herunter zu regulieren, um die Steuerung biologischer Prozesse studieren zu können. Die derzeitig vorhandenen Methoden liefern entweder nicht reproduzierbare Ergebnisse oder sind nicht skalierbar. Wir nutzen baktierelle Konjugation, die es durch ein konjugatives Plasmid ermöglicht Bakterienzellen zu generieren, die zwei verschiedene RNAi-Plasmide enthalten. Das Ziel war es, modifizierte RNAi-Donor-Plasmide mittels bakterieller Konjugation an eine Vielzahl anderer Bakterienzellen zu übertragen, die bereits ein anderes RNAi-Plasmid enthalten und dies dann im Hochdurchsatzverfahren durchführen zu können. Um Enhancer induzierter Expression von unc-25::gfp in der Keimbahn, ermöglicht durch den Knockdown des Histonchaperons LIN-53 (RbAp46/48 in Menschen), zu finden, wurden RNAi-Klone generiert, die gleichzeitig lin-53 als auch eines von insgesamt 800 verschiedenen Chromatin-bezogenen Gene herunter regulieren. Dabei identifizierten wir RBBP-5, Mitglied des Set1/ MLL-Methyltransferase-Komplexes, als neuen Barrierefaktor der induzierten Transdifferenzierung. RBBP-5 agiert dabei mutmaßlich parallel zu LIN-53. Doppelte RNAi, ermöglicht durch bakterielle Konjugation, erlaubt den simultanen Knockdown zweier oder mehr Gene, um genetische Interaktionen studieren zu können und erweitert damit die Einsatzmöglichkeiten von RNAi-Screens, um untereinander verbundene biologische Prozesse zu studieren. / The knock down of genes by RNAi has been fundamental to identify inhibitors of induced cell transdifferentiation in C. elegans (Tursun et al., 2011). Bacteria strains expressing dsRNA that target specific genes can be fed to the worm allowing straightforward whole-genome RNAi screens of the 20,000 genes in theC. elegans genome. However, many biological processes are regulated by more than one gene raising the need for simultaneous knock down of two or more genes to more fully interrogate the regulation of complex biological processes. Two approaches are currently available for double RNAi knockdown, − two bacteria strains expressing specific dsRNA can be mixed and grown together and fed simultaneously, which gives highly variable results. Alternatively, a new bacterial clone can be generated carrying a plasmid on which two RNAi targets of interest are 'stitched' together, which is not scalable. To address this challenge, we have developed a protocol using bacterial conjugation mediated by the 'Fertility Factor' (F) Episome in order to combine two different RNAi plasmids in a single bacterium. The objective was to be able to transfer a single RNAi plasmid to a large number of bacterial cells carrying different RNAi clones in one step in a high-throughput manner for large scale 'double' or even 'triple' RNAi screens. To find enhancers of induced unc-25::gfp expression in the germ line enabled by the depletion of histone chaperone LIN-53 (RbAp46/48 in humans), double RNAi clones targeting lin-53 and a total of 800 chromatin-related genes were generated and screened. We identified the Set1/MLL methyltransferase complex member RBBP-5 as a novel reprogramming barrier that putatively acts in a parallel pathway to LIN-53. Double RNAi by conjugation permits to reliably knock down two genes simultaneously in order to study genetic interactions at a genome-wide level, thus further increasing the versatility of RNAi screens to investigate interconnected biological processes.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans le sujet des opérateurs intégraux de frontière définis sur le disque unitaire en trois dimensions, leurs relations avec les problèmes externes de Laplace et Helmholtz, et leurs applications au préconditionnement des systèmes linéaires obtenus en utilisant la méthode des éléments finis de frontière.On décrit d'abord les méthodes intégrales pour résoudre les problèmes de Laplace et de Helmholtz en dehors des objets à frontière régulière lipschitzienne, et en dehors des surfaces bidimensionnelles ouvertes dans un espace tridimensionnel. La formulation intégrale des problèmes de Laplace et de Helmholtz pour ces cas est décrite formellement. La mise en oeuvre d'une méthode numérique utilisant la méthode des éléments finis de frontière est également décrite. Les avantages et les défis inhérents à la méthode sont abordés : la complexité du calcul numérique (de mémoire et algorithmique) et le mal conditionnement inhérentes à des systèmes linéaires associés.Dans une deuxième partie on expose une technique optimale de préconditionnement (indépendante de la discrétisation) sur la base des opérateurs intégraux de frontière. On montre comment cette technique est facilement réalisable dans le cas de problèmes définis en dehors d'un objet régulier à frontière lipschitzienne, mais qu'elle pose des problèmes quand ils sont définis en dehors d'une surface ouverte dans un espace tridimensionnel. On montre que les opérateurs intégraux de frontière associés à la résolution des problèmes de Dirichlet et Neumann définis en dehors des surfaces ont des inverses bien définis. On montre également que ceux-ci pourraient conduire à des techniques de préconditionnement optimales, mais que ses formes explicites ne sont pas faciles à obtenir. Ensuite, on montre une méthode pour obtenir de tels opérateurs inverses de façon explicite lorsque la surface sur laquelle ils sont définis est un disque unitaire dans un espace tridimensionnel. Ces opérateurs inverses explicites seront, cependant, en forme des séries, et n'auront pas une adaptation immédiate pour leur utilisation dans des méthodes des éléments finis de frontière.Dans une troisième partie on montre comment certaines modifications aux opérateurs inverses mentionnés permettent d'obtenir des expressions variationnelles explicites et fermées, non plus sous la forme des séries, en conservant certaines caractéristiques importantes pour l'effet de préconditionnement cherché. Ces formes explicites sont en effet applicables aux méthodes des éléments finis frontière. On obtient des expressions variationnelles précises et on propose des calculs numériques pour leur utilisation avec des éléments finis frontière. Ces méthodes numériques sont testées en utilisant différentes identités obtenues dans la théorie développée, et sont ensuite utilisées pour produire des matrices préconditionnantes. Leur performance en tant que préconditionneurs de systèmes linéaires associés à des problèmes de Laplace et Helmholtz à l'extérieur du disque est testée. Enfin, on propose extension de cette méthode pour couvrir les cas de surfaces diverses. Ceci est illustré et étudié dans les cas précis des problèmes extérieurs à des surfaces en forme de carré et en forme de L dans un espace tridimensionnel. / This thesis is about some boundary integral operators defined on the unit disk in a three-dimensional spaces, their relation with the exterior Laplace and Helmholtz problems, and their application to the preconditioning of the systems arising when solving these problems using the boundary element method.We begin by describing the so-called integral method for the solution of the exterior Laplace and Helmholtz problems defined on the exterior of objects with Lipschitz-regular boundaries, or on the exterior of open two-dimensional surfaces in a three-dimensional space. We describe the integral formulation for the Laplace and Helmholtz problem in these cases, their numerical implementation using the boundary element method, and we discuss its advantages and challenges: its computational complexity (both algorithmic and memory complexity) and the inherent ill-conditioning of the associated linear systems.In the second part we show an optimal preconditioning technique (independent of the chosen discretization) based on operator preconditioning. We show that this technique is easily applicable in the case of problems defined on the exterior of objects with Lipschitz-regular boundary surfaces, but that its application fails for problems defined on the exterior of open surfaces in three-dimensional spaces. We show that the boundary integral operators associated with the resolution of the Dirichlet and Neumann problems defined on the exterior of open surfaces have inverse operators, and that these operators would provide optimal preconditioners, but that they are not easily obtainable. Then we show a technique to explicitly obtain such inverse operators for the particular case when the open surface is the unit disk in a three-dimensional space. Their explicit inverse operators will be given, however, in the form of series, and will not be immediately applicable in the use of boundary element methods.In the third part we show how some modifications to these inverse operators allow us to obtain variational explicit and closed form expressions, no longer expressed as series, but also conserve nonetheless some characteristics that are relevant for their preconditioning effect. These explicit and closed forms expressions are applicable in boundary element methods. We obtain precise variational expressions for them and propose numerical schemes to compute the integrals needed for their use with boundary elements. The proposed numerical methods are tested using identities available within the developed theory and then used to build preconditioning matrices. Their performance as preconditioners for linear systems is tested for the case of the Laplace and Helmholtz problems for the unit disk. Finally, we propose an extension of this method that allows for the treatment of cases of open surfaces other that the disk. We exemplify and study this extension in its use on a square-shaped and an L-shaped surface screen in a three-dimensional space.

Sandproduktion ist eine große Herausforderung in vielen Tiefbohrungen. Um sie zu verhindern wurden verschiedene Methoden und Bauteilen entwickelt, die unter dem Begriff Sandkontrollmaßnahmen zusammengefasst werden. Zu diesen zählt der Einbau von Sandfiltern als Standalone Screens oder Teil eines Gravel Packs. Aufgrund der vielen Einflussfaktoren aus Geologie und Betriebsweise sind die Funktionsweise und das Versagen von Sandfiltern nach wie vor Gegenstand aktueller Forschung. Eine Möglichkeit zur Untersuchung von Sandfiltern ist die Durchführung von laborativen Experimenten. In dieser Arbeit wird die Entwicklung von zwei Versuchsanlagen vorgestellt. Die Anlagen werden genutzt, um einen neuentwickelten Wickeldrahtfilter zu untersuchen. Der Filter unterscheidet sich von bisherigen Designs durch eine Beschichtung auf der Außenseite, die, durch die Verwendung von Materialien mit großer Härte, für eine größere Erosionsbeständigkeit sorgen soll. Eine umfassende Literaturrecherche zu den Versagensmechanismen und dem Stand der Technik von laborativen Untersuchungen an Sandfiltern bilden die Grundlage für diese Arbeit. Darauf aufbauend werden theoretische Vorüberlegungen zum Erosions- und Sandkontrollverhalten von Sandfiltern dargestellt. Die Versuchsanlagen ermöglichen zum einen die Durchführung von Sand Retention Tests und zum anderen die gezielte Erosion von Filterproben mittels einer kontinuierlichen Durchströmung mit einer Suspension. Die Ergebnisse werden genutzt, um grundlegende Aussagen zum Erosions- und Sandkontrollverhalten abzuleiten. Zusätzlich wird der neu entwickelte, beschichtete Filter mit konventionellen Filtern verglichen. Aus den Ergebnissen werden Limitationen der laborativen Untersuchungen zum Sandkontrollverhalten und Auswertungsempfehlungen formuliert. Ein Unterschied im Sandkontrollverhalten zwischen beschichteten und unbeschichteten Filtern kann nicht festgestellt werden. Es wird gezeigt, dass interne Turbulenz in den Öffnungen eines Sandfilters ein wichtiger Einflussfaktor auf die Erosion mit feinen Partikeln ist. Sandfilter können an unterschiedlichen Stellen erodieren, die sich nicht alle direkt auf die Funktionalität auswirken. Der Vergleich der Ergebnisse deutet darauf hin, dass beschichtete Filter eine längere Standzeit unter erosiven Bedingungen haben, da sie an der Außenseite weniger erodieren als unbeschichtete Wickeldrahtfilter. Aufgrund der besonderen Eigenschaften der Beschichtung kommt es jedoch zu größerer interner Erosion. Die Diskussion der durchgeführten Versuche liefert zusammen mit den umfangreichen theoretischen Vorüberlegungen einen Beitrag zum Verständnis über das Versagen von Sandfiltern, insbesondere das Zusammenspiel von Erosion und Sandkontrolle. Die Untersuchungen an Proben des neuartigen, beschichteten Filters bilden den Grundstein für derzeit laufende Feldeinsätze von Prototypen.