Recent advances in the field of audiology have indicated that there has been a growing concern regarding the potential damage to the hearing mechanism induced by recreational noise exposure from personal music devices (PMD). Regular PMD use may have a long-term damaging effect on the outer- and inner hair cells of the cochlea which may result in a progressive hearing loss. As PMDs have advanced to a stage where the memory of the devices are able to contain hours of listening content, the environments where these devices are being used are rapidly expanding. Many young adults tend to use their PMDs whilst exercising. Exercise in itself induces physiological and metabolic changes such as increased blood flow and oxygen levels within the structures of the cochlea. The purpose of this study was to determine the differential impact and short-term effects of simultaneous cardiovascular workout and personal music device (PMD) use on the otoacoustic emissions of young adults. Seven female and five male subjects completed three testing conditions: (i) one hour exposure to PMD use in isolation, (ii) one hour exposure to cardiovascular workout in isolation, and (iii) one hour simultaneous exposure to PMD use and cardiovascular workout. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were conducted prior to, as well as directly following each testing condition, as primary indicator of cochlear responses emitted through a preset stimulus frequency sequence measuring the 2f₁ - f₂ (75 – 70 dB SPL) and constructing a plot of DPOAE levels as a function of frequency. While each of the testing conditions on its own did not result in statistically significant changes of the DPOAE response, a highly significant different profile in the DPOAE response level increase/decrease for the higher frequencies (6-8 kHz) was obtained when comparing the different sessions to each other. Where exposure to cardiovascular workout showed a clear trend of an increased DPOAE response level between the pre-exposure and post-exposure testing from 2 kHz to 8 kHz with a maximum increase at 6 kHz, both the music only condition and the combined condition where the cardiovascular workout was combined with music resulted in a significant different profile. During combined exposure a clear trend of decreased DPOAE response amplitudes between the pre-exposure and post-exposure testing were seen for the higher frequencies. These findings may support the notion of a clear effect of cardiovascular workout on the otoacoustic emissions at higher test frequencies, measured by DPOAEs when performed with and without music exposure. / Dissertation (MLOG)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / MLOG / Unrestricted

L’immatriculation des satellites est une procédure issue du droit international spatial, et en particulier de l’article VIII du Traité sur l’espace de 1967 et de la Convention relative à l’immatriculation des objets spatiaux de 1975. De nombreux États en précisent le champ, les modalités et la portée dans leur droit national. C’est le cas de la France, qui prévoit ce mécanisme dans sa « Loi relative aux opérations spatiales » de 2008 et ses textes d’application. L’immatriculation établit un lien de rattachement entre un État et un objet spatial, et c’est en particulier les satellites actifs qui font l’objet de la présente analyse. Ce lien de rattachement est attributif de la « juridiction et du contrôle » sur l’objet, expression dont il fallait cerner le sens précis. Synonyme de compétence dans un sens général, elle n’en renvoie pas moins à un devoir d’encadrement technique des activités dans l’espace de la part de l’État qui y procède. Ceci permet de préserver l’une des normes fondamentales du droit de l’espace, la liberté d’accès à l’espace extra-atmosphérique par tous les États. Le fait de mettre en place ces normes permet d’éviter que ces activités, intrinsèquement dangereuses, ne soient dommageables. Cette liberté d’accès à un espace non soumis à un titre de compétence territorial est un corollaire de la souveraineté de l’État. Cette liberté ne va pas sans difficultés. L’évolution des activités dans des espaces partagés, tels que l’espace extra-atmosphérique, la haute mer ou l’espace aérien surplombant cette dernière y contribue. Elle s’intensifie. L’espace extra-atmosphérique est de plus en plus utilisée. Le secteur spatial fournit en effet des services très demandés, et désormais indispensables à la société. On pense en particulier à la télédétection, aux télécommunications et aux systèmes de positionnement. De ce fait les satellites participent du mouvement de digitalisation de l’économie. L’espace peut donc être considéré comme un ressource rare, comme l’est déjà le spectre radioélectrique, indispensable aux communications avec les satellites. Dans un environnement de plus en plus concurrentiel, la tendance à optimiser le choix du droit applicable peut être un facteur d’économie, parfois au détriment de la sécurité des activités.Le droit maritime connait ce phénomène, avec les pavillons de complaisance. L’évolution des activités spatiales doit de ce fait prendre ce risque en compte. Dans ce cadre l’immatriculation est un mécanisme fondamental. D’une part, pour des raisons de sûreté matérielle. Il permet en effet d’assurer que le satellite sera opéré sous la surveillance d’un État. Si ce mécanisme ne peut pour l’instant que difficilement être contourné du fait de la responsabilité qui s’attache au statut d’Etat de lancement, il faut néanmoins soulever que celui-ci est un héritage des premiers temps des activités spatiales, qui ne correspond que peu avec la dynamique actuelle de ces activités. D’autre part, pour des raisons d’applicabilité du droit aux espaces numériques. En effet les satellites sont des infrastructures numériques, considérant le caractère fluide de ces activités, c’est bien le contrôle sur l’infrastructure qui constitue la dernière garantie de l’applicabilité du droit. / Satellites registration is a mechanism of international space law. Article VIII of the 1967 Space Treaty and the 1975 Convention on the Registration of Space Objects are the two main treaties establishing it. Many States specify its scope, modalities and range in their national legislations. This is the case of France, which provides for this mechanism in its municipal law on space operations of 2008 and its implementing texts. Registration establishes a link between a State and a space object. In particular, the functioning satellites are the subject of this analysis. This connecting link attributes "jurisdiction and control" over the object, the meaning of which was to be understood. It can be asserted as a synonymous with competence in a general sense. Nonetheless, it also refers to a duty of technical supervision of activities in outer space from the State, which proceeds to the registration. This preserves a fundamental norm of outer space law, the freedom of access to outer space by all States. Putting these standards in place prevents these inherently dangerous activities from being harmful. This freedom of access to an area not subject to territorial jurisdiction is a corollary of the sovereignty of States. This freedom does not come without challenges. The evolution of activities in shared spaces, such as outer space, the high seas or the airspace above it contributes to the phenomenon of intensification of uses. Outer space knows indeed a more and more intense utilization. The space sector provides high-demand services, which are now essential to society. In particular, we can mention remote sensing, telecommunications and positioning systems. As a result, satellites are part of the digitization movement of the economy. Outer space is therefore be considered as a scarce resource, as is already the radio spectrum, essential for communications with satellites. In an increasingly competitive environment, the tendency to optimize the choice of the applicable law can be a saving factor, sometimes to the detriment of the safety of the activities. Maritime law knows this phenomenon with flags of convenience. The evolution of space activities must therefore take this risk into consideration. In this context, registration is a fundamental mechanism. On the one hand, for reasons of material safety. It makes it possible to ensure that the satellite operator is under State supervision. While this mechanism cannot for the moment be easily circumvented by the responsibility attached to the status of launching State, it must nevertheless be pointed out that it is a legacy from the earliest days of space activities. It does not quite correspond to the current dynamics of these activities. On the other hand, for reasons of applicability of the law to digital spaces. Indeed satellites are digital infrastructures. Considering the fluid nature of these activities, it is the control over the infrastructure that constitutes the last guarantee of the applicability of the law.

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Mitochondria carry out several important functions in eukaryotic cells such as energy metabolism, iron-sulfur cluster assembly, apoptosis, signaling pathways, protein quality control etc. Most mitochondrial proteins are synthesized on the cytosolic ribosomes and transported to the organelles by the cytosolic chaperones and mitochondrial protein import machinery based on specific targeting signals. Although, the basic principles of protein import have been explained, many questions remain unanswered, particularly for highly modified mitochondria such as hydrogenosomes. The aim of the study was to investigate protein translocation into hydrogenosomes of a human parasite, Trichomonas vaginalis (Tv) with a focus on the composition, function and structure of protein translocases and the role of targeting signals. The translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) is responsible for the import of most proteins into the organelle. Even though, the presence of a TOM complex in trichomonad hydrogenosomes was predicted, its components were not known. Moreover, the generic structure of the mitochondrial TOM complex was not resolved. This study showed that the TvTOM complex is highly divergent consisting of two modified core subunits - channel- forming TvTom40 isoforms and a Tom22-like protein, and two...

Vehicle over loading, or single axle over loading, is one of the major causes of pavement deterioration. Trafik Verket (TV), the Swedish Transport Administration, recognized that the current process for estimating traffic volume should be reevaluated, and if possible improved. This degree project uses data from the Bridge Weigh in Motion (BWIM) system to study the actual loads applied to Swedish highways. The axle load spectrum is plotted with the conventional frequency distribution plots, and with a new cumulative distribution approach. The paper introduces the maximum allowable potential vehicle weight MAPVW concept, and uses this visual technique to identify overloads for different vehicle geometries. The paper concludes that for 5 and 6 axle trucks the triple axle is frequently overloaded, while for longer trucks one of the dual axles is often over loaded. The highest over loads tend to be on the driving axle, suggesting incorrect loading procedures.

A ninhydrin-positive, phosphorus-negative lipid from Paracoccus denitrificans ATCC 13543 has been isolated and purified by mild alkaline methanolysis followed by silicic acid column chromatography and preparative thin-layer chromatography. The lipid was identified as an ornithine-containing lipid. The major ester-linked fatty acid was cis vaccenic acid. Major amide-linked fatty acids were 3-OH-20:1 and 3-OH-18:0. Ornithine-containing lipid was a major lipid component of P. denitrificans. Phospholipids made up about 57% and ornithine-containing lipid about 14% of the weight of the total lipid of the organism. The ratios of lipid ornithine: lipid phosphorus were 0.23, 0.65 and 0.58 in cytoplasmic membrane, outer membrane, and an NaCl extract, which is thought to represent chiefly outer membrane, respectively. Thus ornithine-containing lipid appears to be present in larger amounts in outer membrane than cytoplasmic membrane. No substantial variations in lipid ornithine levels were noted in stationary phase versus exposnential phase organisms, organisms grown in complex medium versus organisms grown in minimal medium with and without amino acid supplements, or in organisms grown in low phosphate-containing medium.

Lipopolysaccharide or LPS is localized to the outer leaflet of the outer membrane and serves as the major surface component of the bacterial cell envelope. This remarkable glycolipid is essential for virtually all Gram-negative organisms and represents one of the conserved microbial structures responsible for activation of the innate immune system. For these reasons, the structure, function, and biosynthesis of LPS has been an area of intense research. The LPS of a number of bacteria is composed of three distinct regions - lipid A, a short core oligosaccharide, and the O-antigen polysaccharide. The lipid A domain, also known as endotoxin, anchors the molecule in the outer membrane and is the bioactive component recognized by TLR4 during human infection. Overall, the biochemical synthesis of lipid A is a highly conserved process; however, investigation of the lipid A structures of various organisms shows an impressive amount of diversity. These differences can be attributed to the action of latent enzymes that modify the canonical lipid A molecule. Variation of the lipid A domain of LPS serves as one strategy utilized by Gram-negative bacteria to promote survival by providing resistance to components of the innate immune system and helping to evade recognition by TLR4. This review summarizes the biochemical machinery required for the production of diverse lipid A structures of human pathogens and how structural modification of endotoxin impacts pathogenesis.

Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) has emerged as an important agent of diarrheal disease in the developed countries. Attachment to host cells, an essential step during intestinal colonization by EHEC, is associated with the formation of a highly organized cytoskeletal structure containing filamentous actin, termed attaching and effacing (A/E) lesion, directly beneath bound bacteria. The outer membrane protein, intimin, is required for the formation of this structure, as is Tir, a bacterial protein that is translocated into the host cell and thought to function as a receptor for intimin. In this thesis, we characterized A/E lesion formation by in vivo and in vitro-grown EHEC, aimed at testing whether bacterial adaptation to the mammalian host included up regulation of A/E lesion formation. Our results showed that actin signaling by EHEC was induced upon bacterial growth in vivo, and this induction was likely due to the up regulation of multiple activities by in vivo-grown EHEC. We also focused on the interaction between intimin and the host cell, an interaction that triggers actin condensation of A/E lesion formation. We evaluated the role of β1 integrins, one of the proposed receptors of intimin, in A/E lesion formation, and demonstrated that β1 integrins are not essential for intimin-mediated cell binding and actin condensation. To better understand intimin function, we mapped the functional domains of intimin, showed that the minimal cell binding domain of intimin correlates with the minimal Tir-binding domain. This minimal Tir-binding domain, when purified and coated on latex beads, was sufficient to trigger actin condensation on preinfected mammalian cells, suggesting that Tir-binding by intimin is critical in the final step of A/E lesion formation. To further demonstrate the significance of the interaction between intimin and Tir in A/E lesion formation, we developed a yeast two-hybrid system to identify intimin mutants diminished in Tir-binding, and then characterized those mutants for the ability to trigger actin condensation, the final step of A/E lesion formation. Finally, as a first step to study the downstream actin signaling pathway after Tir-binding, we mapped the domain of Tir involved in intimin-binding, and showed that the N-terminus and C-terminus of Tir are likely to be localized in the host cell cytoplasm, available to interact with downstream effectors in actin signaling.

Culture and language are intrinsically linked, and the question of how to approach teaching culture whilst teaching a language is always going to be one teachers have to ask themselves. A textbook is a tool which is meant to aid teachers and remove some of the burden of decision-making from their shoulders. A good textbook should thus give a teacher all of the tools needed to teach a language, including answers to the aforementioned question. This study was a content analysis of four English Language textbooks used in Swedish high schools. The main focus was on how these textbooks present different cultures. This was then contextualized by comparisons with previous research, with cultural theories, and by a comparison with the guidelines which are presented in the Swedish curriculum. The study found that the textbooks contain little representation of cultures which are not natively English-speaking or which exist outside of the so-called Inner circle of English language, and that even when non-Inner circle cultures are represented, they are either viewed through and Inner circle lens or as a minority culture in an Inner circle context. Furthermore, the literature which is included in the books adheres strictly to the English literary canon as it is generally defined. The textbooks thus do not encourage the teaching of English as an international language, and they therefore go against the guidelines of the Swedish curriculum. They are also representative of a global issue of conservatism in ELT which has been highlighted previously by other authors—and to the existence of which they provide further and current proof.

Untreatable gonorrhea, caused by fully antimicrobial resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC), is a major global health threat. While a vaccine would greatly help address this crisis, development of a GC vaccine is complicated by the lack of lab models of symptomatic gonorrhea. We hypothesized that overt disease in animal models of gonorrhea is limited by the human-restriction of gonococcal virulence factors, and the impact of the reproductive hormone cycle (estrus and diestrus phases). We tested these hypotheses by examining the host response to infection in transgenic mice expressing targets of bacterial adhesion, human carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecules (hCEACAMs), in uterine versus vaginal infections, and in different phases of the reproductive cycle (estrus and diestrus phases). hCEACAM expression most impacted estrus phase infections, prolonging colonization in vaginal infection and inducing greater inflammation in uterine. Reproductive phase greatly influenced host response to uterine infection as diestrus infection was more inflammatory than estrus. Phase differences in uterine infection were driven by greater activation of a chemokine-centric common anti gonococcal response and unique induction of type 1 interferons in diestrus. These findings suggest that symptomatic uterine and vaginal GC infection can be modeled by transcervically infected wild-type diestrus mice and transgenic, vaginally-infected estrus mice, respectively. A novel approach to GC vaccine development is also needed. Mono-antigenic vaccines have failed to produce immunity suggesting a poly-antigenic antigen, like natural outer membrane vesicles (nOMVs) may be necessary. It has been shown that any GC vaccine must lack the bacterioprotective antigen, reduction modifiable protein (RMP), and no such nOMV has been previously described. Here we report successful isolation of RMP-deficient nOMVs through sequential size and weight restrictive filtration. Vesicle morphology, proteomics, and bioactivity was characterized via various methods. nOMVs were found to be consistent in size, shape and antigenic load. As antigens, nOMVs induced high serum titers and measurable vaginal levels of antigen and GC specific IgG that recognized several nOMV immunogens supporting the vaccine potential of GC nOMVs. These findings lay the groundwork for protective studies of nOMV vaccines in novel models of active gonorrhea moving the field closer to discovering the mechanism of protective anti-gonococcal immunity.