Diploma thesis deals with preparation of polypropylene functionalized by maleimides, based on the reaction between maleic anhydride and amine. The overview of functionalization of polypropylene by maleic anhydride by reactive extrusion and routes for the synthesis and utilization of maleimides are contained in the theoretical part. Samples of maleimide-functionalized polypropylene were prepared by reactive extrusion using low molecular weight amines (aniline and 4-aminophenol) and hight molecular weight polyether monoamines. Functionalized polypropylene samples were prepared by several methods differing in the composition of the reaction mixture and performing a grafting reaction. Appropriate maleamic acids and maleimides were synthesized from low molecular weight amines and further used to functionalize the polypropylene. To characterize the samples, the degree of monomer conversion and melt flow index were determined and further analyses were performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The synthesis of low molecular weight products was further monitored by thin layer chromatography and thermogravimetric analysis with evolved gas analysis.

This study’s main objective is to examine if there is acorrelation between readability and compressibility of Java code. The code readability is important to softwaremaintainability and the comprehension of the code, and thiscan be verified and tested with a range of different metricssuch as B&W, Scalabrino and Dorn’s readability metric.Should there exist a correlation, compressibility could proveto be a simple yet useful readability metric.Data compression is when code or data is encoded usingfewer bits that its original size. There are several algorithmsto do this, and this study works with some of the mostpopular methods. To examine the correlation, we first testedthe different compression algorithms against each other tosee if there was a major difference in size of the resulting file.After that we compared the compressibility between twodifferent types of written code, with previously establisheddifferences in readability.All in all, the source code from a total of 20 popular GitHubprojects were tested with 3 compression algorithms tocompare the differences between the algorithms. For thecompressibility comparisons between code as relating toreadability, a combined total of 104 code snippets weretested, 52 of each compared coding paradigm.Result: For the first test we concluded that there was nosignificant difference between the compression rates of thealgorithms, ending up roughly within 4% or less of eachother on average.The second result reveals a small difference incompressibility between sets of code using reactive Java andobject-oriented Java. These two paradigms are showing adifference in readability according to earlier research, thoughthe difference in compressibility was so small that it wasconsidered negligible. This is due to a lack of variety ofsnippets tested and the difference can largely be attributed tothe small file sizes of some snippets. The smaller filesincreased in size due to the compression adding an“overhead” when a file is compressed. This is morenoticeable on smaller files which this study tested a lot of.In conclusion, the study was unable to indicate a clearconnection between source code readability andcompressibility. Thus, it does not indicate that compressibility is a suitable proxy for readability as of now.This study does however start a conversation on a topicpreviously untouched, and we hope that this study can pointother studies in the right direction. The scope of this researchis too big to be fully explored in this study alone, and westrongly suggest future research on the topic.

Receiving a breast cancer (BC) diagnosis generates significant physical and psychological stress that may persist months, years, or even decades beyond treatment completion. Such chronic stress can severely alter the biological systems of BC survivors (BCS). Yet, little is known about the impact and associated variables of these long-term physiological sequelae. Considering that the number of BCS continues to grow each year, it is imperative to assess the extent to which a BC experience impacts human physiological mechanisms by examining the secretion patterns of associated stress- and immune-related biomarkers and by exploring the behavioural, physical, and psychological variables implicated in these dysregulations. Such research is of particular importance in order to guide cancer survivorship care and develop interventions promoting optimal health outcomes in BCS. This research program sought to address this through three inter-related studies. Study One was a quasi-experimental design study examining both the diurnal and reactive concentration patterns of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) in a sample of women with (n = 22) and without a prior history of BC (n = 26). SIgA concentration patterns were contrasted to concentration patterns of cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) in the same individuals (complementary to two previously published studies). Participants supplied saliva samples at five time points on two consecutive typical days (for diurnal data) and at seven time points before, during, and after an acute laboratory stressor (for reactive data). Results reveled no evidence of uncharacteristic SIgA diurnal or reactive concentration patterns, suggesting a normal and well-functioning immunological SIgA system in BCS on average 4.6 years post-diagnosis. Study One acted as a summary article allowing readers to grasp the "big picture" of long-term physiological dysregulations in BCS as a whole. Building on this, Study Two, which used the same dataset as Study One, aimed to determine whether physical activity (PA) could mitigate the adverse physiological effects of a BC experience in BCS (n = 25), as indexed by their cortisol concentration patterns. Participants self-reported their PA frequency and engaged in the same cortisol assay protocol reported in Study One. Results indicated no statistically significant differences in diurnal and reactive cortisol patterns between low- and high-PA groups. A trend that PA might not have the same effect on women with and without a history of BC was noted. Important limitations to Study Two included the small sample size and the lack of sensitivity and objectivity of the PA measure. To address Study Two’s limitations and to consider a wider range of modifiable variables that could contribute to the physiological dysregulations observed in BCS, Study Three aimed to assess the predictive value of six behavioural, physical, and psychological variables on the physiological effects of a BC experience, as indexed by cortisol (n = 192) and C-reactive protein (CRP; n = 168) levels over the first 1.5 year post-treatment. CRP, a biomarker that had not been considered so far in this research program, allowed to assess systemic inflammation in BCS post-treatment. Study Three also aimed to describe naturally occurring changes in cortisol and CRP levels and assess whether they changed in tandem. Data were drawn from 201 BCS who provided capillary blood and saliva samples at approximately 3.5 months post-treatment and again 3, 6, 9, and 12 months later. At each time point, participants also completed self-report questionnaires and wore an accelerometer for seven consecutive days. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed no significant change over time for cortisol levels post-treatment and a non-linear trajectory of change for CRP levels which was not predicted by cortisol levels. Associations between cortisol and sedentary time as well as associations between CRP and PA, body mass index, and health- and cancer-related stress were found. Collectively, these three inter-related studies uniquely add to the literature by describing long-term physiological trajectories of stress- and immune-related biomarkers in BCS. This research program attempts to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that tie behavioural, physical, and psychological variables and biomarker secretion to a BC experience. It also offers opportunities to identify women at greater risk of physiological dysregulations following a BC experience. This represents an important step towards the development of tailored interventions targeting specific BCS that most warrant them. With the number of BCS climbing each year, cancer survivorship needs to be a priority in research and efforts to better understand, monitor, and mitigate the physiological consequences of a BC experience are critical.

This graduation thesis is aimed in usage of MERS circuits in high-current electroengineering. The MERS circuit is a serial variable capacitor which capacity is possible to change by the help of switching of semiconductor components. On beginning of the thesis I shall acquaint you with usage of the MERS circuit. It will be sketched out their basic circuitry, the operating method, possibilities of transistors switching and calculation of the capacity capacitors for particular controlling method. On the prepared device we shall accomplish the predefined measurement. Furthermore we shall create the simulation by means of the Matlab programme. In the end we shall compare the results of the simulation with measured values.

Background: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) constitute a network of chromatin fibres containing histone and antimicrobial peptides that are released by activated neutrophils. NETs protect the host against infection by trapping and facilitating phagocytosis of potentially harmful pathogens. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) on phorbol-ester (PMA)-mediated NETosis in vitro, as well as the effects of cigarette. Methods: Isolated human blood neutrophils were exposed to PMA (6.25 ng/ml) in the presence or absence of CSC (40-80 μg/ml) for 90 min at 37oC. Alternatively neutrophils of non-smokers and smokers were activated with PMA (6.25 ng/ml) for 90 min at 37oC. NET formation was measured using a spectrofluorimetric procedure to detect extracellular DNA and fluorescence microscopy was used to visualize nets. Oxygen consumption by PMA-activated neutrophils was measured using an oxygen sensitive electrode. Cotinine levels were measured in smokers and non-smokers for objective confirmation of smoking status Results: Activation of neutrophils with PMA was associated with induction of NETosis that was significantly attenuated in the presence of CSC (40 and 80 μg/ml), with mean fluorescence intensities of 65% and 66% of that observed with untreated cells, respectively, and confirmed by fluorescence microscopy. The rate and magnitude of oxygen consumption by activated neutrophils pre-treated with CSC (80 μg/ml) was significantly less than that observed with untreated cells (73% of the control system), indicative of decreased production of reactive oxidant species in the presence of CSC. When comparing smokers and non- smokers, neutrophils from smokers showed a decrease in both oxygen consumption and the number of NET-forming cells consistent with attenuation of NET formation due to inhalation of cigarette smoke. Conclusion: The inhibition of NETosis observed in the presence of CSC and CS (in smokers) correlated with attenuation of oxygen consumption by PMA-activated neutrophils suggesting a mechanistic relationship between these events. Smoking-related attenuation of NETosis may impair host immune responses and increase the risk of respiratory infections, in vivo. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Immunology / MSc / Unrestricted

One of the biggest challenges nowadays when dealing with critical AAR-affected infrastructure is to determine the induced expansion and damage attained to date in the different locations of the structure (i.e. diagnosis), to forecast its potential for further distress over time (i.e. prognosis), as well as its potential structural implications. There are a number of prognosis techniques that have been developed in the past decades which are currently being used worldwide. Yet, most of these approaches use residual expansion procedures based on accelerated laboratory tests performed on cores extracted from damaged structures. However, the majority of the results gathered from these tests have been found to be inaccurate when compared to the swelling behavior of the respective structure in the field and several potential issues have been raised with respect to the test setup and alkali leaching. This work aims to evaluate the efficiency of the various commonly used laboratory setups to assess the residual expansion of AAR-affected concrete. Three different setups (i.e. 38°C and 100% RH; 38°C and soaked in 1M NaOH and; 38°C and wrapped in 0.7M NaOH) and two types of reactive aggregates (fine and coarse) were selected for this research. Expansion is monitored over time and four damage degrees (i.e. 0.05%. 0.12%, 0.20% and 0.30%) are selected for further chemical, microscopic (DRI) and non-destructive tests. Results demonstrated that the 1 M NaOH protocol is much more aggressive than the other two setups. Furthermore, it provides the samples with a unique damage pattern that is different from field affected concrete. Finally, the proposed setup shows to be reliable in providing tested samples with similar deterioration mechanisms than expected. Yet, more efficiency in the reaction kinetics and understanding of the alkalis exchange from the system is still required.

My diploma thesis is focused on reactive aggressiveness of children at primary schools with the view of their teachers. The theoretical part focuses on aggressive, decisive and aggressive behavior. The diploma thesis tries to observe how teachers face aggressive activity in practice. The research part deals with the analysis of data on the above results, through a questionnaire survey.

Futures and Promises have become an essential part of asynchronous programming. However, they have important limitations, allowing at most one result and no support for cyclic dependencies, instead resulting in deadlocks. Reactive Async is a prototype of an event-based asynchronous parallel programming model that extends the functionality of Futures and Promises, supporting refinement of results according to an application-specific lattice. Furthermore, it allows for completion of cyclic dependencies through quiescence detection of a thread pool. The thesis demonstrates the practical applicability of Reactive Async by applying the model to a large static analysis framework, OPAL. Benchmarks comparing Reactive Async with Futures and Promises show an efficiency trade-off for the flexibility of using the model. / Futures och Promises har blivit en viktig del av asynkron programmering. Men de har viktiga begränsningar, bland annat att tillåta högst ett resultat skrivas och inget stöd för cykliska beroenden, som istället resulterar i baklås. Reactive Async är en prototyp av en händelsebaserad asynkron parallell programmeringsmodell som utökar funktionaliteten hos Futures och Promises, för att stödja förädling av resultat enligt en applikation specifik lattice. Dessutom möjliggör modellen slutförandet av cykliska beroenden genom att upptäcka när en tråd pool ej har några oavslutade uppgifter. Masteruppsatsen visar att Reactive Async är praktisk tillämpbar genom att applicera modellen på ett stort ramverk för statiska analyser. Prestandatester som jämför Reactive Async med Futures och Promises visar att flexibiliteten av modellen kompromissas med effektiviteten vid användning.

Wolbachia is a vertically transmitted, obligate intracellular bacterium infecting ~40% of all known species of arthropods, as well as filarial nematodes. The nature of Wolbachia-host interactions ranges from reproductive parasitism to increased fecundity and pathogen protection. Wolbachia reduces the ability of mosquitoes to transmit human pathogens, which is being explored as a novel method for the control of vector-borne diseases like Dengue and Zika. The mechanisms of Wolbachia blocking the transmission of these diseases are not fully understood. There are studies indicating that Wolbachia-induced changes in the insect immunity could block the virus, however there is no consensus in the literature. A necessary step in the transmission of these diseases is the viral entry into the insect vector. This occurs trough the gut epithelium, highlighting the importance of understanding the interaction of this tissue with microorganisms. We have recently shown that Wolbachia colonizes the Drosophila gut epithelium and affects the gut microbiome composition. Wolbachia’s presence did not affect the gene expression of immune effector molecules from the main regulators of gut immunity, Imd and ROS pathways. Our understanding of the mechanisms of Wolbachia’s colonization of the gut epithelium and modulation of gut microbiome are still very limited. This work characterizes Wolbachia’s kinetics of colonization in Drosophila midguts. Imaging analysis revealed that Wolbachia colonizes adult and larval midguts in different patterns. We have also characterized a preferential colonization in specific adult midgut sub-regions. We observed that Wolbachia patches are confined to specific midgut subregions, in a pattern similar to the arrangement of intestinal stem cell (ISC) clones. These results led us to hypothesize that Wolbachia colonizes Drosophila midguts by infecting intestinal progenitor cells and spreading vertically to their progeny with limited lateral transmission between neighboring cells. We provide evidence to support this hypothesis by showing that Wolbachia is present in intestinal progenitor cells in all stages of the fly’s life cycle as well as by analyzing the infection status of ISC clones and differentiated cells surrounding ISCs. Finally, we found that ISC proliferation is reduced by the intracellular presence of Wolbachia, which also decreases ISC tumor incidence triggered by the downregulation of Notch signaling specifically in ISCs. These findings will aid in our understanding of Wolbachia tropisms and its phenotypic consequences. It has been shown that in the Wolbachia wMelPop strain excessive growth of intracellular bacteria leads to damage to the host cell, suggesting a mechanism of controlling intracellular growth in other strains. To better understand the molecular mechanisms behind Wolbachia-Drosophila interactions, we turned to the gonads, as Wolbachia colonization of these tissues has been well characterized. We chose to investigate the interplay between Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and Wolbachia, as intracellular ROS could regulate bacterial density but also be affected by Wolbachia and play a role in symbiont-related phenotypes. Using direct and indirect measurements of ROS, we show that the pathogenic strain wMelPop increases ROS in the germarium, while the symbiotic strains wMel and wMelCS reduce ROS in the terminal filaments. None of the Wolbachia strains tested affected ROS levels in the testes. In addition, genetically altering ROS levels in the germline or systemically in the fly did not affect Wolbachia levels in the ovaries. We conclude that ROS does not significantly affect Wolbachia in the fruit fly gonads.

Synchronizing hand and foot movements under reactive versus predictive control results in differential timing structures between the responses. Under reactive control, where the movement is externally triggered, the electromyographic (EMG) responses are synchronized, resulting in the hand displacement preceding the foot. Under predictive control, where the movement is self-paced, the motor commands are organized such that the displacement onset occurs relatively synchronously, requiring the EMG onset of the foot to precede that of the hand. The current study used a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS), which is known to involuntarily trigger a prepared response, to investigate whether these results are due to differences in the pre-programmed timing initiation structure of the responses. Participants (n=17) performed isolated and synchronous movements of the right heel and right hand under both reactive and predictive modes of control. The reactive condition involved a simple reaction time (RT) task where participants performed the required movement in response to a visual go-signal. The predictive condition involved an anticipation-timing task where participants initiated the required movement coincidently with a sweeping clock hand reaching a target. On a subset of trials, a SAS (114 dB) was presented 150 ms prior to the imperative stimulus. Results from the SAS trials revealed that while the differential timing structures between the responses was maintained under both reactive and predictive control, the EMG onset asynchrony under predictive control was significantly smaller following the SAS. Additionally, there was no difference in the effect of the SAS when the movements were performed in isolation versus synchronously. Together, these results suggest that the timing between the responses, which differs between the two control modes, is pre-programmed; however, under predictive control, an increase in cortical activation from the SAS may have shortened the between-limb delay.