<p>Dagens samhälle är präglat av ett enormt reklamutbud och reklamstrategier. I denna djungel av marknadsföring har företag ibland valt en annan strategi, en relativt outnyttjad strategi, som baseras på rykten om produkten, tjänsten eller företaget och är det som används som marknadsföring. Denna strategi kallas för word of mouth. Ena syftet har varit att undersöka hur word of mouth definieras av olika författare. Genom att göra en jämförelse av teorier av begreppet word of mouth har ett försök gjorts att skapa en definition av begreppet, som tillämpas på vårt andra syfte med undersökningen. Det andra syftet är att undersöka om kommunikationen på det utvalda internetforum prisjakt.nu kan liknas vid vår definition av word of mouth. Genom vår undersökning ville vi exemplifiera vad word of mouth är och vilket som är dess användningsområde. Forskningen har därför genomförts genom en litteraturstudie där word of mouth som begrepp har kartlagts och förklarats. Genom litteraturstudien utvecklades sedan en jämförelse av teorier av begreppet word of mouth. Dessa jämförelser av begreppet gjorde det möjligt för oss att kunna applicera begreppet på det tidigare nämnda utvalda internetforum. När slutdefinitionen fanns tillhanda, utfördes studien på Internetforumet Prisjakt.nu, med inriktning på en produkt som det pratades mycket om på detta Internetforum. Denna produkt valdes strategiskt då vi ansåg att det var väsentligt för undersökningen att produkten ännu inte fanns på marknaden, då tidigare teorier om word of mouths beteende tydde på att frekvensen på kommunikation om produkten var som högst innan produkten släppts. Denna produkt var Apple Iphone, som då ännu inte lanserats i Sverige. Därefter genomfördes studien med vår definition av traditionell och generaliserad word of mouth som teoretisk utgångspunkt, och studien resulterade i att förekomsten var positiv för word of mouth-baserad kommunikation på internetforumet prisjakt.nu. Vår definition av begreppet word of mouth lyder så som följer: “Word of mouth är interpersonell kommunikation, där självgenererande ryktesspridning om personer, företag, produkter eller tjänster kan ske via telefon, Internet eller mun-till-mun-kommunikation”. Kommunikationen på det undersökta forumet innehåller en hög grad av interpersonell kommunikation, självgenererande ryktesspridning och har en kommersiell karaktär på dess kommunikation, och uppfyller således de tre delar som enligt vår definition behövs för att kalla det en word of mouth-baserad kommunikation.</p> / <p>Today’s society is characterized by an enormously large advertising range and commercial strategies. In this jungle of marketing companies often chosen another strategy, a comparatively unknown strategy based on rumors about a product, service or company as marketing. That strategy is called word of mouth. The purpose of examine word of mouth as concept is important, because today the concept is defined on various manner of several different authors. By making a theory comparison of the conception word of mouth it is possible to create a good definition of the concept, this because that the concept word of mouth lacks a definite definition, that can be applied on our second purpose. The second purpose is to examine if the communication on the selected internet forum prisjakt.nu is word of mouth. In earlier cases this would been examined according to electronic word of mouth that is an adjustment to the internet, but we felt that the concept almost was identical to other word of mouth-theories we choose to make a theory comparison of the concept as described above. Through our examination we wanted to exemplify what word of mouth is and what it can be used for. A literature study was done as a replacement for the earlier research, the earlier research missed an evident significance of the conception word of mouth, and it handled its usage. The research had therefore been made through a literature study where the concept has been plotted and explained. Through the literature study the theory comparison of the concept word of mouth developed. . The theory comparison made it possible for us to apply the concept on the earlier mentioned internet forum. When the finished definition was at hand, the study was made on the internet forum prisjakt.nu, with the concentration on a product that had a big talk about it on this internet forum. This product was strategically selected as we considered it as an essential part for the research as the product didn’t even exist on the market; this due to the earlier theory’s about word of mouths behaviour that indicated that the frequency of the communication about the product was highest just before the product was released in the USA. The product was the Apple Iphone, and has after this research not yet been released in Sweden.The result shows that our definition of word of mouth can be applied on internet forums and that a separate concept for word of mouth on the internet is unnecessary. Our definition of word of mouth is as follows: “Word of mouth is an interpersonal communication, where self generating rumour spreading about people, companies, products or services can be made via telephone, internet or by mouth-to-mouth-communication“. The communication on the studied forums contain a high pitch of interpersonal communication, self generating rumour spread and have a commercialized character on it’s communication and fulfil the three parts that according of our theory comparison is needed for being called word of mouth-based communication.</p>

<p>In industrial use of paint systems a swift processing is crucial. Another very important issue is to improve the quality of the final coating. This report investigates the film formation process of powder coatings, specially the spreading of individual powder particles. The obtained results can be used to understand and control the film formation process. In this way the desired levelling can be achieved and thus the desired gloss or other surface characteristics that may be required. This means that the method could be used when evaluating different polymer and additive combinations that could be used to change film formation behaviour or curing time for powder coating systems to suit various substrates. It makes it possible to avoid and minimize different surface defects as orange peel or cratering in the powder coated film.</p><p>We used a reflection optical microscope to better understand the film formation process and especially the spreading of a powder melt on surfaces with various surface energies. The obtained data were: the particle diameter, the area, area ratio and the contact angle of the powder particle as a function of time and temperature. This information can be used to derive the surface tension of any powder melt.</p><p>In this report we evaluate the dependencies of temperature, heat rate and surface energy for powder coatings on different substrates. The method provides information that can be used to optimize the film formation of a specific powder coating/substrate combination. This method can be used to evaluate the powder spreading and levelling on different substrates from a surface tension point of view.</p><p>We found, as expected, that the powder flows out on a hydrophilic surface and is inhibited by a hydrophobic. The increase of the area ratio on a hydrophilic surface was about five times as the initial area coverage and on a hydrophobic surface only two times the initial area coverage. The contact angle between the melted powder particle on the different surface types could be calculated. The melt surface tension could be calculated since three substrates surfaces with various surface energies were used. The melt surface tension was found to be about 18.5 mN/m.</p> / <p>Sammanfattning</p><p>Vid industriell användning av ett färgsystem är det viktigt med en snabb och smidig målningsprocess. En viktig del är att förbättra kvaliteten på den färdiga ytan. Denna rapport undersöker filmbildningsprocessen för pulverfärg, närmare bestämt spridningen av individuella pulverpartiklar. Resultaten från utvärderingen av denna metod kan användas för att bättre förstå och få kontroll över filmbildningsprocessen. Med denna undersökningsmetod kan den önskade utslätningen uppnås och därmed den önskade glansen eller annan yteffekt som kan vara önskvärd.</p><p>Metoden kan användas för att utvärdera olika polymer- och additivkombinationer som kan användas för att ändra filmbildningens uppförande eller bestämma härdningstiden för en pulverfärg att passa ett visst substrat. Metoden gör det möjligt att förhindra och minska olika ytdefekter såsom apelsinskals- eller kratereffekter i pulverfärgens yta.</p><p>Ett optiskt reflectionsmikroskop användes för att bättre kunna förstå filmbildningsprocessen och särskilt spridningen av smält pulver på substrat med olika ytenergier. De mätdata vi fick var partikeldiameter, area, areaförändring och kontaktvinkeln för pulverpartiklar som funktion av tid och temperatur. Ur denna information kunde pulversmältans ytenergier härledas.</p><p>I denna rapport utvärderas pulvrets beroende av temperatur, uppvärmning och ytenergi på olika substrat. Denna metod ger information som kan användas för att optimera filmbildningen av en specifik kombination av pulverfärg och substrat. Denna metod kan också användas för att utvärdera pulverspridning och utjämning av färgfilmen på olika substrat med avseende på ytenergierna.</p><p>Som förväntat flyter pulvret ut på hydrofila ytor och utflytningen ändras på en hydrofob yta. På en hydrofil yta sprider sig partikeln till fem gånger den ursprungliga arean över substratet och motsvarande två gånger för en hydrofob yta. Kontaktvinkeln mellan en smält pulverpartikel på olika sorters substrat från utförda mätningar beräknas utifrån utförda mätningar. Kontaktvinklar mellan pulver och olika substrat kan användas för att beräkna smältans ytspänning. Smältans ytspänning kan beräknas då experiment gjorts på tre sorters ytor med olika kända ytenergier. Smältans ytspänning var 18,5 mN/m.</p><p>Slutsatsen är att det går att observera och utvärdera resultaten av utsmältningsförloppet för pulverfärg med denna metod.</p>

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanics with which older adults activate and access different subdomains of their mental lexicons during word retrieval for picture naming. Method: Data were analyzed for 12 aging, native English speakers who performed a picture-word priming task. The auditory probe words were presented in the following conditions in relation to the picture stimuli: Identically related, strongly semantically related, weakly semantically related, strongly phonologically related, weakly phonologically related, semantically related to the strong phonological relative of the target picture label, or phonologically-related to the strong semantic relative of the target picture label. Event related potentials were used to measure picture-word priming effects. Results: Three main results were observed. First, our healthy aging adult participants evidenced strong activation of whole-word phonological representations as well as rhyme representations of target picture labels, but weakened activation of initial phoneme information. Second, they processed semantic information robustly. Finally, our participants appeared to experience phonological competition when accessing target picture labels. Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that healthy aging adults maintain efficient access to whole-word phonological representations, rhyme representations, and conceptual-semantic representations of target picture labels. However, in line with previously-reported findings, they do seem to evidence limited activation of initial phonological information on the path to picture naming.

The Gulf of Mexico Basin Opening project (GUMBO) is a study of the lithological composition and structural evolution of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) that uses Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) data from four transects in the Northern GoM. I examine 39 OBS shot records in the easternmost transect for shear wave arrivals and pick shear wave travel times from the 11 usable records. I then carry out a tomographic inversion of seismic refraction travel times. I use the resulting shear-wave velocity model in conjunction with a previously constructed P-wave model to examine the relationship between Vp and Vs. I compare velocities in the sediment and basement with empirical velocities from previous studies for the purpose of constraining lithological composition below the transect and make an interpretation of the structural evolution of the eastern GoM. The seismic velocities for crust landward of the Florida Escarpment are consistent with normal continental crust. Seaward of the Escarpment, velocities in the upper oceanic crust are anomalously high (Vp = 6.5 – 7 km/sec; Vs = 4.0 – 4.6 km/sec). A possible explanation for this observation is that GoM basalt formation consisted of basaltic sheet flows, forming oceanic crust that does not contain the vesicularity and lower seismic velocities found in typical pillow basalts. Increased magnesium and iron content could also account for these high velocities. Seismic refraction and reflection data provide a means of investigating the nature of the Moho in the northeastern GoM. I use a finite difference method to generate synthetic record sections for data from eight instruments that are part of the two easternmost GUMBO seismic lines (lines 3 & 4). I then vary the thickness of the Moho in these synthetic models and compare the results with the original receiver gather to examine the effects this variability has on amplitudes. The data from the instruments chosen for these two lines are representative of continental and transitional crust. The finite difference models indicate that the Moho beneath GUMBO 3 is ~1500 m thick based on the onset and amplitudes of PmP arrivals. All five instruments display consistent results. The instruments along GUMBO 4 suggest a Moho almost twice as thick as GUMBO 3 on the landward end of the transect that grades into a Moho of similar thickness (1750 m) in the deep water GoM. The three instruments used to model the Moho in this area show that the Moho ranges from ~1750 to 3500 m in thickness. The sharper boundary beneath continental crust in GUMBO Line 3 supports other evidence that suggests magmatic underplating and volcanism in the northern GoM during the mid-Jurassic. The thicker Moho seen on the landward end of GUMBO Line 4 that is overlain by continental crust was likely unaffected by GoM rifting. Therefore, the Moho beneath the Florida Platform might be as old as the Suwannee Terrane, and complex Moho structure is not uncommon for ancient continental crust. / text

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Η κατανόηση των φαινομένων που λαμβάνουν χώρα κατά την αλληλεπίδραση κυττάρου βιοϋλικού και η συσχέτιση μηχανικών παραμέτρων του κυττάρου με πολύπλοκες διεργασίες στο εξωκυττάριο (ECM) περιβάλλον οδηγεί το μέλλον στο σχεδιασμό των βιοϋλικών. Σκοπός της διατριβής ήταν η διερεύνηση της προσκόλλησης και των μεταβολών των μηχανικών ιδιοτήτων οστεοβλαστών στους αρχικούς χρόνους προσκόλλησης σε υπόστρωμα του βιοπολυμερούς χιτοζάνης. Η προετοιμασία υποστρωμάτων χιτοζάνης έγινε με ομοιοπολική πρόσδεση του βιοπολυμερούς σε επιφάνεια γυαλιού (επιφάνεια ελέγχου). Με φασματοσκοπία φωτοηλεκτρονίων από ακτίνες Χ επιβεβαιώθηκε η μεταβολή της επιφανειακής χημικής σύστασης. Η μέση επιφανειακή τραχύτητα, με χρήση Μικροσκοπίας Ατομικής Δύναμης, βρέθηκε 4 φορές μεγαλύτερη στη χιτοζάνη σε σύγκριση με το γυαλί, ενώ η μέση γωνία διαβροχής ήταν περίπου 3 φορές μεγαλύτερη στη χιτοζάνη. Ο αριθμός και η μέση επιφάνεια εξάπλωσης των προσκολλημένων κυττάρων, προσδιορίστηκαν από φωτογραφίες ηλεκτρονιακού μικροσκοπίου σάρωσης και χρήση λογισμικού ανάλυσης εικόνας. Μέχρι τα 30 λεπτά, ο αριθμός ήταν μεγαλύτερος στη χιτοζάνη, ενώ μετά τα 45 λεπτά, στο γυαλί. Σε όλους τους χρόνους, η μέση επιφάνεια εξάπλωσης ήταν μεγαλύτερη στη χιτοζάνη. Για την ποσοτικοποίηση της προσκόλλησης, χρησιμοποιήθηκε η τεχνική της μικροπιπέττας σε πειράματα αποκόλλησης μεμονωμένων οστεοβλαστών. Υπολογίστηκε η “ώθηση αποκόλλησης”, I, ως το ολοκλήρωμα της εφαρμοζόμενης δύναμης στο χρόνο (I=SFdt) για την πλήρη αποκόλληση ενός κυττάρου και βρέθηκε στατιστικά μεγαλύτερη στη χιτοζάνη σε όλους τους χρόνους. Με την τεχνική Ποσοτικής Αλυσιδωτής Αντίδρασης Πολυμεράσης, η έκφραση των γονιδίων ιντεγκρινών αν, α4, β1 και β3 βρέθηκε σημαντικά αυξημένη στη χιτοζάνη από τα 30 στα 120 λεπτά. Με συνεστιακό μικροσκόπιο σάρωσης, παρατηρήθηκε αυξημένη έκφραση της κινάσης εστιακής προσκόλλησης στη χιτοζάνη στα 30 και στα 120 λεπτά. Τέλος, χρησιμοποιήθηκε η τεχνική της μικροπιπέττας σε πειράματα εφελκυσμού και ερπυσμού των οστεοβλαστών και υπολογίστηκαν οι μεταβολές του μέτρου Young, Ε, και του φαινόμενου ιξώδους, η. Οι μέσες τιμές βρέθηκαν αυξημένες στην πορεία της προσκόλλησης στις δύο επιφάνειες, παρουσιάζοντας υψηλότερες τιμές στη χιτοζάνη. Η παρούσα διατριβή είναι μια ολοκληρωμένη φαινομενολογική προσέγγιση της μηχανικής συμπεριφοράς της οστεοβλάστης κατά την προσκόλληση. Η προσκόλληση στη χιτοζάνη συνοδεύεται από μεταβολές στη μηχανική συμπεριφορά και συνδέεται με κρίσιμες βιοχημικές διεργασίες. / The understanding of the phenomena that take place during cell-biomaterial interaction and the correlation of cell mechanical parameters with complicated processes at the extracellular environment (ECM) is driving the future of biomaterial design. The aim of the present study was the investigation of attachment and of alterations of mechanical properties of osteoblasts during the initial phase of attachment on chitosan biopolymer substrate. The preparation of the chitosan substrates was done with covalent immobilization of the biopolymer on glass surface (control substrate). X-Ray photolelectron spectroscopy confirmed the alteration of the surface chemical composition. Mean surface roughness, as measured by Atomic Force Microscopy, was increased 4-fold compared to glass, while the mean contact angle was found 3 times higher on chitosan substrate. The mean number and spreading area of the attached cells, were determined by Scanning Electron Microscopy images and the use of image processing program. Up to 30 minutes, the number of attached cells was higher on chitosan, while after 45 minutes, it was on glass. At all time points, the mean spreading area was greater on chitosan. To quantify attachment, the micropipette aspiration technique was used at experiments of detachment of individual osteoblasts. The ‘’detachment impulse’’, I, was calculated, as the integral of the applied force at time required (I=SFdt) for complete detachment of one cell, and it was found statistically higher on chitosan at all attachment times. With the quantified Polymerase Chain Reaction, the αν, α4, β1 and β3 gene integrin expression was found significantly increased from 30 to 120 minutes of attachment on chitosan. Using confocal scanning microscopy, higher expression of focal adhesion kinase was observed on chitosan at 30 and 120 minutes of attachment. Additionally, the micropipette aspiration technique was used at stretching and creep experiments so as to calculate the alterations of cell’s Young modulus, E, and apparent viscosity, η. Mean values were increased at the course of spreading for both surfaces, demonstrating greater values on chitosan. The present study is a complete phenomenological approach of the mechanical behavior of osteoblasts during attachment. Attachment on chitosan is accompanied by alterations of the mechanical behavior and is associated with critical biochemical processes.

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Magistro darbe tiriama į Lietuvos Raudonąją knygą įrašyto pavasarinio vikio būklė, bei invazinių krūmų plitimo ypatumai. Darbo objektas – Palangos botanikos parke augantis pavasarinis vikis (Vicia lathyroides L.) ir aštuoni invaziniai krūmai: guobalapė lanksva (Spiraea chamaedryfolia L.), šermukšnialapė lanksvūnė (Sorbaria sorbifolia (L.) A. Braun), paprastasis ligustras (Ligustrum vulgare L.), baltoji sedula (Cornus alba L.), blizgantysis kaulenis (Cotoneaster lucidus Schltdl.), darželinis jazminas (Philadelphus coronarius L.), baltauogė meškytė (Symphoricarpos albus (L.) S. F. Blake), šluotinis sausakrūmis (Sarothamnus scoparius (L.) W. D. J. Koch). Darbo tikslas – nustatyti pavasarinio vikio būklę ir invazinių krūmų plitimo ypatumus. Darbo metodai. Pavasarinio vikio būklės nustatymui buvo vertinta žydinčių ir derančių vikių kiekis, vegetacijos trukmė, bendrijos įvairovė. Aprašant kiekvienos radavietės medyno sudėtį ir žolinę augaliją, buvo naudojama Braun – Blanquet skalė. Invazinių krūmų plitimo intensyvumo nustatymui buvo vertinta šakninių atžalų plitimo atstumas nuo motininio krūmo, nugenėtų ūglių rudeninis ir pavasarinis žėlimas. Statistinė analizė atlikta naudojant Microsoft Exel skaičiuoklę. Darbo rezultatai. Nustatytos trys pavasarinio vikio augavietės Palangos botanikos parke. Lyginant su senesniaisiais tyrimo duomenimis, pavasarinis vikis aptiktas 3 naujose vietose. Gausiausias pavasarinių vikių padengimas, žiedų ir anksčių skaičius rastas tokiose sąlygose, kur... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Master thesis examined the spring vetch condition and the spread of invasive shrub. The object of the study – spring vetch (Vicia lathyroides L.) and eight invasive shrubs: Spiraea chamaedryfolia L., Sorbaria sorbifolia (L.) A. Braun, Ligustrum vulgare L., Cornus alba L., Cotoneaster lucidus Schltdl., Philadelphus coronaries L., Symphoricarpos albus (L.) S. F. Blake, Sarothamnus scoparius (L.) W. D. J. Koch growing in Palanga Botanical Park, The aim of the study – to determine the Vicia lathyroides L. condition and the spread of invasive shrub features. The methods. Spring vetch condition determination was calculated by the density of flowering plants and established their growing time. Description of each finding local stand composition and herbs have been used by Braun – Blanquet scale. Spread of invasive shrubs were evaluated in determining the intensity of root suckers spread of the distance from the parent bush, intensity of shoots spreading after autumn cut. The statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The results. There were we found the three habitats of Vicia lathyroides L. in Palanga Botanical Park. To the comparison of the old survey, spring vetch was detected in three new places. Abundant spring vetch cover, flowers and pods appeared in such conditions with adequate lighting, absence of walk trails. Root suckers most intensive spread of Sorbaria sorbifolia (L.) A. Braun, Sarothamnus scoparius (L.) W. D. J. Koch, Symphoricarpos albus (L... [to full text]

A new reliability-based probabilistic model is developed for the estimation of liquefaction-induced lateral ground spreading, taking into consideration the uncertainties within the model functional form and the descriptive variables as well. The new model is also introduced as performance-based probabilistic engineering tool.