Stream drying drives microbial ammonia oxidation and first-flush nitrate export

Funded by Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Grant Number: CGL2012-32747 MINECO. Grant Numbers: CGL2012-32747, CGL2011-30590-CO2-02 EU Commission. Grant Number: 244121 FP7

Schéma implicite pour la résolution d'un système hyperbolique d'équations aux dérivées partielles

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Identification des métalloprotéases de la matrice extracellulaire synthétisées et sécrétées par des cellules dérivées de la lignée MDCK, les cellules MSV-MDCK-INV aux propriétés tumorales et invasives

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Antigen Drives Regulatory B10 Cell Development and Function

B cells mediate immune responses via the secretion of antibody and interactions with other immune cell populations through antigen presentation, costimulation, and cytokine secretion. Although B cells are primarily believed to promote immune responses using the mechanisms described above, some unique regulatory B cell populations that negatively influence inflammation have also been described. Among these is a rare interleukin (IL)-10-producing B lymphocyte subset termed “B10 cells.” B cell-derived IL-10 can inhibit various arms of the immune system, including polarization of Th1/Th2 cell subsets, antigen presentation and cytokine production by monocytes and macrophages, and activation of regulatory T cells. Further studies in numerous autoimmune and inflammatory models of disease have confirmed the ability of B10 cells to negatively regulate inflammation in an IL-10-dependent manner. Although IL-10 is indispensable to the effector functions of B10 cells, how this specialized B cell population is selected in vivo to produce IL-10 is unknown. Some studies have demonstrated a link between B cell receptor (BCR)-derived signals and the acquisition of IL-10 competence. Additionally, whether antigen-BCR interactions are required for B cell IL-10 production during homeostasis as well as active immune responses is a matter of debate. Therefore, the goal of this thesis is to determine the importance of antigen-driven signals during B10 cell development in vivo and during B10 cell-mediated immunosuppression.

Chapter 3 of the dissertation explored the BCR repertoire of spleen and peritoneal cavity B10 cells using single-cell sequencing to lay the foundation for studies to understand the full range of antigens that may be involved in B10 cell selection. In both the spleen and peritoneal cavity B10 cells studied, BCR gene utilization was diverse, and the expressed BCR transcripts were largely unmutated. Thus, B10 cells are likely capable of responding to a wide range of foreign and self-antigens in vivo.

Studies in Chapter 4 determined the predominant antigens that drive B cell IL-10 secretion during homeostasis. A novel in vitro B cell expansion system was used to isolate B cells actively expressing IL-10 in vivo and probe the reactivities of their secreted monoclonal antibodies. B10 cells were found to produce polyreactive antibodies that bound multiple self-antigens. Therefore, in the absence of overarching active immune responses, B cell IL-10 is secreted following interactions with self-antigens.

Chapter 5 of this dissertation investigated whether foreign antigens are capable of driving B10 cell expansion and effector activity during an active immune response. In a model of contact-induced hypersensitivity, in vitro B cell expansion was again used to isolate antigen-specific B10 clones, which were required for optimal immunosuppression.

The studies described in this dissertation shed light on the relative contributions of BCR-derived signals during B10 cell development and effector function. Furthermore, these investigations demonstrate that B10 cells respond to both foreign and self-antigens, which has important implications for the potential manipulation of B10 cells for human therapy. Therefore, B10 cells represent a polyreactive B cell population that provides antigen-specific regulation of immune responses via the production of IL-10.

Schéma implicite pour la résolution d'un système hyperbolique d'équations aux dérivées partielles

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Identification des métalloprotéases de la matrice extracellulaire synthétisées et sécrétées par des cellules dérivées de la lignée MDCK, les cellules MSV-MDCK-INV aux propriétés tumorales et invasives

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

What Drives Parental Concerns about their 18-Month-Olds at Familial Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Comparative performance analysis of drives for induction motors

The asynchronous polyphase induction motor has been the motor of choice in industrial settings for about the past half century because power electronics can be used to control its output behavior. Before that, the dc motor was widely used because of its easy speed and torque controllability. The two main reasons why this might be are its ruggedness and low cost. The induction motor is a rugged machine because it is brushless and has fewer internal parts that need maintenance or replacement. This makes it low cost in comparison to other motors, such as the dc motor. Because of these facts, the induction motor and drive system have been gaining market share in industry and even in alternative applications such as hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The subject of this thesis is to ascertain various control algorithms’ advantages and disadvantages and give recommendations for their use under certain conditions and in distinct applications. Four drives will be compared as fairly as possible by comparing their parameter sensitivities, dynamic responses, and steady-state errors. Different switching techniques are used to show that the motor drive is separate from the switching scheme; changing the switching scheme produces entirely different responses for each motor drive.

Understanding what drives informal learning at work: A resource-based view.

The resource-based view identifies a number of factors that may influence employees’ informal learning. In a cross-sectional survey of 113 German employees in the energy sector, we examined a number of potential predictors of informal learning and a more positive informal learning attitude. The results showed that proactive help-seeking and professional self-efficacy were positive predictors of informal learning. Employees who were older, who enjoyed learning, sought help and were self-efficacious learners had a more positive attitude towards formal learning. Employees who had a more positive attitude about informal learning rated organisational learning provisions as less important, potentially due to being proactive help-seekers. Managers rated organisational learning resources as less important than non-managerial employees. However, managers also reported higher professional self-efficacy. These circumstances may also influence their decision-making regarding the need to provide learning resources to others in the workplace.

Organisational cognitive neuroscience drives theoretical progress, or: the curious case of the straw man murder

In this critical essay, we respond to Lindebaum’s (2016) argument that neuroscientific methodologies and data have been accepted prematurely in proposing novel management theory. We acknowledge that building new management theories requires firm foundations. We also find his distinction between demand and supply side forces helpful as an analytical framework identifying the momentum for the contemporary production of management theory. Nevertheless, some of the arguments Lindebaum (2016) puts forward, on closer inspection, can be contested, especially those related to the supply side of organizational cognitive neuroscience (OCN) research: fMRI data, motherhood statements and ethical concerns. We put forward a more positive case for OCN methodologies and data, as well as clarifying exactly what OCN really means, and its consequences for the development of strong management theory.

Asset specificity and behavioural uncertainty as moderators of the sales growth : employment growth relationship in emerging ventures

Sales growth and employment growth are the two most widely used growth indicators for new ventures; yet, sales growth and employment growth are not interchangeable measures of new venture growth. Rather, they are related, but somewhat independent constructs that respond differently to a variety of criteria. Most of the literature treats this as a methodological technicality. However, sales growth with or without accompanying employment growth has very different implications for managers and policy makers. A better understanding of what drives these different growth metrics has the potential to lead to better decision making. To improve that understanding we apply transaction cost economics reasoning to predict when sales growth will be or will not be accompanied by employment growth. Our results indicate that our predictions are borne out consistently in resource-constrained contexts but not in resource-munificent contexts.

Drivers of technology substitution : successive generations of high tech products

Principal Topic High technology consumer products such as notebooks, digital cameras and DVD players are not introduced into a vacuum. Consumer experience with related earlier generation technologies, such as PCs, film cameras and VCRs, and the installed base of these products strongly impacts the market diffusion of the new generation products. Yet technology substitution has received only sparse attention in the diffusion of innovation literature. Research for consumer durables has been dominated by studies of (first purchase) adoption (c.f. Bass 1969) which do not explicitly consider the presence of an existing product/technology. More recently, considerable attention has also been given to replacement purchases (c.f. Kamakura and Balasubramanian 1987). Only a handful of papers explicitly deal with the diffusion of technology/product substitutes (e.g. Norton and Bass, 1987: Bass and Bass, 2004). They propose diffusion-type aggregate-level sales models that are used to forecast the overall sales for successive generations. Lacking household data, these aggregate models are unable to give insights into the decisions by individual households - whether to adopt generation II, and if so, when and why. This paper makes two contributions. It is the first large-scale empirical study that collects household data for successive generations of technologies in an effort to understand the drivers of adoption. Second, in comparision to traditional analysis that evaluates technology substitution as an ''adoption of innovation'' type process, we propose that from a consumer's perspective, technology substitution combines elements of both adoption (adopting the new generation technology) and replacement (replacing the generation I product with generation II). Based on this proposition, we develop and test a number of hypotheses. Methodology/Key Propositions In some cases, successive generations are clear ''substitutes'' for the earlier generation, in that they have almost identical functionality. For example, successive generations of PCs Pentium I to II to III or flat screen TV substituting for colour TV. More commonly, however, the new technology (generation II) is a ''partial substitute'' for existing technology (generation I). For example, digital cameras substitute for film-based cameras in the sense that they perform the same core function of taking photographs. They have some additional attributes of easier copying and sharing of images. However, the attribute of image quality is inferior. In cases of partial substitution, some consumers will purchase generation II products as substitutes for their generation I product, while other consumers will purchase generation II products as additional products to be used as well as their generation I product. We propose that substitute generation II purchases combine elements of both adoption and replacement, but additional generation II purchases are solely adoption-driven process. Extensive research on innovation adoption has consistently shown consumer innovativeness is the most important consumer characteristic that drives adoption timing (Goldsmith et al. 1995; Gielens and Steenkamp 2007). Hence, we expect consumer innovativeness also to influence both additional and substitute generation II purchases. Hypothesis 1a) More innovative households will make additional generation II purchases earlier. 1 b) More innovative households will make substitute generation II purchases earlier. 1 c) Consumer innovativeness will have a stronger impact on additional generation II purchases than on substitute generation II purchases. As outlined above, substitute generation II purchases act, in part like a replacement purchase for the generation I product. Prior research (Bayus 1991; Grewal et al 2004) identified product age as the most dominant factor influencing replacements. Hence, we hypothesise that: Hypothesis 2: Households with older generation I products will make substitute generation II purchases earlier. Our survey of 8,077 households investigates their adoption of two new generation products: notebooks as a technology change to PCs, and DVD players as a technology shift from VCRs. We employ Cox hazard modelling to study factors influencing the timing of a household's adoption of generation II products. We determine whether this is an additional or substitute purchase by asking whether the generation I product is still used. A separate hazard model is conducted for additional and substitute purchases. Consumer Innovativeness is measured as domain innovativeness adapted from the scales of Goldsmith and Hofacker (1991) and Flynn et al. (1996). The age of the generation I product is calculated based on the most recent household purchase of that product. Control variables include age, size and income of household, and age and education of primary decision-maker. Results and Implications Our preliminary results confirm both our hypotheses. Consumer innovativeness has a strong influence on both additional purchases (exp = 1.11) and substitute purchases (exp = 1.09). Exp is interpreted as the increased probability of purchase for an increase of 1.0 on a 7-point innovativeness scale. Also consistent with our hypotheses, the age of the generation I product has a dramatic influence for substitute purchases of VCR/DVD (exp = 2.92) and a strong influence for PCs/notebooks (exp = 1.30). Exp is interpreted as the increased probability of purchase for an increase of 10 years in the age of the generation I product. Yet, also as hypothesised, there was no influence on additional purchases. The results lead to two key implications. First, there is a clear distinction between additional and substitute purchases of generation II products, each with different drivers. Treating these as a single process will mask the true drivers of adoption. For substitute purchases, product age is a key driver. Hence, implications for marketers of high technology products can utilise data on generation I product age (e.g. from warranty or loyalty programs) to target customers who are more likely to make a purchase.

Extending the advanced forensic format to accommodate multiple data sources, logical evidence, arbitrary information and forensic workflow

Forensic analysis requires the acquisition and management of many different types of evidence, including individual disk drives, RAID sets, network packets, memory images, and extracted files. Often the same evidence is reviewed by several different tools or examiners in different locations. We propose a backwards-compatible redesign of the Advanced Forensic Formatdan open, extensible file format for storing and sharing of evidence, arbitrary case related information and analysis results among different tools. The new specification, termed AFF4, is designed to be simple to implement, built upon the well supported ZIP file format specification. Furthermore, the AFF4 implementation has downward comparability with existing AFF files.

Assessment by interview and portfolio in a Graduate School Program

Assessment plays an integral role in teaching and learning in Higher Education and teachers have a strong interest in debates and commentaries on assessment as and for learning. In a one-year graduate entry teacher preparation program, the temptation is to emphasize assessment in an attempt to ensure students “cover” everything as part of a robust preparation for the profession. The risk is that, for students, assessment drives curriculum, and time spent in the completion of assignments is no guarantee of either effective learning or authentic preparation for teaching. Interviews as assessment provide an opportunity for a learning experience as well as an authentic task, since students will shortly be interviewing for employment in a “real world” situation. This paper reports on a project experimenting with interview panels as authentic assessment with pre-service early childhood teachers. At the end of their first semester of study, students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma of Education program at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia were required to participate in a panel interview where they were graded by a panel made up of three faculty staff and one undergraduate student enrolled in the four-year Bachelor of Education program. Students and panel members completed a questionnaire on their experience after the interview. Results indicated that both students and staff valued the experience and felt it was authentic. Results are discussed in terms of how the assessment interview and portfolio presentation supports graduating students in their preparation for employment interviews, and how this authentic assessment task has benefits for both students and teaching staff.

Understanding the creative economy : a tale of two cities clusters

This article investigates underlying constraints within China’s creative economy. Drawing on two studies of creative clusters in Suzhou and Foshan, it identifies the importance of knowledge transfer and internationalization to the generation of higher value-added products and services. Both examples illustrate relationships between resources, activities, routines and entrepreneurship. The article argues that the examples notwithstanding, the vast majority of what is accounted for in data collection as China’s creative industries are more appropriately cultural industries. The focus on cultural industries drives local development and increases land values but the benefits are rarely dispersed internationally or into the broader economy.