Fraunhofer Chalmers Research Centre for Industrial Mathematics
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Network Implementation in an FPGA
No full textA limited network stack is implemented on an FPGA for use in nuclear
physics experiments to transfer data directly from front-end electronics to
a PC over Ethernet. This is done using an FPGA board equipped with a
connector attached to a PHY chip. Code was written for this FPGA to
handle the physical and most of the link layer. Higher layers of network
communication were implemented in the FPGA, using a hardware design
called Fakernet. Fakernet handles the rest of the link layer as well as network
and transport layer protocols.
This results in a design that sufficiently handles protocols needed for establishing
a connection between nodes on a network (ICMP, ARP) and to be
configured using a UDP interface. It is able to send data to a PC using TCP,
reaching line speed with the PHY chip’s 100 Mb/s interface while at the same
time having low resource usage, occupying less than 2 per cent of the LUTs
of an FPGA used in the type of experiment the design is considered for. This
design was tested for various situations and restrictions and it is concluded
that it has potential for being used in real experiments in the future even
though Fakernet is not yet fully developed
The Impact of Surgery-induced Inflammation on Anti-neoplastic Immunity and Metastasis
No full textThe trauma associated with cancer surgery may trigger the release of tumor cells into the blood stream along with a systemic inflammatory response that hampers immunosurveillance. Both these factors might enhance the risk of development of distant metastases. Myeloid cells express the NOX2-enzyme that generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that participate in the clearance of pathogens. However, extracellularly released NOX2-derived ROS may also triggers dysfunction and apoptosis in adjacent anti-neoplastic lymphocytes. Myeloid cells produce enhanced levels of NOX2-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) during infection, but also during inflammation and cancer. In this study, we explored the role for NOX2-derived ROS in surgery-induced immunosuppression and metastasis formation in vivo by the use of a wounding model. To mimic surgery-related inflammation, sterile polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sponges were implanted s.c. to WT and NOX2-deficient (Nox2-/-) mice one week before injection of B16F10 melanoma cells into the blood stream. The presence of implanted sponges increased the number of lung metastases in WT mice but not in corresponding Nox2-/- mice. Moreover, treatment with the NOX2 inhibitor histamine dihydrochloride (HDC) significantly reduced the formation of metastases in inflamed WT mice. Blood was drawn from WT and Nox2-/- mice one week after the sponge implantation to determine the extent of the inflammatory response. In sponge-bearing WT mice, there was a significant increase in the frequency of Ly6C+ inflammatory monocytes (p<0.001, n=22) and in their formation of ROS (p<0.01, n=14). No increase in inflammatory monocytes was noted in sponge-bearing Nox2-/- mice (p>0.5, n=8). In vivo treatment with HDC completely prevented the increase in inflammatory monocytes in wounded WT mice (p<0.001, n=10). Additionally, we investigated the impact of inflammation on metastasis formed spontaneously from a solid tumor where we observed higher incidence of tumor outgrowth in sponge-bearing mice. These data suggest that surgical inflammation augments inflammatory monocyte levels in blood and their NOX2-derived ROS production, which may impair immunosurveillance and enhance metastasis
Customer Segmentation from a Supply Chain Service Perspective A Case Study at Volvo Penta
No full textSeveral years ago, Volvo Penta experienced an expansion from serving one market
with standardized products, towards a presence in two markets. This meant that
the product variety increased and the customer needs became more complex. The
standardized market allowed for one single set of supply chain services offered to
all customers, in order to gain from economies of scale. However, due to the
increased complexity of customer needs, Volvo Penta sees the possibility to develop
a differentiated supply chain strategy in order to fulfill the customer needs and
deviate from the current one-size-fits-all strategy. Therefore, this thesis aimed to
propose a customer segmentation structure for Volvo Penta, in order to match
different customer needs with supply chain services. Additionally, the study also
aimed to examine how the customer segmentation could be made applicable to
Volvo Penta.
The proposed segmentation structure was accomplished by analyzing both
segmentation processes and customer characteristics. Through analysis of
segmentation processes, important knowledge of the impact from a segmentation
for Volvo Penta was gained. Additionally, by analyzing different customer
characteristics, an understanding of how to distinguish different customer needs
was achieved. The analysis was based on findings from interviews, an internal
questionnaire, and secondary data.
During the study, three segmentation attributes were identified to have an impact
on the customer need for supply chain services; product variation, business value,
and purchasing pattern. By identifying two different levels for each attribute a
segmentation structure was achieved. For each suggested customer segment, a set
of services was proposed in order to fulfill the customer needs. The eight different
segments were also branded in order to increase the applicability. With the
segmentation, customers with different needs can be met with appropriate and
beneficial supply chain services. Thereby, customer satisfaction and resource usage
can be optimized. Additionally, from the proposed segmentation, Volvo Penta has
now the opportunity to develop a differentiated supply chain strategy that both
understands and manages different customer needs
Hijacking gene regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisae Utilization of the transcription terminating protein complex Nrd1-Nab3-Sen1
No full textThe Nrd1-Nab3-Sen1 (NNS) complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is essential for its role in terminating transcription for non-coding RNAs. However, it also regulates gene expression for some protein coding genes by prematurely terminate transcription through simultaneous binding of the nascent transcript and the RNA Polymerase II.
In this thesis I investigate the effect the NNS complex have on expression and study how the RNA binding sites recognized by Nrd1 and Nab3 can be utilized to regulate expression. I confirm that the NNS complex reduces the expression and extrisic noise between cells of the native NNS target Pic2. I also show that short DNA sequences containing NNS binding sites can be placed between the promoter and a gene in order to fine tune its expression.
In addition I create an anchor away system inducible by the plant hormone abscisic acid. It enables export of a nuclear protein to the cytoplasm and can be used to study the function of essential nuclear proteins that cannot be knocked out
