Stable isotope analysis is often used to evaluate elements of the lives of past peoples, such as diet and health status, at a societal level. Analysis at an individual level is exceptionally rare, and has not been conducted using a variety of tissues representing both early life and life approximate to death. In this study, δ 13C and δ15N isotope signatures are used to create life histories for single individuals from Romano-Christian period Kellis 2 cemetery in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. Samples are obtained from several different tissues, including tooth dentin, bone collagen, hair, nail, skin, and gut content, all of which have been previously researched, but have not been studied at such an individualistic level. By using data and previous research conducted by Drs. Tosha Dupras and Lana Williams, this research uses isotopic values from the aforementioned tissues, and the differing turnover rates of these tissues, to develop lifetime timetables for 15 individuals (female, male, and juvenile). Results show that individual analysis is possible, informative, and can enlighten researchers not just concerning the individual, but about the population as a whole. The methods presented can serve as a model for reconstructing individual life histories using isotope data from multiple tissues.

Reindeer have been shown to alter boreal ecosystems by changing the vegetation cover and influencing belowground processes. By providing nutrients for plants and by exerting trampling stress on the field layer vegetation, reindeer induce shifts in the vegetation where ground-lichen are being replaced by evergreen shrubs. Nutrients also stimulate microbial activity in the soil which has been shown to increase decomposition rates, thus potentially reducing the carbon (C) stock in boreal soils. Microbial activity is potentially further increased by higher soil temperatures caused by a removal of the lichen layer which could further increase C losses from the soil. However, findings of the effects of reindeer on the C stock diverge and potential implications of changes in C quality have rarely been considered. Here I show that reindeer reduce the C stock in lichen-dominated boreal forests in northern Fennoscandia and shift the C quality towards higher recalcitrance and reduce concentrations of labile C. I found that a reduction of tree and lichen biomass by reindeer reduces soil organic carbon (SOC) pools directly through lower litter inputs. Further, the reduction of lichen biomass and increase in evergreen shrubs directly reduces the quality of SOC. My results suggest that reindeer-induced vegetation changes have a direct control over SOC quantity and quality in the study sites and that microbial adaptations to resource availability may only play a minor role in shaping SOC, since year-round low soil temperatures strongly inhibit microbial decomposition. / <p>Parts of the methods section has been written in the active form (e.g., I did ...) to highlight which analyzes I conducted myself since some of the data that I used was not collected by me.</p>

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No description available.

For the first time, a novel processing method of co-refining wood and polyolefin (PO) by steam-explosion was scientifically explored for wood-thermoplastic composites without a coupling agent. Traditional studies have addressed the improvement of adhesion between components of wood thermoplastic composites through the use of coupling agents such as maleated PO. The objective of this study was to increase adhesion between wood and PO through reactive processing conditions of steam-explosion. PO characteristics, such as type (polyethylene or polypropylene), form (pellet, fiber, or powder) and melt viscosity were studied along with oxygen gas content of the steam-explosion reactor vessel. Modification of co-processed wood fiber was characterized in four studies: microscopy analysis of dispersion of PO with wood fiber, sorption properties of co-processed material, chemical analysis of fractionated components, and morphological investigation of co-processed material. Two additional studies are listed in the appendices that relate to adsorption of amphiphilic polymers to the cellulose fiber surface, which is one hypothesis of fiber surface modification by co-steam-explosion. Microscopy studies revealed that PO melt viscosity was found to influence the degree of dispersion and uniformity of the steam-exploded material. The hygroscopic nature of the co-processed fiber declined as shown by sorption isotherm data. Furthermore, a water vapor kinetics study found that all co-refined material had increased initial diffusion coefficients compared to the control fiber. Chemical changes in fractionated components were PO-type dependent. Lignin extracted from co-processed wood and polyethylene showed PO enrichment determined from an increase of methylene stretching in the Fourier Transform infrared subtraction spectra, while lignin from co-processed wood and polypropylene did not. Additionally, extracted PO showed indirect signs of oxidation as reflected by fluorescence studies. Solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed a number of differences in the co-processed materials such as increased cellulose crystallinity, new covalent linkages and an alternative distribution of components on the nanoscale reflected in the T1Ï relaxation parameter. Steam-explosion was shown to modify wood fiber through the addition of "non-reactive" polyolefins without the need for coupling agents. In light of these findings, co-refining by steam-explosion should be viewed as a new reactive processing method for wood thermoplastic composites. / Ph. D.

The effects of climate change have made the need to develop sustainable production practices for biofuels and other chemicals imminent. The development of the green economy has also led to many industries voluntarily improving the sustainability of the products they produce. The microbial production of fatty acid-derived chemicals allows for the opportunity to reduce petroleum-based chemicals in the marketplace. However, for microbial produced chemicals to be industrially competitive, significant work is needed to improve the production capacity of industrial strains. There are a number of bottlenecks and challenges related to the production of various fatty acid derivatives that need to be addressed. One of these key challenges relates to the source of the fermentation feedstock. While sources such as corn or sugar cane are currently common, these feedstocks compete with food supply and require nutrient-rich soils. The use of lignocellulosic feedstocks is preferred to combat this issue, however these feedstocks present their own unique challenges. Pretreatment is required to release fermentable sugars, and this process also results in various fermentation inhibitors released into the solution. A better understanding of how engineered strains utilize these fermentable sugars as well as improving resistance to the inhibitors will help to improve the chemical production capacity of these chemical products. This work will focus on describing key bottlenecks related to fatty acid-derived products, while also evaluating proposed solutions to these bottlenecks. / Master of Science

Water-based resol phenol formaldehyde, PF, and organic polymeric methylenebis(phenylisocyanate), pMDI, are the two primary choices for the manufacture of exterior grade wood-based composites. This work addresses simple physical blends of pMDI dispersed in PF as a possible hybrid wood adhesive. Part one of this study examined the morphology of hybrid blends prepared using commercially available PF and pMDI. It was found that the blend components rapidly reacted such that the dispersed pMDI droplets became encased in a polymeric membrane. The phase separation created during liquid/liquid blending appeared to have been preserved in the cured, solid-state. However, substantial interdiffusion and copolymerization between blend components also appeared to have occurred according to measured cure rates, dynamic mechanical analysis, and atomic force microscopy. In the second part of this study a series of PF resins was synthesized employing the so-called "split-cook" method, and by using a range of formaldehyde/phenol and NaOH/phenol mole ratios. These neat PF resins were subjected to the following analyses: 1) steady-state flow viscometry, 2) free formaldehyde titration, 3) non-volatile solids determination, 4) size exclusion chromatography, 5) quantitative solution-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR, 6) differential scanning calorimetry, 7) parallel-plate oscillatory cure rheology, and 8) dielectric spectroscopy. The neat PF analytical results were unremarkable with one exception; NMR revealed that the formaldehyde/phenol mole ratio in one resin substantially differed from the target mole ratio. The neat PF resins were subsequently used to prepare of series of PF/pMDI blends in a ratio of 75 parts PF solids to 25 parts pMDI solids. The resulting PF/pMDI blends were subjected to the following analyses: 1) differential scanning calorimetry, 2) parallel-plate oscillatory cure rheology, and 3) dielectric spectroscopy. Similar to what was inferred in part one of this study, both differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and oscillation cure rheology demonstrated that cure of the PF continuous phase was substantially altered and accelerated by pMDI. However within actual wood bondlines, dielectric analysis detected little variation in cure speed between any of the formulations, both hybrid and neat PF. Furthermore, the modulated DSC curing experiments detected some latent reactivity in the hybrid system, both during initial isothermal curing and subsequent thermal scanning. The latent reactivity may suggest that a significant diffusion barrier existed between blend components, preventing complete reaction of hybrid blends even after thermal scanning up to 200 °C. Part three of this work examined the bonded wood mode-I fracture performance of hybrid resins as a function of the resol formaldehyde/phenol ratio and also the alkali content. A moderate increase in unweathered fracture toughness was observed for hybrid formulations relative to neat PF. Following accelerated weathering, the durability of the hybrid blends was promising: weathered hybrid toughness was equivalent to that of weathered neat PF. While the resol F/P ratio and alkali content both influenced hybrid fracture toughness, statistical modeling revealed interaction between these variables that complicated result interpretation: the influence of hybrid alkali content depended heavily on each formulation's specific F/P ratio, and vice versa. / Master of Science

Les procédés anaérobies de traitement de déchets apparaissent clairement pouvoir répondre à l'enjeu socio-économique actuel que représente la valorisation énergétique de la fraction organique contenue dans les déchets ménagers. En effet, les processus de dégradation anaérobies font intervenir en cascade, différentes réactions et populations de micro-organismes permettant de transformer la matière organique en biogaz riche en méthane. Une bonne connaissance des effets des paramètres opérationnels sur l'orientation des métabolismes s'avère ainsi nécessaire à l'émergence de solutions permettant d'optimiser ces procédés. Ceci est notamment le cas pour la dernière étape, appelée méthanogenèse. Dans ce contexte, l'approche isotopique reposant sur la mesure de la composition isotopique (13C/12C) du méthane et du dioxyde de carbone, devrait pouvoir répondre à cet objectif en permettant l'identification des métabolismes à l'origine de la production du méthane. La transposabilité à l'étude de la digestion anaérobie des déchets de cette approche isotopique déjà utilisée dans les écosystèmes naturels, a tout d'abord été vérifiée expérimentalement. Les effets de certains paramètres opérationnels connus pour avoir un impact fort sur le processus de digestion anaérobie, tels que la température et la concentration en azote ammoniacal, ont ensuite été étudiés. Il a été mis en évidence qu'en condition thermophile, la méthanogenèse acétoclaste observée en condition mésophile, était remplacée par une oxydation syntrophique de l'acétate lors de la digestion anaérobie des déchets ménagers. Des expériences sur acétate ont montré que cet effet sur les voies métaboliques n'était toutefois pas systématique et pourrait ne pas être dû à un effet direct d'une augmentation de la température, mais plutôt à l'accroissement de la concentration en ammoniaque qui en résulte. D'autres expériences ont clairement établi qu'une augmentation de la concentration en azote ammoniacal conduisait également à la mise en place de l'oxydation syntrophique de l'acétate. Le couplage de l'approche isotopique avec des analyses microbiologiques a révélé que cette réaction d'oxydation syntrophique de l'acétate, à haute concentration en azote ammoniacal, pouvait s'établir telle que déjà décrite, par la mise en place d'une relation symbiotique bactéries/archées hydrogénotrophes strictes, mais également de manière différente en impliquant des membres de la famille Methanosarcinaceae qui pourraient réaliser seuls les deux étapes de la réaction (oxydation et méthanogenèse hydrogénotrophe). L'application de l'approche isotopique a également permis de mettre en évidence, lors d'une expérience visant à simuler la recirculation de différents effluents au sein d'une installation de stockage de déchets bioactive, l'influence de la nature de l'effluent sur l'orientation des métabolismes méthanogènes. Enfin, l'influence de la proportion de déchets verts, lors de la co-digestion biodéchets / déchets verts, sur la concentration en ions ammonium libérés ainsi que sur l'orientation du métabolisme en résultant, a été étudiée. Les potentialités d'une utilisation de l'approche isotopique sur site ont également été investiguées au travers d'une campagne de mesures sur une installation de stockage de déchets non dangereux. / Anaerobic waste treatment processes are clearly part of the answer to a current important socio-economic issue in waste management: energy production from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. The anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste is a complex process involving numerous reactions and microorganism communities. At the end of the degradation process, some biogas with a particularly high methane content is produced. A detailed knowledge on how operational parameters affect metabolism orientations is required to optimize these treatment processes. This is in particular the case for the last degradation reaction called methanogenesis. In this context, an isotopic approach based on isotopic composition measurements (13C/12C) for methane and carbon dioxide can provide some clues with regard to this objective. Indeed, this methodology enables the determination of the methanogenic pathways by which methane is produced.Transferability of the isotopic approach used for natural ecosystems to the field of anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste was first experimentally verified. In a second time, the effects of some operational parameters known to strongly impact the anaerobic digestion process, such as temperature and ammonia concentration, were studied. During anaerobic digestion of reconstituted municipal solid waste in thermophilic conditions, it was shown that aceticlastic methanogenesis (occurring in mesophilic conditions) was replaced by a syntrophic acetate oxidation reaction. Additional experiments using acetate as sole substrate were performed and showed that this effect on the metabolic pathways was not systematic. Consequently, it cannot be due to a direct effect of the temperature increase. It could rather be explained by the induced and indirect increase in ammonia concentration. Additional experiments clearly demonstrated that an increase in ammonia concentration led to the establishment of a syntrophic acetate oxidation reaction. The isotopic approach was combined with microbiological analyses and showed that the syntrophic acetate oxidation reaction occurring at high ammonia concentration during acetate incubations could have been performed through a syntrophic relationship between bacteria and strict hydrogenotrophic archaea, as previously described in the literature. Interestingly, the syntrophic acetate oxidation could also have occurred using a different pathway relying on members of the Methanosarcinaceae family putatively able to perform the two steps of the reaction (oxidation and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis). In addition, the implementation of the isotopic approach during an experiment designed to simulate a landfill bioreactor evidenced the influence of the effluent's nature on the methanogenesis metabolism orientation. The influence of green waste proportion during the co-digestion of biowaste / green waste mixtures on resulting ammonia concentrations and methanogenesis pathways was also studied through dedicated experiments. Finally, the potential of the isotopic approach for landfill-scale application was investigated through a measurement campaign on a landfill site.

Ce travail a été effectué dans le cadre d’une convention de cotutelle entre les Universités de Corse et d’Antananarivo. Il a contribué à la caractérisation de cinq Plantes de Madagascar à travers la composition chimique de leurs huiles essentielles (HE). Quatre plantes aromatiques et médicinales (Cymbopogon giganteus var. madagascariensis, Tana bojeriana, Croton kimosorum et Croton sp.) poussent à l’état spontané dans la région sub-aride du sud-ouest de Madagascar (Toliara) alors que l’espèce Vepris madagascarica est présente dans la forêt dense humide du nord-est (Vohémar). Ainsi, nous avons étudié par combinaison CPG (IR), CPG-SM et RMN 13C la composition chimique d’huiles essentielles obtenues par hydrodistillation (appareil type Clevenger) et par entraînement à la vapeur d’eau (Alambic).Les huiles essentielles de Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. var. madagascariensis (A. Camus) ou Ahibero possèdent une composition chimique comparable avec celles des espèces Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. africaines décrites dans la littérature. Elles sont dominées par les quatre menthadiénols (cis- et trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dièn-2-ol, cis- et trans-p-mentha-2,8-dièn-1-ol) et le limonène. Nous avons aussi identifié quatre hydropéroxydes possédant le squelette p-menthane. Une monographie de l’huile essentielle d’Ahibero a été proposée à l’intention des utilisateurs de cette huile essentielle.La composition chimique de l’HE de Tana bojeriana Baker est caractérisée par la présence majoritaire de l’-phellandrène (30,4%), de la carvone (22,3%), du limonène (13,3%) et du dill éther (7,7%). Cette composition chimique apparait très proche de celle d’Anethum graveolens (Apiaceae). La présence du trans-p-menth-2-èn-1,6-diol et du p-mentha-1(7),2-dièn-6-ol lui confère une certaine originalité Elle pourrait donc constituer une alternative aux huiles essentielles qui sont bien implantées sur le marché des Plantes Aromatiques et Médicinales (PAM).La composition chimique de l’HE de feuilles de Vepris madagascarica (Baill.) H. Perrier est caractérisée par une très forte teneur en (E)-anéthole (78,2%). L’étude comparative de la composition chimique des huiles essentielles de feuilles (fraîches et séchées) et d’écorces de tronc confirme la prédominance du (E)-anéthole (69,5 à 84,6%). Compte tenu de la répartition restreinte de cette plante aromatique et en vue d’une gestion durable de cette espèce, son exploitation devrait être limitée aux huiles essentielles des feuilles qui pourraient ainsi constituer une source de (E)-anéthole, composé très utilisé en agro-alimentaire.Deux espèces de Croton endémiques de Madagascar ont été étudiées, Croton kimosorum Leandri (Zanapoly ou Napoly) et Croton sp. (Andriambolamena ou Riamena). Les huiles essentielles de ces deux plantes aromatiques et médicinales sont caractérisées par la présence du linalol (Zanapoly) et du limonène(Andriambolamena). La première HE est caractérisée par une majorité de composés oxygénés tandis que la seconde est dominée par les composés oléfiniques monoterpéniques. Dans les deux cas, de nombreux sesquiterpènes oxygénés ont été identifiés. Parmi eux, l’épi--bisabolol, jamais décrit dans une HE du genre Croton, est trouvé pour la première fois dans les deux espèces. / This study was conducted under an agreement of co-supervision between the Universities of Antananarivo (Madagascar) and Corsica (France). It contributed to the characterization of five malagasy plants through the chemical composition of their essential oils (EO). Four aromatic and medicinal plants: Cymbopogon giganteus var. madagascariensis, Tana bojeriana, Croton kimosorum and Croton sp. grow wild in the south-western region of Madagascar (Toliara) whereas the species Vepris madagascarica is widespread in the rainforest of the north-eastern region (Vohémar). The identification of components of EOs produced by hydrodistillation (Clevenger type apparatus) and by steam distillation (Alembic) has been obtained by combination of GC (RI), GC-MS and 13C NMR.Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. var. madagascariensis (A. Camus) EO or Ahibero EO of Madagascar has similar chemical composition with Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov. african species described in literature. Its chemical composition is dominated by four p-menthadienols (cis- and trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol, cis- and trans-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol) and limonene. Moreover, four peroxides derivatives bearing the p-menthane skeleton were also identified. A monography has been proposed to Ahibero EO users.Tana bojeriana Baker EO is characterized by the predominance of -phellandrene (30.4%), carvone (22.3%), limonene (13.3%) and dill ether (7.7%). The chemical composition of this EO was very close to that of Anetum graveolens (Apiaceae family), constituents. The presence of trans-p-menth-2-en-1,6-diol and p-mentha-1(7) ,2-dien-6-ol, gives some originality to Tana bojeriana EO. It could be therefore an alternative for essential oils that are already well established on the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants market.The chemical composition of Vepris madagascarica (Baill.) H. Perrier leaf EO is characterized by a high content of (E)-anethole (78.2%). The comparative study of the chemical composition of leaves (fresh and dried) and bark trunk EOs confirmed the predominance of (E)-anethole (69.5 to 84.6%). Taking account of the restricted distribution of this aromatic plant and the need for sustainable management of this species, its potential use would be limited to leaf oil and could be a source for this compound widely used in food industry.Two species of Croton endemic from Madagascar were studied, Croton kimosorum Leandri (Zanapoly or Napoly) and Croton sp. (Andriambolamena or Riamena). Both aromatic and medicinal plants EOs are characterized by the presence of linalool (Zanapoly) and limonene (Andriambolamena). Croton kimosorum is characterized by a majority of oxygenated compounds, while the second is dominated by hydrocarbon monoterpenes. In both cases, several oxygenated sesquiterpenes are identified. Among these, the epi--bisabolol, never reported in of Croton EOs, was found for the first time in both species.

Le contexte de ce projet de thèse était d’approfondir la compréhension du métabolisme de Trypanosoma brucei. Les trypanosomes utilisent différents types de sources de carbone, des hydrates de carbone ainsi que des acides aminés pour alimenter leurs besoins énergétiques et biosynthétiques (conditions imitant réellement l'environnement dans la mouche tse-tse). Les différences de thioesters d'acyl-CoA sont encore inconnues dans ces conditions. Une telle élucidation est essentielle pour comprendre les adaptations métaboliques de l'organisme au cours de son cycle de vie. Cet objectif pourrait être complété par une combinaison d'analyses sensibles de divers groupes de métabolites, de délétions dirigées de gènes ou de régulations négatives. Ces derniers développements intègrent un flux de travail complet d'analyse des flux métaboliques par 13C à l’état-instationnaire. Ce flux de travail combine les méthodes existantes pour la collecte d'échantillons, la métabolomique quantitative basée sur MS et l'analyse isotopique d'acides organiques, d'acides aminés, de composés phosphorylés en plus des thioesters d'acyl Coenzyme A (acyl-CoAs), qui représentent un point central entre le métabolisme central du carbone et les voies anaboliques. Ce flux de travail a d'abord été évalué et validé sur l'organisme modèle Escherichia coli et a fourni de nouvelles idées sur son fonctionnement métabolique. Par la suite, ce flux de travail a ensuite été exploité pour étudier le métabolisme de T. brucei, pour lequel les résultats préliminaires sont décrits et discutés dans cette thèse. / Unusual metabolism of protozoan parasite causing deadly sleeping sickness, Trypanosoma brucei, has been enigmatic for many years. In the past decades, targeted genetic perturbations combined with metabolic analysis have advanced the view on complex compartmentalized metabolism of this organism, but acyl-CoA metabolism on the crossroad between catabolic and anabolic pathways, remains largely uncharacterized. Present work aims at clarifying mitochondrial operation and topology of acyl-CoA network of T. brucei, as well as its interconnections with the rest of metabolism. This has required the development of a complete framework for investigation of acyl-CoA metabolism in T. brucei integrating isotope labeling experiments with metabolite quantification. Sensitive LC-MS method for identification and quantification of acyl-CoAs based on high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) with LTQ-OrbiTrap has been established and applied to investigate acyl-CoA metabolism in the protozoan parasite, as well as in the model organism in systems and synthetic biology, Escherichia coli. Complete workflow from cell cultivation, measurement of extracellular fluxes and analysis of isotopic profile which is result of enzyme-specific incorporation of isotopic tracer allowed modelling of metabolic network and calculation of metabolic fluxes. The entire workflow has been biologically validated and has clarified the link between acyl-CoA and central carbon metabolism in E. coli. The proposed framework has been adapted to T. brucei, for which several sample collection methods have been evaluated thoroughly. It was possible to extract, identify and quantify main acyl-CoA species produced from glucose catabolism. This optimised setup for acyl-CoA analysis will allow collection of data for NMR-based analysis of metabolic end products as well as collection of intracellular metabolites from same sample.