O presente trabalho teve por objetivo caracterizar os compostos bioativos e o impacto de fatores climáticos no pólen apícola (PA) de Eucalyptus sp., o seu potencial antioxidante in vitro e a sua influência em parâmetros do estresse oxidativo e da inflamação in vivo. A caracterização quimica das amostras foi realizada pela quantificação de fenólicos e flavonóides totais e a avaliação da atividade antioxidante dos extratos por três metodologias (DPPH, ORAC e FRAP). Foram realizadas análises de perfil de ácidos graxos e fitoesteróis (CG). Os resultados de fenólicos e flavonóides totais mostraram uma variação entre 17 e 44 mg de equivalentes de ácido gálico e entre 1,3 e 4,4 mg de equivalentes de catequina/g. A atividade antioxidante mostrou uma variação de 267 a 961 &#181;mol de equivalentes de Trolox/g pelo método ORAC, de 38 a 147 &#181;mol de equivalentes de Trolox/g para o FRAP e um EC50 entre 0,41 e 1,61 mg/mL de extrato por DPPH. Apesar das amostras de PA apresentarem baixa quantidade de lipideos (3,3 %), em torno de 50 % do total destes são constituidos de ácidos graxos insaturados. Foram encontrados teores de fitoesteróis entre 1,2 a 1,8 mg/g (sitoesterol, estigmasterol e campesterol). Estes resultados confirmaram a presenca de bioativos com potencial antioxidante nas amostras. A fim de confirmar seu efeito biológico, foi selecionada uma amostra para a realização do ensaio in vivo, na qual foram identificados por CLAE três compostos fenólicos majoritários (rutina, 3n-tris-p-feruloil-espermidina e miricetina). O ensaio foi realizado por 10 semanas com 70 camundongos machos (C57BL/6), distribuídos em sete grupos de 10 animais cada: controle normolipídico (NL); controle hiperlipídico (HL); dieta NL com 5 % de PA; dieta HL com 2,5 % de PA; dieta HL com 5 % de PA; dieta HL com extrato de PA (EPA) a 2,5 %; e dieta HL com EPA a 5 %. Foi possível identificar que os grupos HL tiveram maior ganho de peso quando comparados aos grupos NL (p<0,05), porem os grupos com incorporação de PA não apresentaram diferencas em relação ao controle HL. Foram avaliados ainda parâmetros bioquímicos séricos, de estresse oxidativo (ORAC, TBARS, GSH e enzimas antioxidantes) e parâmetros inflamatórios (IL1-&#946;, IL-6, IL-10, MCP-1 e TNF-&#945;) no tecido hepático. Os resultados de parâmetros de estresse oxidativo não apresentaram diferenças significativas entre os grupos. Quanto aos parâmetros inflamatórios os grupos HL+PA2,5 e HL+PA5 reduziram os níveis das citocinas IL1-&#946;, IL-6 e MCP-1 (p<0,05) e TNF-&#945; apenas o grupo HL+PA5 % apresentou uma redução significativa (p<0,05). Os resultados de citocinas inflamatórias mostraram um efeito positivo na administração de PA, visto que ocorreu uma diminuição nos níveis do tecido hepático dos animais. Estes resultados mostraram que o PA promoveu uma melhora do quadro inflamatório ocasionado com uma dieta hiperlipídica. / The present work aimed to characterize bioactive compounds and the impact of climatic factors on the bee pollen (BP) from Eucalyptus sp., its antioxidant potential in vitro and its influence on parameters of oxidative stress and inflammation in vivo. The chemical characterization of the samples was performed by the quantification of phenolics and flavonoids, and evaluation of the antioxidant activity of the extracts by three methodologies (DPPH, ORAC and FRAP). Profile of fatty acids and phytosterols were performed by gas chromatography (GC). The results of phenolics and flavonoids varied between 17 and 44 mg of gallic acid equivalents and between 1.3 and 4.4 mg of catechin equivalents/g. The antioxidant activity varied from 267 to 961 &#181;mol of Trolox equivalents/g by the ORAC method, from 38 to 147 &#181;mol of Trolox equivalents/g for FRAP and an EC50 between 0.41 and 1.61 mL of extract/mg by DPPH. Despite the low lipid content of PA samples (3.3%), around 50% of the total is composed of unsaturated fatty acids. Phytosterols levels were found between 1.2 and 1.8 mg/g (sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol). This result confirms the presence of bioactive compounds with antioxidant potential in the samples. In order to evaluate its biological effect, a sample was included in the in vivo assays, in which three phenolic compounds (rutin, 3n-tri-p-feruloyl-spermidine and myricetin) were identified. The assay was performed for 10 weeks with 70 male mice (C57BL/6), distributed in seven groups of 10 animals each: normolipid control (NL); hyperlipidemic control (HL); diet NL with 5% of BP; HL diet with 2.5% BP; HL diet with 5% BP; HL diet with 2.5% BP extract (BPE); and HL diet with 5% BPE. The HL groups gained more weight compared with the NL groups (p<0.05), but the groups supplemented with BP did not show lower weight compared to the HL groups. Serum biochemical parameters of oxidative stress in hepatic tissue (ORAC, TBARS, GSH and antioxidant enzymes) and inflammation (IL-&#946;, IL-6, IL- 6, IL-10, MCP-1 and TNF-&#945;) were evaluated. The levels of oxidative stress did not show differences between the groups. HL + PA2.5 and HL + PA5 reduced the cytokines IL1-&#946;, IL-6 and MCP-1 (p<0.05) and TNF-&#945; only the HL + PA5 group showed a significant reduction (p<0.05). The cytokine results showed a positive reduction with BP administration, with a decreasing rate in the hepatic animal tissues. This results showed that BP promotes an improvement in the inflammatory status, occurred by a hyperlipidic diet.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The study has three objectives; firstly to assess the (manner of) implementation of black economic empowerment (BEE) principles by casino licence operators in the Western Cape, namely GrandWest, Casino Mykonos, and Caledon Casino & Spa, during the construction and initial operation phases; secondly, to discuss casino gambling from a marketing strategy theory perspective; and thirdly, to measure consumer behaviour theory as demonstrated by casino patrons. Government(s) and casino industry executives present casino gambling as a source of revenue and employment, and disregard the social costs incurred by society in the production of this revenue and employment sustenance.This study is an evaluability assessment study where reports from the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board‟s social equity committee where used for the objective of the study. As a result, the sample of the study was formed by the three above-mentioned casinos that were operating in the Western Cape at the beginning of the project. The proposed government strategy on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was critiqued to try and understand the government‟s position relative to the initiative. The social equity committee monitoring reports where analysed to assess the performance of casino operators relative to their BEE undertakings in their licences. Data formed by reports and literature has been summarised and presented to try and help in clarifying the position of casino gambling on black economic empowerment and specifically the (economic) empowering of host communities and society at large.Recommendations where made with the view highlighting the need for a strategy towards greater empowerment of host communities. As a result, the researcher suggests that further research be conducted into the relationship between the profitability of a casino and proliferation of social problems attributed directly to the presence of a casino complex.

Student Number: 0104318V - MA research report - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / The corporate middle class, or managers, occupies a contradictory class location in capitalist relations of production. While they do not own the means of production, this class stratum is not exploited like the working class. This class position, however, is bound to be different for a black manager whose advancement in the workplace may be due to government attempts to economically empower black people to redress the injustices imposed by the racially dominated social structure of the past. Through a Weberian understanding of social stratification as based on class, social status and power, this research aims to unearth how members of the African corporate middle class understand their position and roles in South African workplaces and communities. It also goes deeper to scrutinise the impact of this structural position on their agency. It is shown that their contradictory class location is exacerbated by their race. African managers constantly negotiate their positions and roles in their workplaces and communities. Indeed, while their managerial position affords them spaces that they could not have occupied during the apartheid era, their racial character lessens their ability to manoeuvre within these spaces. This can be identified both in workplaces and communities. It is shown that their middle-class status cannot be consolidated because of their perceived lower social status and less power to influence decision making in their organisations. Furthermore, it is shown that, although not all of the interviewees moved to middle-class areas, there is an indication of alienation in previously white-only residential areas. This is further exacerbated by expectations from their former communities and members of their extended families. As a result of high levels of unemployment in African communities, members of this group are actively contributing to uplift members of their extended families.

The objective of this study was to characterize the wild bee fauna of a managed mixed-grass prairie in southwestern Manitoba. Weekly sampling using two methods, sweep-netting and bee bowls, was conducted over two years (2005-2006) at three sites within the Yellow Quill Mixed-grass Prairie Preserve. Spatial and seasonal patterns in diversity indices, taxonomic composition and ecological composition of the bee fauna were identified and investigated in relation to sampling method, environmental conditions, and floral resource availability. A total of 7014 individual bees representing five families and 100 species were collected. Numerically, social nesters from the genera Lasioglossum and Bombus dominated, while mining species of Andrena represented the greatest species richness. Observed spatial and seasonal patterns in the abundance, diversity and composition of the bee community were strongly modified by sampling method, resource limitation in the second year and the presence of the exotic invasive plant leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula). / October 2007

The objective of this study was to characterize the wild bee fauna of a managed mixed-grass prairie in southwestern Manitoba. Weekly sampling using two methods, sweep-netting and bee bowls, was conducted over two years (2005-2006) at three sites within the Yellow Quill Mixed-grass Prairie Preserve. Spatial and seasonal patterns in diversity indices, taxonomic composition and ecological composition of the bee fauna were identified and investigated in relation to sampling method, environmental conditions, and floral resource availability. A total of 7014 individual bees representing five families and 100 species were collected. Numerically, social nesters from the genera Lasioglossum and Bombus dominated, while mining species of Andrena represented the greatest species richness. Observed spatial and seasonal patterns in the abundance, diversity and composition of the bee community were strongly modified by sampling method, resource limitation in the second year and the presence of the exotic invasive plant leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula).

The objective of this study was to characterize the wild bee fauna of a managed mixed-grass prairie in southwestern Manitoba. Weekly sampling using two methods, sweep-netting and bee bowls, was conducted over two years (2005-2006) at three sites within the Yellow Quill Mixed-grass Prairie Preserve. Spatial and seasonal patterns in diversity indices, taxonomic composition and ecological composition of the bee fauna were identified and investigated in relation to sampling method, environmental conditions, and floral resource availability. A total of 7014 individual bees representing five families and 100 species were collected. Numerically, social nesters from the genera Lasioglossum and Bombus dominated, while mining species of Andrena represented the greatest species richness. Observed spatial and seasonal patterns in the abundance, diversity and composition of the bee community were strongly modified by sampling method, resource limitation in the second year and the presence of the exotic invasive plant leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula).

No description available.

Submitted by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-23T12:44:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRFVS.pdf: 2728458 bytes, checksum: 4d07aa40b8f58f835e1e857098ff74a8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-23T12:45:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRFVS.pdf: 2728458 bytes, checksum: 4d07aa40b8f58f835e1e857098ff74a8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-08-23T12:45:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRFVS.pdf: 2728458 bytes, checksum: 4d07aa40b8f58f835e1e857098ff74a8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-23T12:45:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRFVS.pdf: 2728458 bytes, checksum: 4d07aa40b8f58f835e1e857098ff74a8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / The production scheduling activity is considered as one of the most complex activities in production management. This activity is part of the class of NP-Hard problems found in the area of computer science, that is, those problems that can not be solved deterministically in polynomial time. In addition, the complexity of this activity may increase according to the constraints imposed on each programming system/problem. In this research, the problem of programming of production the Flexible Job Shop (JSF) is studied. This problem is considered an extension of the Job Shop programming problem. In JSF, a group of jobs (i.e., products, items, part of an item) formed by a set of operations and each operation must be programmed by a resource (i.e., machine) that belongs to a group of resources that have the same functional characteristics (e.g., cut, sanding, painting). This problem is characterized in two sub-problems being routing and sequencing activity. Routing involves determining which resource will process a given operation. Sequencing is the order in which each operation will be processed on a resource. Through established programming, the objective of this research is to optimize performance multicriteria: the makespan (i.e., time spent to produce a set of jobs), processing time spent on the resource that worked by more time and total production time. In order to reach the objectives mentioned above, a hybrid swarm approach is proposed in this research. In this approach, two auxiliary methods are used to treat the abovementioned sub-problems: genetic operator of mutation to perform the routing activity and for the sequencing activity, an adaptive method of neighborhood structures is proposed. In order to deal with the multiobjectivity of the problem, we propose the Pareto dominance method. Experimental results obtained through commonly used benchmarks prove the efficacy and superiority of the proposed approach when compared to other approaches also applied to the problem studied. / A atividade de programação da produção é considerada como uma das atividades mais complexas no gerenciamento da produção. Essa atividade faz parte da classe de problemas NP-Difícil encontrados na área da ciência da computação, ou seja, aqueles problemas que não podem ser solucionados deterministicamente em tempo polinomial. Além disso, a complexidade dessa atividade pode aumentar de acordo com as restrições impostas a cada sistema/problema de programação. Nesta pesquisa, estuda-se o problema de programação da produção Job Shop Flexível (JSF). Esse problema é considerado como uma extensão do problema de programação Job Shop. No JSF, deve-se programar um grupo de jobs (i.e., produtos, itens, parte de um item) formados por um conjunto de operações e cada operação é processada por um recurso (i.e., máquina) que pertence a um grupo de recursos que possuam mesmas caraterísticas funcionais (e.g., cortar, lixar, pintar). Esse problema é caracterizado em dois sub-problemas, sendo eles, a atividade de roteamento e de sequenciamento. O roteamento implica em definir qual recurso irá processar uma determinada operação. O sequenciamento é a ordem em que cada operação será processada em um recurso. Por meio da programação estabelecida objetiva-se nessa pesquisa, otimizar multicritérios de desempenho, sendo eles: makespan (i.e., tempo gasto para produzir um conjunto de jobs), tempo de processamento gasto no recurso que trabalhou por mais tempo e tempo total de produção. Para alcançar os objetivos supracitados é proposto nessa pesquisa uma abordagem híbrida de enxame de abelhas. Nessa abordagem, utiliza-se dois métodos auxiliares para tratar os sub-problemas supracitados, sendo eles: operador genético de mutação para realizar a atividade de roteamento e para a atividade de sequenciamento é proposto um método adaptativo de estruturas de vizinhança. Para tratar a multiobjetividade do problema, propõe-se o método dominância de Pareto. Resultados experimentais obtidos por meio de benchmarks comumente usados comprovam a eficácia e a superioridade da abordagem proposta quando comparada com outras abordagens também aplicadas ao problema estudado.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:30:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 851127 bytes, checksum: ecfdf02c9cd43f58963fe56b126f4b98 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-07-19 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The eusocial stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides belongs to the Meliponini, a tribe that comprises important pollinators of tropical and subtropical plants. Within a typical eusocial colony there are drones and females that include different casts, i.e. workers and queen(s). In this species, the caste differentiation can be influenced by the Juvenile Hormone (JH). When JH is topically applied in last instar male larvae, they originate individuals with queen s phenotype in which the male-like reproductive system persists. Take into account that different individuals play different roles in the colony, it is reasonable to assume that they can be distinguished by their sensorial organs. Sensilla are basic integumental unit that are important for the insect thermo, mechanical, higro, CO2 and chemical perceptions. In addition, these sensory structures may be distinguished by their morphologies and functions. The objective of this study was to compare the antennal sensilla of individuals of different sexes and castes, including queen-like males of M. quadrifasciata anthidioides, showing for the first time details of their antennal topographies. Images of antenna dorsal surfaces were taken with the scanning electron microscope. Different types of antennal sensilla can be classified as follows: trichoid (ST, subtypes I to VII), placoid, basiconic, coeloconic and ampullacea. The the ST I and placoid sensilla were the most abundant sensillum types found in all individuals, even more in males. On the other hand, basiconic sensilla were only found in females, i.e. in workers and queens. The ST II is the third most abundant type of sensilla found in M. quadrifasciata anthidioides and the ST III and IV occurred only in the first flagellomere, being the first one bigger in females in comparison to males and the second one capable of separating the castes according to their types and length, though their numbers are not different. Moreover, the ST V and VI and the ampullacea types occurred only at the antenna s tip, with ST V being lower in number and smaller. ST VI is also larger in queens, separating them from other individuals, and greater in females. On the other hand, the other sensillae were seen along all antennas surface. The chaetic sensillum had apical pore and this pore was only found in females. Despite queen-like males had queen s phenotype, according to the Morisita similarity index, they resembled more the males, especially 2n ones, regarding the antenna phenotype and the composition of their sensilla. Generally speaking, irrespective of gender and cast, individuals of the stingless bee M. quadrifasciata anthidioides have similar sensillum types. However, they differed significantly in respect to the sensilla number and length and these differences were discussed here according to the gender and cast of this species. / A abelha sem ferrão Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides é conhecida popularmente como mandaçaia e pertence à tribo Meliponini que inclui importantes insetos eusociais polinizadores de espécies de plantas tropicais e subtropicais. Em um ninho típico de abelhas sociais há indivíduos de diferentes sexos e castas. Esses são compostos pelos zangões e pelas castas femininas que incluem as operárias e a(s) rainha(s). Entretanto, quando o hormônio juvenil (HJ) é aplicado topicamente em larvas de machos, eles desenvolvem fenótipo da rainha. Entretanto, esses rainhóides ainda retêm o sistema reprodutivo masculino. Considerando que os indivíduos de diferentes castas e sexos desempenham papéis diferentes no ninho, podemos afirmar que os seus órgãos sensoriais como, por exemplo, as sensilas antenais também o sejam. Essas estruturas sensoriais podem ser diferenciadas tanto pela sua morfologia quanto pela função que desempenham como, por exemplo, a quimio- e mecanorrecepção. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar comparativamente as sensilas antenais de indivíduos de diferentes sexos e castas, incluindo os machos 2n e rainhóides, de M. quadrifasciata anthidioides, através de imagens da superfície dorsal das antenas, que foram feitas ao microscópio eletrônico de varredura. As diferentes sensilas antenais foram identificadas como sendo: sensilas tricóides (ST, dos subtipos I ao VI), placóides, basicônicas, céticas, celocônicas e ampuláceas. As sensilas basicônicas possuem um poro apical e são exclusivas das fêmeas (rainhas e operárias). As ST I e as placóides são as mais abundantes em todos os indivíduos, sendo encontradas em maior quantidade nos machos. Já as sensilas basicônicas possuem um poro apical e são exclusivas das fêmeas (rainhas e operárias). As ST II são o terceiro tipo de sensilas mais abundante em M. quadrifasciata anthidioides e as ST III e IV ocorrem apenas no primeiro flagelômero, sendo o primeiro tipo de sensila maior nas fêmeas que nos machos e o segundo tipo capaz de separar as castas femininas quanto ao seu comprimento, mas não diferem à quantidade. Por outro lado, as ST V e VI e ampuláceas ocorrem apenas na extremidade do último flagelômero antenal, com ST V sendo menor nos machos de M. quadrifasciata anthidioides tanto em quantidade quanto em comprimento, mas sendo úteis ainda para a distinção das castas femininas. As ST VI são mais compridas nas rainhas, separando-as dos demais indivíduos, e maiores nas fêmeas. Apesar dos rainhóides se assemelharem às rainhas quanto à morfologia externa, uma análise utilizando o índice de similaridade de Morisita mostrou que eles se assemelham mais aos machos, principalmente os 2n, quanto às suas antenas e a composição das sensilas, colocando-os em um grupo separado das fêmeas. Embora de maneira geral os mesmos tipos de sensilas tenham sido encontrados nas diferentes classes de indivíduos de M. quadrifasciata anthidioides, diferenças significativas foram observadas no número e no comprimento dos morfotipos das mesmas. Essas diferenças foram discutidas de acordo com a função do sexo e das castas dessa espécie.

Les virus font partie des entités les plus abondantes sur Terre, mais la diversité des virus est très peu connue puisque biaisée en faveur d’hôtes animaux d’intérêts sociétal, agronomique et économique. L’apport des nouvelles techniques de séquençage permet actuellement d’obtenir des informations qui étaient tout simplement inaccessibles. Le but de mon travail de thèse a été l’étude de la diversité virale présente au sein d’un grand nombre d’animaux non-modèles. Pour répondre à cette problématique il m’a fallu mettre en place une méthodologie analytique innovante de découverte de nouveaux virus par une approche de méta-transcriptomique. Ce travail i) montre que la méthodologie bioinformatique mise en place est pertinente, ii) permet de découvrir de nouveaux virus ayant des caractéristiques génomiques particulières relevant de nouveaux genres ou familles de virus, iii) révèle de nouveaux hôtes pour des virus appartenant à des familles virales très étudiées et iv) montre que la gamme d’hôte de virus connus peut être plus étendue qu’attendu grâce à un focus sur la diversité des virus d’hyménoptères. D’une manière plus globale, mon travail permet de combler quelques lacunes existantes dans les connaissances liées à l’étude de la diversité virale et met en évidence l’importance de l’étude des animaux non-modèles. / Viruses are among the most abundant entities on Earth, but the viral diversity remains mostly unknown as currently biased in favour of animals of social, agronomic and economic interest. Next Generation Sequencing technologies provide access to so far inaccessible information. The aim of my PhD thesis was the study of the viral diversity within a large range of non-model animals. To address this question I set up an innovative analytical framework to discover new viruses based on a meta-transcriptomic approach. This work i) shows that this bioinformatics method is efficient and powerful, ii) allows the discovery of new viruses with particular genomic organisations suggesting they belong to new virus genera of families, iii) uncovered new viruses from new hosts in well-known viral families and iv) shows wider viral host range than previously expected based on a particular focus on hymenopteran viral diversity. Overall, my work allows to fill some gaps in the knowledge of viral diversity and shows the importance of studying non-model animal species in virology.