Orientador: Wilter Ricardo Russiano Vicente / Banca: Camila Infantosi Vannucchi / Banca: Lúcia Daniel Machado da Silva / Banca: Maria Denise Lopes / Banca: Marion Burkhardt Koivisto / Resumo: Este estudo foi realizado com o intuito de avaliar comparativamente os efeitos do emprego de meios seqüenciais com hormônios no desenvolvimento meiótico e citoplasmático de oócitos caninos durante o período de cultivo de 72 horas. Os oócitos foram coletados de 49 cadelas hígidas submetidas à ovariosalpingo-histerectomia ou ovariectomia, divididas em três grupos de acordo com seu status reprodutivo (fase folicular, lútea e anestro). Os óocitos foram aleatoriamente distribuídos em quatro sistemas de cultivo diferentes sendo o meio básico (MB) o TCM 199 suplementado. Os demais consistiam: no sistema A (controle) os oócitos foram maturados por 72 horas no (MB) com 10 UI/mL de hCG, 1 mg/mL de progesterona (P4) e 1 mg/mL de estradiol (E2), ou seja, expostos de forma contínua à estes hormônios; no sistema seqüenciado B os oócitos foram maturados no meio base com hCG por 48 horas e nas 24 horas adicionais no MB com P4; no sistema seqüenciado C os oócitos foram maturados no MB com hCG, P4 e E2 por 48 horas e nas 24 horas adicionais no MB com P4; no sistema D (controle) os oócitos foram maturados no MB, sem hormônios. Nos meios B e C, os hormônios foram suplementados nas mesmas concentrações empregadas no sistema A. Os resultados evidenciaram efeito positivo dos meios seqüenciais na progressão da meiose e na maturação citoplasmática (P<0,05). Não houve influência da condição reprodutiva das fêmeas doadoras nas taxas de maturação oocitária (P>0,05). A presença de espermatozóides nos meios de cultivo não teve efeito benéfico sobre as taxas de MII; em contrapartida, a porcentagem de oócitos degenerados aumentou consideravelmente (P>0,05). / Abstract: The aim of this work was to study the influence of different bi-phasic systems with gonadotrophins and steroids on meiotic and cytoplasmic development of canine oocytes cultured for 72 hours. Oocytes were collected after ovariohysterectomy or ovariectomy from 49 healthy bitches, divided into 3 groups according to their reproductive status (follicular, luteal and anestrous stages). Oocytes were randomly allocated in four different culture systems with the base medium (BM) consisting of TCM-199. The systems were as follows: in system A oocytes were matured for 72 h in BM with 10 UI/mL hCG, 1 mg/mL progesterone (P4), 1 mg/mL estradiol (E2); in bi-phasic system B oocytes were matured for 48 h in BM with hCG and for 24 h in BM with P4; in bi-phasic system C oocytes were matured for 48 h in BM with hCG, P4 and E2, and for 24 h in BM with P4. In system D (control), oocytes were cultured in BM without hormones. In sytems B and C hormones were supplemented at the same doses as in system A. The results suggest that the use of bi-phasic systems was beneficial for oocyte meiosis and cytoplasmic maturation (P<0,05). No difference was noticed with regards to the influence of reproductive status on maturation rates (P>0,05). The addition of spermatozoa to the medium had no benefit on MII stage rates (P>0,05); however, the percentage of degenerated oocytes has significantly increased. / Doutor

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a controversial and widely misunderstood syndrome which encompasses mood, behavior, and physical symptoms that occur cyclically and are associated with the menstrual cycle. Many women report suffering from recurring PMS symptoms severe enough to create a temporary physical or mental incapacitation which may affect the marital relationship. A study was initiated to document bi-phasic personality and marital changes related to PMS. This sample consisted of 119 adult females and their husbands, ranging in age between 18 and 60, who sought diagnosis and treatment at the Utah PMS Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Within this clinical sample, comparisons were made between those who appeared to have the most positive indicators of PMS, as identified by the Dalton Diagnostic Pointer, the monthly symptom calendar, and the dOCtor's diagnostic impression, and those who did not, according to the same criteria. The marital relationship was assessed by both husband and wife during the follicular (approximately day 6 to day 14) and luteal (approximately day 14 to first day of menses) phases of the menstrual cycle using the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale. Personality changes were measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPO, which was administered to the wife only during both phases. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to determine if I) for the entire sample, there are differences in women's mental health, and marital adjustment (as reported by both husband and wife) between the two cyclic phases, and 2) whether or not mental health and marital adjustment changes are similar between those women with positive indicators of PMS, versus those without. Final results of this study show that, overall, the entire sample is reporting significantly less healthy personality adjustment for the wife, as well as lower marital adjustment for both husband and wife during the symptomatic phase. There are some indications that, although these changes are present in both groups (those with PMS and those without), the changes are less dramatic for those women and couples with less likelihood of PMS. These findings have important implications for counselors and marriage therapists in that PMS has been shown to be related to psychological dysfunction and marital stress. Diagnosticians who test women during the symptomatic phase and obtain test results which are not representative of the client"s overall health and well-being would also benefit from the results of this study. These findings have important implications for counselors and marriage therapists in that PMS has been shown to be related to psychological dysfunction and marital stress. Diagnosticians who test women during the symptomatic phase and obtain test results which are not representative of the client"s overall health and well-being would also benefit from the results of this study.

Lysosomal storage disorders are a group of rare neurodegenerative diseases that are collectively common, sharing many aspects with other neurodegenerative disorders, including substrate build-up and neuroinflammation. The GM2 Gangliosidoses, Tay-Sachs disease and Sandhoff disease, are pathologically overlapping lysosomal storage disorders, with high prevalence within specific ethnicities. Their effects are neurologically devastating and often fatal at young ages. Current treatments only slow or stall an inevitable decline in health. Novel treatment targets are needed for these disorders, and others with similar pathologies. In these works we demonstrate the negative effect the inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor-alpha has on survival of a model of Sandhoff disease. We demonstrate its role in the upregulation of astrogliosis, and apoptosis, and we present evidence that this effect on astrogliosis occurs through an upregulation of the JAK-2/STAT3 pathway. Though fruitful, a singular focus on inflammation/gliosis in these diseases has left a vacuum in the research into neuron specific molecular processes. We observe the development of inflammation, astrogliosis and neuronal processes in our model, and demonstrate a bi-phasic disease progression, in which early onset microgliosis precedes terminal astrogliosis, apoptosis, and a decline in excitatory glutamate receptors, suggesting neuron-specific malfunction. Furthermore, we show that knockout of the synaptic protein neuronal pentraxin 1 retards neurodegeneration and extends the lifespan of Sandhoff disease mice, independent of inflammation or astrogliosis. Through electrophysiology, we provide evidence of dysregulation of glutamate receptors in Sandhoff disease, and show that knockout of neuronal pentraxin 1 provides rescue from this dysregulation. This work expands on research into gliosis in GM2 gangliosidoses, presents the finding of a novel protein isoform, and presents a new focus on non-glial disease mechanisms and treatments for these and other neurodegenerative disorders. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Lysosomal storage disorders are a group of neurological diseases that are debilitating, and often fatal at a young age. Two diseases of this group- Tay-Sachs disease and Sandhoff disease – are similar in their causes and symptoms. Current treatments for these diseases only slow or stall an inevitable decline in health. New targets for treatment are required, and we provide data suggesting several proteins that may fit this criterion. We also provide evidence of the discovery of a new form of one of these proteins, which is found in high levels in the disease, indicating it may be important in these and other neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, we provide findings indicating that a certain cell type, which is largely ignored in current research for these diseases, may be important in the disease progress. These findings increase our knowledge of Tay-Sachs disease and Sandhoff disease, and open new avenues for medicinal intervention.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-02-26Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:46:21Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 apparicioferreira_m_dr_jabo.pdf: 8938205 bytes, checksum: 540b8a495ebda2425790114eece3d47a (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Este estudo foi realizado com o intuito de avaliar comparativamente os efeitos do emprego de meios seqüenciais com hormônios no desenvolvimento meiótico e citoplasmático de oócitos caninos durante o período de cultivo de 72 horas. Os oócitos foram coletados de 49 cadelas hígidas submetidas à ovariosalpingo-histerectomia ou ovariectomia, divididas em três grupos de acordo com seu status reprodutivo (fase folicular, lútea e anestro). Os óocitos foram aleatoriamente distribuídos em quatro sistemas de cultivo diferentes sendo o meio básico (MB) o TCM 199 suplementado. Os demais consistiam: no sistema A (controle) os oócitos foram maturados por 72 horas no (MB) com 10 UI/mL de hCG, 1 mg/mL de progesterona (P4) e 1 mg/mL de estradiol (E2), ou seja, expostos de forma contínua à estes hormônios; no sistema seqüenciado B os oócitos foram maturados no meio base com hCG por 48 horas e nas 24 horas adicionais no MB com P4; no sistema seqüenciado C os oócitos foram maturados no MB com hCG, P4 e E2 por 48 horas e nas 24 horas adicionais no MB com P4; no sistema D (controle) os oócitos foram maturados no MB, sem hormônios. Nos meios B e C, os hormônios foram suplementados nas mesmas concentrações empregadas no sistema A. Os resultados evidenciaram efeito positivo dos meios seqüenciais na progressão da meiose e na maturação citoplasmática (P<0,05). Não houve influência da condição reprodutiva das fêmeas doadoras nas taxas de maturação oocitária (P>0,05). A presença de espermatozóides nos meios de cultivo não teve efeito benéfico sobre as taxas de MII; em contrapartida, a porcentagem de oócitos degenerados aumentou consideravelmente (P>0,05). / The aim of this work was to study the influence of different bi-phasic systems with gonadotrophins and steroids on meiotic and cytoplasmic development of canine oocytes cultured for 72 hours. Oocytes were collected after ovariohysterectomy or ovariectomy from 49 healthy bitches, divided into 3 groups according to their reproductive status (follicular, luteal and anestrous stages). Oocytes were randomly allocated in four different culture systems with the base medium (BM) consisting of TCM-199. The systems were as follows: in system A oocytes were matured for 72 h in BM with 10 UI/mL hCG, 1 mg/mL progesterone (P4), 1 mg/mL estradiol (E2); in bi-phasic system B oocytes were matured for 48 h in BM with hCG and for 24 h in BM with P4; in bi-phasic system C oocytes were matured for 48 h in BM with hCG, P4 and E2, and for 24 h in BM with P4. In system D (control), oocytes were cultured in BM without hormones. In sytems B and C hormones were supplemented at the same doses as in system A. The results suggest that the use of bi-phasic systems was beneficial for oocyte meiosis and cytoplasmic maturation (P<0,05). No difference was noticed with regards to the influence of reproductive status on maturation rates (P>0,05). The addition of spermatozoa to the medium had no benefit on MII stage rates (P>0,05); however, the percentage of degenerated oocytes has significantly increased.

No description available.

<p>The last few decades have witnessed unprecedented growth in multiple areas of electronics spanning low-power sensing, intelligent computing and high-speed wireless connectivity. In the foreseeable future, there would be hundreds of billions of computing devices, sensors, things and people, wherein the technology will become intertwined with our lives through continuous interaction and collaboration between humans and machines. Such human-centric ideas give rise to the concept of internet of bodies (IoB), which calls for novel and energy-efficient techniques for sensing, processing and secure communication for resource-constrained IoB nodes.As we have painfully learnt during the pandemic, point-of-care diagnostics along with continuous sensing and long-term connectivity has become one of the major requirements in the healthcare industry, further emphasizing the need for energy-efficiency and security in the resource-constrained devices around us.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  With this vision in mind, I’ll divide this dissertation into the following chapters. The first part (Chapter 2) will cover time-domain sensing techniques which allow inherent energy-resolution scalability, and will show the fundamental limits of achievable resolution. Implementations will include 1) a radiation sensing system for occupational dosimetry in healthcare and mining applications, which can achieve 12-18 bit resolution with 0.01-1 µJ energy dissipation, and 2) an ADC-less neural signal acquisition system with direct Analog to Time Conversion at 13pJ/Sample. The second part (Chapters 3 and 4) of this dissertation will involve the fundamentals of developing secure energy-efficient electro-quasistatic (EQS) communication techniques for IoB wearables as well as implants, and will demonstrate  2 examples: 1) Adiabatic Switching for breaking the αCV^2f limit of power consumption in capacitive voltage mode human-body communication (HBC), and 2) Bi-Phasic Quasistatic Brain Communication (BP-QBC) for fully wireless data transfer from a sub-6mm^3, 2 µW brain implant. A custom modulation scheme, along with adiabatic communication enables wireline-like energy efficiencies (<5pJ/b) in HBC-based wireless systems, while the BP-QBC node, being fully electrical in nature, demonstrates sub-50pJ/b efficiencies by eliminating DC power consumption, and by avoiding the transduction losses observed in competing technologies, involving optical, ultrasound and magneto-electric modalities. Next in Chapter 5, we will show an implementation of a reconfigurable system that would include 1) a human-body communication transceiver and 2) a traditional wireless (MedRadio) transceiver on the same integrated circuit (IC), and would demonstrate methods to switch between the two modes by detecting the placement of the transmitter and receiver devices (on-body/away from the body). Finally, in Chapter 6, we shall show a technique of augmenting security in resource-constrained devices through authentication using the Analog/RF properties of the transmitter, which are usually discarded as non-idealities in a digital transceiver chain. This method does not require any additional hardware in the transmitter, making it an extremely promising technique to augment security in highly resource-constrained scenarios. Such energy-efficient intelligent sensing and secure communication techniques, when combined with intelligent in-sensor-analytics at the resource-constrained nodes, can potentially pave the way for perpetual, and even batteryless systems for next-generation IoT, IoB and healthcare applications.</p>