Hydroxyethyl starches (HES) are the most routinely used synthetic colloids during fluid resuscitation and have reported effects on coagulation. The overall goal of the investigation in this thesis was to evaluate the effects of tetrastarch administration on hemodynamic, laboratory, and hemostatic variables in healthy dogs and dogs with systemic inflammation. The objectives were to compare hemodynamic and laboratory variables in dogs receiving an isotonic crystalloid (0.9% NaCl) or tetrastarch during health and after induction of systemic inflammation; to compare the hemostatic effects of an isotonic crystalloid (0.9% NaCl) and synthetic colloid (tetrastarch) in healthy dogs and dogs with induced systemic inflammation; to compare two different protocols for TEG® activation and to determine the correlation between TEG® variables and traditional coagulation test results. Sixteen adult purpose-bred Beagles were randomized into one of two groups receiving fluid resuscitation with either 40 mL/kg IV isotonic crystalloid (0.9% NaCl) or synthetic colloid (tetrastarch) after administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 5 μg/kg, IV) or an equal volume of placebo (0.9% NaCl, IV). Blood samples, for analysis, were collected at 0, 1, 2, 4, and 24 hours from the time of fluid resuscitation. After a 14-day washout period, the study was repeated such that dogs received the opposite treatment (LPS or placebo) and the same resuscitation fluid. Resuscitation with equal volumes of 0.9% NaCl and tetrastarch caused similar changes in hemodynamic and laboratory variables in dogs with LPS-induced systemic inflammation; however, larger increases in HR and blood pressure were seen within the first 2 hours following tetrastarch administration compared to 0.9% NaCl. Tetrastarch administration increased COP in all dogs, despite a decrease in TS. Tetrastarch bolus administration to dogs with LPS-induced systemic inflammation also resulted in a transient hypocoagulability characterized by a prolonged PTT, decreased clot formation speed and clot strength, and acquired type 1 von Willebrand disease. Considering the limited additional benefit of tetrastarch administration on hemodynamic variables demonstrated, as well as the transient adverse hemostatic effects of tetrastarch administration, the increased cost associated with the use of tetrastarch likely negates its use as a first line treatment during fluid resuscitation in dogs. / Pet Trust Fund

Self-assembly of polymeric building blocks is a powerful tool for the design of novel materials and structures that combine different properties and may respond to external stimuli. In the past decades, most studies were focused on the self-assembly of amphiphilic diblock copolymers in solution. The dissolution of these block copolymers in a solvent selective for one block results mostly in the formation of micelles. The micellar structure of diblock copolymers is inherently limited to a homogeneous core surrounded by a corona, which keeps the micelle in solution. Thus, for drug-delivery applications, such structures only offer a single domain (the hydrophobic inner core) for drug entrapment. Whereas multicompartment micelles composed of a water-soluble shell and a segregated hydrophobic core are novel, interesting morphologies for applications in a variety of fields including medicine, pharmacy and biotechnology. The separated incompatible compartments of the hydrophobic core could enable the selective entrapment and release of various hydrophobic drugs while the hydrophilic shell would permit the stabilization of these nanostructures in physiological media. However, so far, the preparation and control of stable multicompartment micellar systems are in the first stages and the number of morphological studies concerning such micelles is rather low. Thus considerably little is known about their exact inner structures. In the present study, we concentrate on four different approaches for the preparation of multicompartment micelles by self-assembly in aqueous media. A similarity of all approaches was that hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon blocks were selected for all employed copolymers since such segments tend to be strongly incompatible, and thus favor the segregation into distinct domains. Our studies have shown that the self-assembly of the utilized copolymers in aqueous solution leads in three cases to the formation of multicompartment micelles. As expected the shape and size of the micelles depend on the molecular architecture and to some extent also on the way of preparation. These novel structured colloids may serve as models as well as mimics for biological structures such as globular proteins, and may open interesting opportunities for nanotechnology applications. / Die Selbstorganisation von synthetischen amphiphilen Blockcopolymeren ist ein vielseitiger Prozeß, der die Entwicklung von neuartigen Materialien, die verschiedene Eigenschaften miteinander verbinden und auch auf äußere Reize reagieren können, ermöglicht. In den letzten Jahrzehnten haben sich viele Untersuchungen mit der Selbstorganisation von Diblockcopolymeren in Lösung beschäftigt. So bilden zum Beispiel amphiphile Diblock-Copolymere in Wasser meist Mizellen die einen hydrophoben Kern und eine hydrophile Hülle besitzen. Ihre potentielle Anwendung als Wirkstoffträger ist jedoch begrenzt, da für die Einlagerung nur ein hydrophober Bereich zur Verfügung steht. Multikompartment-Mizellen, bestehend aus einer wasserlöslichen Hülle und einem unterteilten hydrophoben Kern, sind dagegen neuartige und sehr interessante Strukturen für die Nanotechnologie und im speziellen für die Nanobiotechnologie, da sie sich zum Beispiel als Träger für Arznei- und Wirkstoffe eignen. So könnten in die separaten und untereinander nicht mischbaren Kompartimente im Kern der Mizelle verschiedene hydrophobe Wirkstoffe selektiv eingelagert und auch freigesetzt werden, wobei die hydrophile Hülle die Nanostrukturen im physiologischen Medium stabilisiert. Aus diesem Grund wurden in den letzten Jahren verschiedene Strategien für die Herstellung von Multikompartiment-Mizellen vorgeschlagen. Bis jetzt gibt es jedoch nur eine begrenzte Anzahl an Untersuchungen, die sich mit der Morphologie solcher Mizellen befassen und somit ist auch wenig über ihre innere Struktur bekannt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit konzentrieren wir uns auf vier verschiedene Ansätze zur Herstellung von Multikompartiment-Mizellen durch Selbstorganisation in wässriger Lösung. Eine Gemeinsamkeit bei allen Ansätzen ist, das die untersuchten Copolymere einen hydrophoben Kohlenwasserstoff-Block sowie einen Fluorkohlenstoff-Block besitzen. Die Kombination von Kohlenwasserstoff- und Fluorkohlenstoff-Blöcken wurden gewählt, weil solche Segmente in der Regel nicht miteinander kompatibel sind und somit die Aufteilung in separate Domänen begünstigen. Unsere Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass die Selbstorganisation der verwendeten Copolymere in wässriger Lösung in drei Fällen zu Multikompartiment-Mizellen führt. Die Form und Größe der Mizellen ist erwartungsgemäß von der Molekülarchitektur und zum Teil auch vom Präparationsweg abhängig. Diese neuartigen, nanostrukturierten Kolloide könnten als Modell und Mimetika für biologische Strukturen wie die von globulären Proteinen fungieren. Sie eröffnen weiterhin interessante Möglichkeiten für Anwendungen in der Nanotechnologie.

Hydrazine and monomethylhydrazine are widely used as propellants in aerospace and defense industries. However these chemicals are volatile, carcinogenic, and sensitive to impact, which impose serious threats during their usage. In this thesis, we have demonstrated two novel ways to immobilize hydrazine chemicals. In one approach hydrazine, monomethylhydrazine have been gelled using carbon dioxide. Chemical and structural properties of these gels are studied by NMR (1H, 15N, 13C), diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy, and Cryo-HRSEM. Thermal reversibility of these gels is also demonstrated. In another approach, hydrazine, monomethylhydrazine and 1,1-dimethylhydrazine are reacted with 5-methyltetrazole to form ionic liquids. Synthesis of novel tetrazole monomers and polymers, .and new method for encapsulating sodium azide have also reported in this thesis

Colloidal particles serve as useful building blocks for materials applications ranging from controlled band-gap materials to rationally designed drug delivery systems. Thus, developing approaches to direct the assembly and disassembly of sub-micron sized particles will be paramount to further advances in materials science engineering. This project focuses on using programmable and reversible binding between oligonucleotide strands to assemble and then disassemble polystyrene colloidal particles. It is shown that DNA-mediated assembly can be reversed at a fixed temperature using secondary oligonucleotide strands to competitively displace the primary strands linking particles together. It was found that 1) titrating the surface density of hybridizing probe strands and 2) adjusting the base length difference between primary and secondary target strands was key to successful isothermal disassembly. In order to titrate the surface density of primary probe-target duplexes, colloidal particles were conjugated with mixtures of probe strands and "diluent" strands in order to minimize the number of DNA linkages between particles. To reduce the steric interference of the diluent strands to hybridization events, diluent strands were clipped with a restriction enzyme in select cases. Kinetics studies revealed that a four to six base-length difference between primary and secondary target strands resulted in extensive competitive hybridization at secondary oligonucleotide concentrations as low as 10 nM. Importantly, it was found that the timing for release of either DNA alone or DNA-conjugated nanoparticles could be tuned through choices in the DNA sequences and concentration. Lastly, competitive hybridization was explored in select studies to drive the "shedding" of PEGylated DNA targets from microspheres to reveal underlying adhesive groups or ligands on the particle surface. Unlike prior work relying on elevated temperatures to melt DNA-linkages, this work presents an important first step towards extending DNA as a reversible assembly tool for physiological applications such as multifunctional drug delivery vehicles programmed to disassemble at targeted tissue sites such as malignant tumors.

[pt] O presente estudo investiga a estrutura e a potencial aplicação de nanopartículas formadas por copolímeros que possuem um bloco neutro e outro bloco aniônico combinados a um surfactante catiônico. Em água, os blocos aniônicos se complexam eletrostaticamente às micelas de surfactante, interconectando-as e formando um núcleo concentrado, que pode até apresentar estrutura líquido-cristalina. Os blocos neutros são hidrofílicos e por isso formam uma casca que estabiliza as nanopartículas em água. Devido à formação do núcleo concentrado de micelas, espera-se que estas nanopartículas sejam capazes de incorporar uma maior quantidade de moléculas hidrofóbicas em comparação a micelas de surfactante puro na mesma concentração. Os resultados indicam que quanto mais longo é o bloco aniônico, mais alta é a incorporação das moléculas hidrofóbicas. Por outro lado, o bloco neutro tem um papel importante para aumentar a estabilidade das nanopartículas em meio aquoso. A incorporação de moléculas hidrofóbicas no núcleo das nanopartículas causa alterações na organização das micelas, levando à formação de diferentes estruturas líquido-cristalinas ou a alterações nas distâncias de correlação. Com base nas propriedades das nanopartículas, foi proposta uma formulação aquosa capaz de incorporar uma quantidade significativa de um filtro solar orgânico. Com os resultados obtidos para esta formulação, foi possível demonstrar sua eficácia em evitar a degradação de cabelos por irradiação ultravioleta, o que torna este sistema um candidato de alto potencial para aplicação na indústria de cosméticos. / [en] The present study investigates the structure and potential application of core-shell nanoparticles formed by block copolymers (consisted of an anionic and a neutral blocks) and a cationic surfactant. In water, the anionic blocks electrostatically complex to the surfactant micelles, interconnecting them and forming a concentrated nucleus, which may form even liquid-crystalline structures. Because the neutral blocks are hydrophilic, they form a shell which stabilizes the nanoparticles in water. The concentrated nuclei of micelles are expected to uptake a higher amount of hydrophobic molecules than the regular micelles of pure surfactant in the same concentration. The longer is the anionic block forming the nucleus, the higher is the uptake of hydrophobic substances. On the other hand, the neutral block plays a key role to increase nanoparticle stability in aqueous medium. The uptake of hydrophobic molecules increased the ordering of the micelles in the nucleus, leading either to the formation of different liquid-crystalline structures or to variations in the correlation distances. Taking these results in to account, we proposed an aqueous formulation with a considerable uptake capacity of an organic sunscreen. The results obtained for this formulation demonstrate its efficacy to avoid hair degradation by ultraviolet radiation exposition, which make this system a potential candidate for applications in the cosmetic industry.

Objetivo: estudar os efeitos hemodinâmicos da solução salina hipertônica/dextran, comparada com solução salina normal, em pacientes com sepse grave. Modelo: ensaio clínico randomizado, prospectivo, duplo-cego, controlado. Local: Unidade de Terapia Intensiva de um hospital universitário. Pacientes: 29 pacientes com sepse grave, admitidos na UTI com pressão de oclusão da artéria pulmonar (POAP) menor que 12 mmHg. Intervenções: os pacientes foram randomizados para receber 250 ml da solução salina normal [NaCl 0,9%] (Grupo SS, n=16) ou solução salina hipertônica [NaCl 7,5%]/dextran 70 8% ( Grupo SSH, n=13). Medidas e resultados: para cada grupo foram coletadas medidas hemodinâmicas, gasometrias (arterial e venosa), lactato e sódio séricos nos tempos 0, 30 minutos, 60 minutos, 120 minutos e 180 minutos. Durante o período do estudo não foi permitida qualquer alteração na infusão tanto de fluidos quanto das drogas vasopressoras. A POAP foi maior no grupo SSH, com a diferença sendo maior em 30 minutos (10,7±3,2 mmHg vs. 6,8±3,2 mmHg) e 60 minutos (10,3±3 mmHg vs. 7,4±2,9 mmHg); p<0,05. O índice cardíaco aumentou apenas no grupo SSH, sendo que as diferenças foram maiores em 30 minutos (6,5±4,7 l min-1 m-2 vs. 3,8±3,4 l min-1 m-2), em 60 minutos (4,9±4,5 l min-1 m-2 vs. 3,7±3,3 l min-1 m-2) e em 120 minutos (5,0±4,3 l min-1 m-2 vs. 4,1±3,4 l min-1 m-2); p<0,05. O índice sistólico seguiu o mesmo padrão e foi maior em 30 minutos (53,6[39,2-62,8] ml m-2 vs. 35,6[31,2-49,2] ml m-2) e em 60 minutos (46,8[39,7-56,6] ml m-2 vs. 33,9[32,2-47,7] ml m-2); p<0,05. A resistência vascular sistêmica diminuiu no grupo SSH e foi menor nos tempos 30 minutos (824±277 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1139±245 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2), em 60 minutos (921±256 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1246±308 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2) e em 120 minutos (925±226 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1269±494 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2); p<0,05. O sódio sérico aumentou no grupo SSH e foi maior do que o grupo SS em 30 minutos (145±3 mEq l-1 vs. 137±7 mEq l-1), em 60 minutos (143±4 mEq l-1 vs. 136±77 mEq l-1), em 120 minutos (142±5 mEq l-1vs. 136±7 mEq l-1) e em 180 minutos (142±5 mEq l-1 vs. 136±87 mEq l-1); p<0,05. Conclusão: Solução salina hipertônica/dextran pode melhorar a performance cardiovascular na ressuscitação de pacientes com sepse grave. Os efeitos hemodinâmicos parecem estar relacionados tanto ao efeito no volume quanto a melhora da função cardíaca. A SSH/dextran podem ajudar a restaurar rapidamente a estabilidade hemodinâmica em pacientes sépticos, hipovolêmicos, sem apresentar efeitos indesejáveis significativos. / Objective: to study the hemodynamic effects of a hypertonic saline/dextran solution compared with a normal saline solution in severe septic patients. Design: prospective double blind and control-randomised study. Setting: Adult intensive care unit in a university hospital Patients: Twenty nine severe septic patients admitted to the intensive care unit with a pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP) lower than 12 mmHg. Interventions: Patients were randomised to receive 250 ml of blinded solutions of either normal saline (SS group, n=16) or hypertonic saline (NaCl 7,5%)/dextran 70 8% (HSS group, n=13) solutions. Measurements and Results: Hemodynamic, blood gases, blood lactate and sodium data were collected for each group at the following time points: baseline, 30 min, 60 min, 120 min and 180 min. During the study period, it was not allowed further fluid or vasoactive infusion rate modifications. PAOP was higher in the HSS group with the differences being greater at 30 (10.7±3.2 mmHg vs. 6.8±3.2 mmHg) and 60 min (10.3±3 mmHg vs. 7.4±2.9 mmHg); p<0.05. The cardiac index increased only in the HSS group with differences being greater at 30 (6.5±4.7 l min-1 m-2 vs. 3.8±3.4 l min-1 m-2), 60 (4.9±4.5 l min-1 m-2 vs. 3.7±3.3 l min-1 m-2) and 120 min (5.0±4.3 l min-1 m-2 vs. 4.1±3.4 l min-1 m-2); p<0.05. The stroke volume index followed a comparable course and it was higher at 30 (53.6[39.2-62.8] ml m-2 vs. 35.6[31.2-49.2] ml m-2) and 60 min (46.8[39.7-56.6] ml m-2 vs. 33.9[32.2-47.7] ml m-2); p<0.05. Systemic vascular resistance decreased in the HSS group and became lower at 30 (824±277 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1139±245 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2), 60 (921±256 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1246±308 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2) and 120 min (925±226 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1269±494 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2); p<0.05. The serum sodium levels increased in the HSS group and were higher than in the SS group at 30 (145±3 mEq l-1 vs. 137±7 mEq l-1), 60 (143±4 mEq l-1 vs. 136±77 mEq l-1), 120 (142±5 mEq l-1vs. 136±7 mEq l-1) and 180 min (142±5 mEq l-1 vs. 136±87 mEq l-1 ); p<0.05. Conclusion: Hypertonic saline/dextran solution can improve cardiovascular performance in the resuscitation of severe septic patients. The hemodynamic effect appears related both to a volume effect and an improvement in cardiac function. Hypertonic saline/colloid solutions may help to rapidly restore hemodynamic stability in hypovolemic septic patients without significant side effects.

ARAÚJO, Jorge Luiz Bezerra de. Auto-organização de partículas patchy carregadas. 2014. 75 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Física) - Programa de Pós-Graduação em Física, Departamento de Física, Centro de Ciências, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2014. / Submitted by Edvander Pires (edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2014-08-29T19:48:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_jlbaraujo.pdf: 26529309 bytes, checksum: 0b19a8cf79d0505ad5749c382dddd8c7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Edvander Pires(edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2014-08-29T20:27:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_jlbaraujo.pdf: 26529309 bytes, checksum: 0b19a8cf79d0505ad5749c382dddd8c7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-29T20:27:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_jlbaraujo.pdf: 26529309 bytes, checksum: 0b19a8cf79d0505ad5749c382dddd8c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / The current stage of development of experimental techniques allow the synthesis of particles complex colloidal, whose surface can be precisely "decorated" with physical properties and/or chemical combinations. Such colloids are usually defined as patchy particles. As result of the modification of parts of the surface of such particles, the interaction between them is generally characterized by an anisotropic potential. Study and understand the process of self-organization of this particular system is of great interest both from the scientific point of view as technology, because of its use in functional materials. In this dissertation, we study. The behavior of a two-dimensional system patchy charged particles, in which the surface is decorated with a timely charge sign opposite that located in the particle center. Thus, patchy each particle has a net charge C, which is result of the difference between the point charges on the surface and that in the particle center patchy. This study uses the technique of computer simulation of molecular dynamics to study the process of self-organization of particles patchy depending on the density and temperature. Initially, we present the model of patchy particles studied here and there is the behavior of the interaction energy between two particles and its dependence on load effective particle (liquid charge) and the number of active sites (p) that decorate the surfaces of colloids, called patches . The study of these parameters is important for understanding the self-organized structures obtained. Presents the stable structures of minimum energy a system with p=2 and C=0 as a function of temperature and density. In general, we observe two well defined phases were distinguished by calculation of thermodynamic properties during the simulation. Results for different values of p and C are also presented order to show the influence of this parameter in the system configuration. In general, it is observed that for large values of the charge and/or number of patches, the repulsive potential prevails causing the system to stabilize in a crystalline configuration. On the other hand, for a system composed of particles with a low value of charge and/or the number od patches interaction potential is attractive inducing predominantly resulting composite structures in the form of clusters of ring and lines particles. / O atual estágio de desenvolvimento de técnicas experimentais permite a síntese de partículas coloidais complexas, cuja superfície pode ser precisamente "decorada" com propriedades físicas e/ou químicas diferentes. Tais coloides são usualmente definidos como partículas patchy. Como resultado da modificação de partes da superfície de tais partículas, a interação entre as mesmas é geralmente caracterizada por um potencial anisotrópico. Estudar e compreender o processo de auto-organização desse sistema particular é de grande interesse tanto do ponto de vista científico como tecnológico devido sua utilização em materiais funcionais. Nessa dissertação, estuda-se o comportamento de um sistema bidimensional de partículas patchy carregadas, nas quais a superfície é decorada pontualmente com uma carga de sinal contrário do centro da mesma de modo que cada coloide possua uma carga total C responsável pelo potencial de interação. Neste trabalho foi utilizada a técnica de simulação Dinâmica Molecular para estudar o processo de auto-organização dessas partículas para diversas densidades e temperaturas. Contudo, antes de apresentar resultados numéricos apresenta-se o modelo de partícula patchy e verifica-se o comportamento da energia de interação com dependência na carga efetiva da partícula e com o número de sítios ativos (p) que decoram as superfícies dos coloides, chamados de patches. Nota-se que o estudo de tais parâmetros é fundamental na previsão de estruturas que o sistema se estabiliza. Apresentam-se as estruturas de mínima energia estáveis, de um sistema com p=2 e carga total neutra, em um diagrama de fases com dependência na temperatura e densidade para p=2. Esse diagrama apresenta claramente duas fases bem definidas que foram distinguidas através de cálculos de propriedades termodinâmicas durante a simulação. Resultados para diferente p e carga total também são apresentados a fim de mostrar a influencia do número de patches, e da carga total, na configuração do sistema. Em geral, observa-se que para altos valores da carga total e/ou número de patches de cada partícula, o potencial repulsivo prevalece fazendo com que o sistema se estabilize em uma configuração cristalina. Por outro lado, um sistema composto de partículas com baixo valor de carga total ou numero de patches as partículas apresentam um potencial atrativo induzindo diferentes tipos de configurações no sistema, como, por exemplo, estruturas na forma de anéis e linhas de partículas.

SILVA, Petrúcio Barrozo da. Transporte de partículas em sistemas mesoscópicos. 2009. 140 f. Tese (Doutorado em Física) - Programa de Pós-Graduação em Física, Departamento de Física, Centro de Ciências, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2009. / Submitted by Edvander Pires (edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2015-06-18T19:09:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_tese_pbsilva.pdf: 5386527 bytes, checksum: 013c727ad138df44286d71defdc66882 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Edvander Pires(edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2015-06-18T19:18:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_tese_pbsilva.pdf: 5386527 bytes, checksum: 013c727ad138df44286d71defdc66882 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-06-18T19:18:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_tese_pbsilva.pdf: 5386527 bytes, checksum: 013c727ad138df44286d71defdc66882 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / In this work we investigate the transport properties of particles in mesoscopic systems. In the first part, we use the model originally proposed by Zapperi et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3622 (2001)) to describe the steady-state transport of overdamped particles in the presence of an obstacle and confined to a channel with width of the order of the characteristic size of the system. With this model, we obtain a non-linear first-order differential equation, whose solution in 1D is capable to describe the behavior of the particle density along a 2D channel for different particle systems (e.g., superconducting vortices, colloids and pedestrians, all simulated with molecular dynamics) and obstacle types (e.g, one energy barrier, a channel constriction and a network of pinning centers). We observe that such a model can be used to represent the flow of any system of overdamped particles, as long as the interactions between them can reach a distance greater than only the first neighbors. In the second part of this work, we investigate the flow of interacting particles (not necessarily overdamped) confined to a channel of asymmetrical walls. Here the main objective is to describe through molecular dynamics techniques both the flow of pedestrians as well as the transport of superconducting vortices through irregular channels. In both cases, we observe that the asymmetry of the confining walls can induce a preferential direction to the flow. In the case of pedestrians, our results indicate that, when two groups of people move in opposite directions in a ratcheted type of corridor, this induced order is also responsible for flow maximization. This order can be destroyed, however, when we change the total number of particles in the system, their target speed, the amplitude of the external added noise or the degree of the asymmetry of the channel. We also observe that the order-disorder transitions in this system are usually followed by metastability and hysteresis cycles. In the case of superconducting vortices, multiple depinning transitions are observed when there is a small comensurability field between the number of ratchets in the channel and the number of particles (vortices) in the system. / Neste trabalho, estudamos as propriedades do transporte de partículas em sistemas mesoscópicos. Na primeira parte, usamos o modelo proposto anteriormente por Zapperi et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3622 (2001)) para descrever o transporte de partículas superamortecidas e interagentes no estado estacionário, na presença de um obstáculo para o fluxo, e confinadas em um canal com largura da ordem do comprimento característico do sistema. Com este modelo, obtivemos uma equação diferencial de primeira ordem não-linear, cuja solução em 1D é capaz de descrever a densidade ao longo de um canal 2D para diferentes sistemas de partículas (e.g., vórtices em supercondutores, colóides e pedestres, todos simulados por dinâmica molecular) e diferentes tipos de obstáculos (e.g., uma barreira de energia, um canal com uma constrição e uma rede de pinos no centro do canal). Observamos que este modelo pode ser usado para descrever o escoamento de qualquer sistema de partículas superamortecido, desde que as interações entre elas possam alcançar distâncias maiores que os primeiros vizinhos. Na segunda parte deste trabalho, estudamos o escoamento de partículas interagentes (não necessariamente superamortecidas) confinadas por paredes assimétricas. Aqui o objetivo é descrever a dinâmica de pedestres e a dinâmica de vórtices em supercondutores. Em ambos os sistemas, as paredes assimétricas são responsáveis pela introdução de um sentido preferencial para o fluxo. No caso da dinâmica de pedestres, estudamos as propriedades do sistema quando os pedestres andam em sentidos opostos. Verificamos que este confinamento induz uma ordem responsável pela maximização do escoamento. Esta ordem pode ser destruída quando variamos a densidade, a velocidade, a razão entre a largura do canal e a sua rugosidade, o ruído externo e a assimetria do canal. Verificamos também que as transições de ordem-desordem neste sistema são acompanhadas de metaestabilidades e ciclos de histerese. No caso de vórtices em supercondutores, verificamos que, para pequenos campos de comensurabilidade entre o número de "catracas" e o número de vórtices, o sistema apresenta múltiplas transições de depinamento.

Objetivo: estudar os efeitos hemodinâmicos da solução salina hipertônica/dextran, comparada com solução salina normal, em pacientes com sepse grave. Modelo: ensaio clínico randomizado, prospectivo, duplo-cego, controlado. Local: Unidade de Terapia Intensiva de um hospital universitário. Pacientes: 29 pacientes com sepse grave, admitidos na UTI com pressão de oclusão da artéria pulmonar (POAP) menor que 12 mmHg. Intervenções: os pacientes foram randomizados para receber 250 ml da solução salina normal [NaCl 0,9%] (Grupo SS, n=16) ou solução salina hipertônica [NaCl 7,5%]/dextran 70 8% ( Grupo SSH, n=13). Medidas e resultados: para cada grupo foram coletadas medidas hemodinâmicas, gasometrias (arterial e venosa), lactato e sódio séricos nos tempos 0, 30 minutos, 60 minutos, 120 minutos e 180 minutos. Durante o período do estudo não foi permitida qualquer alteração na infusão tanto de fluidos quanto das drogas vasopressoras. A POAP foi maior no grupo SSH, com a diferença sendo maior em 30 minutos (10,7±3,2 mmHg vs. 6,8±3,2 mmHg) e 60 minutos (10,3±3 mmHg vs. 7,4±2,9 mmHg); p<0,05. O índice cardíaco aumentou apenas no grupo SSH, sendo que as diferenças foram maiores em 30 minutos (6,5±4,7 l min-1 m-2 vs. 3,8±3,4 l min-1 m-2), em 60 minutos (4,9±4,5 l min-1 m-2 vs. 3,7±3,3 l min-1 m-2) e em 120 minutos (5,0±4,3 l min-1 m-2 vs. 4,1±3,4 l min-1 m-2); p<0,05. O índice sistólico seguiu o mesmo padrão e foi maior em 30 minutos (53,6[39,2-62,8] ml m-2 vs. 35,6[31,2-49,2] ml m-2) e em 60 minutos (46,8[39,7-56,6] ml m-2 vs. 33,9[32,2-47,7] ml m-2); p<0,05. A resistência vascular sistêmica diminuiu no grupo SSH e foi menor nos tempos 30 minutos (824±277 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1139±245 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2), em 60 minutos (921±256 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1246±308 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2) e em 120 minutos (925±226 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1269±494 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2); p<0,05. O sódio sérico aumentou no grupo SSH e foi maior do que o grupo SS em 30 minutos (145±3 mEq l-1 vs. 137±7 mEq l-1), em 60 minutos (143±4 mEq l-1 vs. 136±77 mEq l-1), em 120 minutos (142±5 mEq l-1vs. 136±7 mEq l-1) e em 180 minutos (142±5 mEq l-1 vs. 136±87 mEq l-1); p<0,05. Conclusão: Solução salina hipertônica/dextran pode melhorar a performance cardiovascular na ressuscitação de pacientes com sepse grave. Os efeitos hemodinâmicos parecem estar relacionados tanto ao efeito no volume quanto a melhora da função cardíaca. A SSH/dextran podem ajudar a restaurar rapidamente a estabilidade hemodinâmica em pacientes sépticos, hipovolêmicos, sem apresentar efeitos indesejáveis significativos. / Objective: to study the hemodynamic effects of a hypertonic saline/dextran solution compared with a normal saline solution in severe septic patients. Design: prospective double blind and control-randomised study. Setting: Adult intensive care unit in a university hospital Patients: Twenty nine severe septic patients admitted to the intensive care unit with a pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP) lower than 12 mmHg. Interventions: Patients were randomised to receive 250 ml of blinded solutions of either normal saline (SS group, n=16) or hypertonic saline (NaCl 7,5%)/dextran 70 8% (HSS group, n=13) solutions. Measurements and Results: Hemodynamic, blood gases, blood lactate and sodium data were collected for each group at the following time points: baseline, 30 min, 60 min, 120 min and 180 min. During the study period, it was not allowed further fluid or vasoactive infusion rate modifications. PAOP was higher in the HSS group with the differences being greater at 30 (10.7±3.2 mmHg vs. 6.8±3.2 mmHg) and 60 min (10.3±3 mmHg vs. 7.4±2.9 mmHg); p<0.05. The cardiac index increased only in the HSS group with differences being greater at 30 (6.5±4.7 l min-1 m-2 vs. 3.8±3.4 l min-1 m-2), 60 (4.9±4.5 l min-1 m-2 vs. 3.7±3.3 l min-1 m-2) and 120 min (5.0±4.3 l min-1 m-2 vs. 4.1±3.4 l min-1 m-2); p<0.05. The stroke volume index followed a comparable course and it was higher at 30 (53.6[39.2-62.8] ml m-2 vs. 35.6[31.2-49.2] ml m-2) and 60 min (46.8[39.7-56.6] ml m-2 vs. 33.9[32.2-47.7] ml m-2); p<0.05. Systemic vascular resistance decreased in the HSS group and became lower at 30 (824±277 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1139±245 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2), 60 (921±256 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1246±308 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2) and 120 min (925±226 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2 vs. 1269±494 dyne s-1 cm-5 m-2); p<0.05. The serum sodium levels increased in the HSS group and were higher than in the SS group at 30 (145±3 mEq l-1 vs. 137±7 mEq l-1), 60 (143±4 mEq l-1 vs. 136±77 mEq l-1), 120 (142±5 mEq l-1vs. 136±7 mEq l-1) and 180 min (142±5 mEq l-1 vs. 136±87 mEq l-1 ); p<0.05. Conclusion: Hypertonic saline/dextran solution can improve cardiovascular performance in the resuscitation of severe septic patients. The hemodynamic effect appears related both to a volume effect and an improvement in cardiac function. Hypertonic saline/colloid solutions may help to rapidly restore hemodynamic stability in hypovolemic septic patients without significant side effects.

La maîtrise de la fabrication de films de suspension colloïdale par évaporation constitueencore à ce jour, un véritable verrou scientifique pour l’élaboration des matériaux. Le séchage desuspensions colloïdales entraine souvent des défauts de surface et de volume dans le film. Lorsque lesparticules sont molles, les films sont continus mais présentent des défauts de plissement de surface.Lorsque les particules sont dures (latex vitreux, silice..), le film se fissure et se délamine. Ces défautssont souvent liés aux contraintes résiduelles dans le gel à la fin du séchage qui sont dues à la pressioncapillaire causée par la déformation des ménisques d’eau à la surface des films. Par contre on neconnait pas encore l’échelle de taille où agit la contrainte ni la relation entre la contrainte et la périodedes craquelures.Dans ce travail de thèse, nous étudions la morphologie des craquelures dans des films dedivers mélanges de suspensions colloïdales, élaborés par séchage. Ces mélanges sont composés departicules dures (polystyrène et PBMA réticulés) et molles (PBA et PBMA). La structurenanométrique de ces mélanges est caractérisée par diffusion de neutron et par turbidité. Nousdisposons de mélanges avec diverses structures et divers états de dispersion. Certains mélangescontiennent des particules dispersées à l’échelle nanométrique (l’ordre de grandeur est celle de la tailledes particules - 50 nm) alors que d’autres contiennent des particules agrégées. L’étude de lamorphologie des craquelures est réalisée sur des gouttes sessiles avec séchage à la surface libre. Descraquelures radiales périodiques sont observées lors du séchage. Nous observons que la période descraquelures augmente avec l’augmentation de la fraction en particules molles et de la température maistoute en conservent la périodicité. Nous avons mis en évidence que le rapport : période des craqueluressur l’épaisseur des films λ/h est le seul paramètre qui décrit parfaitement la morphologie descraquelures pour un séchage au niveau d’une surface libre. Nous avons aussi démontré que ce rapportλ/h ne peut pas descendre au-dessous de 2 même dans le cas de particules vitreuses. Le séchage induitde fortes contraintes résiduelles dans le gel qui permettent à certaines fibres situées entre deuxcraquelures de délaminer radialement. Ce phénomène de délamination s’estompe avec la dissipationdes contraintes. Nous avons démontré que le modèle mécanique de Russel ne permet pas de décrire lapériode de craquelures loin de la contrainte critique. Nous proposons ainsi dans le cadre de notretravail, un autre modèle plus à même à caractériser la périodicité de ces craquelures. Nous avonsremarqué que les propriétés du substrat n'ont aucune incidence sur la morphologie des craquelures. Letaux d'évaporation modifie la morphologie des craquelures, où dans le cas d’un séchage rapide, onobtient des fibres décollées longues unidirectionnelles tandis que pour le cas d’un séchage lent, onassiste à la formation de craquelures non décollées avec apparition de craquelures secondairestransverses. / Controlling the production of colloidal suspension films by evaporation is still, nowadays, atruly scientific obstacle for materials development. The drying of colloidal suspensions leads often tosurface and volume defects in the film. When the particles are soft, films are continuous but haveseveral folding surface defects. However, when the particles are hard (glassy latex, silica,...), the filmtends to crack and to be delaminated. These defects are often associated with residual stresses in thegel at the end of drying, due to the capillary pressure caused by the water menisci deformation at thefilm surface. Nevertheless, neither the size scale where constraint acts nor the relation between stressand cracking time were known.In this thesis we present the study of cracks morphology observed in films of differentcolloidal suspension mixtures obtained by a drying process. These mixtures are composed of hard(polystyrene crosslinked PBMA) and soft (PBA and PBMA) particles. The nanometric structure ofthese mixtures is obtained through neutron scattering and turbidity studies. We have mixtures withdifferent structures and different states of dispersion. While some mixtures contain dispersed particlesat a nanoscale, with an order of magnitude same as the particles size - 50 nm, some others containaggregated particles. The study of cracks morphology is performed on sessile drops by drying at thefree surface. Periodic radial cracks are observed during drying. We also observe that cracks periodincrease with the increment of soft particles fraction and temperature, but keeping constant itsperiodicity. We have demonstrated that the ratio: crack period between film thickness, i.e. λ/h, is theonly parameter that describes perfectly cracks morphology for a drying process at a free surface. Wealso demonstrated that this relation (λ/h) couldn’t decrease below 2 even in the case of glassy particles.Drying process induces high residual stresses in the gel, allowing to some fibers located between twocracks to delaminate radially. This delamination phenomenon fades with dissipation constraints. Wehave also established that the Russel’s mechanical model does not describe the period of cracks nearthe critical stress. Therefore, in this work we propose another model able to characterize theperiodicity of the cracks. We noticed that the properties of the substrate did not affect cracksmorphology. The evaporation rate changes the morphology of cracks, which in the case of a quickdrying it is possible to obtain unidirectional long loose fibers. However, for a slow drying, we arewitnessing the formation of not protruding cracks with the apparition of secondary transverse cracks.