Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2003--Aachen.

Nürnberg, Universiẗat, Diss., 2004--Erlangen.

The pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are tightly linked, and CVD is one of the leading causes of death in lupus patients. There are many risk factors that increase the risk of CVD in SLE patients, including endothelial dysfunction, lipid dysregulation, and abnormal regulation of innate and adaptive immunity. We have previously investigated the role of interferon regulatory factor 5 (Irf5), on atherosclerosis in lupus mouse models. Irf5 has a pro-inflammatory function by activating macrophage and cytokine recruitment and is thus being considered as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of SLE. We hypothesized that Irf5 deficiency would ameliorate lupus disease as well as improve cardiovascular disease in the Irf5-deficient mouse model. However, while lupus disease did improve in the mouse model, the atherosclerotic plaques were found to be significantly increased in size. This poses a challenge to our current understanding of Irf5, as well as adds complexity to an already difficult clinical problem. Therefore, our aim of this study is to characterize the cells within the atherosclerotic lesions to examine their inflammatory potential. The focus of this study is the infiltration of macrophages into the mouse aortic root as determined by immunohistochemistry staining. In a time-course study using apoE.Irf5-/- mice, we found that macrophages started to accumulate into aortic leaflets as early as two weeks after starting a Western diet. Macrophage infiltration into the site of leaflet attachment seemed to possibly be a precursor to atherosclerotic lesion formation and appeared as early as 4 weeks after starting Western diet. No apparent differences were found between Irf5 sufficient and Irf5 deficient mice at either two or four weeks on Western diet. In a bone marrow chimera study, we examined the effects of Irf5 from bone marrow- and non-bone marrow-derived cells on the accumulation of macrophages on aortic leaflets and in the tunica intima in the gld.apoE-/- mouse model of lupus and atherosclerosis. Macrophage accumulation did not correlate with differences in Irf5 production. However, the finding of macrophage accumulation on aortic leaflets suggests a role of macrophages in Libman-Sacks endocarditis, an inflammatory disease of the mitral and aortic valves seen in patients with lupus. Together, our results do not support nor refute a role of Irf5 in macrophage infiltration into the aortic root. More samples are needed, as are more methods of identifying macrophages and quantifying them. However, it is still likely that macrophages play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic lesion formation in a lupus mouse model, and it is an area of study worth exploring. In a time-course study using apoE.Irf5-/- mice, we found that macrophages started to accumulate into aortic leaflets as early as two weeks after starting a Western diet. Macrophage infiltration into the site of leaflet attachment seemed to possibly be a precursor to atherosclerotic lesion formation and appeared as early as 4 weeks after starting Western diet. No apparent differences were found between Irf5 sufficient and Irf5 deficient mice at either two or four weeks on Western diet. In a bone marrow chimera study, we examined the effects of Irf5 from bone marrow- and non-bone marrow-derived cells on the accumulation of macrophages on aortic leaflets and in the tunica intima in the gld.apoE-/- mouse model of lupus and atherosclerosis. Macrophage accumulation did not correlate with differences in Irf5 production. However, the finding of macrophage accumulation on aortic leaflets suggests a role of macrophages in Libman-Sacks endocarditis, an inflammatory disease of the mitral and aortic valves seen in patients with lupus. Together, our results do not support a role of Irf5 in macrophage infiltration into the aortic root. However, it is still likely that macrophages play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic lesion formation in a lupus mouse model, and it is an area of study worth exploring.

Orientador: Teófilo Miguel de Souza / Banca: Celso Eduardo Tuna / Banca: Osiris Canciglieri Junior / Resumo: Visando o conforto e a economia, a ciência, hoje, desenvolve tecnologias capazes de preservar o meio ambiente, diminuindo a perda de energia no processo e na utilização dessas novas técnicas, de forma a garantir um manuseio ecologicamente correto, sem deixar de atender as necessidades do homem. Uma técnica alternativa é o aproveitamento da energia proveniente do sol, que ainda é pouco explorada, podendo ser mais utilizada em coletores solares através do uso de novos materiais. Para isso, o objetivo deste trabalho é comparar o rendimento térmico e o coeficiente global de transferência de calor de materiais como cobre, alumínio e do filme de diamante CVD sobre o silício, pois essas grandezas são essenciais para a caracterização de um bom trocador de calor. Mediante pesquisa experimental foi possível observar que o filme de diamante CVD sobre o silício, mesmo com uma camada muito fina de deposição de filme, mostrou-se mais eficiente no processo de transmissão de calor quando comparado com o cobre e o alumínio / Abstract: To ensure the comfort and economy, science now develops technologies to preserve the environment by reducing energy loss process and the use of these new techniques, to ensure an environmentally friendly handling, while meeting the needs of man. An alternative technique is the use of energy from the sun, which is not explored and may be used in most solar collectors through the use of new materials. For this, the objective is to compare the thermal efficiency and overall coefficient of heat transfer materials such as copper, aluminum and CVD diamond film on silicon, since these quantities are essential for the proper characterization of a heat exchanger. Through experimental research we observed that the CVD diamond film on silicon, even with a very thin film deposition, was more efficient for heat transfer when compared with copper and aluminum / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-08-01Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:39:26Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 dornelas_ln_me_guara.pdf: 431530 bytes, checksum: 5d8aa30beba39823f5403bbf59a82048 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Visando o conforto e a economia, a ciência, hoje, desenvolve tecnologias capazes de preservar o meio ambiente, diminuindo a perda de energia no processo e na utilização dessas novas técnicas, de forma a garantir um manuseio ecologicamente correto, sem deixar de atender as necessidades do homem. Uma técnica alternativa é o aproveitamento da energia proveniente do sol, que ainda é pouco explorada, podendo ser mais utilizada em coletores solares através do uso de novos materiais. Para isso, o objetivo deste trabalho é comparar o rendimento térmico e o coeficiente global de transferência de calor de materiais como cobre, alumínio e do filme de diamante CVD sobre o silício, pois essas grandezas são essenciais para a caracterização de um bom trocador de calor. Mediante pesquisa experimental foi possível observar que o filme de diamante CVD sobre o silício, mesmo com uma camada muito fina de deposição de filme, mostrou-se mais eficiente no processo de transmissão de calor quando comparado com o cobre e o alumínio / To ensure the comfort and economy, science now develops technologies to preserve the environment by reducing energy loss process and the use of these new techniques, to ensure an environmentally friendly handling, while meeting the needs of man. An alternative technique is the use of energy from the sun, which is not explored and may be used in most solar collectors through the use of new materials. For this, the objective is to compare the thermal efficiency and overall coefficient of heat transfer materials such as copper, aluminum and CVD diamond film on silicon, since these quantities are essential for the proper characterization of a heat exchanger. Through experimental research we observed that the CVD diamond film on silicon, even with a very thin film deposition, was more efficient for heat transfer when compared with copper and aluminum

In this dissertation work, the study focuses on large areal growth of MoS2 monolayers and a study of the structural, optical and electrical properties of such monolayers before and after transfer using a polymer-lift off technique. This work will discuss the issue of contact resistance and the effect of defects (both intrinsic and extrinsic) on the overall quality of the monolayer films. The significance of this dissertation work is that a reproducible strategy for monolayer MoS2 film growth and quantification of areal coverage as well as the detrimental effects of processing on device performance is presented.

The method Atomic Layer Deposition, ALD, has been available since the 1970´s and it has opened the possibility to fabricate methods for inorganic thin films on a nanoscale. Later the interest for fabricating organic thin films with Molecular Layer Deposition, MLD, and controlling both the thickness and the composition of the film on a molecular scale. To develop the thin films a bit further a combination of organic and inorganic thin films is fabricated and therefore the best properties of the two types of thin films are combined.  The purpose of this bachelor´s thesis was to fabricate the multilayer thin film AlN-HQ on a silicon substrate. It began with a substantial review of the literature and planning of the approach. Followed by the laboratory work with fabricating the thin film by ALD. The laboratory work ended with analyzing the thin films by ATR-FT/MIR (attenuated total reflectance fourier transform mid-infrared spectroscopy) and XRR (X-ray reflectivity). All data provided where summarized and evaluated. An analysis of the thickness of the thin film was attempted with XRR but was not adequate for these samples. For a development of the method fabrication of the multilayer film AlN-HQ the thickness needs to be known. It could probably be analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy, SEM, but that type of analysis was not a part of this study.

No description available.

No description available.

A new materials system of a single layered Co(W) barrier/liner coupled with a Cu(Mn) alloy seed was investigated. Atom probe tomography visualized the sub-nanoscale structure of Cu(Mn)/Co(W) system, and thereby revealed Cu diffusion behavior of Co(W). Grain boundaries of Co were found to be the diffusion path, and successfully stuffed by W. Mn in Cu(Mn) also segregated to stuff the grain boundaries of Co. Combination of these two additives enabled high barrier property against Cu diffusion of Cu(Mn)/Co(W). Foreseeing tiny and high-aspect-ratio Cu interconnect features, Cu(Mn)/Co(W) was fabricated by ALD/CVD processes. To maximize the performance, minor impurities of the film incorporated from the ligand of the precursors were controlled by precursor selection. Thin, conformal, and smooth films were finally demonstrated onto a trench substrate.