Signal transduction networks enable organisms to respond to environmental stimuli. Bacteria utilize two-component systems (TCSs) and phosphorelays as their primary means of signal transduction. Histidine kinase (HK) and response regulator (RR) proteins comprise these TCSs and phosphorelays. Previously, signal transduction within TCSs and phosphorelays was thought to only occur through a linear series of phosphotransfers between HKs and RRs. Recently multikinase networks have been shown to be involved in TCS and phosphorelay signal transmission. A multikinase network that includes the HKs RetS and GacS controls the switch between the motile invasive lifestyle and the sessile biofilm lifestyle of the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. GacS promotes the sessile biofilm lifestyle, while RetS promotes the motile invasive lifestyle via the inhibition of GacS. This inhibition occurs through three distinct mechanisms. Two of the mechanisms are dephosphorylating mechanisms and the third mechanism is a direct interaction between RetS and GacS which results in the inhibition of GacS autophosphorylation. This study examines the direct binding interaction between RetS and GacS using structural biology. We observed a heterodimeric RetS-GacS complex in which the canonical homodimerization interface was replaced with a heterodimeric interface. Heterodimerization between bacterial HKs is currently a novel observation, but it is likely that other HKs heterodimerize. The RetS-GacS direct interaction can serve as a model for HK-HK binding in multikinase networks. / Doctor of Philosophy / The way in which bacteria assess and respond to their environment is of great interest to microbiologists. Bacteria transmit environmental signals via protein interactions. Some of these interactions involve the transfer of phosphate groups, and some involve a direct binding interaction between proteins. We are investigating a direct binding interaction between two proteins, RetS and GacS. These proteins control whether Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen of humans, causes an acute infection, which is characterized by motility and invasiveness, or a chronic infection, which is characterized by a sessile biofilm lifestyle, in a human host. Through the use of structural biology techniques we have visualized the three-dimensional structure of the complex between RetS and GacS. This complex has provided insight into the role of the RetS-GacS interaction in controlling the infection state of P. aeruginosa.

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<p>The psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm has been used extensively to investigate the cognitive processing stages involved in dual-task performance. Interpretations of PRP data have often attributed the difficulty in simultaneously performing two cognitive tasks to a strict serial processing bottleneck in the response selection stage. However, a number of studies have also demonstrated backward response compatibility effects (BCEs) on Task 1 reaction time in dual-task performance, which suggest that response information for Task 2 may be activated in parallel with Task 1 response selection. The goal of this thesis was to examine the nature of the Task 2 processing that operates in parallel with Task 1 response selection in a PRP task, and to consider the implications of this parallel processing for models of dual-task performance. The results of the empirical studies presented here provide converging evidence that the BCE represents automatically activated response information for Task 2 acting on Task 1 response selection. This Task 2 response information can also contribute to Task 2 performance. Models of dual-task performance must account for both the parallel activation of response information and the serial selection of a response for each task.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Elevators are a necessary component of the modern urban and suburban life. The guide rails the car and counterweight move on are the most sensitive parts when it comes to de-habilitating damage that can be caused by an earthquake. Conventional sensors are becoming obsolete in sensing for today's multistory buildings because they don't monitor the structural health of the guide rails. This sensing task falls into the fiber sensing niche market because of a fiber sensor's ability to be multiplexed. Previous work by Taplin and Jackson showed demodulation of the interference spectrum of two Fabry-Perot cavities using Fourier analysis. The goal of this research is to use Fourier analysis to demodulate the spectrum of four multiplexed extrinsic Fabry-Perot fiber interferometers for strain measurements. Comparisons of fiber, foil, and theoretical strains are made. Also, experiments showing the system's air-gap stability and crosstalk are provided. / Master of Science

Este trabalho relata um estudo numÃrico das caracterÃsticas Ãpticas de um interferÃmetro Mach-Zehnder disposto em uma configuraÃÃo com quatro estÃgios e um ressonador Ãptico em anel. O interferÃmetro Mach-Zehnder foi construÃdo numa versÃo com fibra comum e outra com fibra de dispersÃo decrescente considerando um perfil de dispersÃo linear. O ressonador Ãptico em anel foi constuÃdo com um guia de onda cujo o Ãndice de refraÃÃo nÃo linear foi moldado com um perfil linear crescente. A transmissÃo e o fator de compressÃo dos pulsos de saÃda sÃo analisados nos regimes de soliton e quasi-soliton para ambos os dispositivos. Os resultados mostraram que a transmissÃo do interferÃmetro Mach-Zehnder à fortemente dependente da potÃncia de entrada em ambos os regimes. O nÃvel de crosstalk tambÃm à dependente da potÃncia de entrada e da dispersÃo da fibra. Para potÃncias de entrada altas, o nÃvel de crosstalk à mais baixo para o dispositivo com fibra de dispersÃo decrescente no regime de soliton. Para esta configuraÃÃo, o nÃvel de crosstalk mÃnimo encontrado (-22 dB) foi para a potÃncia normalizada de entrada P = 2,7. No regime de quasi-soliton, em geral, o nÃvel de crosstalk mÃnimo à mais baixo para o interferÃmetro Mach-Zehnder com fibra de dispersÃo decrescente em potÃncias de entrada altas, mas com a possibilidade de se obter um nÃvel de crosstalk menor para o dispositivo utilizando fibra comum. A razÃo de extinÃÃo à tambÃm muito dependente da potÃncia de entrada e sofre degeneraÃÃo quando a potÃncia de entrada aumenta. Para potÃncias de entrada baixas, o interferÃmetro Mach-Zehnder apresenta uma razÃo de extinÃÃo melhor em potÃncias de entrada mais altas no regime de soliton. No regime de quasi-soliton, a melhor razÃo de extinÃÃo à obtida para o interferÃmetro Mach-Zehnder com fibra comum em potÃncias de entrada altas. Pode-se dizer que a operaÃÃo do dispositivo como uma chave Ãptica nÃo melhora com o uso de fibra de dispersÃo decrescente. Entretanto, para operaÃÃo de multiplex/demultiplex, o interferÃmetro Mach-Zehnder construÃdo com fibra de dispersÃo decrescente mostrou melhoramentos no nÃvel de crosstalk no regime de soliton e, dependendo da potÃncia de entrada, tambÃm no regime de quasi-soliton. No estudo do ressonador Ãptico em anel foi encontrado que a perda do guia de onda que forma a cavidade anelar diminui a transmissÃo em ambos os regimes, mas mantÃm o mesmo comportamento nÃo linear. O uso de um Ãndice de refraÃÃo nÃo linear com um perfil linear crescente leva à compressÃo ou alargamento temporal, dependendo da potÃncia de entrada, no regime de soliton. No regime de quasi-soliton nÃo foi observado deformaÃÃo temporal dos pulsos de saÃda. Isto indica que, em mÃdia, os pulsos de saÃda estÃo com a mesma duraÃÃo temporal que os pulsos de entrada. Os resultados tambÃm mostraram que hà um aumento da transmissÃo quando um Ãndice de refraÃÃo nÃo linear com um perfil linear crescente à usado. Assim, o decrÃscimo na transmissÃo associado à perda do guia de onda pode ser evitado. As caracterÃsticas de transmissÃo e a forma dos pulsos Ãpticos de saÃda do interferÃmetro Mach-Zehnder e do ressonador Ãptico em anel serÃo de interesse em circuitos Ãpticos e sistemas de comunicaÃÃes totalmente Ãpticos no futuro.

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LIMA, José Luiz Sousa. Estudo do desempenho de filtros ópticos interferométricos: interferômetro Mach-Zehnder de fibra óptica e ressonador óptico em anel. 2006. 96 f. Tese (Doutorado em Física) - Programa de Pós-Graduação em Física, Departamento de Física, Centro de Ciências, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2006. / Submitted by Edvander Pires (edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2015-05-05T20:15:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_tese_jlslima.pdf: 688113 bytes, checksum: 11efdee52324ab34ae806b2466f4f088 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Edvander Pires(edvanderpires@gmail.com) on 2015-05-07T14:27:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_tese_jlslima.pdf: 688113 bytes, checksum: 11efdee52324ab34ae806b2466f4f088 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T14:27:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_tese_jlslima.pdf: 688113 bytes, checksum: 11efdee52324ab34ae806b2466f4f088 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006