Shape memory alloys (SMAs) provide exciting opportunities for miniature actuation systems. As SMA actuators are scaled down in size, cooling increases and bandwidth, improves. However, the inclusion of a bias element with which to cycle the SMA actuator becomes difficult at very small scales. One technique used to avoid the necessity of having to include a separate bias element is the use of local annealing to fabricate a monolithic device out of nickel titanium (NiTi). The actuator geometry is machined out of a single piece of non-annealed NiTi. After locally annealing a portion of the complete device, that section exhibits the shape memory effect while the remainder acts as structural support and provides the bias force required for cycling. This work proposes one such locally-annealed monolithic SMA actuator for future incorporation in a device that navigates the digestive tract. After detailing the derivation of lumped electro-mechanical models for the actuator, a description of the prototyping procedure, including fabrication and local annealing of the actuator, is provided. This thesis presents the experimental prototype actuator behaviour and compares it with simulations generated using the developed models.

Outre ses activités de bioturbateur et d'ingénieur de l'écosystème, l'impact du ver de terre sur le sol pourrait être fortement lié à d'autres processus dépendant du transit du sol dans son tube digestif. En particulier, l’interaction entre le ver de terre et les bactéries au cours du transit digestif demeure mal établie, malgré un certain nombre de travaux. Chez 3 espèces de vers de terre tempérées, Lumbricus terrestris, Dendrobaena veneta et Aporrectodea caliginosa, appartenant à 3 catégories écologiques différentes (épigé, anécique, endogé), on montre par DGGE ARN 16S culture-indépendante, que la structure in vivo des communautés bactériennes du tube digestif est très différente de celle du sol et qu'elle varie d'une partie à l'autre du tube digestif. En effet, chez les 3 espèces de vers de terre, les parties antérieures du tube digestif (jabot-gésier et intestin antérieur) apparaissent comme les sites d'intensité maximum des perturbations de la structure des communautés bactériennes du sol ingéré, tandis que dans les parties postérieures, la structure des communautés se rapproche de celle du sol. Les extraits hydrosolubles du tube digestif, caractérisés par leur teneur en protéines, sucres reducteu rs, glucose et sucres aminés, présentent une évolution quantitative et qualitative parfaitement superposable à celle de la structure des communautés bactériennes observées in vivo, avec des teneurs en protéines et sucres réducteurs hydrosolubles très élevées (jusqu'à 270 µg/mg de poids sec du contenu du tube digestif chez L. terrestris) dans les parties antérieures du tube digestif (jabot-gésier et intestin antérieur) mais qui déclinent brusquement dans les parties postérieures (intestins moyen et postérieur). La simulation in vitro de l'effet des extraits hydrosolubles du tube digestif sur un sol démontre leur capacité à modifier la structure des communautés bactériennes dominantes du sol chez les 3 espèces de vers de terre étudiés. Leur effet, particulièrement visible avec les hydrosolubles issus du jabot-gésier et de l'intestin antérieur, diminue ou disparaît avec les hydrosolubles extraits de l'intestin moyen et postérieur. En perspectives, à partir de ces résultats, le concept des épargnes microbiennes est proposé pour décrire comment l'énergie disponible du sol (biomasse microbienne) pourrait être utilisée, transmise et maintenue dans le tube digestif.Mots clés : sol, tube digestif, ver de terre, microbiote, bactéries, DGGE ARN 16S, résilience, épargnes microbiennes, mutualisme. / In addition to bioturbation and ecosystem engineer activities, the impact of earthworms on the soil could be strongly linked to other processes dependent on transit of soil through his digestive tract. In particular, the interaction between earthworm and bacteria during digestive transit remains poorly established, although a number of works. In three species of temperate earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, Dendrobaena veneta et Aporrectodea caliginosa, belonging to three different ecological categories (epigeic, anecic, endogeic), we show by culture-independent DGGE 16S RNA, the structure in vivo of digestive tract bacterial communities is very different from that of the soil and varied from one part to another of the digestive tract. Indeed, among the three species of earthworms, the anterior parts of the digestive tract (crop-gizzard and foregut) appear as sites of maximun intensity disturbances in bacterial community structure of soil ingested , while in posterior parts (midgut and hindgut), the community structure is more similar to that of the soil. The water-soluble extracts of the digestive tract, characterized by their protein, reducing sugars, glucose and amino sugars content, present a quantitative and qualitative change perfectly correlated with the bacterial community structure observed in vivo, with very high quantities of soluble protein and reducing sugars (up to 270 µg/ mg dry weight of gut contents of L. terrestris) in the anterior parts of the digestive tract (crop-gizzard and foregut) but declined sharply in the posterior parts (midgut and hindgut). The in vitro simulation of the effect of soluble extracts of the digestive tract of a soil demonstrates their ability to alter the dominant bacterial community structure of soil in three species of earthworms studied. Their effect, particularly visible with the water-soluble extracts from crop-gizzard and foregut, decreases or disappears with water-sol uble extracts of the midgut and hindgut. In perspective, from these results, the concept of microbial savings is proposed to describe how the energy available in the soil (microbial biomass) could be used, transmitted and maintained in the digestive tract.Keywords: soil, gut, earthworm, microbiota, bacteria, DGGE 16S RNA, resilience, microbial savings, mutualism.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T16:24:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PGCV07MA016.pdf: 7606800 bytes, checksum: cebb6e99fb969394bca2c51c907723d2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-03-05 / The spontaneous and experimental poisoning by Eupatorium tremulum in cattle is described. Spontaneous cases were diagnosed in a herd of 19 cattle in the municipality of Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Three out of hose 19 cattle were found dead after they were transferred to a pasture with abundant quantities of E. tremulum. Two of those were necropsied and several internal organs were sampled for histological examination. Green leaves of E. tremulum were force-fed orally to five calves as single doses varying from 23-32 g/kg /body weight. Three calves had clinical signs and two died. The main observed clinical signs included anorexia, apathy, lack of rumen movements, diarrhea and flabby abdominal wall. Gross changes were restricted to the fore stomachs and were identical to those observed in the cases of natural poisoning. There was a reddish heu to the serosal aspect of rumen and reticulum; the corneal layer of the internal lining of these organs was loosely attached to a markedly red mucosa. On histological examination of the rumen and reticulum from both spontaneous and experimental cases there were necrosis and vesicles formation in the epithelial covering; in some segments of the ruminal mucosa there was detachment of the epithelial covering and infiltration by neuthophils. The poisoning by E. tremulum has clinical course, gross lesions and histopathology very similar to those observed in the poisoning caused by the ingestion of the plants Baccharidastrum triplinervium, Baccharis coridifolia and Baccharis megapotamica var. weirii. The differential diagnosis between these four plant poisonings should include the presence of the plant and epidemiology. The diagnosis of the spontaneous cases in this study was confirmed by epidemiological data and experimental reproduction of characteristic gross lesions and histopathology / Descreve-se a intoxicação natural e experimental por Eupatorium tremulum em bovinos. Um surto de intoxicação espontânea por esta planta foi diagnosticado no município de Lages Santa Catarina. Em um lote de dezenove bovinos, três morreram após a transferência para uma invernada aonde havia grande quantidade de E. tremulum. Os animais foram encontrados mortos, e dois foram necropsiados e foram coletadas amostras de vísceras para exame histológico. Experimentalmente, folhas verdes de E. tremulum foram administradas a cinco bovinos, em doses únicas que variaram de 23 a 32 g/Kg de peso vivo. Destes, três adoeceram e dois morreram. Os principais sinais clínicos observados foram: anorexia, apatia, atonia ruminal, micção freqüente e em pequenos jatos, fezes pastosas e ventre flácido. As lesões macroscópicas restringiram-se aos pré-estômagos e foram idênticas, tanto para intoxicação natural como para a experimental. O rúmen e retículo externamente mostravam tonalidade levemente avermelhada, a camada córnea da mucosa estava frouxamente aderida e a mucosa tinha coloração vermelha acentuada. Ao exame histológico observou-se no rúmen e retículo, tanto na intoxicação espontânea, como experimental, necrose do epitélio da mucosa com formações de pequenas vesículas e em alguns segmentos, desprendimento da camada epitelial e leve infiltrado de neutrófilos. A intoxicação por E. tremulum tem curso clínico, lesões macro e microscópicas muito semelhantes àquelas produzidas pela intoxicação por Baccharidastrum triplinervium, Baccharis coridifolia (miomio) e Baccharis megapotamica var. weirii (mio-mio do banhado). O diagnóstico diferencial entre essas quatro intoxicações deve ser feito pela presença da planta e pelos dados epidemiológicos. O diagnóstico dos casos espontâneos foram confirmados pelos dados epidemiológicos e reprodução experimental das lesões macro e microscópicas

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:36:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 BhaskaraC.pdf: 2061435 bytes, checksum: 1ff82521fda22176fb2e79fff7117ece (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-12-14 / The damselfish, Stegastes fuscus Cuvier, 1830 (Osteichthyes: Perciformes: Pomacentridae), is abundant in the coastal reefs of B?zios Beach, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil and they play an important role in the reef community ecology. The present study investigated the feeding strategy of this species considering the food habits and morfo-histology of the digestive tract. Influence of the environmental correlates such as temperature, rainfall and luminosity in the tidal rock pools were studied. The fish were captured on a monthly basis from September 2004 to August 2005, during which period 842 individuals of S. fuscus were captured, 125 males, 437 females and 280 individuals without sex identification. The sex ratio observed was 1 M : 3,5 F. The total body length of males varied from 3.6 to 11.3 cm, with a mean of 7.77 cm; that of females varied from 2.9 to 11.4 cm, with a mean of 7.85 cm, and that of sex grouped individuals varied from 2.9 to 11.4 cm, with a mean of 7.83. However, there was no difference between males and females in total body length. This species presented a positive alometric growth and the equations obtained for the relation between body mass and total body length were: Wt =0,0174Lt 3,1123 for males; Wt =0,0137Lt 3,2294 for females and Wt = 0,0148Lt 3.1928 for sex grouped individuals. The relation between total body length and standard length was L t = 1 ,3223Ls + 0,1527 for sex grouped individual s. February to August was associated to a long period of gonadal resting. The fish spawned during January and in September -October. The frequency of fish with empty stomachs occurred during August to December, whereas frequency of fish with food contents i n stomachs occurred during January to July. This species is considered as a preferential herbivore based on the volume of macroalgae in its diet composition. The morfo -histological aspects of S. fuscus confirm herbivory. Among the environmental factors con sidered only rainfall showed a correlation with the feeding habits of this species / O peixe-donzela, Stegastes fuscus Cuvier, 1830 (Osteichthyes: Perciformes: Pomacentridae), ? abundante nos arrecifes costeiros da praia de B?zios, Rio Grande do Norte e desempenha um important e papel ecol?gico em comunidades recifais. O presente estudo investigou a din?mica populacional e alimentar desta esp?cie levando em considera??o o regime alimentar e a morfo -histologia do trato digest?rio. Avaliou - se a influ?ncia das vari?veis ambientais, tais como, temperatura, pluviosidade e luminosidade em po?as de mar?. Foram realizadas coletas mensais no per?odo de setembro de 2004 a agosto de 2005, durante as quais foram capturados 842 indiv?duos de S. fuscus, sendo 125 machos, 437 f?meas al?m de 280 indiv?duos com sexo n?o identificado. A propor??o sexual observada foi de 1 M : 3,5 F. Em rela??o ao comprimento total os valores para machos machos variaram de 3,6 a 11,3 cm, com m?dia de 7,77 cm; para as f?meas de 2,9 a 11,4 cm, com m?dia de 7,85 cm e p ara os sexos agrupados de 2,9 a 11,4 cm, com m?dia de 7,83 cm, n?o havendo diferen?as entre os sexos quanto ao comprimento total. A esp?cie estudada apresentou um crescimento do tipo alom?trico positivo e as equa??es obtidas para a rela??o entre peso total e comprimento total foram: Wt = 0,0174Lt 3,1123 para machos; Wt =0,0137Lt 3,2294 para f?meas e Wt = 0,0148Lt 3,1928 para os sexos agrupados. A rela??o entre o comprimento total e o comprimento padr?o foi L t = 1,3223Ls + 0,1527 para os sexos agrupados. Nesses peixes foi observado um per?odo de repouso gonadal que se prolongou de fevereiro a agosto com a desova sendo realizada em janeiro e em setembro e outubro. Em rela??o ao regime alimentar, as maiores freq??ncias de est?magos sem alimento ocorreram entre os meses de agosto a dezembro enquanto que as maiores freq??ncias de est?magos com alimento ocorreram nos meses de janeiro a julho. Em fun??o do volume de macroalgas em sua composi??o de dieta, a esp?cie Stegastes fuscus ? considerada como preferencialmente herb?vora e os aspectos morfo-histol?gicos confirmam essa prefer?ncia. Dentre os fatores abi?ticos considerados por ocasi?o do estudo utilizando Stegastes fuscus, apenas a pluviosidade influenciou significativamente no regime alimentar desta esp?cie

The topic of the thesis is ?Specifics of nursing care about children with cystic fibrosis?. Cystic fibrosis, in some countries known as mucoviscidosis, occurs as a part of a complex disorder. It is a hereditary, incurable disease, which may occur at any time during the life. Timely diagnostic of this disease is very important for maintenance of good condition of an affected child. As a late diagnosis involves frequent visits to doctors or hospitals, it leads to complicated examinations with anxiety in the family and postponement of efficient therapy. This is why infant screening is performed in all maternity wards nowadays. The research was performed in the University Hospital Praha Motol. Qualitative research in the form of interviews with 4 nurses from the ward for children with cystic fibrosis, with 5 parents of children affected by cystic fibrosis and with 6 children with cystic fibrosis was applied. Nurses from an anthropologic and spirometry departments and from a department for adults suffering from cystic fibrosis were also interviewed. The responses from the interviews were processed in the form of case studies.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:36:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WallaceSN_TESE.pdf: 8655030 bytes, checksum: d55633f6c1ca42d23115efea83e7b07c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-04 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / This work deals with the life strategy of an endangered annual fish, Hypsolebias antenori (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), of the Brazilian semiarid region. The eggs of these fish hatch at the onset of the rainy season, grows rapidly and they reproduce during the rainy season. When the water puddles dry out, the entire population dies. The resistant eggs which are buried in the bottom of the dried pools go through diapause stages, during which time the embryonic development becomes temporarily arrested. With the onset of the next rainy season, the eggs hatch and a new generation is formed. Specimens of H. antenori were captured during 2011 and 2013, in temporary water pools located in the hydrographic basin of river Jaguaribe in Cear?, Brazil. Sex ratio, the length-weight relationship, the growth type, first sexual maturity, anatomy and histology of the digestive tract, development of gonads, reproductive strategy, karyotypic pattern of the species, and the conservation status of H. antenori were investigated. The results of this study are presented in the form of eight articles. The first article is about the fish faunal composition of the hydrographic basins of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, wherein the record of H. antenori is included. The second article deals with the sex ratio, secondary sexual characteristics of males, the length-weight relationship and the type of growth. Males show a pattern of intense coloration with well developed fins. The sex ratio showed a significant predominance of females (1M:1.7 F). Males were larger in length and weight. The equation of weight and total length relationship was Wt=0.0271Lt3,8937, showing a positively allometric growth, indicating greater increase in weight than in length. The third article discusses the anatomy and histology of the digestive tract of H. antenori. It is considered as a generalist feeder with characteristics of omnivore, which utilizes different food sources. The fourth article discusses the stages and phases of gonad development and type of spawning of H. antenori. The fifth article is about the r reproductive strategy adopted by H. antenori which helps in successful reproduction over a short period of life. The sixth article deals karyotypic pattern of the species, constituting the first cytogenetic contribution to the genus. The seventh article discusses about the risk of extinction of this species which suffers a series of threats, such as, habitat loss through land use, deforestation, construction of reservoirs, pollution due to domestic and industrial sewage, besides pesticides and agrochemicals. Furthermore, decreasing rainfall and intensification of aridity due to global climate changes, interferes with the reproductive cycle. The eighth article deals with aggressive behavior adopted between males and among females during reproduction. All temporary water pools sampled during this study were in high degree of degradation, mainly due to human action. There is a great need for conservation measures to protect the populations of annual fish, including the creation of protected areas in the semiarid ephemeral aquatic environments of Brazil / Este trabalho trata sobre a estrat?gia da vida de um peixe anual em perigo Hypsolebias antenori (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), do semi?rido brasileiro. Os ovos dessa esp?cie nascem em po?as tempor?rias, crescem rapidamente, reproduzem e no per?odo de estiagem quando a po?a seca, toda a popula??o morre. Os ovos resistentes depositados no substrato da po?a s?o capazes de passar por um est?gio de diapausa, quando seu est?gio de desenvolvimento embrion?rio ? estacionado. Com a chegada do per?odo de chuvas, os ovos eclodem e uma nova gera??o ? formada. Os exemplares de H. antenori foram capturados durante 2011 e 2013, nas po?as tempor?rias localizadas na bacia do rio Jaguaribe no Cear?, Brasil. Foram investigadas a propor??o sexual, a rela??o peso-comprimento, o tipo de crescimento, a primeira matura??o sexual, anatomia e histologia do trato digest?rio, desenvolvimento das g?nadas, estrat?gia reprodutiva, dados cariot?picos da esp?cie, e o estado de conserva??o de H. antenori. Os resultados desse trabalho est?o apresentados sob a forma de oito artigos. O primeiro artigo ? sobre a composi??o da ictiofauna das bacias hidrogr?ficas do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil, incluindo o registro de H. antenori. O segundo artigo trata sobre a propor??o sexual, caracter?sticas secund?rios sexuais dos machos, a rela??o pesocomprimento e o tipo de crescimento. Os machos apresentam um padr?o de colora??o intensa com nadadeiras mais desenvolvidas. A propor??o sexual apresentou uma predomin?ncia significativa de f?meas (1M: 1,7F). Os machos foram maiores em comprimento e em peso. A equa??o originada da rela??o peso total e comprimento total foi Wt = 0,0271Lt3,8937, apresentando um crescimento alom?trico positivo, indicando maior incremento no peso do que em rela??o ao comprimento. O terceiro artigo trata sobre a anatomia e histologia do trato digest?rio de H. antenori. ? considerado como um generalista com as caracter?sticas de on?voria, que aproveita fontes alimentares diferentes. O quarto artigo trata sobre os est?dios e fases de desenvolvimento das g?nadas e o tipo de desova de H. antenori. O quinto artigo trata sobre a estrat?gia reprodutiva r adotada pela H. antenori que auxilia na reprodu??o bem sucedida durante um curto per?odo de vida. O sexto artigo trata sobre os dados cariot?picos da esp?cie, constituindo a primeira contribui??o citogen?tica para o g?nero. O s?timo artigo trata sobre o risco de extin??o dessa esp?cie, que v?m sofrendo uma s?rie de amea?as, tais como, a perda de habitats pela ocupa??o do solo, desmatamento, constru??o dos reservat?rios, polui??o devido aos efluentes dom?sticos, industriais, pesticidas e agrot?xicos. Al?m disso, a diminui??o da pluviosidade e intensifica??o da aridez em decorr?ncia das mudan?as clim?ticas globais vem interferindo em seu ciclo reprodutivo. O oitavo trabalho trata sobre o comportamento agressivo adotado entre os machos e entre as f?meas durante a reprodu??o. Todas as po?as tempor?rias amostradas durante este trabalho estavam em um alto grau de degrada??o, principalmente devido ? a??o antr?pica. H? uma grande necessidade de medidas de conserva??o para proteger as popula??es de peixes anuais, entre elas especialmente a cria??o de ?reas de prote??o nos ambientes aqu?ticos ef?meros do semi?rido brasileiro

La tuberculose est l’une des maladies infectieuses mortelles les plus fréquentes, causée par des mycobactéries tuberculeuses dont principalement M. tuberculosis. Notre thèse a porté sur Mycobacterium canettii caractérisée par un morphotype lisse et un temps de génération plus court que M. tuberculosis. Notre revue de la littérature a montré que moins d'une centaine de cas d’infection à M. canettii ont été rapportés majoritairement à Djibouti située dans la Corne de l’Afrique. Ensuite, notre étude prospective de la tuberculose pulmonaire à Djibouti a mesuré une prévalence d’infections à M. canettii de 4%. A travers un modèle murin d’infection par gavage, nous avons observé la translocation de M. canettii des intestins vers la circulation lymphatique et sanguine ; suivie par une dissémination principalement vers les poumons et les ganglions lymphatiques. Cette étude a alors démontré que M. canettii peut infecter les individus par voie orale et a révélé que M. canettii peut interagir avec le tissu adipeux brun. Ensuite, à travers des modèles cellulaires d’infection, nous avons montré que les pré-adipocytes bruns pourraient constituer une cible potentielle des mycobactéries tuberculeuses et que M. canettii ne persiste pas dans les adipocytes matures contrairement à M. tuberculosis. En conclusion, nous avons apporté des connaissances nouvelles sur l’infection à M. canettii : sa prévalence, son mode de transmission ainsi que de nouvelles pistes sur de possibles réservoirs environnementaux. L’ensemble de ces données suggèrent que l’infection à M. canettii doit être considérée comme une entité clinique distincte de la tuberculose que nous proposons de nommer « Canettose ». / Tuberculosis is one of the most frequent deadly infectious diseases worldwide, caused by tuberculous mycobacteria including mainly M. tuberculosis. Our thesis focused on Mycobacterium canettii characterized by a smooth morphotype and a shorter generation time than M. tuberculosis. Our review of the literature showed that less than one hundred cases of M. canettii infection have been reported in Djibouti situated in the Horn of Africa. Then, our prospective microbiological study of pulmonary tuberculosis in Djibouti measured a prevalence of M. canettii lung infections of 4%. Through a mouse model by gavage, we observed the translocation of M. canettii from the intestines to the lymphatic and blood circulation; followed by dissemination mainly to the lungs and lymph nodes. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that M. canettii can follow the digestive tract to infect individuals and revealed also that M. canettii can interact with brown adipose tissue. Then, through cell infection models, we have shown that brown pre-adipocytes may be a potential target for tuberculous mycobacteria and that M. does not persist in mature adipocytes contrary to M. tuberculosis. In conclusion, this work allowed to bring new knowledge about M. canettii infection: its prevalence, its mode of transmission as well as new avenues on possible environmental reservoirs. All of these data suggest that M. canettii infection should be considered as a distinct clinical entity from tuberculosis. We propose to name "Canettosis" the M. canettii infection.