published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

A concentração do gás carbônico (CO2) tem aumentado nas últimas décadas, devido principalmente à queima de combustíveis fósseis. Como consequência, admite-se que haverá gradual aumento da temperatura atmosférica em nível global. A soja é importante planta agrícola em todo o mundo, consumida na alimentação humana e de animais domésticos. O presente trabalho compõe-se de dois capítulos, o primeiro versando sobre o efeito da concentração de gás carbônico e da temperatura sobre vários parâmetros bioquímicos e o segundo, sobre a composição da cera foliar cuticular de uma variedade de soja. O capítulo I trata da composição química dos grãos e do teor de ceras foliares de plantas da cultivar \'MG/BR-46 Conquista\' crescendo em câmaras de topo aberto sob duas condições de CO2 (380ppm ambiente e 800ppm elevado) e duas condições de temperatura (ambiente e elevada [+5°C]). Foram coletados dados de 6 coletas ao longo de 105 dias de desenvolvimento da planta. As plantas crescidas em altas concentrações de CO2 aumentaram a biomassa seca da folha, caule, raiz e frutos, além do número de sementes; temperaturas elevadas estimularam a senescência precoce. A floração foi antecipada sob condição de CO2 elevado. Entre os carboidratos dos grãos, os teores de amido, frutose e mio-inositol tenderam a diminuir, enquanto os de sacarose, glicose e rafinose aumentaram. O incremento de CO2 acelerou a translocação de açúcares, enquanto e o da temperatura desacelerou. O teor de óleo e a composição dos ácidos graxos foram afetados diretamente pela elevada temperatura, com redução do teor de ácidos poliinsaturados. A associação de temperatura e CO2 elevados reduziu ainda mais o teor de ácidos graxos poliinsaturados. Os teores de proteínas solúveis em geral não apresentaram diferenças significativas por efeito do acoplamento, embora o teor de nitrogênio total tenha aumentado por efeito do tratamento por temperatura elevada. O teor de clorofilas foliares diminuiu por efeito dos tratamentos e o teor de cera foliar foi alterado ao longo do tempo. Conclui-se que as elevações de CO2 e temperatura, previstas para um futuro próximo, poderão ter o efeito de aumentar a produção de óleo por plantas de \'MG/BR-46 Conquista\', devido ao aumento no número de sementes por planta e elevação do teor de óleo. O capítulo II trata do teor da cera e a identificação dos componentes da cera foliar cuticular, por extração por lavagens superficiais das folhas com diclorometano, separação das classes de constituintes da cera por cromatografia em camada delgada e análise das frações por cromatografia a gás acoplada a espectrometria de massas. Os principais constituintes da cera foram os ésteres, seguidos de n-alcanos. O éster mais abundante foi o eicosanoato de octadecila (C38). Os alcanos principais foram o hentriacontano (C31) e o nonacosano (C29). Outros componentes detectados foram álcoois primários, ácidos graxos, hidroxiácidos graxos, álcoois triterpênicos e esteróis. O principal n-álcool graxo primário foi o octacosanol. Os triterpenos alcoólicos detectados foram α- e β-amirinas, lupeol, germanicol e 12,20(29)-lupadien-3-ol. Os ácidos graxos variaram no intervalo C15-C28. Os esteroides detectados foram estigmasterol, campesterol, sitosterol e estigmastanol, com predominância do primeiro / The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased in the last decades, due mainly to the combustion of fossil fuels. A gradual increase of the global temperature is expected as a consequence. Soybean is an important crop in most countries, being consumed either as human or domestic animals food. The present work is composed of two chapters, the first dealing with the effect of the concentration of carbon dioxide and temperature on several biochemical parameters, and the second on the composition of the foliar cuticular wax of a variety of soybean plant. Chapter one deals with the chemical composition of soybeans and the leaf wax contents of soybean variety \'MG/BR-46 Conquista\', growing in open top chambers under two conditions of CO2 (380 ppm - ambient, and 800 ppm - elevated) and two temperature conditions (ambient and elevated [+5°C]). The data were obtained from six collections along 105 days of experimentation. Elevated CO2 increased the dry weight of leaf, stem, root and fruit, as well as the number of seeds; elevated temperature stimulated early senescence. Early flowering occurred under elevated CO2. Among the grain carbohydrates, the contents of starch, fructose and myo-inositol decreased, whereas those of sucrose, glucose and raffinose increased. The effect of elevated CO2 and temperature accelerated the sugar translocation while that of elevated temperature slowed it down. The oil content and fatty acid composition were affected directly by the elevated temperature, a reduction of the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids having been observed. The coupling of elevated CO2 and temperature reduced even further the content of polyunsaturated acids. In general, the content of soluble proteins did not change significantly by the effect of treatment associating temperature and CO2, although the total nitrogen content increased by the effect of elevated temperature. The content of leaf chlorophylls decreased and the foliar wax content changed with time. It is concluded that the increase of temperature and atmospheric CO2, expected to take place in the near future, will possibly have the effect of increasing the production of oil by plants of \'MG/BR-46 Conquista\', due to the increase of the number of seeds per individual and the increase of the seed oil content. Chapter two deals with the concentration and identification of the components of the foliar cuticular wax of the soybean variety \'MG/BR-46 Conquista\', by means of surface washings of the leaves with dichloromethane, separation of the classes of wax constituents by thin layer chromatography and analysis of the fractions by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The main constituents of the wax were esters, followed by n-alkanes. The main ester constituent was eicosanoate of octadecyl (C38). The main alkanes were n-hentriacontane (C31) and n-nonacosane (C29). Other constituents detected were primary alcohols, fatty acids, hydroxyacids, triterpene alcohols and sterols. The main n-primary alcohol was octacosanol. The triterpene alcohols detected were α- e β-amyrins, lupeol, germanicol and 12,20(29)-lupadien-3-ol. The steroids detected were stigmasterol, campesterol, sitosterol and stigmastanol, with predominance of stigmasterol

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Anxiety disorders commonly emerge during adolescence, and girls are diagnosed with these disorders more frequently than boys. Understanding why anxiety disorders emerge and why non-clinical anxiety symptoms increase during adolescence is important for understanding this sex difference and how to treat adolescent sufferers. Potential mechanisms, such as puberty or cognitive biases, can be investigated both in humans and in rodent models of anxiety. This thesis aimed to characterise sex differences and changes in anxiety-like behaviour across adolescence and into adulthood in the rat, and to examine anxiety and interpretive bias in adolescent humans. In rats, we examined performance on common tests of anxiety-like behaviour: the emergence test, open field and elevated plus-maze. Exploration on these tests increased from mid-adolescence into adulthood, and greater exploration by females was apparent from late adolescence. While the behaviours themselves remain interesting, caution on interpreting these behaviours as anxiety-related warranted and is discussed throughout the thesis. Potential effects of the ovarian cycle and testing order on EPM performance were also examined. In humans, 12-14 year old adolescents complete visual and written interpretive bias tasks, this bias being considered to be a cognitive vulnerability for anxiety. The results showed that, when imagining themselves in ambiguous scenarios, girls were more negative in their interpretations than boys. Additionally, both sexes also interpreted social scenarios more negatively than non-social scenarios. As puberty is thought to be important to the emergence of disorder during adolescence, interpretive bias could potentially mediate the puberty-anxiety relationship. While more interpretive bias work is needed in both species, the recent development of interpretive bias tasks for rodents provides an opportunity to move away from difficult to interpret tests of anxiety-like behaviour in rodents, and should allow for greater convergence of the human and rodent anxiety research.

In this dissertation, three types of microfabricated solid-state sensors had been designed and developed on silicon wafers, aiming to detect hydrogen gas at elevated temperatures. Based on the material properties and sensing mechanisms, they were operated at 140°C, 500°C, and 300°C. The MOS-capacitor device working at 140°C utilized nickel instead of the widely-used expensive palladium, and the performance remained excellent. For very-high temperature sensing (500°C), the conductivity of the thermally oxidized TiO2 thin film based on the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) substrate changed 25 times in response to 5 ppm H2 and the response transient times were just a few seconds. For medium-high temperatures (~300°C), very high sensitivity (over 100 times’ increment of current for H2 concentration at 10 ppm) was obtained through the reversible reduction of the Schottky barrier height between the Pt electrodes and the SnO2 nano-clusters. Fabrication approaches of these devices included standard silicon wafer processing, thin film deposition, and photolithography. Materials characterization methods, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), surface profilometry, ellipsometry, and X-ray diffractometry (XRD), were involved in order to investigate the fabricated nano-sized structures. Selectivities of the sensors to gases other than H2 (CO and CH4) were also studied. The first chapter reviews and evaluates the detection methodologies and sensing materials in the current research area of H2 sensors and the devices presented this Ph.D. research were designed with regard to the evaluations.

The thesis comprises the two parts in each chapter: the first part focuses on the development and characterization of polyimide (PI) based composite coatings on a steel substrate. In order to improve the tribological performance of polyimide coatings, the fillers i.e. multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and Graphene (GP) were added into PI and conducted friction test at elevated temperatures ranging from room temperature (RT) to 200°C. Also, the influence of fillers (MWCNTs and GP) materials into PI coatings surface, mechanical and tribological properties of polyimide composites coatings are measured. The addition of MWCNTs and GP reduces the friction coefficient as well as wear volume at elevated temperatures 50°C, 100°C and sometimes at 150°C. These temperatures play a vital role to form a lubrication layer in the contact interfaces at certain load and operating conditions. In these cases, three weight percentage (3wt%) of MWCNTs and GP into polyimide composites showed low friction and high wear-resistant as compared to other PI composites. Besides, by adding these two fillers into pure PI improved the mechanical properties such as micro-hardness and nanoindentation. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the wear mechanism of the composite coatings worn surfaces. The consequences expose that the fatigue wear mechanisms were predominant in the worn surfaces. Moreover, the thermal study of the polyimide composite coatings was conducted using thermal gravimetric (TG) to analyze the behavior of composite coatings at high temperatures. The results showed that the PI coatings with MWCNTs and GP have high thermal stability at 60% sample residue. In the second part-an epoxy coatings with filler materials e.g. hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and expanded graphite (EG) were made and conducted their tribological i.e. friction coefficient and wear performance. Also the perfect mixing ratio 4:1 (80 wt% base epoxy matrix and 20 wt% curing agent) was determined on the basis of stoichiometric ratio to cure the epoxy accurately. Therefore, seven samples with a various weight percentage (wt%) were prepared i.e. pure epoxy, epoxy with 5wt%, 10wt%, 15wt% of h-BN and EG. All the prepared samples ran at two different loading 2 N and 4 N conditions with 5 Hz frequency, 300 rpm and 30 minutes duration. The epoxy with h-BN showed low friction as compared to EG where EG has better wear-resistant behavior than h-BN.

A vegetação ao longo do rio Amazonas é submetida a dois períodos muito bem marcados ao longo do ano: estação de cheia e estação seca. Características morfológicas e fisiológicas das espécies de várzea foram amplamente descritas, porém, uma das principais características é o metabolismo de carboidratos que tem sido muito pouco explorada. Com o objetivo de estudar a resiliência dos carboidratos não estruturais da árvore amazônica Senna reticulata (Leguminosae), a mesma foi cultivada sob diferentes estresses abióticos, como luz baixa combinada com elevada concentração de CO2 atmosférico, bem como disponibilidade hídricas distintas (alagamento das raízes e seca). Os resultados encontrados reforçam o papel do amido nas folhas como principal órgão armazenador desta espécie e também a alta resiliência desta reserva, que foi mantida mesmo em condições de baixa irradiância, em alagamento e em condições de seca. Estes resultados também destacam a forte ligação entre as reservas de amido e a manutenção do crescimento. Além disso, esta espécie mostrou estratégias ecofisiológicas distintas em relação a diferentes estresses hídricos (alagamento x seca) e uma alta capacidade de se recuperar depois de um período de seca, padrão este que pode estar diretamente relacionado à manutenção do crescimento durante o estabelecimento de plantas jovens no primeiro período de fase terrestre / The vegetation along the Amazon River is subjected to two markedly periods: flooded and drought seasons. Morphological and physiological traits for floodplain species have been largely described; however, one of the main features is the carbohydrate metabolism, which has been poorly explored. In order to study the resilience of non-structural carbohydrates of the Amazonian tree Senna reticulate (Leguminosae), this species was grown under different abiotic stresses such as low light combined with elevated CO2 and distinct water availabilities (waterlogging and drought). Results reinforce the role of starch in leaves as a main storage organ of this species and also the high resilience of this reserve under low light, waterlogging and drought conditions. These findings also highlight the tight connection between starch reserves and growth maintenance. Additionally, this species has shown very distinct eco physiological strategies to cope with different water availabilities and a high ability to recover after drought that might be strictly related to growth maintenance during seedling establishment in the first period of terrestrial phase

O labirinto em cruz elevado é muito usado em estudos relacionados à ansiedade em ratos. As medidas tradicionalmente usadas são o número de entradas e o tempo passado nos braços abertos. Trabalhos recentes analisam a movimentação no interior dos braços, mas não propõem um índice que resuma as análises feitas. Esta tese sintetiza as informações de um destes trabalhos em índices. Um dos índices propostos usa os tempos médios de primeira visita a cada posição do labirinto e o outro se baseia na distribuição estacionária de probabilidade, o primeiro é capaz de diferenciar grupos de ratos submetidos a diferentes drogas ansiolíticas. Além disso, a tese propõe um modelo de processo Markoviano que incorpora informações desconsideradas no modelo anterior. A comparação entre os modelos revelou valores super ou subestimados no primeiro. Por fim, esta tese propõe um modelo de cadeias de Markov considerando como estados o seguinte conjunto de comportamentos: \"rearing\", \"stretching\", \"dipping\", \"freezing\" e \"grooming\". Tal abordagem inédita, apesar de simplificar exageradamente o modelo, foi capaz de reproduzir várias características conhecidas da exploração. / The elevated plus maze is widely used in studies related to anxiety in rats. The most widely used measures are the amount of entries and time spent on open arms. Recent studies analyze the movement inside the arms, but do not propose an index that summarizes the analyzes. This thesis summarizes by indices the information in one of these studies. An index uses the first visit average time to each position of the maze and another is based on the stationary probability distribution, the first one are able to differentiate groups of rats submitted to different anxiolytic drugs. These thesis also proposes a Markov process model that incorporates more information than the other model. The comparison between the models showed over- or underestimated values in the first. Finally, this thesis proposes a Markov chains model considering the following behaviors as states: rearing, stretching, dipping, freezing and grooming. This new approach, though oversimplify the model was able to reproduce several known features of exploitation.

Tem sido proposto que vias serotonérgicas distintas originárias do núcleo dorsal da rafe (NDR) modulariam diferentes tipos de reações de defesa a estímulos aversivos. Deakin e Graeff (1991) propuseram que a ativação da via ascendente do NDR, que inerva a amígdala e o córtex frontal, facilitaria comportamentos defensivos aprendidos em resposta a perigo potencial ou distal, enquanto que a ativação da via periventricular, também originária no NDR e que inerva a matéria cinzenta periaquedutal dorsal (MCPD) inibiria reações de fuga e luta inatas em resposta a perigo proximal. No presente trabalho pretendeu-se explorar esta hipótese investigando o efeito da inibição do NDR, da MCPD e do núcleo amigdalóide basolateral, em ratos submetidos a dois modelos animais de ansiedade: o labirinto em T elevado (LTE) e o modelo de transição claro-escuro (MTCE). Os testes com o LTE incluíram uma variação metodológica: um dia antes do experimento, os animais foram pré-expostos por 30 minutos a um dos braços abertos do modelo. Tem sido demonstrado que a pré-exposição leva a uma diminuição do tempo gasto em atividade exploratória no braço aberto, assegurando que durante as medidas de fuga, os animais estão realmente fugindo do estímulo aversivo. No presente trabalho, a administração intra-NDR do agonista gabaérgico muscimol diminuiu as latências da esquiva inibitória (EI), efeito ansiolítico, e da fuga dos braços abertos do LTE, efeito ansiogênico. Além disso, o muscimol intra-NDR aumentou o tempo gasto no compartimento claro (TGCC) do MTCE, efeito ansiolítico. Por outro lado, a droga não apresentou efeito no modelo do labirinto em T fechado. Já a microinjeção de muscimol intra-MCPD aumentou a latência de fuga do braço aberto do LTE, efeito ansiolítico, não apresentando qualquer efeito na EI do labirinto em T elevado ou no MTCE. Finalmente, a administração de muscimol intra-amígdala basolateral prejudicou a esquiva inibitória do LTE e aumentou o TGCC do MTCE, efeitos ansiolíticos, sem alterar a fuga dos braços abertos. Em conjunto, os dados do presente trabalho corroboram alguns dos pressupostos da teoria do papel dual da 5-HT na ansiedade proposta por Deakin e Graeff (1991). É interessante salientar, ainda, a importância da pré-exposição sobre as medidas de fuga do braço aberto do LTE. / It has been proposed that distinct 5-HT pathways modulate different types of anxiety reaction to aversive stimuli. Deakin and Graeff (1991) proposed that the activation of the ascending dorsal raphe (DR)-5-HT pathways innervating the amygdala and frontal cortex would facilitate learned defensive behaviors in response to distal or potential threat, while activation of the DR-periventricular 5-HT pathways, which innervates the dorsal periaqueductal gray matter (DPAG) would inhibit innate flight or fight reactions in response to proximal threat. In an attempt to explore this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of reversible inhibition of the DRN, the DPAG and of the basolateral amygdala nucleus in rats exposed to 2 animal models of anxiety: the elevated T maze (ETM) and the light-dark model (LDM). An important methodological difference was included to the ETM tests. The animals were exposed for 30 minutes to one of the ETM open arms, 24 h before the tests. Pre-exposure seems to improve escape measurements in the ETM, assuring that during escape, animals are really escaping from the aversive threat and not simply ambling. In the present study, muscimol administered intra-DRN impaired both the avoidance, anxyolitic effect, and the escape task, anxyogenic effect, of the ETM and increased the time spent in the light compartment (TSLC) in the LDM, an anxyolitic effect. On the other hand, muscimol microinjected intra-DPAG enhanced escape latencies in the ETM, an anxyolitic effect, without altering inhibitory avoidance or LDM measurements. Finally, muscimol administered intra-basolateral amygdala impaired avoidance in the ETM and increased the TSLC in the LDM, revealing an anxyolitic effect in both tests, without altering the escape task. Taken together the obtained data seem to corroborate the dual role of 5-HT in anxiety, proposed by Deakin and Graeff (1991). At last, the importance of pre-exposure to the open arms of the LTE should be emphasized as a procedure capable of improving escape measurement.

Há relatos de que doses baixas de pentilenotetrazol (PTZ) apresentam um efeito ansiogênico em testes comportamentais que medem ansiedade. No labirinto em cruz elevado a droga reduz a porcentagem de entradas e o tempo gasto nos braços abertos. O clordiazepóxido (CDP), por outro lado, é uma droga que tem efeitos ansiolíticos, aumentando a exploração dos braços abertos do labirinto ao reduzir a aversão natural dos ratos aos braços abertos. Obtém-se um efeito similar quando o teste ocorre no escuro. Cafeína (CAF) é um composto estimulante que, aplicada em baixas doses, estimula a atividade motora no labirinto. O presente trabalho investiga o efeito de drogas gabaérgicas nas medidas de ansiedade obtidas no labirinto em cruz elevado, na presença ou ausência de luz. Ratos distribuídos aleatoriamente em 18 grupos receberam injeções de PTZ (0, 10 e 20 mg/kg), 5 min antes do teste, CDP (0,1.5 e 3 mg/kg) ou CAF (0, 10 e 30 mg/kg) 30 min antes do teste e foram colocados no labirinto em cruz elevado por 5 minutos, permitindo sua livre exploração, sob duas condições de luminosidade: claro (22 lux) ou escuro (0 lux). Os resultados mostraram que nem o PTZ nem o CDP tiveram qualquer efeito quando os animais eram testados no escuro. No claro, o PTZ diminuiu a exploração dos braços abertos, o que foi interpretado como um efeito ansiogênico, e o CDP apresentou um efeito oposto. A CAF provocou um aumento na exploração dos braços abertos somente no escuro. Esses resultados sugerem que a luminosidade deflagra as respostas responsáveis pela esquiva dos braços abertos, e as drogas simplesmente aumentam ou bloqueiam esse efeito. Da mesma forma, a falta da aversão desencadeada pela luz permitiu que a atividade locomotora aumentasse sob ação da CAF. / Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), in low doses, was reported to have an anxiogenic effect in behavioral tests measuring anxiety. In the elevated plus-maze, it reduces the percentage of entries into and the time spent in the open arms. Chlordiazepoxide (CDP), on the other hand, is an anxiolytic drug which increases open arm exploration in the elevated plus-maze by reducing the natural aversion of rats to the open arms. A similar effect is obtained by testing rats in the dark. Caffeine (CAF) is a stimulant compound that, when administered in low doses, stimulates locomotor activity in the plus-maze. The present work investigated the effect of gabaergic drugs on anxiety levels in the presence and absence of light. Rats were randomly divided into 18 groups and either injected 5 min before testing with PTZ (0, 10, 20mg/kg) or 30 min before testing with CDP (0, 1.5, 3.0 mg/kg) or CAF (0, 10 and 30 mg/kg) and allowed to freely explore an elevated plus-maze for 5 min under two illumination conditions: light (22 lux) or dark (0 lux). Results show that neither PTZ nor CDP had any effect when the animals were tested in the dark. When tested in the light, PTZ decreased exploratory behavior in the open arms, which is usually interpreted as an anxiogenic effect, while CDP had the opposite effect. CAF provoked an increase in open arm exploration but only when the rats were tested in the dark. These results suggest that light triggers the responses responsible for the avoidance of the open arms, and the drugs simply enhance or block them. Likewise, lacking the aversion triggered by light allowed locomotor activity to increase under the action of CAF.