Bacterial elongation factor P (EF-P) is a poorly understood soluble protein that has been shown to enhance the first step of peptide bond formation through an interaction with the ribosome and initiator tRNA. The crystal structure of EF‐P shows that EF‐P mimics the tRNA shape. Orthologous proteins have been found in both archaeal and eukaryotic systems, known as aIF5A and eIF5A, respectively. eIF5A, which was recently shown to increase translation elongation rates, is post-translationally modified at a highly conserved lysine residue (K50) through the addition of the rare amino acid hypusine. A similar pathway was recently elucidated for EF-P, in which EF-P is post-translationally modified by the enzymes YjeA and YjeK at lysine 34, corresponding to a homologous site of hypusylation in a/eIF5A. As a paralog of class II LysRS, YjeA catalyzes the addition of lysine onto EF-P, but is incapable of modifying tRNA. YjeK is a 2,3-(β)-lysine aminomutase and is responsible for converting lysine to β-lysine, which YjeA was recently shown to recognize as a preferred substrate for EF-P modification. However, fully modified EF-P requires a third enzyme, YfcM, which acts as a hydroxylase and hydroxylates the C4 or C5 position of K34 of EF-P, but not the added β-lysine. Based on a complete description of the EF-P modification and pathway, in this project we focused on further studies to address the mechanism of action of EF-P and especially to investigate how the different stages of EF-P’s modifications can affect E. coli cells. Using E. coli Keio knockout collection (Δefp, ΔyjeK, ΔyjeA, ΔyfcM) and E. coli Keio parental strain (wild-type) as reference, we checked the effect of the deletion strains on the cells under different environmental stress conditions (varying growth temperatures and nutrition conditions, susceptibility to antibiotics), showing that Δefp strain has growth defects and that E. coli efp mutants show sensitivity to non-ribosomal inhibitors, such as ampicillin and rifampicin, suggesting a possible secondary role of EF-P related to the cell envelope. Moreover, we tested the ability of deletion strains to restore viability in the presence of the appropriate plasmid and showed that EF-P is important for cell viability under certain conditions in E. coli. As reported previously, YjeA and YjeK are important in bacteria virulence. In addition, EF‐P is recognized as one of the proteins important for bacteria motility in Bacillus subtilis. However, motility and virulence are often linked together. Here, we tested deletion strains for their ability to produce flagella. Further, using external fluorescence staining and confocal microscopy we revealed differences in morphology of the E. coli deletion strains, and we performed Histidine tag protein purification with Ni-NTA agarose beads and gel filtration, in order to purify YfcM, an uncharacterized protein, and set initial screens for crystallization. Finally, our future goal is to clone the following polycistronic construct, “- yjeK - yjeA - yfcM - his-efp -“, overexpress and crystallize it, so as to see the crystal structure of the whole modification pathway of EF-P and study better the function of EF-P in translation extracts from different mutants / Ο βακτηριακός παράγοντας επιμήκυνσης EF-P, είναι μια διαλυτή πρωτεΐνη που βοηθά στο σχηματισμό του πρώτου πεπτιδικού δεσμού, αλληλεπιδρώντας με το ριβόσωμα και το εναρκτήριο tRNA. Η κρυσταλλική δομή του EF-P δείχνει ότι μιμείται στη μορφή το tRNA. Ορθόλογες πρωτεΐνες έχουν βρεθεί και στα αρχαία και τα ευκαρυωτικά κύτταρα, γνωστές ως aIF5A και eIF5A, αντίστοιχα. Ο eIF5A, για τον οποίο αποδείχθηκε πρόσφατα ότι συμμετέχει και στο στάδιο της επιμήκυνσης της μετάφρασης, υφίσταται μια μοναδική μετα-μεταφραστική τροποποίηση στη λυσίνη 50 (Κ50), μέσω της προσθήκης σε αυτή ενός σπάνιου αμινοξέος, της υπουσίνης (hypusine). Μια παρόμοια τροποποίηση αποδείχθηκε ότι υφίσταται ωστόσο και ο EF-P της Escherichia coli (E. coli), ο οποίος τροποποιείται μετα-μεταφραστικά στη λυσίνη 34 (Κ34) με τη βοήθεια των ενζύμων YjeA και YjeK. Το YjeA αποτελεί παράλογο της δεύτερης κλάσης των tRNA συνθετασών της λυσίνης (LysRSs: Lysyl-tRNA synthetases), και καταλύει την προσθήκη της λυσίνης επάνω στον EF-P. Το YjeK είναι μια 2,3 αμινομουτάση της λυσινης (LAM: Lysine-2-3-aminomutase) και είναι αρμόδια για τη μετατροπή της α-λυσίνης σε β-λυσίνη. Εντούτοις, πρόσφατες έρευνες έδειξαν ότι ο πλήρως τροποποιημένος EF-P απαιτεί ένα επιπλέον ένζυμο, το YfcM, το οποίο ενεργεί ως υδροξυλάση και υδροξυλιώνει τον C4 ή C5 άνθρακα της K34 του EF-P. Στη συγκεκριμένη μελέτη εστιάσαμε στην εξέταση του μηχανισμού δράσης του EF-P και ειδικότερα στις επιπτώσεις που μπορεί να έχουν τα διαφορετικά στάδια των τροποποιήσεών του σε κύτταρα E. coli. Χρησιμοποιώντας τα knockout E. coli στελέχη της Keio (Δefp, ΔyjeK, ΔyjeA, ΔyfcM), ελέγξαμε την επίδραση διαφόρων περιβαλλοντικών συνθηκών στα στελέχη (διαφορετικές θερμοκρασίες, συνθήκες διατροφής, ευαισθησία σε αντιβιοτικά), δείχνοντας ότι το Δefp στέλεχος έχει μειωμένη αύξηση και ότι τα μεταλλαγμένα στελέχη παρουσιάζουν ευαισθησία σε μη-ριβοσωματικούς αναστολείς, όπως για παράδειγμα την αμπικιλίνη και τη ριφαμπικίνη. Επιπλέον, εξετάσαμε τη δυνατότητα των μεταλλαγμένων στελεχών να ανακάμπτουν στην ανάπτυξή τους παρουσία του κατάλληλου πλασμιδίου και είδαμε ότι ο EFP είναι σημαντικός για την in vivo ανάπτυξη της E. coli σε στρεσσογόνες καταστάσεις. Όπως αναφέρθηκε πρόσφατα, οι YjeA, YjeK και EF-P πρωτεΐνες συμβάλουν στη μείωσης της τοξικότητας στη Salmonella. Επιπλέον, έχει δειχθεί πως ο EF-P είναι μια από τις πρωτεΐνες, που παίζουν σημαντικό ρόλο στην κινητικότητα των βακτηρίων στο Bacillus subtilis. Ωστόσο, έρευνα των Josenhans και Suerbaum το 2002, έδειξε πως η κινιτηκότητα και η τοξικότητα συχνά συνδέονται μεταξύ τους. Έτσι εξετάσαμε, τα μεταλλαγμένα στελέχη για την ικανότητά τους να κινούνται, δημιουργώντας μαστίγια, σε semi-solid θρεπτικό υλικό. Περαιτέρω έρευνες χρησιμοποιώντας external fluorescence staining και confocal microscopy, αποκαλύψε διαφορές στη μορφολογία των μεταλλαγμένων στελεχών της E. coli. Επίσης, με στόχο τη μελέτη της πρωτεΐνης YfcM, η λειτουργία της οποίας δεν είναι ακόμη γνωστή, απομονώσαμε και καθαρίσαμε την YfcM, με Νi-NTA agarose beads και gel filtration για τη μελλοντική κρυσταλοποίησή της,. Τέλος, μελλοντικός στόχος μας είναι η κλωνοποίηση του ακόλουθου πολυκιστρονικού γονιδίου “- yjeK - yjeA - yfcM - Ηis-efp - “, με σκοπό την υπερέκφραση και την κρυσταλλοποίησή του, ώστε να λάβουμε μια εικόνα του πως μοιάζει ολοκληρωμένο το μονοπάτι της τροποποίησης του EF-P, και επιπλέον, να μελετήσουμε καλύτερα τη λειτουργία του EF-P σε εκχυλίσματα της μετάφρασης από διαφορετικές μεταλλάξεις..

Splicing mainly occurs co-transcriptionally, suggesting that transcription and premRNA splicing could be synchronized. The nature of this phenomenon suggests that transcription elongation rate may influence splicing outcomes and, indeed, there is evidence for effects on alternative splicing in mammals. To elucidate potential effects of transcription rate on splicing efficiency and fidelity, splicing of nascent transcripts was investigated in fast and slow elongating RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) mutants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. High kinetic resolution 4-thio Uracil labelling of nascent RNA reveals that fast RNAPII accumulates unspliced pre-mRNA that represents reduced co-transcriptional splicing. Conversely, low levels of unspliced pre-mRNA were detected in the slow mutant due to increased co-transcriptional splicing. The highly stable association of nascent transcripts with elongating RNAPII permits co-transcriptional splicing to be measured by analysis of transcripts that co-purify with RNAPII. Measuring co-precipitation of the spliced mRNA and excised intron that are associated with RNAPII demonstrates that splicing is mostly co-transcriptional with the slow mutant, and the fast mutant reduces co-transcriptional splicing. How elongation rate affects splicing fidelity in budding yeast and whether faster and slower transcription have the opposite effect on splicing fidelity as might be predicted by the kinetic coupling model is an open question. Using deep RNA sequencing, splicing fidelity was determined in yeast transcription elongation mutants. Results show that both fast and slow transcription reduce splicing fidelity mainly in ribosomal protein coding transcripts. Analysis reveals that splicing fidelity depends largely on intron length, secondary structure and splice site score. These analyses also provide new insights regarding the effect of altering transcription rate on selection of transcription start sites. Together, these results indicate that optimal splicing efficiency and fidelity require finely-tuned transcription speed.

Master of Science / Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science / Donald J. Phillippi / Special moment resisting frames (SMRF) are intended to protect the structure from earthquake motions through a ductile inelastic response. This thesis evaluates the performance of reinforced concrete SMRFs with an emphasis on the second level beams. Due to previous research, it is concluded that two-dimensional finite element analyses (2D-FEA) and three-dimensional finite element analyses (3D-FEA) have different results when evaluating the same structure. Due to this, the thesis used a 3D-FEA to analyze frames based on Design Example 7 in the 2006 IBC Structural/Seismic Design Manual (Appendix A). While looking at the frame as a whole, the first of two parametric studies was performed over the columns. Using LS-DYNA the columns’ forces, displacement, moment, and curvature were evaluated. From these results, it was concluded that in SMRF, columns are not acting per current design assumptions due to the elongation of beams. Using the knowledge gained in the first parametric study, a second parametric study was performed on the second level floor beams. Focusing on the beam elongation, this thesis evaluates multiple frames with different load combinations using LS-DYNA to find the displacement of the reinforcement in the beams. With the results, an equation to calculate the elongation of beams was proposed, as well as an average percentage of the elongation in reinforced concrete SMRF. The equation and average percentage of elongation aim to provide a standard design consideration for the elongation of beams.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:52:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:02:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:52:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:02:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Os plásticos biodegradáveis e os plásticos \"verdes\" são uma nova tendência mundial. Neste trabalho foi estudado o efeito da radiação por feixe de elétrons mediante a resistência à tração e alongamento na ruptura, Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV), Espectroscopia Vibracional de Absorção no Infravermelho por Transformada de Fourrier (FT-IR), Calorimetria Exploratória Diferencial (DSC), grau de reticulação e biodegradabilidade de filmes produzidos com copoliéster alifático aromático e sua blenda com amido de milho (Ecoflex® e Ecobras®). Foram realizadas medidas em ambas as direções de orientação molecular (direção da máquina e direção transversal) para os testes mecânicos. Observou-se que a radiação causou um aumento na resistência à tração na ruptura dos filmes da blenda com amido de milho quando doses de 10kGy e 40kGy foram aplicadas. Uma diminuição significativa do alongamento na ruptura dos filmes produzidos com a blenda de amido de milho foi observada em doses de 10kGy e 40kGy. Não foram encontradas mudanças importantes nas propriedades de tensão dos filmes de copoliéster alifático aromático. Não foram observadas alterações estruturais visíveis das amostras (reticulação ou degradação) por meio de microscopia eletrônica de varredura. O FT-IR identificou os picos característicos de cada grupo funcional envolvido, em particular, copoliéster e amido de milho, contudo, não foram encontradas bandas de oxidação das amostras. No ensaio de DSC, não foram identificadas mudanças na temperatura de fusão das amostras irradiadas de Ecoflex® e Ecobras® quando comparadas às amostras de referência, entretanto, foi verificada uma diminuição na entalpia de fusão das amostras de Ecobras® após irradiação. O material Ecobras® apresentou reticulação quando submetido às doses de 10kGy e 40kGy. O material Ecoflex® não apresentou reticulação quando submetido a estas doses. A biodegradabilidade dos materiais foi avaliada partindo de dois métodos de 6 ensaio: solo simulado e enzimático. Em ambos os métodos, as amostras irradiadas apresentaram biodegradação mais rápida do que as de referência não irradiadas. / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

O experimento foi conduzido na FZEA/USP – Pirassununga/SP de dezembro de 2002 a março de 2003, em uma área de 26,7 ha formada de capim-braquiarão. O objetivo foi avaliar as características morfofisiológicas durante a fase recuperação da planta forrageira após o pastejo. A pastagem foi submetida a quatro intensidades de pastejo representadas por níveis de oferta de forragem (5, 10, 15 e 20% - kg MS/100 kg peso animal.dia), utilizando-se o método de lotação rotacionada, sendo sete dias de ocupação e vinte e oito dias de descanso. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos completos e casualizados, com quatro repetições. Foram avaliadas as seguintes respostas: (1) características morfogênicas: intervalo de aparecimento foliar (IApF), taxa de aparecimento foliar (TApF), taxa de alongamento foliar (TAlF), taxa de senescência foliar (TSenF), taxa de alongamento de colmo (TAlC); e (2) características estruturais: número de folhas vivas por perfilho (NFVP), comprimento de folhas verdes por perfilhos (CFVP), comprimento médio de folhas verdes por perfilho (CMFVP) e comprimento de colmo (CC), dinâmica de perfilhamento, englobando, percentagem de perfilhos decapitados (PPD), número de perfilhos basais remanescentes (NPBR), número de perfilhos aéreos remanescentes (NPAR), número de perfilhos basais novos (NPBN), número de perfilhos aéreos novos (NPAN), densidade populacional de perfilhos (DPP), peso médio de perfilho seco, (PMPS) e peso médio de perfilho verde (PMVP). Pastagens submetidas a menor intensidade de pastejo apresentam maior TSenF. As condições climáticas que favorecem o processo de florescimento foram determinantes nessa TSenF. O avanço na estação de crescimento interferiu de forma negativa na TApF, aumentando automaticamente o IApF. A TAlF teve pouca influência dos tratamentos de OF, exceto na condição inicial de manejo, período de avaliação 1 (PAv.1). Nos PAv. o aumento do NFVP esteve relacionado com a diminuição de seu comprimento médio. O CC aumentou com o avançar dos PAv. A maior intensidade de pastejo condicionou o aumento na PPD, a maior DPP e o menor PMPS e PMPV. As condições climáticas tiveram papel importante na sobrevivência e aumento dos NPBR nos PAv.. A sobrevivência dos NPAR esteve condicionada aos efeitos da OF. Condições de maior intensidade de pastejo favoreceu o aparecimento de NPBN e NPAN. No avançar dos PAv., o pastejo leniente provocou diminuição do surgimento do NPAN, embora tenham aumentado durante o período de rebrotação. / The experiment was conducted in the FZEA/USP - Pirassununga/SP from December/2002 to March/2003, in a pasture of signal grass of 26.7 ha. The objective was evaluated the morphophysiological characteristics during regrowth of the plant after grazing. The pasture was submitted at grazing intensities represented by four levels of herbage allowance (5, 10, 15 and 20% - kg DM/100 kg weight animal.day), using rotational stocking method, being seven days of occupation and twenty and eight days of interval of grazing. The experimental design was in complete randomised block, with four replications. The evaluated responses were: (1) morphogenetics characteristics: leaf appearance interval (LApI), leaf appearance rate (LApR), leaf elongation rate (LElR), leaf senescence rate (LSenR), stem elongation rate (SElR); e (2) structural characteristics: number of live leaves (NLL), length of green leaf (LGL), length average green leaf (LAGL) and length of stems (LS), dynamics of tillering, percentage of decapitated tiller (PDT), number of remaining basal tiller (NRBT), number of remaining aerial tiller (NRAT), number of new basal tiller (NNBT), number of new aerial tiller (NNAT), population density of tiller (PDT), dry average weight for tiller, (DAWT) and green average weight for tiller (GAWT). Pasture submitted to lenient grazing presented higher LSenR. The climatic conditions that favour flowering process were determinant in LSenR. The advance in growth station influenced negatively in the LApR and increased automatically the LApI. The HA had little influence on the LAIR, except in the initial condition of management, period of evaluation 1 (PAv.1). In the PAv. the increase of the NLL was related with the reduction of its average length. The LS increased with advancing of the PAv.. The highest grazing intensity conditioned the increase in the PDT, the biggest PDT and lowest DAWT and GAWT. The climatic conditions were important in the survival and increase of the NRBT in the PAv.. The survival of the NRAT was conditioned to the effect of the HA. The highest grazing intensity favoured the appearance of NNBT and NNAT. With the advance of the PAv., the lenient grazing provoked reduction of the NNAT emergence, even so has increased during regrowth period.

Novas alternativas de produção de ácidos graxos altamente insaturados n-3 (HUFA n-3) são procuradas mediante várias abordagens experimentais na área aquícola considerando que a oferta atual de óleos marinhos é limitada. Como os ácidos graxos das séries n-3 e n-6 são metabolizados mediante os mesmos processos enzimáticos, o aporte de ácidos graxos essenciais da dieta poderia influenciar nos níveis de alongamento e desaturação em função da disponibilidade relativa destes compostos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a influência de diferentes relações 18:3n3/18:2n6 (ALA/LA - ácido linolênico/ácido linoleico) de rações exclusivamente vegetais, sobre o metabolismo de ácidos graxos de juvenis de pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus). Inicialmente 18 unidades experimentais (caixas com 16 peixes) foram alimentadas por 34 dias (C1) com uma dieta controle (tratamento T6) contendo óleo de tilápia como único ingrediente de origem animal. Posteriormente, foram formados aleatoriamente, 6 grupos com 3 unidades experimentais cada. Em uma segunda fase, durante 72 dias, 5 grupos receberam dietas, contendo óleo de linhaça e soja em substituição ao óleo de tilápia, com relações calculadas de ALA/LA de: 2,98 (T1); 1,68 (T2); 1,03 (T3); 0,61 (T4) e 0,35 (T5) e um grupo continuou com a dieta controle (T6). Nesta segunda fase, determinaram-se parâmetros de desempenho zootécnico e metabolismo de ácidos graxos em 3 intervalos de 24 dias (C2=58 dias, C3=82 dias e C4=106 dias). Os animais apresentaram crescimento e ganho de peso sem diferenças significativas entre os grupos e com aumento progressivo da proporção de gordura corporal total. A composição de ácidos graxos da dieta influenciou de forma proporcional sobre a composição da maioria de ácidos graxos de corpo inteiro. Os coeficientes de digestibilidade aparente aumentaram conforme o grau de instauração dos ácidos graxos e sua abundância relativa na dieta. A concentração de ácidos graxos polinsaturados nos lipídios de corpo inteiro não diferiu entre a maioria de tratamentos. O teor e aparecimento do ácido graxo 20:5n3 (EPA) e a atividade da enzima Δ-5 desaturase dos grupos T1, T2 e T3 foi menor que os demais tratamentos no período C4. O aparecimento de HUFA n-3 e n-6, atividade Δ-6 desaturase total e atividade Δ-6 desaturase sobre os ácidos graxos n-3 totais dos tratamentos T1 a T5 foram maiores que no T6 (controle). Estes resultados demonstram que o pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) é capaz de alongar e desaturar ácidos graxos essenciais para produzir ácidos graxos altamente insaturados (ácidos graxos com no mínimo 20 C e 3 ligações duplas - HUFA). Esta atividade é diminuída pela presença, mesmo em quantidades pequenas, de HUFA na dieta. Além disso, sugerem que relações ALA/LA da dieta, iguais ou maiores que 1, provocam diminuição na taxa de produção de 20:5n3, nos níveis testados neste estudo. / New alternatives for production of highly unsaturated fatty acids n-3 (n-3 HUFA) are sought by various experimental approaches in aquaculture, considering that the current supply of marine oils is limited. Since fatty acids of the n-3 and n-6 series are metabolized by the same enzyme processes, the supply of essential fatty acids of the diet could influence the elongation and desaturation levels, depending on the relative availability of these compounds. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of different 18:3n-3/18:2n-6 ratios (ALA/LA - linolenic acid/linoleic acid) of diets containing exclusively vegetable ingredients on the metabolism of fatty acids, of pacu juveniles (Piaractus mesopotamicus). Initially, 18 experimental units (boxes with 16 animals) were fed a control diet (T6 treatment) containing tilapia oil as the sole animal ingredient for 34 days (C1). Later, 6 groups with 3 experimental units each were formed at random. In a second phase, during 72 days, five groups were fed diets containing linseed and soy oils to replace tilapia oil, with calculated ALA/LA ratios: 2.98 (T1); 1.68 (T2); 1.03 (T3); 0.61 (T4) and 0.35 (T5) and a group continued with the control diet (T6). In the second phase were determined growth performance parameters and fatty acid metabolism in three intervals of 24 days (C2 = 58 days = 82 days and C3 C4 = 106 days). The animals showed growth and weight gain with no significant differences between groups and progressive increase in the proportion of total body fat. The fatty acid composition of the diet influenced proportionally on the composition of the majority of whole body fatty acids. The apparent digestibility increased as the degree of unsaturation of fatty acids and their relative abundance in the diet. The concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids in whole body lipids did not differ among the most treatments. The content and appearance of the fatty acid 20:5n3 (EPA) and the activity of Δ-5 desaturase enzyme of groups T1, T2 and T3 was lower than the other treatments in C4 period. The appearance of n-3 and n-6 HUFA, Δ 6-desaturase activity and the total Δ 6-desaturase activity on the total n-3 fatty acids from T1 to T5 treatments were higher than T6 (control). These results demonstrate that pacu juveniles are able to elongate and desaturate essential fatty acids to produce highly unsaturated fatty acids. This activity diminishes by the presence of even small amounts of HUFAs in the diet. Moreover, it suggests that ALA/LA ratio of diet, equal to, or greater than one, cause a decrease in the rate of production of 20:5n3, within the levels tested in this study.

Orientador: João Sinézio de Carvalho Campos / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T08:39:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bento_RonaldoEuzebio_M.pdf: 1080016 bytes, checksum: c783e50a51346a7d89eb82f52976eb49 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Esse trabalho concentra os estudos na investigação das propriedades de resistência a tração e alongamento do compósito de Politetrafluoretileno (PTFE) com 60% de bronze após a substituição do tipo de PTFE utilizado na formulação desse compósito. Atualmente esse compósito utiliza PTFE convencional na formulação e o objetivo é alterar para PTFE modificado. A motivação para essa alteração deveu-se ao fato que o PTFE convencional apresenta disponibilidade limitada dificultando o desenvolvimento dos segmentos que utilizam os compósitos de PTFE com 60% de bronze. A escolha do PTFE modificado para a substituição do PTFE convencional na formulação do compósito de PTFE com 60% de bronze deveu-se ao fato que polímero puro de PTFE modificado apresenta propriedades mecânicas e químicas superiores ao polímero puro de PTFE convencional, além de não apresentar limitações de disponibilidade, possibilitando a continuidade do crescimento dos segmentos industriais. A escolha do compósito de PTFE com 60% de bronze deveu-se ao fato que essa formulação é a mais empregada no segmento automobilístico para a fabricação de anéis para amortecedores e retentores. Após a substituição da resina de PTFE, os resultados demonstraram que o compósito de PTFE modificado com 60% de bronze apresentou propriedades inferiores ao compósito fabricado com PTFE convencional. A queda dessas propriedades pode estar relacionada com possíveis micros fissuras na estrutura do compósito em virtude de ar preso durante o processo de fabricação / Abstract: This work focuses on research studies of the properties of tensile strength and elongation of the composite of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with 60% bronze after replacing the type of PTFE used in the formulation of this compound. Currently, this composite uses conventional PTFE in the formulation and the objective is to change to modified PTFE. The motivation for this change was due to the fact that the conventional PTFE has limited availability hindering the development of the segments that use the PTFE composite with 60% bronze. The choice of PTFE modified PTFE to replace the conventional formulation of the composite with 60% PTFE bronze was due to the fact that pure polymer modified PTFE has superior mechanical and chemical properties of the pure polymer PTFE conventional, and not present availability limitations, enabling the continued growth of industries. The choice of the composite with 60% PTFE bronze due to the fact that this formulation is the most used in the automotive sector for the manufacture of rings and seals for shock absorbers / Mestrado / Ciencia e Tecnologia de Materiais / Mestre em Engenharia Química

Abstract The elongation response of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings to the removal of blue light (400–500 nm) was studied in field experiments in northern Finland. The seedlings were grown in orange or transparent plexiglass chambers or in ambient control plots. The orange plexiglass removed the blue wavelengths from sunlight, while the others served as controls. The experiment was conducted at sub-arctic (69°N) and mid-boreal (64°N) latitudes with three- and two-year-old seedlings originating from 67°N latitude. The response to blue light depletion was also investigated at the 69°N latitude in the following plant subjects: one-year-old Scots pine seedlings of northern (67°N) and southern (62°N) provenances, deciduous Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii and Betula pubescens f. rubra seedlings and herbaceous Epilobium angustifolium and Glechoma hederacea plants. Additionally, diurnal change in light quality at the 69°N latitude during the summer was measured. The elongation of Scots pine seedlings was increased by the removal of blue wavelengths. The increase was more pronounced at the 69°N latitude, while at the 64°N latitude the response was smaller or absent. This is due to increased amount of scattered growth-inhibiting blue light during the nights at the high latitude. The removal of blue light increased stem elongation in northern origin Scots pine seedlings much more compared to the southern origin seedlings, which suggests that the northern provenance is more sensitive to blue light. Irrespective of that, southern origins also suffer from reduced elongation in the north as they migrate according to climatic change scenarios. However, it is obvious that they grow longer than local origins in the north. Morphological variables and photosynthetic pigments confirm that the increased elongation of Scots pine seedlings under blue light depletion is not a result of etiolation or it is only a marginal factor. Also, it was neither dependent on temperature nor photosynthesis and growth resources. Instead, the increased elongation is probably a photomorphogenic regulation response of metabolism. In addition, shade intolerant Scots pine, Betula seedlings and herbaceous Epilobium angustifolium responded stronger to blue light removal compared to the more shade-tolerant herbaceous Glechoma hederacea.

Abstract The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the human body and is affected by many diseases and is vulnerable to many forms of damage due to the heavy loads it must bear. Rupture of the Achilles tendon has become more common in recent times, with an almost four-fold increase in prevalence from 1979–1990 to 1991–2000 and a peak incidence of 19 ruptures per 100 000 of population in 1999 in our epidemiological assessment. The incidences of major complications, re-rupture and deep infection, increased along with primary ruptures, peaking in 1999. The results after successful primary repair are good in over 90% of cases, as we have shown in a randomized study and in a review of the literature, and the result after re-rupture is still good in about 70% of cases, but achieving good performance after deep infection is a highly random matter. Our retrospective survey did not identify any good results, but the deep infection cases in our randomized study showed good performance due to prompt action taken for their treatment. The best method for treating a ruptured Achilles tendon has been under debate for almost 100 years, with surgery and conservative methods advocated to equal extents. We have advocated surgical treatment as the primary choice and conservative treatment is given for selected high risk patients, for example patients with diabetes, skin problems, systemic use of corticosteroids or severe other illness. The type of surgery technique is not a straightforward choice, either, and various forms of open surgery and percutaneous techniques exist. We compared an end-to-end simple suture with the same suture augmented with one central gastrocnemius turn-over flap in a randomized series of 60 patients and found no differences with respect to subjective complaints, calf muscle strength or tendon elongation with time. The end-to-end technique is simpler and is therefore justified as the primary method of choice for the surgical repair of fresh complete Achilles tendon ruptures. The tissue composition has been shown to alter not only with time but also after repeated tearing of the tendon collagen fibres. A normal tendon is mainly composed of type I collagen, but the rupture areas express more type III collagen, which is thinner and withstands loads less effectively. Type III collagen accumulates slowly in the tendon, since its production does not increase very much, a situation that is indicative of microtrauma. Crosslinking of the fibres is important for collagen matrix properties, and we found that there is a change in the quality of crosslinking with age and that this may have role in the observed changes in tendon stiffness, as also noted in other studies. We also studied the appearance of tenascin-C at the rupture site in the Achilles tendon and at two other sites in the same tendon, but found no difference in its expression. It has been proposed that tenascin-C may take part in the tendon’s reaction to loading, but its exact function remains unknown.