No description available.

No description available.

Trichomonas vaginalis is flagelated microaerophilic protozoan parasite from Excavata group, which causes trichomoniasis, the most common nonviral sexually transmitted disease in the world. It causes vaginitis in women and uretritis in man and it can also cause problems for example during pregnancy. This thesis is aimed on the characterisation of hydrogenosomal iron-sulfur flavoproteins (ISF) from Trichomonas vaginalis, proteins, which were only recently discovered in the proteome of hydrogenosome of T. vaginalis. Specifically, we have focused on characterisation of ISF3 which is, according to our data, active homodimer and binds flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and iron-sulphur centre in its active site. The iron- sulphur centre is not characterised yet. ISF3 is able to reduce oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, sodium nitrate and metronidazole also in the enzymatic system with PFO and ferredoxin. Next, I tried to reduce ammonium sulphate with ISF3, but unsuccessfully. These results correspond with the activities obtained for ISF from Methanosarcina thermophila, where ISF reduces oxygen and hydrogen peroxide to water. In addition, ISF3 is able to reduce nitrogen compounds. It is important according to the fact, that metronidazole is a drug from the group of 5−nitroimidazoles. The other results show the decrease...

Les hydrogénases ont été identifiées comme des protéines clé de la corrosion induite par les microorganismes (CIM) mais leur réel impact est encore sujet à controverses. Bien qu’elles soient présentes dans la plupart des microorganismes impliqués dans la biocorrosion anaérobie, leur participation dans un transfert électronique direct a rarement été démontrée. L’objectif de ce travail est d’étudier l’influence de l’hydrogénase sur la corrosion anaérobie de l’acier en approfondissant la compréhension des phénomènes interfaciaux qui régissent son action. Il s’agit en particulier d’étudier l’incidence des centres Fe-S présents dans la protéine et qui s’étaient révélés être des acteurs majeurs lors de précédents travaux au LGC. Pour cela, différents types d’hydrogénases ont été conçus, élaborés en collaboration avec l’équipe EAD3 du LISBP, INSA Toulouse, et étudiés : la native et des mutants possédant un nombre plus ou moins important de centres Fe-S. Dans un premier temps, le choix des matériaux a été réalisé sur la base des résultats de caractérisation et d’étude du comportement électrochimique dans le milieu Tris-HCl. L’acier doux S235JR a été choisi car c’est le matériau le plus réactif pour mettre en évidence l’influence de l’hydrogénase. Par la suite, les premières études en présence de divers types d’hydrogénases (native et mutants) ont révélé que la présence de certaines molécules additionnelles dans le milieu de purification ne permet pas d’obtenir un saut du potentiel d’abandon et une vitesse de corrosion exclusivement liés aux enzymes. Le protocole de purification des enzymes a donc été optimisé pour permettre un meilleur rendement de purification avec une activité enzymatique haute, tout en ayant le moins possible d’impact sur les signaux électrochimiques. Enfin, l’utilisation d’un sac de dialyse pour concentrer l’hydrogénase au voisinage de l’électrode de travail a permis d’exacerber l’effet de l’enzyme : une augmentation du potentiel d’abandon ainsi que de la vitesse de corrosion a été observée. La spectroscopie d’impédance couplée à des analyses de surface a également confirmé le fort pouvoir corrosif de l’hydrogénase. En outre, les électrolyses réalisées à potentiel cathodique ont mis en évidence la catalyse de la réaction de réduction par transfert électronique direct entre l’hydrogénase et la surface de l’acier. Le moteur responsable de la prise d’électrons est le centre catalytique de l’enzyme, les centres Fe-S jouant seulement un rôle de transfert des électrons au sein de la protéine. / Hydrogenases have been identified as key proteins in microbially induced corrosion (MIC) phenomena but their real impact is still a controversial issue. Even though they are present in most of the microorganisms involved in anaerobic biocorrosion, their participation in a direct electron transfer mechanism has rarely been demonstrated. The purpose of the present work is to study the influence of hydrogenase on the anaerobic corrosion of steel by deepening the understanding of interfacial phenomena governing its action. The study is particularly focusing on the effect of Fe-S clusters, which had proved to be major players in earlier work at LGC. To achieve this, different types of hydrogenases were designed, developed in collaboration with the EAD3 team of LIBP, INSA Toulouse, and studied: the native and mutants, containing a higher or lower number of Fe-S. First, the material choice was carried out on the base of the characterization results and electrochemical behavior study in TrisHCl medium. The S235JR mild steel was chosen since it is the more reactive material to highlight the influence of hydrogenase. Thereafter, the first studies in presence of various types of hydrogenases (native and mutants) have revealed that the presence of additional molecules in the purification medium does not permit to get an open-circuit potential jump and a corrosion rate that could be attributed solely to enzymes. The enzyme purification protocol has been then optimized to simultaneously allow a better purification performance with a high enzymatic activity and a lower impact on electrochemical signals. Finally, the use of a dialysis bag to concentrate hydrogenase in the close vicinity of the working electrode led to the exacerbation of the enzyme effect: an open-circuit potential ennoblement as well as a corrosion rate increase were observed. Impedance spectroscopy coupled with surface analysis also confirmed the strong corrosiveness of hydrogenase. Electrolysis performed at a cathodic potential brought to light the catalysis of the reduction reaction that occurred by direct electronic transfer between the hydrogenase and the steel surface. The driving force of the electron uptake is the catalytic center of the enzyme, the Fe-S clusters only acting in the electron transfer within the protein.

No description available.

This dissertation examines the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music and the historical and cultural milieu of which it is a part. Held annually since 1994 in the city of Fes, Morocco, this festival was first launched in the wake of the first Gulf War as an interfaith initiative and was conceived with a European and American audience in mind. It was later housed under the aegis of FES-SAISS, an NGO based in the medina of Fes, Morocco. Over time, the festival became both more local and more global, with local residents using the global rhetoric of western democratic ideals and human rights discourses as a way to shape the festival’s local programming. After 9/11 and the May 16, 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca, the festival took on a new significance as Moroccans began to think of the festival as an event that would counter its own domestic extremism. This dissertation looks at the role of sound and music and its place in This dissertation examines the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music and the historical and cultural milieu of which it is a part. Held annually since 1994 in the city of Fes, Morocco, this festival was first launched in the wake of the first Gulf War as an interfaith initiative and was conceived with a European and American audience in mind. It was later housed under the aegis of FES-SAISS, an NGO based in the medina of Fes, Morocco. Over time, the festival became both more local and more global, with local residents using the global rhetoric of western democratic ideals and human rights discourses as a way to shape the festival’s local programming. After 9/11 and the May 16, 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca, the festival took on a new significance as Moroccans began to think of the festival as an event that would counter its own domestic extremism. This dissertation looks at the role of sound and music and its place in This dissertation examines the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music and the historical and cultural milieu of which it is a part. Held annually since 1994 in the city of Fes, Morocco, this festival was first launched in the wake of the first Gulf War as an interfaith initiative and was conceived with a European and American audience in mind. It was later housed under the aegis of FES-SAISS, an NGO based in the medina of Fes, Morocco. Over time, the festival became both more local and more global, with local residents using the global rhetoric of western democratic ideals and human rights discourses as a way to shape the festival’s local programming. After 9/11 and the May 16, 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca, the festival took on a new significance as Moroccans began to think of the festival as an event that would counter its own domestic extremism. This dissertation looks at the role of sound and music and its place in viii Moroccan spiritual traditions and questions how a local religious musical aesthetic produced by the festival impacts interfaith efforts beyond Morocco’s borders as well as local Moroccan conceptions of spirituality. Important components in the shaping of conceptions of spirituality are interactions in the sphere of tourism, and local and international efforts at historic preservation, and in the history of how local musics became world music. Perhaps more than ever before, the preservation of local histories and traditions are co-constructed at a global rather than a local level, where global spheres are new grounds for creating local meaning. In conclusion, this dissertation considers the nature and scope of the impact this festival has as it travels around the globe. / text

[pt] Reducionismos de cunho ético desembocam na vida prática do homem ocidental, herdeiro de uma visão ética do mundo e do mal que cristalizou durante séculos uma mentalidade de fundo insuficiente para ajudar a responder as perguntas mais fundamentais do ser humano, tais como: da liberdade, da esperança, da natureza da angústia, da condição do homem no interior do mundo e da história, do real sentido da vida, da relação com os outros, consigo mesmo, com a natureza e com Deus, etc. O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de investigar a crítica ricoeuriana com relação a essa cosmovisão que esvaziou o homem de sua subjetividade e suscitou outros tantos prejuízos no campo da ética. Veremos além dessa crítica, a nova proposta ética que no pensamento do filósofo se chama: ética da exigência de ser e do esforço por existir, a qual, a bem da verdade, considera o homem como um ser que está exprimido entre limites e possibilidades, contingência e aspirações etc, mas que é um ser chamado a articular a finitude com a perspectiva do infinito, orientado pelo princípio esperança que o permite sonhar mundos possíveis de inocência (mas não de ingenuidade), de liberdade (mas não de libertinagem) só porque foi, é e será sempre, um ser de relação para cujo sentido último tem como fundamento esse Ser maravilhoso ao qual chamamos Deus. / [fr] Reducionismos d`empreiente morale ils débouchent dans la vie de l`homme occidental, héritier d`une vision morale du monde et du mal qu`a cristallisé pendant des siècles une mentalité de fond insuffisant pour deaider à répondre aux questions le plus fondamental de l’être humain, talle como: da liberte, de l`espoir, de la nature de afflige, de la condition de l`homme à l`interieur du monde et de l`histoire, du réel sens de la vie, de la relation avec les autres, elle même, avec le nature et avec Dieu, etc. Le présent travail a l`objectif d`enquêter la critique ricoeuriana concernant cette cosmovisão qui a vide l`homme de leur subjectivité et a suscité autres autant prejuizos dans le champ de l`éthique. Nous verrons autre de cette critique, la nouvelle proposition morale qui dans la pensée du philosophe s`appelle: éthique de l’exigence d`être et de l`effort par esistir, qui, le bien de la vérité, considère l’homme comme um être qui est exprime entre des limites et des possibilités, contingence et aspirations etc, mais que c`est un être appel à articuler finitude avec la perspective de l`infini, guidé par le début espoir qui le permet de rever des mondes possibles d`innocense (mais non de naïveté), de liberté (mais non de libertinage) seulement parce que ce a été, c`est et será toujours un être de relation pour dont le sens dernier a comme fondement cet Être merveilleux a qui nous appelons Dieu.

Environ 90 millions de personnes dans le monde souffrent de lésions de la moelle épinière. Cette thèse se focalise sur les individus paraplégiques ayant une lésion complète, c'est à dire les personnes souffrant de pertes sensorielles et motrices des membres inférieurs. Grâce aux progrès médicaux réalisés autour de la prise en charge des patients dès les premiers instants après l'accident, l'espérance de vie de ces personnes est maintenant comparable à celle de sujets dits normaux. Ceci a généré un changement radical dans les priorités de la recherche médicale qui aspire maintenant à améliorer leur qualité de vie. Les patients utilisant des fauteuils roulants sont soumis à des efforts musculaires et articulaires très intenses au niveau des membres supérieurs et particulièrement des épaules. Ces efforts sont observables durant les phases de propulsion du fauteuil, mais également dans la des tâches du quotidien telles que le transfert pour les activités domestiques ou la conduite. En conséquence les complications et les troubles musculo squelettiques sont fréquents chez ces patients ce qui peut causer une diminution ou même une perte totale des fonctions motrices encore préservées et de fait impacter l'autonomie de ces personnes. De part sa mobilité réduite la population paraplégique fait également face à d'autres problèmes médicaux comme la fragilité osseuse ou la mauvaise circulation sanguine. Ces changements métaboliques entrainent une augmentation du risque de diabète, risques d'escarres, et de la spasticité musculaire.L'utilisation de la Stimulation Electrique Fonctionnelle (SEF) pour la restauration du mouvement a montre son intérêt à la fois fonctionnel et thérapeutique. La restauration du mouvement au moyen de la SEF est étudiée depuis de nombreuses années mais le nombre de systèmes vraiment opérationnels et fonctionnels est toujours très limité. Dans ce contexte, le but de cette thèse est l'étude de solutions permettant d'améliorer la qualité de vie de personnes paraplégiques en restaurant les possibilités de lever de chaise, de transfert depuis le fauteuil roulant vers une autre surface et de maintien de la station érigée. Nous avons cherché au cours de ce travail à trouver un bon compromis entre la performance fonctionnelle du système d'assistance proposé et sa simplicité. Pour ce faire, nous nous sommes attachés, dans un contexte d'utilisation clinique et à domicile dans le futur, à réduire le nombre de capteurs ainsi que la complexité calculatoire.Dans cette thèse, nous avons réalisé l'étude du mouvement optimal à produire pour réaliser une tâche de lever de chaise qui réduirait les efforts au niveau des bras ainsi que la fatigue musculaire induite par l'utilisation de la SEF. Nous avons validé expérimentalement un nouveau système de contrôle en boucle-fermée pour le lever de chaise en réalisant des expériences incluant six patients paraplégiques.Les bénéfices de l'utilisation de la SEF pendant un mouvement de transfert en pivot chez le patient paraplégique ont été étudiés en utilisant un processus d´optimisation et un modèle biomécanique de l'humain.Enfin, une nouvelle solution pour le contrôle de la station érigée chez le patient paraplégique a été proposée dans cette thèse. Le contrôleur proposé permet un maintien de la station érigée prolongée tout en prenant en compte les mouvements volontaires du patient.Finalement, les résultats obtenus lors de cette thèse apparaissent comme très prometteurs et nous croyons que la recherche scientifique devrait persister dans cette voie tout en continuant les collaborations et interactions entre équipes médicales, ingénieurs et patients paraplégiques. / Today there are around 90 million people suffering from Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) worldwide. This thesis focuses on individuals who are complete paraplegic, i.e. persons suffering the loss of sensor and motor functions of their lower extremities. Thanks to improvements in emergency medical care, problems faced by SCI individuals after an accident are no longer life threatening, and their life expectancy is now comparable to that of able-bodied individuals. This has generated a shift of the priorities in medical research and practice away from survival and towards improvements in the quality of life for those living in a wheelchair. Wheelchair users are subjected to intense loads on the muscles and joints of the upper trunk and upper limbs during wheelchair propulsion, and in almost every other daily activity such as transfer, driving and household activities. Consequently, musculoskeletal pain is a common complication in the patients with SCI, which could cause a decrease or even total loss in remaining functional independence. Due to their limited mobility paraplegic population also faces many other medical problemsrelated with bone loading, cardio-circulatory stimulation, metabolic changeswhich increases the risk of diabetes development, oint extension, pressure sore prevention, and occurrence of muscle spasticity.The use of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) for motion restoration in paralyzed limbs proved to have a potential to provide both functional and therapeutic benefits. Movement restoration by means of FES in patients suffering from SCI has been a subject of research for many years, nevertheless, the number of effective FES systems is still limited. Hence, the aim of this thesis is to investigate solutions which would improve quality of life of people suffering from SCI by restoring the sit-to-stand, transfer from one surface to an other and standing movements that are lost due to SCI. We aim to find a good trade-off between achievable functionality of the FES system and its simplicity in terms of number of required sensors and computational cost and, accordingly, its applicability in clinical practice and daily life of paraplegic individuals. The following contributions have been made.In this thesis, we have investigated the optimal manner for performing the sit-to-stand movement which would reduce arm efforts and muscle fatigue induced by FES has been investigated. Also, we have experimentally validated new closed-loop system for sit-to-stand transfer for needs of a paraplegic person by performing experiments with six paraplegic patients. As part of the strategy of the system, patients were instructed to perform a rising motion in a manner previously calculated as optimal.The benefits from using FES during sitting-pivot-transfer motion in paraplegic patients have been investigated using optimization process and biomechanical modeling of the human body.In this thesis, we have proposes a new solution for control of standing posture in SCI patients by means of FES. The proposed controller enables prolonged standing and it is able to cope with voluntary movements of the patient.The authors find that the results obtained in this thesis are promising and believe that the scientific research should be proceeded in this direction. We also hope to continue the collaboration with medical staff as we strongly believe that through the collaborative work between engineers, clinicians and patients an effective solutions will be found.

[pt] Esta pesquisa analisa a relação entre fé e política no pensamento do teólogo e filósofo dinamarquês Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855), tomando como base a sua obra ético-religiosa Temor e Tremor. A fé e a política, representadas pela união entre Igreja e Estado, foram temas amplamente explorados por Kierkegaard, que considerou essa forma de entrelaçamento como uma traição ao verdadeiro cristianismo. Sua crítica à cristandade assumiu um duplo movimento, atingindo Igreja e Estado, trazendo inevitavelmente à luz a necessidade de uma crítica religiosa dessas relações para o amadurecimento e aprofundamento da reflexão cristã. Entendemos que a obra Temor e Tremor apresenta a fé como um modo existencial de ser no mundo, opondo-se energicamente ao universo cultural, político e religioso do século XIX, encontrado nos círculos de pertencimento social e político do luteranismo dinamarquês. Realizando uma contextualização histórica do protestantismo no século XIX, a pesquisa procura demonstrar a crítica de Kierkegaard à teologia especulativa, concentrando-se em sua singular hermenêutica luterana do cristianismo (a existência cristã em virtude do absurdo), que se confrontou com os desdobramentos ético-políticos da filosofia e teologia hegelianas. A partir destes elementos o trabalho procura elucidar a delicada relação entre fé e política no pensamento religioso de Kierkegaard. / [en] This research analyzes the relationship between faith and politics in the thought of theologian and Danish philosopher Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855), based on their ethical and religious work Fear and Trembling. Faith and politics, represented by the union of church and state, were widely exploited by Kierkegaard themes, which considered this form of interlacing as a betrayal of true Christianity. His criticism of Christianity took a double movement, reaching church and state, inevitably bringing to light the need for a religious critique of these relations for the maturing and deepening of Christian reflection. We understand that the Fear and Trembling presents faith as an existential way of being in the world, vigorously opposing the cultural universe, political and religious nineteenth century, found in the circles of social and political belonging of Danish Lutheranism. Performing a historic contextualization of the Protestantism in the nineteenth century, the research seeks to demonstrate the critical of Kierkegaard to speculative theology, focusing on your unique hermeneutics of the Lutheran Christianity (the Christian life because of the absurd), which was confronted with the unfolding, ethical and political of the philosophy and Hegelian theology. From these elements, the research seeks to elucidate the delicate relationship between faith and politics in the religious thought of Kierkegaard.

Les centres FeS sont un des cofacteurs protéiques majeurs, ils se trouvent aussi bien chez les bactéries que chez les eucaryotes. Ils ont des rôles essentiels de transfert d'électron, liaison de substrat et son activation, régulation d'expression de gènes, donneur de soufre etc. Leur agencement est très varié, allant du centre [2Fe-2S] à l'agrégat plus complexe MoFe7S9X (X = C, N ou O) de la nitrogénase. L'assemblage de ces centres se fait par des machineries protéiques. Nous avons étudié le système ISC (Iron-Sulfur Cluster) chez les bactéries, qui fabrique des centres [2Fe-2S] et [4Fe-4S]. Il est composé des protéines IscS, IscU, IscA, HscA, HscB et d'une ferrédoxine. Deux de ces protéines, IscS, qui est une cystéine désulfurase et IscU, protéine dite échafaudage, sont le cœur de la machinerie puisque IscS apporte le soufre sur la protéine IscU, qui, avec le fer qu'elle aura obtenu d'une autre protéine (non clairement identifiée à ce jour), fabriquera le centre fer-soufre et le transfèrera à une apoprotéine. Nous avons isolé un complexe stable (IscS-D35A-IscU)2 contenant un centre [2Fe-2S] dans des conditions anaérobie. Différentes formes du complexe ont été obtenues et cristallisées afin d'obtenir leurs structures, résolues par remplacement moléculaire. Ces structures nous ont permis de proposer un mécanisme d'assemblage des centres [2Fe-2S] à l'échelle atomique et électronique. Nous avons d'autre part étudié la protéine HmdB probablement impliquée dans la maturation de l'hydrogénase à fer. HmdB fait partie de la superfamille des protéines à radical SAM. Des cristaux de l'apoprotéine ont été obtenus et sa structure a été résolue par remplacement moléculaire. Même si une partie de la structure n'est pas visible du fait de l'absence de centre [4Fe-4S], elle donne une première vue du site actif de la protéine. / FeS clusters are widely used protein cofactors, found both in bacteria and eukaryotes. They play key roles such as electron transfer, substrate binding and activation, regulation of gene expression, sulfur donor etc. They are really various, ranging from the [2Fe-2S] cluster to the more complex MoFe7S9X (X = C, N or O) agregate of nitrogenase. Clusters assembly is carried out by protein machineries. We studied the ISC (Iron-Sulfur Cluster) in bacteria, who assembles [2Fe-2S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters. It is composed of IscS, IscU, IscA, HscA, HscB proteins and a ferredoxin. Two of these proteins: the cysteine desulfurase IscS, and the scaffold protein IscU, represent the core of the machinery as IscS provides sulfur protein on IscU, which, with iron obtained from another protein (not clearly identified to date), assemble the iron-sulfur center. The latter transfers it to an apoprotein. We isolated under anaerobic conditions a stable (IscS-D35A-IscU)2 complex containing a [2Fe-2S] cluster. Different forms of the complex were obtained and their structures were solved by molecular replacement. These structures allowed us to propose a mechanism for the assembly of the [2Fe-2S] clusters at the atomic and electronic levels. We have also studied the HmdB protein, which is proposed to maturate the [Fe]-hydrogenase. HmdB is a member of the radical SAM proteins superfamily. Crystals of the apoprotein were obtained and its structure was solved by molecular replacement. Although part of the structure is not visible due to the absence of the [4Fe-4S] cluster, this structure gives a first view of the active site of the protein.