In this thesis, we emphasized on fabrication and anlysis of 1/4 and 1/2 £f mode solidly mounted resonators. First, the reactive RF magnetron sputter used to deposit the highly c-axis-oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric films under different parameters. The various c-axis tilt angle also used it by altering the distance between substrate and target to investigate the characteristics. To accomplish the two modes of different pairs of Bragg reflector, the RF/DC sputter system is adopted alternating layers of quarter-wavelength Mo and SiO2 thin films by different sequence. Finally, depositing the highly c-axis-oriented AlN on reflectors to complete the 1/4 and 1/2 £f mode SMR. The AlN thin film achieve a very low roughness of 1.783nm under AFM measurement, the FWHM of XRD(002) peak is 3.507¢Xand SEM images also exhibit a highly oriented c-axis structure. The optimum frequency responses of 1/2 £f mode SMR is obtained with return loss of -57.23dB at 4 pairs reflectors,which for 1/4 £f mode SMR is -30.68dB at 3 pairs. The maximum electromechanical coupling coefficient (Kt2) of 1/2 £f mode SMR is 7.88%, but the quality factor (Q) of 1/4 £f mode SMR is 4231.29.

Η έκφραση του ογκογονιδίου ets-2 δρα κατασταλτικά στην έκφραση του γονιδίου της ιντερλευκίνης-2 καθώς και στην έκφραση του ιού HIV-1 στα παρθενικά Τ λεμφοκύτταρα. / -

The genomic integrity of a cell is constantly being pressured by both intrinsic and extrinsic forces. Cell cycle checkpoints exist to protect the cells by arresting cell cycle progression in response to DNA damage or replication stress. It has been shown that the interaction between the checkpoint proteins Rad9A and TopBP1 is a crucial upstream event required for the ATR-dependent checkpoint response to DNA damage, which can be activated throughout different points in the cell cycle. The Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (BiFC) technique has recently emerged as a simple and effective tool for analyzing protein-protein interactions in live cell cultures. By fusing complementary fragments of fluorescent proteins to proteins of interest, one can visualize protein-protein interactions through the formation of a mature fluorophore from these fragments. In the current work, the BiFC assay system was employed to study the interaction between TopBP1 and Rad9A; the human homologue of fission yeast Rad9. BiFC vectors expressing TopBP1, Rad9A, and the Rad9A-S387 mutant were constructed and optimized for transfection in HeLa cells. It was shown that the BiFC fusion protein of Rad9A lacked phosphorylation on its constitutive S387 site, although it retained its upstream damage dependent S272 phosphorylation after IR treatment. BiFC signals could be detected in cells containing the BiFC fusion proteins of Rad9A and TopBP1 using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry techniques. However, the signals could not be distinguished from that of the negative control samples. Our results suggest a possibility that our BiFC fusion proteins of interest interact in a non-specific manner, although further characterization is required to confirm this. The BiFC assay employed in this project must be further optimized to effectively study the interaction between Rad9A and TopBP1, as well as other checkpoint proteins. However, this study has given us great insight into the implementation of this new BiFC technique for studying protein interactions in the context of cell cycle proteins, and the knowledge gained from this study will be invaluable for future work. / Thesis (Master, Biochemistry) -- Queen's University, 2009-12-17 12:42:06.717

Nesfatin-1 is an eighty two amino acid long peptide cleaved from the N-terminal of its precursor protein, nucleobindin-2 (NUCB2). In addition to its metabolic actions, nesfatin-1 is also involved in modulating cardiovascular functions in rodents. Intracereberoventricular injection of nesfatin-1 increased mean arterial pressure in rats. In rats, nesfatin-1 acts as a post-conditioning agent and elicits cardioprotection against ischemia-reperfusion injury. It also affects the contraction and relaxation of the heart in rats in a dose dependent manner. Nesfatin-1 is emerging as a regulator of cardiovascular functions in rodents. However, whether nesfatin-1 regulates the cardiovascular system of non-mammals remain unknown. We hypothesized that nesfatin-1 is a modulator of cardiovascular functions in zebrafish. Here we characterized endogenous nesfatin-1 in zebrafish heart, and its effects on zebrafish cardiovascular physiology. We found that zebrafish cardiomyocytes express NUCB2 mRNA and nesfatin-1-like immunoreactivity. While NUCB2 mRNA was lower in unfed fish at 1 hour post-regular feeding time compared to the fish at 0 hour time point, it was observed that chronic food deprivation did not alter NUCB2 mRNA expression in zebrafish heart. Ultrasound imaging of zebrafish heart at 15 minutes post-intraperitoneal injection of nesfatin-1 (50 ng/g, 250 ng/g and 500 ng/g body weight) showed a dose-dependent inhibition of end-diastolic volume, but not end-systolic volume, while a significant increase in end-diastolic volume was found at the lowest dosage. However, these combined effects did not alter the stroke volume. A dose dependent decrease in heart rate and cardiac output was observed in zebrafish that received nesfatin-1. Nesfatin-1 caused a significant increase in the expression of Atp2a2a mRNA encoding the calcium-handling pump, SERCA2a, while it has no effects on the expression of calcium handling protein RyR1b encoding mRNA. NUCB2 mRNA and NUCB2/nesfatin-1 like immunoreactivity was detected in the cytoplasm of mouse HL-1 cardiomyocytes. High glucose increased NUCB2 mRNA expression in HL-1 cells. Genes involved in apoptosis, including Akt1, Caspases 1, 2, 3, and TNF were upregulated in the presence of 10 nM nesfatin-1. We also observed that NUCB2 mRNA expression was significantly increased in C57BL/6 mice heart in the presence of high glucose, whereas in diet induced obese C57BL/6 mice, NUCB2 mRNA expression was not altered. Together, our data supports the hypothesis that nesfatin-1 is expressed in the cardiovascular system of mouse and fish, and that nesfatin-1 modulates cardiovascular physiology in zebrafish.

Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) will revolutionize how the public accesses emergency services and will alter the technological landscape within which existing public safety agencies operate. A lack of systematic methodologies exists for quality control of the required geospatial data layers for NG 9-1-1 systems. The primary objective of this study was to develop and systematize a highly accurate NG 9-1-1 GIS database for Counties of Southern Illinois (CSI). The project goals included mapping relevant geospatial data layers required by and based on NENA standard data formats; conducting data quality control and standardization; and providing standardized spatial datasets for NG 9-1-1 to relevant stakeholders. The approach was developed using a conceptual model for error and uncertainty analysis of the GIS-based NG 9-1-1 system. This included the identification of various sources of input uncertainties often associated with spatial data layers; modeling the accumulation and propagation of errors; analyzing their impact on the quality of the spatial data layers; and correcting the errors. Modeling uncertainty propagation focused on positional errors and was conducted through a simulation procedure. The results showed that the original spatial datasets possessed a large account of uncertainties, especially location errors of railroads and roads. The errors had different sources, including input map errors, the use of different map projection and coordinate systems, a lack of topological structures, etc. In addition, they varied from county to county. From the error propagation simulation, it was also found that the location errors measured as root mean square error (RMSE) fluctuated when the perturbed distance of the ground control points (GCP) was less than 15 m. After that, the RMSE increased as the perturbed distance of GCPs increased. This relationship was significantly linear. In addition, the location errors from railroads were larger than those from roads.

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio (fiscina@bahia.fiocruz.br) on 2012-08-31T17:46:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Thessika Hialla Almeida Araujo Desenvolvimento de um banco de dados HTLV-1....pdf: 1454472 bytes, checksum: 665a7044bdf71c54637b51f71b0d6527 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-08-31T17:46:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Thessika Hialla Almeida Araujo Desenvolvimento de um banco de dados HTLV-1....pdf: 1454472 bytes, checksum: 665a7044bdf71c54637b51f71b0d6527 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, Bahia, Brasil / As pesquisas biológicas geram uma grande quantidade de informações que devem ser armazenadas e gerenciadas, permitindo que os usuários tenham acesso a dados completos sobre o tema de interesse. O volume de dados não relacionados gerados nas pesquisas com HTLV-1 justifica a criação de um Banco de dados que contenha o maior número de informações sobre o vírus, seus aspectos epidemiológicos, para que possam estabelecer melhores relações sobre infecção, patogênese, origem e principalmente, evolução. Os dados foram obtidos a partir de pesquisa no GENBANK, em artigos relacionados e diretamente com os autores dos dados. O banco de dados foi desenvolvido utilizando o Apache Webserver 2.1.6 e o SGBD – MySQL. A webpage foi desenvolvida em HTML a escrita em PHP. Atualmente temos cadastradas 2435 sequências, sendo que 1968 (80,8%) representam diferentes isolados. Em relação ao status clínico, o banco de dados tem informação de 40,49% das sequências, no qual 43%, 18,69%, 32,7%, 5,61% são TSP/HAM, ATL, assintomático e outras doenças, respectivamente. Quanto ao gênero e idade tem-se informação de 15,4% e 10,56% respectivamente. O HTLV-1 Molecular Epidemiology Database está hospedado no servidor do Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz/FIOCRUZ-BA com acesso em http://htlv1db.bahia.fiocruz.br/, sendo um repositório de sequências do HTLV-1 com informações clínicas, epidemiológicas e geográficas. Esta base de dados dará apoio às investigações clínicas e pesquisas para desenvolvimento de vacinas. / Scientific development has generated a large amount of data that should be stored and managed in order for researchers to have access to complete data sets. Information generated from research on HTLV-1 warrants the design of databases to aggregate data from a range of epidemiological aspects. This database would support further research on HTLV-1 viral infections, pathogenesis, origins, and evolutionary dynamics. All data was obtained from publications available at GenBank or through contact with the authors. The database was developed using the Apache Webserver 2.1.6 and SGBD MySQL. The webpage interfaces were developed in HTML and sever-side scripting written in PHP. There are currently 2,435 registered sequences with 1,968 (80.8%) of those sequences representing different isolates. Of these sequences, 40.49% are related to clinical status (TSP/HAM, 43%, ATLL, 18.69%, asymptomatic, 32.7%, and other diseases, 5.61%). Further, 15.4% of sequences contain information on patient gender while 10.56% of sequences provide the age of the patient. The HTLV-1 Molecular Epidemiology Database is hosted on the Gonçalo Moniz/FIOCRUZ-BA research center server with access at http://htlv1db.bahia.fiocruz.br/. Here, we have developed a repository of HTLV-1 genetic sequences from clinical, epidemiological, and geographical studies. This database will support clinical research and vaccine development related to viral genotype.

Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(工学) / 乙第12494号 / 論工博第4048号 / 新制||工||1503(附属図書館) / 28244 / (主査)教授 村上 正浩, 教授 杉野目 道紀, 教授 濵地 格 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当

The main objective of this thesis is to examine the dependency structure among different agricultural and energy commodity markets in the United States. For achieving this goal, the paper makes use of the Copula-GARCH(1,1) model to study the financial return volatility and the co-movement between pair of commodities including corn, soybean and gasoline over the pre-COVID 19 pandemic period (from 01-01-2018 to 01-01-2020) and the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic period (from 01-01-2020 to 01-04-2021). First, the study has shown that the time-dependent volatilities of commodity returns display volatility clustering effect in the two periods and the volatility of volatility of commodity markets is higher during the pandemic period. Second, it is observed that the correlations among different commodities have increased significantly in the ongoing pandemic period and we also find that the strongest co-movement is between returns of corn and soybean over the two periods. Finally, the results suggest that the (extreme) co-movements between agricultural commodities (corn and soybean) are governed by symmetry; that is they tend to boom and crash together during extreme shocks or events. On the other hand, the (extreme) co-movements between an agricultural commodity (corn or soybean) and the energy commodity (gas) appear to co-move asymmetrically and they tend to experience the market crash together but not the market boom.

Tesis entregada a la Universidad de Chile en cumplimiento parcial de los requisitos para optar al grado de Doctor en Ciencias, mención Microbiología. / El virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana de tipo 1 (VIH-1) es un gran problema de salud a nivel mundial. Durante años se ha estudiado su ciclo replicativo con el objeto de generar estrategias que permitan inhibir su multiplicación. Se ha descrito que el virus genera tres clases de transcritos, de 2-, 4- y 9-kb, los cuales son producidos mediante corte y empalme alternativo. El transcrito de 9-kb, o ARN mensajero completo (ARNmc), es traducido por la maquinaria celular para producir las poliproteínas estructurales Gag y Gag-Pol. El ARNmc ha sido foco de especial interés debido a los mecanismos no convencionales que utiliza para asegurar su expresión, entre los cuales destacan su exportación nuclear y traducción. Mientras la exportación nuclear está regulada por la proteína viral Rev y la carioferina celular CRM1, se ha descrito que el ARNmc puede ser traducido por mecanismos que son dependientes e independientes de la estructura cap presente en el extremo 5´. Este proyecto se enfocó en estudiar el rol de dos componentes del complejo nuclear de unión a cap (CBP80 y CTIF) en la síntesis de la proteína estructural Gag a partir del ARNmc de VIH-1. En este trabajo, mostramos que CBP80 estimula la síntesis de Gag mediante la estimulación de la acumulación del ARNmc en el citoplasma y un aumento de la eficiencia de la traducción, esto en un mecanismo que es dependiente de Rev. También observamos que el factor CTIF, a diferencia de CBP80, inhibe la síntesis de Gag, principalmente impidiendo la traducción del ARNmc. Nuestros resultados señalan que CTIF, a través de su dominio Nterminal, impide la asociación entre CBP80 y Rev, que sería relevante para la traducción del ARNmc e induce la acumulación de esta proteína viral en el citoplasma celular. Finalmente, observamos que el efecto inhibitorio producido por CTIF es conservado en VIH-2, pero no en el virus de la leucemia murina (MLV). / Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a major health problem worldwide. The replication cycle of the virus has been studied for several years with the aim of generate strategies to interfere with its multiplication. It has been described that the virus produces three different classes of transcripts of 2-, 4-, and 9-kb in size, which are generated by alternative splicing. The 9-kb transcript or full-length unspliced mRNA (usmRNA) is translated to generate the structural polyproteins Gag and Gag-Pol. The usmRNA has been a focus of special interest from many years due to its ability to exploit non-conventional mechanisms of nuclear export and translation to ensure its expression. As such, while nuclear export is regulated by the viral protein Rev and the cellular karyopherin CRM1, it has also been described that the usmRNA is translated by cap-dependent and cap-independent mechanisms. The goal of this project was to study the role of two components of the nuclear cap-binding complex (CBP80 and CTIF) on the synthesis of the structural protein Gag from the usmRNA of HIV-1. In this work, we show that CBP80 stimulates the synthesis of Gag by stimulating the accumulation of the usmRNA in the cytoplasm as well as by an increasing the efficiency of translation, all this in a Rev-dependent mechanism. We also observed that the CBC co-factor CTIF, unlike CBP80, inhibits the synthesis of Gag, mainly preventing the translation of the usmRNA. Our results indicate that CTIF, through its N-terminal domain, prevents the association between CBP80 and Rev, which would be relevant for the translation of the usmRNA. We also observed that CTIF induced the accumulation of Rev in the cellular cytoplasm. Finally, we observed that the inhibitory effect of CTIF is conserved in HIV-2, but not in the murine leukemia virus (MLV).

No description available.