A citometria de fluxo é um método preciso, rápido e eficaz na avaliação de múltiplos parâmetros celulares, tanto estruturais como funcionais, propiciando a separação e o estudo de diferentes populações e sub-populações de células. No presente estudo, foram empregados métodos citométricos para caracterização dos diferentes tipos celulares sangüíneos de Centropomus parallelus, assim como para verificação da viabilidade celular, avaliação da atividade fagocítica e ativação do burst respiratório. Foram identificadas três sub-populações representativas de leucócitos: linfócitos, monócitos e trombócitos. Estas células foram estimuladas, in vitro, com Staphylococcus aureus, marcado com iodeto de propídeo (SAPI), lipopolissacarídeo de Escherichia coli (LPS) e zymosan, partículas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As respostas frente aos estímulos foram distintas de acordo com o tipo celular e o estímulo apresentado. Os monócitos apresentaram maiores percentuais de fagocitose frente ao estímulo provocado pela SAPI e pelo Zymosan; já a população que continha trombócitos entre outros tipos celulares (por exemplo: linfócitos), apresentou \"fagocitose\" significativa apenas para SAPI. O burst oxidativo detectado pela fluorescência emitida pelo diacetato 2´7´diclorofluoresceína (DCFH) foi significativo apenas quando estimulado com PMA (miristato-acetato de forbol), não apresentando resposta estatisticamente significante para os estímulos SAPI e LPS. Após a exposição ao naftaleno nas concentrações 10-3, 10-6, 10-9 M durante quatro horas, in vitro, houve um aumento na fagocitose realizado pelos monócitos e trombócitos, porém uma diminuição no burst oxidativo apresentado nas concentrações 10-6 e 10-9 M de naftaleno. Este resultado reflete, in vitro, uma resposta ao contaminante com significado imunológico desfavorável para o peixe, já que as células estão aumentando a atividade fagocítica sem conseguirem, teoricamente, destruir o agente invasor. A partir desses resultados preliminares, podemos avaliar melhor, algumas características da resposta imune inata desta espécie de peixe, presente na costa litorânea brasileira. Estes parâmetros imunofisiológicos podem servir como base para futuros estudos ecotoxicológicos tanto em laboratório mas também a campo. Estudos que utilizam a imunidade inata como indicador biológico de alterações ambientais causadas por poluentes diversos, podem evidenciar o grau de impacto toxicológico sobre esta espécie e agregar valor a sua importância econômica e ecológica. / Flow cytometry is a precise, fast, and effective method for the evaluation of several cellular parameters, both structural and functional, allowing the sorting and analysis of particular populations and sub-populations of cells. In this study, we employed cytometric methods on the caractherization of different blood cell types from Centropomus parallelus, and also verified cell viability, phagocytic activity and oxidative burst in these cells. Three sub-populations were identified: lymphocytes, monocytes, and trombocytes. These cells were stimulated in vitro with propidium iodide-conjugated Staphylococcus aureus (SAPI), Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or zymosan (Saccharomyces cerevisae particles). Responses to each individual stimulus differed according to cell type. Monocytes displayed the higher percentages of phagocytosis in presence of SAPI or zymosan; on the other hand, the population that included trombocytes, among other cell types (such as lymphocytes) only performed phagocytosis in a relevant level in the presence of SAPI. The oxidative burst, detected by fluorescence emitted by 2´7´dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH) was significant only after stimulation with PMA (phorbol myristate-acetate), but not when the stimulus was SAPI or LPS. Based on these preliminary results, the innate immune response in these animals (ubiquitous coastal waters of the Brazilian shore) can be further evaluated. Immunophysiological parameters in these species can build a solid ground for future ecotoxicological studies. Approaching innate immunity as a biological indicator of environmental changes induced by pollutants may support the degree of toxicological impact over these animals, and aggregate value to its current ecological and economical importance.

No description available.

Mit Hilfe der Rastertunnelmikroskopie (STM, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy) und Tunnelspektroskopie (STS, Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy) wurden in situ das Ordnungsverhalten und die elektronischen Eigenschaften verschiedener alkylsubstituierter, polyzyklischer Aromaten (PAHs, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) an der Grenzfläche zwischen organischer Lösung und der Basalfläche von Graphit untersucht. Die Anzahl der pro Molekül vorhandenen pi-konjugierten Kohlenstoffatome reicht von 42 (Hexabenzocoronen, HBC) bis 114. Zusätzliche Informationen zur Struktur der geordneten Systeme lieferten kraftfeldbasierte Molekülsimulationen. Die molekularen Systeme bilden durch Adsorption und Selbstaggregation hochgeordnete Monolagen auf der Graphitoberfläche aus, wobei die polyzyklischen Kohlenstoffstrukturen der aromatischen Bereiche wie das darunter liegende Graphitgitter orientiert und die Molekülkristalle kommensurabel mit dem Substrat sind. Die peripheren Alkylketten sind nicht notwendigerweise an der Adsorption auf dem Graphitgitter beteiligt. Dies führt in bestimmten Fällen zu hexagonalen Anordnungen der HBC-Moleküle. Periodische Helligkeitsmodulationen im Tunnelbild der Aromaten werden über unterschiedliche Adsorptionspositionen auf dem Substrat erklärt, die in regelmäßiger Weise durch die molekularen Spezies eingenommen werden. In vielen Fällen ist die Adsorption nicht auf Monolagen begrenzt. Attraktive pi--pi-Wechselwirkungen zwischen den Aromaten werden als Ursache für die Stapelung der Moleküle angeführt. Es besteht die Vermutung, dass auch ein signifikanter Überlapp von Orbitalen vorhanden ist. Folglich wird der an der Grenzfläche zum Graphit existierende molekulare Ordnungszustand auf die zusätzlich adsorbierenden Schichten übertragen. Die Beobachtung nichtperiodischer Kontrastmodulationen wird auf kleinste Unterschiede in den Stapelweisen der Aromaten zurückgeführt, die zu Unterschieden in den elektronischen Eigenschaften führen. Hochaufgelöste STM-Bilder zeigen verschiedene Punktmuster und Streifen innerhalb der aromatischen Bereiche einzelner Moleküle. Diese Muster können nicht direkt der elektronischen Struktur der Aromaten zugeordnet werden. Sie werden vielmehr als Ergebnis einer Faltung der elektronischen Eigenschaften von Substrat und Adsorbat betrachtet. Zwei der Punktmuster, die für ein HBC-Derivat beobachtet wurden und abhängig von der Anzahl der pro Aromatenstapel involvierten Moleküle sind, konnten als sqrt(3) x sqrt(3) R 30°- bzw. als 2 x 2 -Überstruktur des Graphits beschrieben werden. Die STS-Experimente waren auf die Aufnahme lokaler I(U)-Kennlinien gerichtet. Die Aromaten weisen eine asymmetrische I(U)-Charakteristik auf, die Ähnlichkeiten mit dem Kennlinienverlauf einer Diode zeigt. Die Asymmetrie wird durch resonantes Tunneln über das HOMO bei negativen Probenspannungen erklärt. Die Verstärkung der Asymmetrie mit zunehmender Größe des Aromaten wird durch den kleiner werdenden energetischen Abstand zwischen HOMO und Fermi-Niveau des Graphits verursacht. / Self-assembled structures and electronic properties of alkylsubstituted, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at the solid liquid interface between a solution and the basal plane of graphite have been studied in situ by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). The number of pi-conjugated carbon atoms per investigated molecular species ranges from 42 (hexabenzocoronene, HBC) to 114. Supplementary structural information was obtained by forcefield based simulations. Upon adsorption and self-assembly, the molecules form ordered monolayers on the graphite surface. Predominantely, the polycyclic carbon structures of the aromatic moieties exhibit the same orientation as the underlying graphite lattice and the molecular lattices are commensurate with the substrate. The peripheral alkyl chains do not necessarily adsorb on the substrate which leads to hexagonal packings of the HBCs in some cases. Periodic contrast modulations of the aromatic moieties in the STM images are attributed to different adsorption sites on the graphite lattice. These different positions are occupied by the molecules in a regular way. In many cases, the adsorption is not limited to monolayers. It is proposed that the stacking is governed by pi--pi-interactions between the aromatic regions including a significant overlap of orbitals. As a consequence, the molecular order from the solid liquid interface is transferred to the additionally adsorbing layers. Nonperiodic contrast modulations indicate slight differences in the stacking giving rise to modified electronic properties. Highly resolved STM images show different dot patterns and stripes within the aromatic region of single molecules. These patterns do not directly stem from the electronic structure of the aromatic species. Instead, they are rather explained by a convolution of the electronic properties of both, substrate and adsorbate. Two of the dot patterns observed for an HBC derivative could be described as sqrt(3) x sqrt(3) R 30°- and as 2 x 2 -superstructure of the graphite lattice, respectively, depending on the number of stacked molecules. STS involved the measurement of I(U)-curves at specific locations. The curves of the aromatic moieties exhibit an asymmetric, diode like behavior explained by resonant tunneling via the HOMO at negative substrate voltages. The asymmetry is enhanced with increasing size of the aromatic moiety. This is due to the reduced distance between the HOMO and the graphite Fermi level for the larger PAHs.

A number of novel hydrocarbon cage systems have been designed and characterized using ab initio molecular orbital calculations at the MP2 and B3-LYP levels. In particular,equilibrium structures for five families of molecules, hemialkaplanes, hemispiroalkaplanes, alkaplanes, spiroalkaplanes and dimethanospiroalkaplanes, have been examined in detail with the aim of designing a saturated hydrocarbon with a planar-tetracoordinate carbon atom and with a view to identifying appropriate synthetic targets. ¶ The hemialkaplanes and hemispiroalkaplanes are constructed from a spiropentane or neopentane subunit, respectively, which is capped by a cyclic hydrocarbon. The hemispiroalkaplanes are predicted to contain a pyramidal-tetracoordinate carbon atom possessing a lone pair of electrons. Protonation at this apical carbon atom is found to be highly favorable, resulting in a remarkably high basicity for a saturated hydrocarbon. The proton affinities of the hemispiroalkaplanes are calculated to be more than 1170 kJ mol[superscript -1] , even greater than those for the diamine "proton sponges". ¶ The alkaplanes and the spiroalkaplanes, which are constructed by bicapping a neopentane or spiropentane subunit, respectively, with a pair of cyclic hydrocarbons, show unprecedented flattening of a tetracoordinate carbon atom. Linking the spiroalkaplane caps with methano bridges gives the dimethanospiroalkaplanes, two of which, dimethanospirooctaplane and dimethanospirobinonaplane, achieve exact planarity at the central carbon atom. They are the first neutral saturated hydrocarbons predicted to contain an exactly planartetracoordinate carbon atom. This has been achieved through structural constraints alone. The electronic structure at the central carbon atom results in a highest occupied molecular orbital corresponding to a p-type lone pair. Consequently, the adiabatic ionization energies for octaplane, spirooctaplane and dimethanospirooctaplane (approximately 5 eV) are predicted to be similar to those of lithium and sodium - incredibly low for a saturated hydrocarbon. ¶ Some consideration has been given to likely pathways for unimolecular decomposition for all species. Predicted structures, heats of formation and strain energies for all the novel hydrocarbons are also detailed. Tetramethylhemispirooctaplane and dimethanospirobinonaplane are identified as the preferred synthetic targets.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants that can be modified to oxygenated PAH (oxyPAHs) derivatives. It is well known that oxyPAHs tend to be much more reactive than their parent compounds. Toxicity can be attributed to direct interaction with target molecules or generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Metals are another class of contaminant found ubiquitously throughout the environment. Some metals are toxic at levels below the 1:1 ratio predicted by the biotic ligand model and are thought to manifest toxicity through ROS generation. Often metals and PAHs occur as co-contaminants in industrialized environments, yet little is known about their potential co-toxicity or mechanisms of action in mammalian reproductive function. Previously, we described that a PAH, 9, 10-phenanthrenequinone (PHEQ), inhibited LH-stimulated progesterone secretion in dispersed rat corpus luteal (CL) cells (Nykamp et al., 2001). Viability was decreased in CL cells exposed to PHEQ and 1,2-dihydroxy-anthraquinone (1,2-dhATQ), but not their parent compounds phenanthrene (PHE) or anthracene (ANT). Similarly, LH-stimulated progesterone production in CL cells was inhibited by PHEQ and 1,2-dhATQ, but not PHE. Further investigation revealed that PHEQ, but not PHE, ANT nor 1,2-dhATQ generated ROS in CL cells. Viability experiments were repeated using the choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-3 with similar results. Various metals were assessed for their toxicity to both CL and JEG-3 cells. The endpoints used to measure viability were metabolic activity and membrane integrity. In general, metabolic activity was a more sensitive indicator of toxicity than membrane integrity. The order of toxicity for metals in CL cells was Hg2+ > Cd2+ > Zn2+ > Ni2+ > Cu2+ for metabolic activity and Hg2+ ≈ Zn2+ > Cd2+ > Cu2+ > Ni2+ for membrane integrity. Only Hg2+ and Cu2+ were tested in JEG-3 cells. While Cu2+ was non-toxic, EC50s for Hg2+ metabolic activity and membrane integrity were 20 mM and 23 mM, respectively. Experiments were designed to study the mixtures of metals and PAHs on viability, ROS production, and LH-stimulated progesterone production in CL cells. Mixtures of each metal with either PHEQ or 1,2-dhATQ were incubated with CL cells and their effect on metabolic activity and membrane integrity assessed. Generally, most metal/oxyPAH mixtures displayed only additive toxicity. However, mixtures of Cu2+ and PHEQ showed synergistic toxicity to both metabolic activity and membrane integrity. Mixture studies in JEG-3 cells used only combinations of Cu2+ or Hg2+ with PHEQ or 1,2-dhATQ. Similar results to metabolic activity and membrane integrity in CL cells were observed. Mixtures of Cu2+ and PHEQ or 1,2-dhATQ were tested in CL cells for their effect on LH-stimulated progesterone secretion and ROS production. Additive effects were observed in both LH-stimulated progesterone secretion and ROS production for Cu2+/1,2-dhATQ mixtures while synergistic effects for both parameters were seen with Cu2+/PHEQ. Efforts to determine the site of action for mixtures of Cu2+/PHEQ involved adding the cholesterol analogue, 22-OH cholesterol (22-OHC) to CL cells in the absence of LH. Cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (CYP450scc) enzyme operates constitutively and the addition of 22-OHC to CL cells resulting in a 5-fold increase in progesterone production without added LH. Kinetic assays with 22-OHC show that while progesterone secretion was inhibited with PHEQ addition alone, a further significant reduction with both Cu2+ and PHEQ was not observed. The use of forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase, did not show any significant enhancement of progesterone secretion with the addition of Cu2+/PHEQ compared to PHEQ alone. The potential targets of Cu2+/PHEQ mixture include any step in the steroidogenic cascade from activation of protein kinase A onward with the proteins of the mitochondria, cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, being the most likely. Differential display polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) was a molecular approach taken to determine the effect of PHEQ on JEG-3 gene expression. The genes whose expression appeared to be up-regulated with PHEQ exposure were serine protease inhibitor, Alu repeat sequence, heterogeneous ribonuclear ribonucleoprotein C (hnRNP C), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3), nucleoporin-like protein, eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1a1 (eEF1 a 1), autophagy-linked FYVE domain (Alfy), spectrin, and proteasome. Apparent down-regulated genes in JEG-3 cells after PHEQ exposure included poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 10 (PARP10), polyglutamine binding protein-1 (PQBP-1), heterogeneous ribonuclear ribonucleoprotein C (hnRNP C), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A), and keratin. In both cell types, oxyPAHs were more toxic than their parent compounds. Metals showed greater toxicity to metabolic activity than to membrane integrity. Of the combinations tested, only PHEQ and Cu2+ exhibited synergistic toxicity. ROS generation was the likely mechanism behind PHEQ/Cu2+ toxicity. Both cell types used represent critical roles in human reproductive health. The proper production of progesterone, a critical hormone for the maintenance of pregnancy in mammals, represents a unique endpoint for the assessment of toxicity. These results illustrate the need to study modified oxyPAHs, metals and metal/oxyPAH mixtures for their potential impact on human reproductive health.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants that can be modified to oxygenated PAH (oxyPAHs) derivatives. It is well known that oxyPAHs tend to be much more reactive than their parent compounds. Toxicity can be attributed to direct interaction with target molecules or generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Metals are another class of contaminant found ubiquitously throughout the environment. Some metals are toxic at levels below the 1:1 ratio predicted by the biotic ligand model and are thought to manifest toxicity through ROS generation. Often metals and PAHs occur as co-contaminants in industrialized environments, yet little is known about their potential co-toxicity or mechanisms of action in mammalian reproductive function. Previously, we described that a PAH, 9, 10-phenanthrenequinone (PHEQ), inhibited LH-stimulated progesterone secretion in dispersed rat corpus luteal (CL) cells (Nykamp et al., 2001). Viability was decreased in CL cells exposed to PHEQ and 1,2-dihydroxy-anthraquinone (1,2-dhATQ), but not their parent compounds phenanthrene (PHE) or anthracene (ANT). Similarly, LH-stimulated progesterone production in CL cells was inhibited by PHEQ and 1,2-dhATQ, but not PHE. Further investigation revealed that PHEQ, but not PHE, ANT nor 1,2-dhATQ generated ROS in CL cells. Viability experiments were repeated using the choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-3 with similar results. Various metals were assessed for their toxicity to both CL and JEG-3 cells. The endpoints used to measure viability were metabolic activity and membrane integrity. In general, metabolic activity was a more sensitive indicator of toxicity than membrane integrity. The order of toxicity for metals in CL cells was Hg2+ > Cd2+ > Zn2+ > Ni2+ > Cu2+ for metabolic activity and Hg2+ ≈ Zn2+ > Cd2+ > Cu2+ > Ni2+ for membrane integrity. Only Hg2+ and Cu2+ were tested in JEG-3 cells. While Cu2+ was non-toxic, EC50s for Hg2+ metabolic activity and membrane integrity were 20 mM and 23 mM, respectively. Experiments were designed to study the mixtures of metals and PAHs on viability, ROS production, and LH-stimulated progesterone production in CL cells. Mixtures of each metal with either PHEQ or 1,2-dhATQ were incubated with CL cells and their effect on metabolic activity and membrane integrity assessed. Generally, most metal/oxyPAH mixtures displayed only additive toxicity. However, mixtures of Cu2+ and PHEQ showed synergistic toxicity to both metabolic activity and membrane integrity. Mixture studies in JEG-3 cells used only combinations of Cu2+ or Hg2+ with PHEQ or 1,2-dhATQ. Similar results to metabolic activity and membrane integrity in CL cells were observed. Mixtures of Cu2+ and PHEQ or 1,2-dhATQ were tested in CL cells for their effect on LH-stimulated progesterone secretion and ROS production. Additive effects were observed in both LH-stimulated progesterone secretion and ROS production for Cu2+/1,2-dhATQ mixtures while synergistic effects for both parameters were seen with Cu2+/PHEQ. Efforts to determine the site of action for mixtures of Cu2+/PHEQ involved adding the cholesterol analogue, 22-OH cholesterol (22-OHC) to CL cells in the absence of LH. Cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (CYP450scc) enzyme operates constitutively and the addition of 22-OHC to CL cells resulting in a 5-fold increase in progesterone production without added LH. Kinetic assays with 22-OHC show that while progesterone secretion was inhibited with PHEQ addition alone, a further significant reduction with both Cu2+ and PHEQ was not observed. The use of forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase, did not show any significant enhancement of progesterone secretion with the addition of Cu2+/PHEQ compared to PHEQ alone. The potential targets of Cu2+/PHEQ mixture include any step in the steroidogenic cascade from activation of protein kinase A onward with the proteins of the mitochondria, cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, being the most likely. Differential display polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) was a molecular approach taken to determine the effect of PHEQ on JEG-3 gene expression. The genes whose expression appeared to be up-regulated with PHEQ exposure were serine protease inhibitor, Alu repeat sequence, heterogeneous ribonuclear ribonucleoprotein C (hnRNP C), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3), nucleoporin-like protein, eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1a1 (eEF1 a 1), autophagy-linked FYVE domain (Alfy), spectrin, and proteasome. Apparent down-regulated genes in JEG-3 cells after PHEQ exposure included poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 10 (PARP10), polyglutamine binding protein-1 (PQBP-1), heterogeneous ribonuclear ribonucleoprotein C (hnRNP C), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A), and keratin. In both cell types, oxyPAHs were more toxic than their parent compounds. Metals showed greater toxicity to metabolic activity than to membrane integrity. Of the combinations tested, only PHEQ and Cu2+ exhibited synergistic toxicity. ROS generation was the likely mechanism behind PHEQ/Cu2+ toxicity. Both cell types used represent critical roles in human reproductive health. The proper production of progesterone, a critical hormone for the maintenance of pregnancy in mammals, represents a unique endpoint for the assessment of toxicity. These results illustrate the need to study modified oxyPAHs, metals and metal/oxyPAH mixtures for their potential impact on human reproductive health.

Hydrogen is considered to be the most promising energy carrier of the 21st century due to its high energy density and sustainability. The chemical energy of hydrogen can be directly converted into electricity by means of electrochemical devices called fuel cells. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are the most preferred type of fuel cells due to their low operating temperatures enabling fast and easy start-ups and quick responses to load changes. One of the most important components of a PEMFC is the proton conducting membrane. The current membrane technology is based on perfluorosulfonic acid membranes and the most common one being Nafion. Although these membranes have good thermal and chemical stability, mechanical strength and high proton conductivities, they tend to dehydrate very fast at high temperatures and low relative humidity leading to poor fuel cell performances. Moreover, the high manufacturing cost of these membranes limits the mass-production of PEMFC&amp / #8217 / s in near future. The aim of this study is to develop alternative PEMFC membranes that have sufficient thermal and chemical stability, mechanical strength and comparable proton conductivity and fuel cell performances with Nafion membranes at relatively low cost. In this context, organic-inorganic composite membranes and blends were developed. A relatively cheap and commercially available polymer, polyether ether ketone, (PEEK), was chosen as the membrane matrix for its high thermal and mechanical stability and improvable proton conductivity via post-sulfonation. The proton conductivity of SPEEK membrane (at DS 68%) was 0.06 S/cm at 60&deg / C, and this conductivity was further increased to 0.13 S/cm with the introduction of zeolite beta crystals as inorganic fillers. The conductivity of a SPEEK blend (25wt% SPES-75wt% SPEEK) membrane was 0.08 S/cm at 90&deg / C. In PEMFC performance tests, 397 mA/cm2 was obtained for SPEEK membrane (DS 56%) at 0.6V for a H2/O2 PEMFC working at 1 atm and 80&deg / C. This result is promising when compared to the performance of Nafion 112&reg / of 660mA/cm2 under same conditions. These results are welcomed since the target for commercially viable alternate membranes are reached.

The aim of this thesis is to develop a methodology for detection of naturally occurring offshore oil slicks originating from hydrocarbon seeps using satellite remote sensing techniques. In this scope, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery has been utilized. Case study area was Andrusov High in the Central Black Sea. Hydrocarbon seepage from tectonic or stratigraphic origin at the sea floor causes oily gas plumes to rise up to the sea surface. They form thin oil films on the sea surface called oil slicks. Presence of seeps and surface oil slicks for the offshore basins is a trace of depleted oil traps. Spatial distribution of oil slicks is closely related to sea waves, dominant wind patterns and weathering factors. Even though, there are oil slick detection techniques available with optical remote sensing, laser fluorosensors, and hyperspectral remote sensing, the most efficient results can be obtained from active microwave sensors like synthetic aperture radar (SAR). SAR sensors simply measure the backscattered radiation from the surface and show the roughness of the terrain. Oil slicks dampen the sea waves creating dark patches in the SAR image. In this context an adapted methodology has been proposed, including three levels namely / visual inspection, image filtering and object based fuzzy classification. With visual inspection, targets have been identified and subset scenes have been created. Subset scenes have been categorized into 3 cases based on contrast difference of dark spots to the surroundings. Then object based classification has been utilized with the fuzzy membership functions defined by extracted features of layer values, shape and texture from segmented and filtered SAR subsets. As a result, oil slicks have been discriminated from look-alikes which are the phenomena resembling oil slicks. The overall classification accuracy obtained by averaging three different cases is 83 % for oil slicks and 77 % for look-alikes. The results of this study can considered to be a preliminary work and supplementary information for determining the best operational procedure of offshore hydrocarbon exploration.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) binds synthetic and chemoprotective phytochemicals, and research in this laboratory has developed selective AhR modulators (SAhRMs) for treatment of breast cancer. Activation of the AhR through agonists such as TCDD inhibits hormone activation of several E2-responsive genes in breast cancer cell lines. In this study, inhibition of E2-induced proliferation and gene expression by TCDD has been investigated in the uterus of wildtype, ERKO and AhRKO mice. Cyclin D1, DNA polymerase ?, and VEGF mRNA levels are induced by E2 through ER? in the uterus as determined by in situ hybridization studies. TCDD down-regulated E2-induced cyclin D1 and DNA polymerase ? expression, but not E2-induced VEGF expression, in wild-type mice, but not AhRKO mice, confirming the role of the AhR. Furthermore, protein synthesis was not necessary for induction of cyclin D1 or DNA polymerase ?gene expression by E2 or inhibition of these responses by TCDD. Therefore, AhR-ER? crosstalk directly regulates the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation in vivo. AhR agonists induce down-regulation of ErbB family receptors in multiple tissues/organs suggesting possible inhibitory interactions with chemotherapeutic potential. Recently, it has been reported that the SAhRM 1,1??,2,2??-tetramethyldiindolylmethane inhibited DMBA-induced mammary tumor growth in rats and also inhibited MAPK and PI3-K pathways in human breast cancer cells. BT-474 and MDA-MB-453 cell lines are ErbB2-overexpressing breast cancer cells that express functional AhR and exhibit constitutive activation of MAPK and PI3-K pathways. Therefore, 1,1??,2,2??-tetramethyldiindolylmethane-induced inhibition of ErbB2 signaling was investigated in these cells lines and in the MMTV-c-neu mouse mammary tumor model, which overexpresses ErbB2 in the mammary gland. The growth of ErbB2 overexpressing cell lines and mammary tumors was inhibited by 1,1??,2,2??-tetramethyldiindolylmethane; however, modulation of MAPK or PI3-K pathways and cell cycle proteins nor induction of apoptosis by 1,1',2,2'-tetramethyldiindolylmethane was observed in the ErbB2overexpressing cell lines. Current studies are investigating mitochondrial effects of 1,1??,2,2??-tetramethyldiindolylmethane in the ErbB2-overexpressing cell lines, as well as continuing studies on gene expression profiles in the mammary glands of MMTV-c-neu mice to better understand and identify critical genes that are responsible for ErbB2-mediated transformation and growth of cancer cells/tumors.

Improving methods of hydrocarbon production and developing new techniques for the creation of natural gas storage facilities are critically important for the petroleum industry. This dissertation focuses on two key topics: (1) mechanisms of sand production from petroleum reservoirs and (2) mechanical characterization of caverns created in carbonate rock formations for natural gas storage. Sand production is the migration of solid particles together with the hydrocarbons when extracted from petroleum reservoirs. It usually occurs from wells in sandstone formations that fail in response to stress changes caused by hydrocarbon withdrawal. Sand production is generally undesirable since it causes a variety of problems ranging from significant safety risks during high-rate gas production, to the erosion of downhole equipment and surface facilities. It is widely accepted that a better understanding of the mechanics of poorly-consolidated formations is required to manage sand production; which, in turn, enables the cost effective production of gas and oil resources. In this work, a series of large-scale laboratory experiments was conducted in fully saturated, cohesionless sand layers to model the behavior of a petroleum reservoir near a wellbore. We directly observed several key characteristics of the sand production phenomenon including the formations of a stable cavity around the wellbore and a sub-radial flow channel at the upper surface of the tested layer. The flow channel is a first-order feature that appears to be a major part of the sand production mechanism. The channel cross section is orders of magnitude larger than the particle size, and once formed, the channel becomes the dominant conduit for fluid flow and particle transport. The flow channel developed in all of our experiments, and in all experiments, sand production continued from the developing channel after the cavity around the borehole stabilized. Our laboratory results constitute a well constrained data set that can be used to test and calibrate numerical models employed by the petroleum industry for predicting the sand production phenomenon. Although important for practical applications, real field cases are typically much less constrained. We used scaling considerations to develop a simple analytical model, constrained by our experimental results. We also simulated the behavior of a sand layer around a wellbore using two- and three-dimensional discrete element methods. It appears that the main sand production features observed in the laboratory experiments, can indeed be reproduced by means of discrete element modeling. Numerical results indicate that the cavity surface of repose is a key factor in the sand production mechanism. In particular, the sand particles on this surface are not significantly constrained. This lack of confinement reduces the flow velocity required to remove a particle, by many orders of magnitude. Also, the mechanism of channel development in the upper fraction of the sample can be attributed to subsidence of the formation due to lateral extension when an unconstrained cavity slope appears near the wellbore. This is substantiated by the erosion process and continued production of particles from the flow channel. The notion of the existence of this surface channel has the potential to scale up to natural reservoirs and can give insights into real-world sand production issues. It indicates a mechanism explaining why the production of particles does not cease in many petroleum reservoirs. Although the radial character of the fluid flow eventually stops sand production from the cavity near the wellbore, the production of particles still may continue from the propagating surface (interface) flow channel. The second topic of the thesis addresses factors affecting the geometry and, hence, the mechanical stability of caverns excavated in carbonate rock formations for natural gas storage. Storage facilities are required to store gas when supply exceeds demand during the winter months. In many places (such as New England or the Great Lakes region) where no salt domes are available to create gas storage caverns, it is possible to create cavities in limestone employing the acid injection method. In this method, carbonate rock is dissolved, while CO₂ and calcium chloride brine appear as products of the carbonate dissolution reactions. Driven by the density difference, CO₂ rises towards the ceiling whereas the brine sinks to the bottom of the cavern. A zone of mixed CO₂ , acid, and brine forms near the source of acid injection, whereas the brine sinks to the bottom of the cavern. Characterization of the cavern shape is required to understand stress changes during the cavity excavation, which can destabilize the cavern. It is also important to determine the location of the mixture-brine interface to select the place of acid injection. In this work, we propose to characterize the geometry of the cavern and the location of the mixture-brine interface by generating pressure waves in a pipe extending into the cavern, and measuring the reflected waves at various locations in another adjacent pipe. Conventional governing equations describe fluid transients in pipes loaded only by internal pressure (such as in the water hammer effect). To model the pressure wave propagation for realistic geometries, we derived new governing equations for pressure transients in pipes subjected to changes in both internal and external (confining) pressures. This is important because the internal pressure (used in the measurement) is changing in response to the perturbation of the external pressure when the pipe is contained in the cavern filled with fluids. If the pressure in the cavern is perturbed, the perturbation creates an internal pressure wave in the submerged pipe that has a signature of the cavern geometry. We showed that the classic equations are included in our formulation as a particular case, but they have limited validity for some practically important combinations of the controlling parameters. We linearized the governing equations and formulated appropriate boundary and initial conditions. Using a finite element method, we solved the obtained boundary value problem for a system of pipes and a cavern filled with various characteristic fluids such as aqueous acid, calcium chloride brine, and supercritical CO₂ . We found that the pressure waves of moderate amplitudes would create measurable pressure pulses in the submerged pipe. Furthermore, we determined the wavelengths required for resolving the cavern diameter from the pressure history. Our results suggest that the pressure transients technique can indeed be used for characterizing the geometry of gas storage caverns and locations of fluid interfaces in the acid injection method.