[Truncated abstract] The metabolic syndrome is characterized by cardiovascular risk factors including dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, visceral obesity, hypertension and diabetes. The dyslipidemia of the metabolic syndrome includes elevated plasma triglyceride and apolipoprotein (apo) B levels, accumulation of small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration. However, the precise mechanisms for this dyslipoproteinemia, specifically low plasma HDL cholesterol, are not well understood. This thesis therefore, focuses on HDL, its structure, function and metabolism. However, lipoprotein metabolism is a complex interconnected system, which includes forward and reverse cholesterol transport pathways. Hence, this thesis also examines and discusses the metabolism of apoB-containing lipoproteins. This thesis tests the general hypothesis that apolipoprotein kinetics are altered in the metabolic syndrome, and that lipid regulating therapies can improve these kinetic abnormalities. The aims were first, to compare and establish the clinical, metabolic and kinetic differences between metabolic syndrome and lean subjects; and second, to determine the regulatory effects of statin therapy, specifically, rosuvastatin on lipoprotein transport in the metabolic syndrome. Five observation statements were derived from the general hypothesis and examined in the studies described below. The findings are presented separately as a series of original publications. Study 1 Twelve men with the metabolic syndrome and ten lean men were studied in a case-control setting. ... These findings explain the HDL raising effects of rosuvastatin in the metabolic syndrome. Collectively, these studies suggest that the dyslipidemia of the metabolic syndrome results from increased production rates of VLDL and LDL particles, reduced fractional catabolic rates of these lipoproteins, together with accelerated catabolism of HDL particles. Treatment with rosuvastatin increases the catabolic rates of all apoB-containing lipoproteins and at a higher dose, decreases LDL apoB production. These effects are consistent with inhibition of cholesterol synthesis leading to an upregulation of LDL receptors. Rosuvastatin decreases the fractional catabolism of HDL particles. The effects of rosuvastatin on HDL kinetics may be related to a reduction in triglyceride concentration and cholesterol ester transfer protein activity. These findings are consistent with the general hypothesis that apolipoprotein kinetics are altered in the metabolic syndrome, and that statin therapy improves these kinetic abnormalities.

BACKGROUND & AIMS - Metabolic syndrome (MetS), characterized by abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and insulin resistance is a major public health concern in the United States. The effect of Apolipoprotein E (Apo E) polymorphism has been relatively well studied in relation to cardiovascular disease; however, its effects on MetS are not well established. METHODS - We conducted a cross-sectional study consisting of 1,551 participants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Family Heart Study to assess the relation of Apo E polymorphism with the prevalence of MetS. Information on the different Apo E genotypes was extracted from the database and we defined MetS according to the AHA-NHLBI-IDF-WHO Harmonized Criteria. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate adjusted odds ratios for prevalent MetS and the Bonferroni correction to account for multiple testing in the secondary analysis. RESULTS – Our study population had a mean age (SD) of 56.5 (11.0) years and 49.7% had MetS. There was no association between the Apo E genotypes and MetS. The multivariable adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 1.00 (reference), 1.26 (0.31-5.21), 0.89 (0.62- 1.29), 1.13 (0.61-2.10), 1.13 (0.88-1.47) and 1.87 (0.91-3.85) for the *e3/e3, *e2/e2, *e2/e3, *e2/e4, *e3/e4 and *e4/e4 genotype respectively. In a secondary analysis, the *e2/e3 genotype was associated with lower HDL levels, with the multivariable adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 0.59 (0.36-0.95) when compared to the reference *e3/e3 genotype. CONCLUSIONS - Our findings do not support an association between Apo E polymorphism and MetS in a multi-center population based study of predominantly white US men and women. The *e2/e3 genotype was associated with lower HDL levels as compared to the *e3/e3 genotype. KEY WORDS: Apolipoprotein E (Apo E) polymorphism, metabolic syndrome, blood pressure, glucose, waist circumference, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol

xii, 69 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / New Urbanists promote development modeled upon neighborhoods that are highdensity and mixed-use with connected streets so that residents will drive less and have a strong sense of community. Little is known about whether New Urbanist environments provide the envisioned change in living experience for those who reside there. This study assesses changes in the living experience of residents of a suburban New Urbanist environment located in Eugene, Oregon, relative to their living experience in their previous residential environment. Findings reveal that respondents drive less for some but not all types of trips. There are no significant changes in sense of community. Changes in housing density and land-use mix are found associated with driving behavior change. Change in the enjoyment of the walking environment is found associated with changes in levels of resident interaction and feelings of sense of community. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Yizhao Yang, Chair; Dr. Robert Young; Robert Parker

One of the primary tasks of the mobile system designers in order to support high density of devices in a CDMA system is to create a code sequence with a capacity for large number of spreading code sequences having low cross-correlation values between them, in order to ensure accommodation of large number of users and to minimise the effect of multiple access interference. In this research, the design for a novel hybrid orthogonal very large set (HOVLS) code sequence is proposed for high density mobile application scenarios. The design and development of both fixed and variable spreading factor code sequences are presented in this thesis. Both type of code sequences have been implemented via simulation using Matlab/Simulink. The performance of the code sequences has been evaluated and compared with that of existing code sequences. The proposed code sequences are more advantageous for high density mobile networks. The unique feature of the fixed length HOVLS code sequence is that its ACF, CCF, and BER performances are similar to that of orthogonal Gold code sequence and orthogonal m-sequence under Rayleigh flat and frequency selective fading channel conditions while having a significantly higher capacity than those orthogonal code sequences. The proposed HOVLS code sequence could support 134 different cells which is more than twice than that of orthogonal Gold code sequence and orthogonal m-sequence. To the knowledge of the author, this is the largest reported family size in the literature for an orthogonal code sequence for CDMA applications. In order to support variable data rate, fixed length HOVLS code sequence was developed into orthogonal variable spreading factor code sequence. It is shown that the proposed OVSF code sequence has slightly better CCF than those of OVSF Gold code sequence and m-sequence in terms of CM (correlation margin). The ACF of the proposed OVSF code sequence is similar to those of OVSF Gold code sequence and m-sequence. The proposed OVSF code sequence possesses comparable BER performance to those of orthogonal Gold code sequence and orthogonal m-sequence under flat fading channel condition. Whereas, the BER performance of the proposed OVSF code sequence is slightly better than that of Gold code sequence and OVSF m-sequence under frequency selective fading channel. Therefore, the proposed HOVLS code sequence is appropriate code sequence in CDMA systems than those of orthogonal Gold code sequence and orthogonal m-sequence for both fixed and variable rate high density network applications.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-01T12:17:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 15897135 bytes, checksum: 47ccae1f15e072aad07f5eb733587b9f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research have the aim of prepare mixture of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and chitosan (CS) with and without compatibilizers agents. To this, have developed in laboratory, powders by two different methods, precipitation and evaporation. It was used like compatibilizers agents on mixture HDPE/CS. They are chemically modified chitosan with the ammonium alkil organic salt codified as (CS+MA)evap, (CS+MA)prec and the chemically modified clay AN with the respectives samples codified as AN(CS+MA)evap e AN(CS+MA)prec. Next, the HDPE/CS mixture with different proportion 90/10, 80/20, 70/30 and 60/40 in weight fractions with and without compatibilizers, respectively was prepared by internal mixer torque rheometry Haake, operating at 170°C, 60 rpm for 10 min. Every samples was analysed morphologically, thermically and mechanically. Was observed in the differents compositions of MIXTURE that when we decrease the chitosan proportion of the mixture HDPE/CS we have a discrete increase on the crystallinity percentage and an increase on the thermal stability. The FTIR results pointing to absence on interation between both components of mistute HDPE/CS, indicating immiscibility of mixture the obtained analyses by MEV of the fracture surface of mixture 80/20 HDPE/CS for different compositions showing a weak interfacial adhesion. However, the addiction of compatibilizer agent, specially the chemically modified clay AN(CS+MA)prec resulted in greater tendency in the interaction between the components HDPE/CS as consequence of better dispersion of chitosan on HDPE. / A pesquisa teve como objetivo preparar misturas de polietileno de alta densidade (PEAD) e quitosana (CS) sem e com agentes compatibilizantes. Para tanto, foram desenvolvidos em nosso laboratório, pós por dois diferentes métodos, precipitação e evaporação, visando usá-los como agentes compatibilizantes nas misturas PEAD/CS, sendo eles: quitosana modificada quimicamente com o sal orgânico alquil amônio (MA) codificadas como (CS+MA)evap e (CS+MA)prec e a argila AN modificada quimicamente com as respectivas amostras, codificadas como AN(CS+MA)prec e AN(CS+MA)evap. Em seguida, as misturas de PEAD/CS com diferentes proporções 90/10, 80/20, 70/30 e 60/40 em frações mássicas, respectivamente, sem e com agentes compatibilizantes foram preparadas num misturador interno do reômetro de torque Haake, operando a 170°C, 60rpm por 10min. Todas as amostras foram analisadas morfologicamente e caracterizadas termicamente e mecanicamente. Observa-se nas diferentes composições das misturas que à medida que se diminui o teor de quitosana nas misturas PEAD/CS tem-se discreto aumento no grau de cristalinidade assim como aumento na estabilidade térmica das mesmas. Os resultados de FTIR apontam ausência de interação entre ambos os componentes da mistura PEAD/CS, indicando imiscibilidade das mesmas. As análises obtidas por microscopia eletrônica de varredura das superfícies de fratura das misturas 80/20 PEAD/CS para diferentes composições mostraram fraca adesão interfacial. Entretanto, a adição de agentes compatibilizantes, especialmente, a argila modificada quimicamente AN(CS+MA)prec resultou numa maior tendência a interação entre os componentes PEAD/CS como consequência de uma melhor dispersão da quitosana no PEAD.

abstract: The atomization of a liquid jet by a high speed cross-flowing gas has many applications such as gas turbines and augmentors. The mechanisms by which the liquid jet initially breaks up, however, are not well understood. Experimental studies suggest the dependence of spray properties on operating conditions and nozzle geom- etry. Detailed numerical simulations can offer better understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms that lead to the breakup of the injected liquid jet. In this work, detailed numerical simulation results of turbulent liquid jets injected into turbulent gaseous cross flows for different density ratios is presented. A finite volume, balanced force fractional step flow solver to solve the Navier-Stokes equations is employed and coupled to a Refined Level Set Grid method to follow the phase interface. To enable the simulation of atomization of high density ratio fluids, we ensure discrete consistency between the solution of the conservative momentum equation and the level set based continuity equation by employing the Consistent Rescaled Momentum Transport (CRMT) method. The impact of different inflow jet boundary conditions on different jet properties including jet penetration is analyzed and results are compared to those obtained experimentally by Brown & McDonell(2006). In addition, instability analysis is performed to find the most dominant insta- bility mechanism that causes the liquid jet to breakup. Linear instability analysis is achieved using linear theories for Rayleigh-Taylor and Kelvin- Helmholtz instabilities and non-linear analysis is performed using our flow solver with different inflow jet boundary conditions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering 2013

Orientador: Marco-Aurelio De Paoli / Tese (Doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T02:43:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vallim_MarcioRoberto_D.pdf: 1739419 bytes, checksum: ccd0a1bb0b8347580c6c5296c09efe30 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Blendas poliméricas, geralmente, são imiscíveis, devido à baixa entropia de mistura, e incompatíveis, devido à ausência de interações intermoleculares entre as fases, resultando em propriedades mecânicas inadequadas. O uso de copolímeros bloco ou de enxertia é uma forma de promover a adesão entre as fases e reduzir a tensão interfacial. Neste trabalho foi estudado o efeito da substituição do polietileno de alta densidade pelo polietileno de alta densidade pós-consumo (PEpc) em blendas com a poliamida-6 (PA6), a fim de verificar se o PEpc age como um compatibilizante. As blendas foram preparadas nas composições de 25, 50 e 75 % em massa de PA6, usando extrusora mono- ou dupla-rosca com perfil de temperatura de 230 a 255 °C a 102 rpm. Os ¿espaguetes¿ foram resfriados em banho d¿água, picotados e, posteriormente, injetados com o mesmo perfil de temperatura e os corpos de prova foram resfriados no molde a 20 °C por 20 s. A microscopia eletrônica de varredura das fraturas criogênicas revelou uma redução no diâmetro médio da fase dispersa das blendas contendo PEpc e os ensaios mecânicos mostraram que ocorreram aumentos da tensão na força máxima, do módulo de flexão e da resistência ao impacto. Por outro lado, a estabilidade térmica (temperatura inicial de degradação e temperatura de máxima velocidade de degradação) e as propriedades térmicas (entalpia de fusão e temperaturas de fusão e de cristalização) não sofreram alteração significativa. A hipótese da interação entre o PEpc e a PA6 foi reforçada pela aplicação dos dados de viscosidade aparente dos homopolímeros ao modelo empírico de Wu, pela formação de suspensão coloidal estável durante o teste de Molau e pelo aumento do módulo de armazenamento, verificado pela análise dinâmico-mecânica. Conclui-se que os grupos polares resultantes da degradação da cadeia do PEpc interagem quimicamente com a PA6, desempenhando um efeito compatibilizante, o qual, resulta em redução da tensão interfacial e aumento da adesão entre as fases da blenda / Abstract: Polymer blends are commonly immiscible, due to the small entropy of mixture, and incompatible, caused by the absence of intermolecular interactions between the phases, resulting in poor mechanical properties. The addition of block or graft copolymers is an alternative way to improve the adhesion at the interface and to reduce the interfacial tension. In this work, high density polyethylene or post-consumer high density polyethylene (PEpc) were blended with polyamide-6 (PA6) to verify the supposed compatibilizing effect of PEpc. Blends were prepared with 25, 50 and 75 wt % of PA6, by using a single- or a twin-screw extruder, at a temperature range from 230 to 255 °C and 102 rpm rotational speed. Test specimens were obtained by injection molding at the same conditions of the extrusion. The temperature and the period of molding were 20 °C and 20 s, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy showed a reduction in the size domains of the disperse phase when PEpc was used, in addition the tensile strength, the flexural modulus and the impact strength were improved. The thermal stability (onset degradation temperature and maximum degradation temperature) and the thermal properties (melting and crystallization temperatures and fusion enthalpy) were unaffected by PEpc. The hypothesis of the compatibilizing effect of PEpc was supported by the simulation for domain size using the Wu equation, by the formation of a colloidal suspension in the Molau test and by the increase of storage modulus in the dynamic-mechanical analysis. It could be concluded that PEpc acts as a compatibilizer in PA6 blends, decreasing the interfacial tension and improving the phase adhesion, by the interaction of the amine end groups of PA6 and the polar groups of PEpc, generated from its environmental and thermomechanical degradation / Doutorado / Físico-Química / Doutor em Ciências

Orientador: Marco-Aurelio De Paoli / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T18:03:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Araujo_JoyceRodriguesde_M.pdf: 2541901 bytes, checksum: 06e3281cd9bd6a393831b0010bf106ed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: As fibras naturais curtas usadas como reforço em matrizes poliméricas melhoram as propriedades mecânicas dos polímeros e podem substituir reforços inorgânicos obtidos de fontes não-renováveis como a fibra de vidro, com as vantagens adicionais de serem mais leves, menos abrasivas aos equipamentos de processamento e biodegradáveis. Na primeira etapa deste trabalho foram feitos testes para encontrar a melhor formulação e as condições ideais para se produzir compósitos de polietileno de alta densidade, PEAD, reforçados com fibras de Curauá. Para se determinar a melhor formulação foram variados: o teor de fibras no compósito, o teor e o tipo de agente de acoplamento e as condições de processamento (velocidade de rotação de rosca e perfis de temperatura durante a extrusão). A razão de aspecto e os parâmetros geométricos das fibras antes e após o processamento foram medidos através de microscopia óptica e tratados estatisticamente. A adesão entre as fases, na presença ou ausência de agente de acoplamento, foi avaliada por microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Os compósitos e os materiais puros foram caracterizados por espectroscopia de infravermelho, por métodos térmicos (termogravimetria e calorimetria exploratória diferencial) e pela medidas das propriedades mecânicas de tração, flexão e impacto. A degradação e estabilização dos compósitos foram monitoradas através do envelhecimento ambiental e acelerado das amostras com e sem aditivos estabilizantes a fim de avaliar a durabilidade dos compósitos e o efeito dos aditivos em retardar a degradação dos compósitos e homopolímeros. Conclui-se que os compósitos de PEAD reforçados com fibra de curauá tem propriedades comparáveis aos compósitos de PEAD reforçados com fibra de vidro disponíveis no mercado. / Abstract: Natural short fibers used as reinforcing agent in polymers improve their mechanical properties and may substitute inorganic reinforcing agents, produced from non renewable resources, like fiberglass, with the additional advantages of being lighter, less abrasive to the processing equipment and biodegradable. In the first part of this work the formulation and the processing conditions were studied in order to optimize the mechanical properties of the composite of high density polyethylene, HDPE, and curauá fibers. To determine the best formulation we tested: fiber content, type and content of coupling agent and processing conditions (screw rotation speed and temperature profile during extrusion). The aspect ratio and geometric parameters of the fibers before and after processing of the composites were determined by statistic treatment of the micrographies obtained by optical microscopy. The fiber/matrix phase adhesion, with and without coupling agent, was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The composites and the pure materials used for their preparation were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal methods (thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry) and by measurement of the tensile, flexural and impact mechanical properties. The degradation and stabilization of the composites was monitored by environmental and accelerated aging tests of composite samples with and without stabilizing additives, to evaluate the durability of the composites and the effect of the additives. We conclude that HDPE composites reinforced with curauá fibers have properties comparable to commercially produced composites of HDPE reinforced with fiberglass. / Mestrado / Quimica Inorganica / Mestre em Química

L'ablation par radiofréquence constitue un des traitements des tachycardies ventriculaires, en association avec les drogues anti-arythmiques et l’implantation d'un défibrillateur. L’objectif principal de cette thèse est de mieux comprendre le substrat arythmogène non seulement à l’aide d'imagerie cardiaque (IRM et scanner) de haute résolution et de cartographie de haute densité, en utilisant des cathéters multipolaires. Cela nous permettra d'analyser la relation structure-fonction. Nous avons étudié cette relation sur différents types de substrats (ICM, NICM, DAVD, et myocardites). Nous avons ainsi prouvé la supériorité de la cartographie de haute densité obtenue à partir de cathéters multipolaires, comparativement aux données recueillies par l’imagerie, dans l’identification de la cicatrice arythmogène et la détection des LAVA. La deuxième partie de cette thèse concerne l’étude du substrat arythmogène épicardique. Nous avons ainsi décrit la technique de cartographie par voie percutanée antérieure, puis démontré l'efficacité des procédures uniquement avec abord épicardique. La segmentation du nerf phrénique et des artères coronaires ont permis de diminuer le taux de complications théoriquement liés à cet abord. Nous avons poursuivi ce travail avec l’analyse des sites d'intérêt de l'ablation des TV: les LAVA. Après une description de la stratégie d’élimination des LAVA, nous avons tenté de trouver des prédicteurs permettant de localiser les sites de LAVA, à partir des données d'imagerie. Quand l'imagerie montre une cicatrice intraseptale ou intramurale, les LAVA ne peuvent pas être enregistrés avec la cartographie et des alternative techniques d'ablation sont nécessaires comme une ablation bipolaire, l'alcoolisation intra coronaire et l'ablation avec l'aiguille irriguée. Le dernier chapitre est une revue sur le futur de l'imagerie, de la cartographie et de l’ablation des tachycardies ventriculaires. Une meilleure compréhension du substrat arythmogène pourrait améliorer l'efficacité et la sécurité des ablations de tachycardie ventriculaire. / Radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation is an effective treatment strategy for scar-related ventricular tachycardia (VT), resistant to anti-arrhythmic drugs and intracardiac defibrillator (ICD) placement. The goal of this thesis was to better understand and characterize the arrhythmogenic VT substrate in different cardiomyopathic processes: ischaemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy (NICM), arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and myocarditis. For this purpose, we combined high resolution imaging including different modalities and high resolution electrical mapping to better understand the structure-function relationship. We focused on multiple different aspects of VT ablation as outlined below. The first part of this thesis focuses on the role of multipolar mapping catheters and imaging to analyze their structural and functional relationship. We demonstrated superiority of high density mapping with multipolar mapping on conventional mapping in detection of scar, channels, local abnormal ventricular activity (LAVA) and sensitivity for near field signals. The second part of this thesis focuses on ablation of epicardial VT substrate. We demonstrated the efficacy and safety of epicardial only procedures in a highly selected population. We used imaging to have access to the exact anatomy of the heart, to image the substrate but also to increase the safety of ablation procedures by imaging the phrenic nerve and the coronary artery system. The third part of this thesis focuses on analysis of the mapping and ablation of potential targets for scar-related VT ablation. Within this context, we identified predictors of interesting ablation (LAVA) sites based on preprocedural imaging. We also analyzed the role of alternative strategies such as bipolar ablation, ethanol ablation and irrigated needle ablation to ablate intramural and intraseptal substrate, 18 often resistant ablation targets. Overall, we demonstrate that novel imaging, mapping and ablation techniques potentially improve the outcome of VT ablation.

Abstract Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is an abnormal phospholipid formed only in the presence of ethanol. Ethanol causes changes in the concentration and composition of plasma lipoproteins and it also influences the enzymes and transfer proteins that modify lipoproteins in plasma. PEth might be one of these changes brought on by ethanol in the circulation. The present study was designed to investigate whether qualitative changes in high density lipoprotein (HDL) phospholipids caused by ethanol can mediate the beneficial effects of alcohol on atherosclerosis, and to investigate the transfer of PEth between lipoproteins and the effects of PEth on the charge of lipoprotein particles. PEth was shown to be transferred from low density lipoproteins (LDL) to HDL particles mainly by transfer proteins other than cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP). The transfer of PEth between lipoproteins enables the redistribution of PEth between lipoproteins in plasma. The results of this study provide evidence that PEth in HDL particles stimulates the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion from vascular wall cells. The increase in the secretion was mediated through protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways. PEth-containing HDL particles were able to increase the VEGF secretion in rats in vivo. Similar effects were also observed when rats were given HDL particles isolated from the plasma of alcoholics. The PEth-induced change in the electrical charge of lipoproteins may affect the binding of lipoproteins to their receptors and binding proteins. The effects of PEth on the secretion of VEGF from the endothelial cells were shown to be mediated through HDL receptor. The changes in HDL particles caused by phosphatidylethanol may modify the metabolism of lipoproteins and lipid-mediated signalling pathways regulating VEGF in vascular wall cells.