Insulin/IGF system is a complex network of three similar hormones (insulin, IGF-1 and IGF-2) and their three similar receptors (IR-A, IR-B and IGF-1R,), which play important roles in maintaining basal energy homeostasis of the organism, in growth, development, life-span but also in development of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cancer, acromegaly or Laron dwarfism. Despite structural similarities between family members, each member have its unique role in the system. Identification of structural determinants in insulin and IGFs that trigger their specific signalling pathways is important for rational drug design for safer treatment of diabetes or for more efficient combating of cancer or growth-related disorders. In this thesis, we focused on identification of such structural determinants in IGF-1. Comparison of our data with parallel studies with IGF-2 and insulin could give a more complex picture of the problem. First of all, we developed necessary methodologies for the preparation of IGF-1 analogues. We developed a new methodology for the total chemical synthesis of IGF-1 analogues based on the solid-phase synthesis of fragments and their ligation by a CuI -catalyzed cycloaddition of azides and alkynes. In parallel, we developed a procedure for a recombinant production of IGF- 1 and its...

Cette thèse s’intéresse aux signatures spectroscopiques des nano-particules carbonées dans l’infrarouge proche et moyen dans les disques protoplanétaires. Ces signatures sont largement observées dans le milieu interstellaire et les galaxies et représentent ainsi un outil essentiel pour étudier les conditions physiques qui y règnent. Notamment, leur étude dans les environnements circumstellaires d’étoiles de type Herbig contribue à notre connaissance de la formation des systèmes planétaires et du cycle de la matière dans la Voie lactée. Même si la poussière ne représente qu’un faible pourcentage de la matière galactique, elle est essentielle dans la formation d’espèces chimiques complexes, le chauffage photo-électrique du gaz, la balance énergétique ou ladynamique des structures. Ainsi, elle participe directement à l’évolution des disques protoplanétaires.Ce travail s’appuie notamment sur les données d’observations spectroscopiques résolues spatialement obtenues avec l’instrument NaCo au VLT dans l’infrarouge proche entre 3 et 4 μm. Le modèle THEMIS fournit un cadre d’interprétation pour les observations en proposant un modèle physique de la poussière dans lequel les propriétés optiques sont calculées en considérant la composition, la structureet la taille de populations de grains. THEMIS propose un scénario d’évolution de celle-ci au travers des différentes phases du milieu interstellaire.Les résultats obtenus montrent que des particules carbonées sub-nanométriques ayant une forte aromaticité sont présentes de manière étendue et structuréeà la surface des disques protoplanétaires. Leur degré d’aromaticité augmente avec l’intensité du champ de rayonnement de l’étoile. De plus, l’observation de ces particules près de l’étoile suggère leur renouvellement continu. La odélisation de l’émission de la poussière dans les conditions des disques met enévidence les contributions des différentes populations selon la longueur d’onde et les conditions d’irradiation.Ce travail s’inscrit dans la préparation de la mission du James Webb Space Telescope qui permettra d’observer notamment les disques ptrotoplanétaires surune large gamme infrarouge (0.6-28 μm). Ce travail a également conduit à la production de deux articles, un publié et l’autre soumis dans la revue Astronomy & Astrophysics. / This thesis focuses on spectroscopic signatures of carbon nanoparticles in the near and mid-infrared in protoplanetary disks. These signatures are widely observed in the interstellar medium and galaxies and thus represent an essential tool for studying their physical conditions. In particular, their study in the circumstellar environments of Herbig stars contributes to our knowledge of the formation of planetary systems and the dust cycle in the MilkyWay. Even if dust represents only a small percentage of galactic matter, it is key to the formation of complex chemical species, photoelectric gas heating, energy balance or structural dynamics. Thus, it participates directly in the evolution of protoplanetary disks.This work is based in particular on spatially resolved spectroscopic observation data obtained with the NaCo instrument at the VLT in the near infrared between 3 and 4 μm. The THEMIS model provides an interpretative framework for observations by proposing a physical dust model in which optical properties are calculated by considering the composition, structure and size of grain populations. THEMIS proposes a scenario of its evolution through the different phasesof the interstellar medium.The results obtained show that carbon sub-nanoparticles with high aromaticity are present in a widespread and structured manner at the surface ofprotoplanetary disks. Their degree of aromaticity increases with the intensity of the stellar radiation field. Moreover, the observation of these particles close to the star suggests their continuous replenishment. Modelling the dust emission under disk conditions highlights the contributions of dust populations according to the wavelength and the radiation field.This work is related to the preparation of the James Webb Space Telescope mission which will allow to observe protoplanetary disks over a wide infrared range (0.6-28 μm) with a resolution of 0.1”. This work also led to the production of two articles, one published and the other submitted to the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

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Ši tema yra aktuali tuo, kad informacinių technologijų įtaka, šalies gyventojams, verslui, ekonomikai ir kitiems veiksniams yra labai didelė. Nuo tos įtakos, kaip ji reiškiasi mūsų valstybės rėmuose, priklauso šalies informacinės visuomenės lygis. Jo sudedamosios dalys parodo, kokioje situacijoje yra šalies padėtis ir kur reikalinga plėtra, norint neatsilikti ar pirmauti tarp kitų valstybių - gyvenant naujoje ir modernioje visuomenėje. Apie informacinę visuomenę, jos aspektus ir bruožus, yra daug teorinės informacijos, kuri yra skirtinga, tačiau turi bendrus bruožus. Vienas iš garsiausių informacinės visuomenės teoretikų Frank Webster, ją aprašinėja teoriškai, tačiau praktiškai kaip išmatuoti šalies informacinės visuomenės plėtrą ir perspektyvas tyrimų, neskaitant Statistikos Departamento, Eurostato ar kitų tyrėjų pateiktų ataskaitų apie esamą ir buvusią IT padėtį valstybėse, yra nedaug. Todėl, informacinės visuomenės plėtros ir perspektyvų analizė ir prognozė Lietuvoje, bus atlikta pagal Europos Komisijos parengtos e.Europe 2005 veiksmų plano informacinės visuomenės plėtros prioritetus. Tyrimo objektas – informacinės visuomenės plėtros padėtis ir perspektyvos. Tyrimo tikslas – išanalizuoti Lietuvos informacinės visuomenės plėtrą ir perspektyvas, remiantis teminių informacinės visuomenės aspektų analize, Europos Komisijos parengto e.Europe 2005 veiksmų plano, informacinės visuomenės plėtros prioritetais. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1) Įvardinti ir apibūdinti informacinės visuomenės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Information Society is a term for a society in which the creation, distribution, and manipulation of information has become the most significant economic and cultural activity. An Information Society may be contrasted with societies in which the economic underpinning is primarily Industrial or Agrarian. The machine tools of the Information Society are computers and telecommunications, rather than lathes or ploughs. The main object of research is development situation and perspectives of information society. This master‘s paper represents conceptions and the history of information society, it also defines criteriuos, features, tasks and levels of it. The main priorities by the e.Euope 2005 development action plan, are selected for the information society analysis. Moreover there are analysed information society ranges like: population competence, public administration and knowledge economy. Further on, it‘s information and indicators are forecasted for next 4 years, in accordance with linear regression models. Considering to final reaearch, ascertained develompent tendencies of information society in Lithuania till 2010. The master‘s final paper proves the hypothesis that development of information society in Lithuania till 2010 is perspective. This paper consist of 85 pages, 37 pictures, 3 tables, 20 scientific literature sources and 30 information sources.

Magistro darbo objektas – kalba informacijos ir komunikacijos technologijų aplinkose. Darbo tikslas – nustatyti, kokie yra kalbos bruožai informacijos ir komunikacijos technologijų aplinkose (ypač trumpųjų tekstinių žinučių).. Darbo uždaviniai: išsiaiškinti informacijos ir komunikacijos technologijų įtakos kalbai kryptis; apibrėžti šnekamosios ir rašomosios kalbos bruožus bei atrasti interneto ir mobiliojo ryšio kalbai vietą šnekamosios ir rašomosios kalbos skalėje; aptarti atliktus tyrimus, esamas nuomones dėl informacijos ir komunikacijos technologijų įtakos kalbai; išsiaiškinti skirtingoms informacijos ir komunikacijos technologijų aplinkoms būdingus kalbos ypatumus, principus, kalbos vartosenos tendencijas; nustatyti lietuviškų trumpųjų žinučių bruožus. Naudojantis mokslinės literatūros analize ir literatūros šaltinių lyginimu, prieita prie išvados, kad šalia įprastos rašomosios ir šnekamosios kalbos su informacijos ir komunikacijos technologijų įsiliejimu į kasdienes gyvenimo sritis randasi ir trečioji kalbos sritis – elektroninė kalba, turinti savitą kalbos stilių, kalbos logiką, bruožus ir principus. Išanalizavus atliktus tyrimus (S. Adams, H. Brunner, D. Crystal, K. Ferrera, P. Levinson, J. ir L. Milroy, G. Whittemore, R. Miliūnaitė, Z. Nauckūnaitė, A. Ryklienė ir kt.), aiškėja, kad elektroninis diskursas netelpa į ankstesnius kalbos rėmus, jo negalima vienareikšmiškai apibūdinti ar jam priskirti tik vienų bruožų, o kitus – atmesti. Skirtingi kalbos bruožai būdingi... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object of this master’s thesis – the language in different information and communication technology environments. The purpose of this work is to determine what are the language features in information and communication technology environments, especially the usage of text messages. The main targets to reach this purpose: clarify the direction of information and communication technology influence on language; define the spoken and written language characteristics and discover the information and communication language location on speech scale; discuss the studies and opinions about the electronic discourse; clarify characteristic features, principles and trends in language usage of the various information and communication technology profiles; identify the Lithuanian short messages features. Literature analysis and comparative methods were used to prepare the findings. Different researches (S. Adams, H. Brunner, D. Crystal, K. Ferrera, P. Levinson, J. ir L. Milroy, G. Whittemore, R. Miliūnaitė, Z. Nauckūnaitė, A. Ryklienė ir kt.) have shown that in addition to the usual writing and spoken language, with information and communication technology integration into the daily lives, the third language range – the electronic discourse – is being created, which has a distinctive style of speech, language logic features and principles. This electronical discourse has different features of spoken and written language and could be added closer to the spoken language than in writing... [to full text]

A firm knowledge about the interaction between the metal surface and adsorbed molecules is imperative for formulating procedures to synthesize nanoparticles (NPs) with predetermined shape and size. The ligand‐metal interaction during NP formation can be mimicked on an electrode surface by electrosorbing ligand molecules on a charged metal surface. Electrochemical methods can provide an ideal platform to study the adsorption behaviour of molecules at the solid‐liquid interface. In addition to classical electrochemical techniques, the combination of spectroscopy with electrochemical methods amplifies mechanistic insights about the surface adsorption processes. The adsorption behaviour of pyridine and one of its derivatives, 4‐dimethylamino pyridine (DMAP) have been well studied due to their potential application in nanoparticle synthesis. However, prior to this work, there has been very limited and conflicting literature available about the adsorption of of pyridine derivatives analogous to DMAP. Among the pyridine derivatives that were studied, some reports indicate that, other than DMAP, only 4‐methoxy pyridine (MOP) can stabilize gold nanoparticles. However, very little is known about the possible differences in the adsorption energy and general behaviour of MOP compared to DMAP. Resolving this knowledge gap is imperative to resolving the conflicting information about pyridine‐based stabilizers for metal nanoparticle applications. The adsorption behaviour of MOP on different crystallographic Au surfaces as a function of pH and surface potential has been investigated in this project. These studied were carried out using classical electrochemical methods including chronocoulometry and differential capacity, as well as modern spectroscopic techniques like Surface Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy (SEIRAS). The thermodynamic parameters obtained from electrochemical data shows that adsorption features of MOP is similar to that of DMAP. However, there is a significant difference in the adsorption strength of MOP and DMAP at positive potentials. The SEIRAS data provides much more detailed information about the potential depended orientation of MOP on polycrystalline Au. Cumulative analysis of electrochemical and spectroscopic data provides strong evidence that MOP can stabilize Au(111) facets over wide pH ranges. Moreover, this work provides convincing evidence that the basic nature of substituted pyridine alters the metal to ligand adsorption strength.

This thesis presents a detailed study of the impact of radio-AGN on star formation and the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies across cosmic time. To do this, this thesis uses far-IR/sub-mm data from the Herschel Space Observatory. I create a well-selected sample of 1599 radio sources using the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST) data in combination with the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey - Large Area Survey (UKIDSS - LAS) data. I find that the far-IR luminosities and dust temperatures of radio galaxies are lower in comparison to those of non-radio-detected galaxies. This luminosity deficit grows with increasing stellar mass. I argue that the reasons for these differences is probably due to indirect radio-AGN feedback, i.e. radio jets mechanically heat the halo-environment, preventing external sources of cold gas from entering the host and forming stars. The far-IR luminosity and dust temperature is found to decrease as a function of radio source size. I find the most likely explanation for this is jet-induced star formation while the jets are confined to the ISM. Finally, a method for identifying reliable high-z, star-bursting radio sources in the H-ATLAS is described with which statistically significant studies of radio-jet induced star formation may be undertaken.

Over 70% of the Earth s economically recoverable nickel (Ni) resides in laterite ore deposits, however they account for less than half of the current global nickel production. During laterization, nickel and other soluble ions are taken into solution before re-precipitating within iron oxide minerals in the limonite zone, or as serpentines and other phyllosilicates in the layers below this zone. It is these laterite deposits that show the greatest potential for low energy, environmentally conscious processing. The major host of nickel in the limonite zone is the iron-oxyhydroxide mineral goethite, α-FeOOH, where up to 4 mol% Ni has been reported in natural specimens, and even higher levels in synthetic samples (5.5 mol%). The Ni is assumed to be incorporated in the crystal structure of the goethite, but previous characterisation work only demonstrated a weak to moderate correlation of mineral structure change with the nickel content in goethite. Mining companies working on the extraction and recovery of nickel from the limonite zone of lateritic deposits have noticed that the ease with which nickel can be extracted varies greatly; goethite rich ores that appear to have similar mineralogies/geologies can display extreme variation in their leachability. It is not clear why the ores behave in this way, but in order for extraction techniques and subsequent recovery of nickel to be improved, the reasons behind this variability need to be understood. The lateritic ore materials from which nickel is extracted are generally made up of a number of different mineral phases. The multiphase nature of the samples means that characterisation of the goethite-type phases from these materials is challenging. To simplify the system and allow the association of Ni into goethite and/or other iron oxyhydroxide phases to be studied in a controlled environment, a synthetic study was carried out. Ni-bearing goethites have been synthesised at a series of different temperatures and characterised by a range of analytical techniques including PXRD, IR, Raman, TGA, ICP-OES, SEM and TEM. It was found that a second phase, ferrihydrite, co-existed with the goethites, the proportion of which increased at lower synthesis temperatures and with increasing amounts of Ni. Ferrihydrite is known to be a precursor phase in the formation of goethite, but its poorly crystalline nature makes it difficult to identify using standard characterisation techniques such as PXRD. The introduction of Ni to the system increases the stability of the ferrihydrite phase, inhibiting its transformation to goethite. It is believed that some of the Ni thought to be incorporated into goethite could actually reside in an undetected ferrihydrite phase, which could account for the differences observed in the leachability of natural materials. Characterisation techniques were investigated to try and determine a simple way to identify ferrihydrite in these systems, which could ideally be used in the field to identify the presence of ferrihydrite in goethite rich ore materials. Thermal analysis proved to be particularly promising as a technique which could be used to identify ferrihydrite rich deposits before extraction, enabling the most efficient and environmentally conscious metal recovery process for each deposit to be identified. In order to investigate the way in which Ni partitions itself between structural incorporation into goethite and association with a secondary ferrihydrite phase, a new washing technique was developed using EDTA, which is capable of selectively removing the ferrihydrite phase whilst leaving the goethite intact. This investigation suggests that a maximum of ~2.5 mol% of Ni is structurally incorporated into goethite, regardless of how much is added during the synthesis. Any excess nickel, above that which is substituted into the goethite structure, was found to be associated with the poorly crystalline ferrihydrite phase. Despite being considered a metastable phase, the increased stability of ferrihydrite resulting from the presence of Ni suggests that it may persist in laterite deposits within geological systems. If ferrihydrite is indeed present in nickeliferous laterites, it may be a significant host for Ni, and potentially many other critical elements. Based on the methodology developed whilst studying synthetic samples, a characterisation program for materials from lateritic ore deposits was conducted to investigate the presence of ferrihydrite in natural systems. From the research presented and discussed in this thesis, proof of the presence or absence of ferrihydrite in laterite systems, causing variations in the leachability of the ore materials, could not be conclusively established. The thermal analysis technique developed here successfully identified and quantified ferrihydrite in the presence of goethite in synthetic systems, and showed great potential when used to characterise the lateritic goethite samples, certainly suggesting that ferrihydrite could be present in these natural ore materials. With further refinement of the methodology, to enable a larger range of sample types to be accurately analysed, TGA is a technique which could be used as a screening tool for laterite ores.

An Arduino based car resembling robot equipped with heat- and ultrasonic sensors has been developed as a prototype for a rescue robot. The robot is controlled using an Android app developed in MIT App Inventor 2. In the app the sensors' information is divided in two modes; driving mode and not driving mode. The ultrasonic sensor's information is available when in driving mode, displaying the distance in centimeters straight ahead. The heat sensor's information is displayed in not driving mode, disabling motor skills, with a 8x8 pixel, blue and red color scaled picture fully updated within 2.38 seconds. An important part of the development is the Auto mode where the robot goes off on its own and signals the app user when a heat signature matching a human is detected within 35 centimeter. If the object close by is not within this temperature range, the robot turns away in another direction. Despite it's rough appearance and slow update speed, the robot fulfills the purpose of the project being able to locate a human heat signature by itself or a app user.