Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:13:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AlexandreEM_TESE.pdf: 2243848 bytes, checksum: 084d61604c2aa96c5c502207145559c0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-23 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / The occurrence of human cancer in the municipality of Lucr?cia (RN, Brazil) has shown high frequencies (INCA, 2007). Tests of micronucleus (MN) and nuclear abnormalities (NA) were performed to assess the genotoxic potential of water from the Lucr?cia dam, which is located in a semi-arid region under the influence of crop irrigation and irregular rainfall. Water samples were collected in this source for analyzing the concentration of cyanobacteria, metals and radioactivity. Erythrocytes of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were collected in dam and cells of human oral mucosa in the urban area of this municipality for the bioassays of MN and NA. In fish were also analyzed concentrations of metals in samples of liver and gills. The genotoxicity tests with biological samples of fish and humans have shown significant increases in the frequencies of MN and NA (p ≤ 0.05) and are indicative of increased DNA damage in relation to the control groups. In conclusion, the results obtained from water samples and biological municipality of Lucr?cia indicates that the presence of chemical and microbiological pollutants, and increase of genotoxic in human of this municipality. We suggest the implementation of advanced water treatment, to prevent further degradation of the aquatic environment and decrease in the life quality. This research of environmental quality assessment was performed in order to contemplate a multi and interdisciplinary character of this water resource and that can induce genotoxic damage in the organisms in this study region / A ocorr?ncia de c?ncer humano na regi?o do munic?pio de Lucr?cia (RN, Brasil) tem mostrado freq??ncias elevadas (INCA, 2007). Foram aplicados testes de micron?cleos (MN) e altera??es nucleares (NA) para avaliar o potencial genot?xico das ?guas do a?ude de Lucr?cia, que est? localizado numa regi?o semi-?rida sob influ?ncia de irriga??o agr?cola e precipita??o irregular. Foram coletadas amostras de ?gua nesse manancial para an?lise da concentra??o de cianobact?rias, metais e radioatividade. Foram coletados eritr?citos de til?pia do Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus) no manancial e c?lulas de mucosa oral humana na ?rea urbana desse munic?pio para os bioensaios de MN e NA. Nos peixes tamb?m foram analisadas as concentra??es de metais em amostras de br?nquias e f?gado. Os testes de genotoxicidade com amostras biol?gicas de peixes e humanos mostraram aumentos significantivos nas freq??ncias de MN e NA (p ≤ 0,05) e s?o indicativos de aumento nos danos ao DNA em rela??o aos grupos controles. Concluindo, os resultados obtidos com as amostras de ?gua e biol?gicas do a?ude de Lucr?cia indicam a presen?a de poluentes qu?micos e microbiol?gicos, e tamb?m aumento do potencial genot?xico na popula??o humana desse munic?pio. Sugerimos a execu??o de tratamento h?drico avan?ado, para prevenir futura degrada??o desse ambiente aqu?tico e redu??o da qualidade de vida. Esta pesquisa de avalia??o da qualidade ambiental foi executada de forma a contemplar uma abordagem multi e interdisciplinar da caracter?stica deste recurso h?drico e os danos genot?xicos que possam induzir nos organismos desta regi?o em estudo

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:13:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LucilaCME.pdf: 777399 bytes, checksum: 0872bb60e8e228e6574e4fe1b87a20f8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-12-21 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / The Pitimbu River is located at the oriental portion of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, including three importants cities named Maca?ba, Parnamirim e Natal. Although its high importance as a water source, which supplys great part of the South Zone of the Natal city, this river receives a large quantity of domestic and industrial waste water without treatment. The Pitimbu River headhas its river-head located in the city of Macaiba, goes through Parnamirim, then it flowing into at the Jiqui Lake in Natal. The aim of this study was to evaluate, qualitatively and quantitatively, the environmental quality of the Pitimbu River by genotoxicity bio-assays, which are important tools for genetics toxicological evaluation. In this work, five samples sites, distributed along the river, were used to collect water samples. Another point site, located near Jiqui lake, was used to collect drinkable water, which was treated by CAERN, the water treatment entreprise of Rio Grande do Norte. The following assays where used to evaluate the quality of these samples: Allium cepa assay; Comet assay; Micronuclei (MN) assay; and Ames test. For the Allium cepa assay, sixteen specimes where used for each water sample from the sample sites. In this assay both microscopic, like cytogenetic damage, and macroscopic aspects, as morphological variation were evaluated. Red blood cells from periferical blood of the Crenicichla menezesi native specie were used not only for the MN assay, but also for the Comet assay. These fishes were collected at different points on the Pitimbu River and the negative control was developed using fishes of the same species that were bring to the laboratory and maintained for 100 days in the optimal experimental conditions. For the Ames test, TA100, YG1042, TA98 and YG1041 strains were used in the directed method without metabolic activation. The results found by the Allium cepa assay showed that two water sample sites induced increase of mitotic index (IM). Additionally, compared to the control, all the water samples increased the chromossomal aberrations frequency and/or micronucleus. Among the sample sites, two also showed an abnormal growth rate in its root and two samples induced morphological alteration. With the MN test in red blood cells, a high frequence of MN was observed in tree sample. By comparing all the results obtained on the water sample points and with the negative control, a significant variation on the MN frequency was observed. Positive results were also observed for the same sample to water test by the Comet assay. These results allow concluding that the proposed specie Crenicichla menezesi has a good profile as a bio-indicator for the evaluation of environmental water quality and the MN and comet test can be usuful for in situ evaluation. By the Ames test, it was possible to detect the mutagenic activity on the waters from the Pitimbu River in different levels of mutagenicity. This result suggests that this river has several substances that induced changes directly to the DNA. The mechanisms involved to this phenomenon could be by both processes, by changing of the reading frame and by nucleotide substitution. These data set indicate the presence of mutagenic agents, which can represent in risk to biot and human beens / O rio Pitimbu localiza-se no litoral oriental do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, mais precisamente na grande Natal, nos munic?pios de Maca?ba, Parnamirim e Natal. Embora se trate de um importante manancial, abastecendo parte da zona sul da capital do Estado, suas ?guas t?m sido alvo de dejetos industriais e dom?sticos, os quais n?o recebem tratamento adequado. O rio Pitimbu tem sua nascente situada no munic?pio de Maca?ba e des?gua na lagoa do Jiqu?, e parte em dire??o a praia de Pirangi, lan?ando suas ?guas no mar. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar quantitativamente e qualitativamente a qualidade das ?guas do rio Pitimb?, atrav?s de bioensaios de genotoxicidade que s?o ferramentas de grande import?ncia nos estudos de gen?tica toxicol?gica. Neste trabalho foram coletadas amostras de ?gua de cinco pontos distribu?dos ao longo do rio e amostras da ?gua da lagoa do Jiqui ap?s tratamento feito pela CAERN (Companhia de ?guas e Esgotos do Rio Grande do Norte). Essas amostras foram analisadas atrav?s dos seguintes ensaios: teste de Allium cepa; o ensaio Cometa; o teste de Micron?cleo (MN); e o teste de Ames. Para realiza??o do teste em Allium cepa foram utilizados 16 indiv?duos para cada amostra testada, foram feitas an?lises dos aspectos microsc?picos (danos citogen?ticos) e macrosc?picos (varia??es morfol?gicas). Eritr?citos de sangue perif?rico da esp?cie nativa Crenicichla menezesi, foram utilizados tanto para execu??o do teste de MN como para o ensaio Cometa, os exemplares desta esp?cie foram coletados em diferentes pontos do rio Pitimbu e o controle negativo foi realizado com peixes da mesma esp?cie que foram trazidos para o laborat?rio e mantidos por 100 dias em condi??es ideais. Para execu??o do teste de Ames foram utilizadas as linhagens TA100, YG1042, TA98 e YG1041, sem ativa??o metab?lica, o qual foi realizado pelo m?todo direto. Os resultados obtidos no teste de Alium cepa monstraram que dois pontos de coleta de ?gua induziram altera??es no ?ndice mit?tico (?ndice de prolifera??o celular); al?m disso, todas as amostras de ?gua do rio induziram aumento na freq??ncia de aberra??es cromoss?micas e/ou de MN, em rela??o ao grupo controle. Dois dos pontos de coleta tamb?m apresentaram altera??o no crescimento da raiz e dois pontos produziram modifica??es morfol?gicas. Com o teste MN em eritr?citos uma alta freq??ncia de MN foi observada para tr?s amostras coletadas. Resultados positivos nas mesmas amostras teste tamb?m foram obtidos com o ensaio cometa. Estes resultados sugerem que a esp?cie Crenicichla menezesi pode ser considerado como um bom bioindicador para an?lise de qualidade ambiental e que os testes de MN e cometa s?o vi?veis para an?lise in situ. No teste de Ames, foi poss?vel detectar a presen?a de atividade mutag?nica nas ?guas do rio Pitimbu em diferentes n?veis de mutagenicidade, sugerindo a presen?a de compostos que agem de forma direta no DNA tanto por mudan?a do quadro de leitura quanto por substitui??o de pares de bases. Em conjunto os dados indicam a presen?a de agentes mutag?nicos, o que pode representar risco para a biota e os seres humanos

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:55:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AnaFSRN_DISSERT.pdf: 3363450 bytes, checksum: e0cb6b317ff11cb49abf8a59b8c7c5bc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-26 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The use of pesticides is being used intensively with severe consequences for exposed farmers. This study aimed to describe the socioeconomic and health profiles of 60 farmers in the city of Touros / RN through the questionnaire recommended by: (International Commission for Protection against Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens (ICPEMC). The analysis of these data allowed to prove the importance of knowledge about the socioeconomic and health profile of rural farmers as a way to understand the reality of this population, that is vulnerable to exposure due to the lack of knowledge and conditions. Aiming to analyze the frequency of micronucleus (MN) and other nuclear abnormalities in oral mucosa cells of 54 farmers that work in the city of Touros / RN it was applied the micronucleus test (MN) in oral mucosa. Our results showed an increased frequency of MN and other nuclear abnormalities related to the exposure and effects of pesticides on health. Based on the results, it is clear that farmers are using pesticide in the wrong way and compromising their health. A Cordel has been developed as a method to taking the results to the people affected by the pesticides. Therefore this study alerts to the need for profound changes in the social, cultural and health context to reduce health risks for both people and for the environment / O uso de agrot?xicos esta sendo usado de maneira intensiva com graves consequ?ncias para os agricultores expostos. O presente estudo teve como objetivo descrever os perfis de sa?de e socioecon?mico de 60 agricultores no Munic?pio de Touros/RN atrav?s do question?rio recomendado por: (International Commission for Protection against Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens (ICPEMC). As an?lises desses dados permitiu comprovar a import?ncia do conhecimento do perfil socioecon?mico e de sa?de de agricultores rurais como forma de entender a realidade dessa popula??o, que pela falta de conhecimentos e condi??es encontram-se vulner?veis a exposi??o de agrot?xicos. Com objetivo de analisar a frequ?ncia de micron?cleos (MN) e outras anormalidade nucleares em c?lulas da mucosa oral de 54 agricultores que trabalham no Munic?pio de Touros/RN aplicou-se o Teste de micron?cleo (MN) em mucosa bucal. Os nossos resultados mostraram uma frequ?ncia aumentada de MN e outras anormalidades nucleares relacionados com a exposi??o e efeitos dos defensivos agr?colas na sa?de. A partir dos resultados obtidos, fica not?rio que os agricultores est?o aplicando os agrot?xicos de maneira err?nea e comprometendo a sua sa?de. Como estrat?gia socioeducativas foi desenvolvido um Cordel baseado no texto e nos resultados encontrados no presente estudo. Desta forma este estudo alerta para a necessidade de profundas mudan?as sociais, culturais e no ?mbito da sa?de para diminuir os riscos a sa?de tanto para as pessoas quanto para o ambiente

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:18:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JeffersonSB.pdf: 95921 bytes, checksum: fc181517bec40efa1a2dbb0343c7987a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-03-10 / The contamination of the waters resources for wastewater from industrial, agricultural, and domestic sources is a serious environment problem, compromising its use for human consumption and agriculture. The Extremoz-RN Lake is an important freshwater source for the supply of the city of Natal, supplying a population of approximately 160,000 habitants. This aquatic body is located near an industrial pole which can be a serious risk factor for quality of its waters. The objectives of this study were examined the genotoxicity of Extremoz Lake between September of 2006 and January of 2008, by a combination of the Allium micronucleus test, piscine micronucleus test and the comet assay in erythrocytes from peripheral blood of Oreochromis niloticus. Additionally, the level of eight different heavy metals was quantified through spectrometry of atomic absorption of flame. The Allium test did not detect increase in the frequencies of micronucleus in none of the analyzed periods, however a strong cytotoxic activity was demonstrated for decrease in mitotic index in the analyses carried in April and July of 2007. Negative results had been detected in the frequencies of micronucleus in O. niloticus. A statistic significant increase was observed in the levels of DNA damage in comet assay carried in July of 2007. The results of the chemical analysis had detected increase in the levels of cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead and zinc in different periods. These results demonstrated an alteration of the water s quality of the Extremoz Lake caused for the contamination for heavy metals and increase of DNA strand breaks. The use of biomonitoring program of the heavy metal and other pollutants with genotoxic potential combinated with genotoxicity assays is recommends. / A contamina??o dos recursos h?dricos, por efluentes de origem dom?stica e industrial, ? um s?rio problema ambiental, que compromete o uso de suas ?guas tanto para o consumo humano quanto para a agricultura. A Lagoa de Extremoz-RN ? uma importante fonte de ?gua para o abastecimento da cidade do Natal, suprindo uma popula??o de aproximadamente 160.000 habitantes. Esse corpo aqu?tico est? localizado pr?ximo a um p?lo industrial o qual pode ser um fator de risco a qualidade de suas ?guas. O presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar o potencial genot?xico das ?guas da lagoa de Extremoz entre os meses de setembro de 2006 e janeiro de 2008, pelo uso combinado do teste Allium cepa, teste micron?cleo e ensaio cometa em eritr?citos do sangue perif?rico de Oreochromis niloticus. Adicionalmente foram quantificados os n?veis de sete diferentes metais pesados pela da t?cnica de espectrometria de absor??o at?mica de chama. O teste A. cepa n?o detectou aumento nas freq??ncias de micron?cleos em nenhum dos per?odos analisados, por?m um forte efeito citot?xico, demonstrado pela diminui??o no ?ndice mit?tico, foi observado nas an?lises realizadas em abril e julho de 2007. Resultados negativos tamb?m foram encontrados nas freq??ncias de micron?cleos em O. niloticus. Uma altera??o estatisticamente significativa foi observada nos n?veis de quebra no DNA pelo teste cometa. Nos resultados da an?lise qu?mica, foi observado aumento nos n?veis de c?dmio, cromo, cobre, n?quel, chumbo e zinco em diferentes per?odos amostrais, acima dos permitidos pela legisla??o brasileira. Em conjunto, esses resultados demonstraram uma altera??o da qualidade das ?guas da Lagoa de Extremoz causada pela contamina??o por metais pesados. Estes metais parecem estar interagindo com o material gen?tico, visto o aumento nos n?veis de quebras no DNA, identificados no teste Cometa. Contudo, os danos n?o est?o sendo fixados pela c?lula. Diante disso, ? importante recomendar um programa de monitoramento da presen?a de metais pesados, bem como de outros poluentes com potencial genot?xico, nessa ?rea de estudo.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-23T14:00:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CAPiTULO 1.pdf: 173170 bytes, checksum: 0870a0dee1d35604d39e39a3d4d077e8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-08-16 / As transformações ocorridas nos últimos anos têm provocado inovações de ordem empresarial e organizacional, com novas formas de atuação das empresas. Nos dias de hoje, muito se discute a respeito da atuação das empresas de forma conjunta e associada, principalmente para as micro e pequenas empresas (MPEs) se tornou prática fundamental para o sucesso. Dessa forma, os conceitos de redes empresariais, como aglomerados produtivos, constituem-se em importante fonte de competitividade que demanda a mobilização de todos os segmentos da sociedade. Parte-se então do pressuposto de que a constituição de arranjos produtivos locais (APLs) fornece elementos que podem resultar na solução dos gargalos existentes. No Espírito Santo são verificadas algumas formações industriais que vêm sendo referência para a caracterização de possíveis APLs organizados. Estudar tais formações, fornecendo informações relevantes e identificando suas condições de competitividade sistêmica contribui para o maior conhecimento e no direcionamento de políticas de desenvolvimento. O Índice de Condições de Competitividade (ICC) buscou refletir características dos APLs selecionados, com o objetivo de diagnosticar as condições de competitividade de cada um deles utilizando, para isso, um conjunto de Fatores Críticos de Sucesso. / The occured transformations in recent years have provoked innovations in the orders enterprise and organizacional, with new forms of performance of the companies. Nowadays, much argues regarding the performance of the companies of joint form and associate, mainly for the micron and small companies if became practical basic for the success. Of this form, the concepts of enterprise ne ts, as productive accumulations, consist in important source of competitiveness that demand the mobilization of all the segments of the society. The hypothesis is that the constitution of local productive arrangements (LPAs) supplies elements that can result in the solution of the existing deficiencies. In the Espírito Santo some industrial formations are verified that come being reference for the characterization of possible LPAs organized. To study such formations, supplying excellent information and identifying its conditions of competitiveness contributes for the biggest knowledge and in the aiming of development politics. The Index of Conditions of Competitiveness (ICC) searched to reflect characteristics of the LPAs selected, with the objective to diagnosis the conditions of competitiveness of each one of them using, for this, a set of Critical Factors of Success.

Micron scale robots going inside our body and curing various ailments is a technolog¬ical dream that easily captures our imagination. However, with the advent of novel nanofabrication and nanocharacterization tools there has been a surge in the research in this field over the last decade. In order to achieve locomotion (swim) at these small length scales, special strategies need to be adopted, that is able to overcome the large viscous damping that these microbots have to face while moving in the various bod¬ily fluids. Thus researchers have looked into the swimming strategies found in nature like that of bacteria like E.coli found in our gut or spermatozoa in the reproductive mucus. Biomimetic swimmers that replicate the motion of these small microorganisms hold tremendous promise in a host of biomedical applications like targeted drug delivery, microsurgery, biochemical sensing and disease diagnosis. In one such method of swimming at very low Reynolds numbers, a micron scale helix has been fabricated and rendered magnetic by putting a magnetic material on it. Small rotating magnetic fields could be used then to rotate the helix, which translated as a result of the intrinsic translation rotation coupling in a helix. The present work focussed on the development of such a system of nanopropellers, a few microns in length, the characterization of its dynamics and velocity fluctuations originating from thermal noise. The work has also showed a possible application of the nanopropellers in microrheology where it could be used as a new tool to measure the rheological characteristics of a complex heterogeneous environment with very high spatial and temporal resolutions. A generalized study of the dynamics of these propellers under a rotating field, has showed the existence of a variety of different dynamical configurations. Rigid body dynamics simulations have been carried out to understand the behaviour. Significant amount of insight has been gained by solving the equations of motion of the object analytically and it has helped to obtain a complete understanding, along with providing closed form expressions of the various characteristics frequencies and parameters that has defined the motion. A study of the velocity fluctuations of these chiral nanopropellers has been carried out, where the nearby wall of the microfluidic cell was found to have a dominant effect on the fluctuations. The wall has been found to enhance the average level of fluctuations apart from bringing in significant non Gaussian effects. The experimentally obtained fluctuations has been corroborated by a simulation in which a time evolution study of the governing 3D Langevin dynamics equations has been done. A closer look at the various sources of velocity fluctuations and a causality study thereof has brought out a minimum length scale below which helical propulsion has become impractical to achieve because of the increased effect of the orientational fluctuations of the propeller at those small length scales. An interesting bistable dynamics of the propeller has been observed under certain experimental conditions, in which the propeller randomly switched between the different dynamical states. This defied common sense because of the inherent deterministic nature of the governing Stokes equation. Rigid body dynamics simulations and stability analysis has shown the existence of time scales in which two different dynamical states of the propeller have become stable. Thus the intrinsic dynamics of the system has been found to be the reason behind the bistable behaviour, randomness being brought about by the thermal fluctuations present in the system. Finally, in a novel application of the propellers, they have been demonstrated as a tool for microrheological mapping in a complex fluidic environment. The studies done in this work have helped to develop this method of active microrheology in which the measurement times are orders of magnitude smaller than its existing counterparts.

Submitted by Ricardo Cedraz Duque Moliterno (ricardo.moliterno@uefs.br) on 2016-09-15T21:49:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodrigo Tese Final PDF.pdf: 7598532 bytes, checksum: 876426158d6c8f445be96952d8f7c27b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-15T21:49:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodrigo Tese Final PDF.pdf: 7598532 bytes, checksum: 876426158d6c8f445be96952d8f7c27b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-28 / The use of vegetables with medicinal purposes contributes significantly to the care of the primary needs of assistance to health due to difficult access of the population to medical and pharmaceutical assistance, the high cost of manufactured medications and a tendency for people to use natural origin products. However, technical and scientific information about most of them, particularly with respect to the genotoxic potential, are still insufficient so that the use can be considered safe. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic effects of boldo extracts (Plectranthus ornatus) and soursop (Annona muricata), through the comet assay and micronucleus test in human lymphocytes with cytokinesis blocking (MNCtB). The tests were performed on human lymphocyte cultures exposed to the extracts in three concentrations: 1.000?g/ml, 500?g/ml and 250?g/ml. Hydrogen peroxide (1mM) was used as a positive control in the comet assay and vincristine sulfate (1mM) in MNCtB. As a negative control, 40% ethanol was used in both tests. The processing of the material for the comet assay and MNCtB was done according respectively to the protocols Tice et al. (2000) and Fenech (1993). The comet assay was performed in five repetitions being computed, in each of them, 100 comets in a total of two blades. For MNCtB three repetitions were performed and 1.000 binucleate lymphocytes were computed per slide. The occurrence of DNA damage (comet assay) did not differ between the cell of the cultures exposed to different concentrations of boldo extracts from each other nor compared to the negative control. Higher occurrence of micronuclei (MNCtB) was observed in the cell of the cultures treated with the extract at concentrations of 1.000?g/ml and 500?g/ml when compared to the negative control (p<0.05) and cultures treated with the extract concentration of 250?g/ml. The soursop extracts at concentrations of 1.000?g/ml to 500?g/ml induced damage occurrence to the DNA significantly higher than that observed in the negative control and cultures treated with extract at a concentration of 250?g/ml (p<0.001). The conditions in which this study was performed, the obtained results allow concluding that: 1) boldo extracts are not effective in inducing DNA damage, but depending on the concentration, they present clastogenic and/or aneugenic effects; 2) soursop extracts induce DNA damage under certain concentrations. The results of this study strongly raise the achievement of other addressing the issue, so that the actual genotoxic potential of vegetables analyzed here can be established. / O uso de vegetais com fins medicinais contribui de forma significativa para o cuidado das necessidades prim?rias de assist?ncia ? sa?de devido ao dif?cil acesso da popula??o ? assist?ncia m?dica e farmac?utica, aos altos custos dos medicamentos industrializados e ? uma tend?ncia das pessoas a utilizarem produtos de origem natural. No entanto, informa??es t?cnico-cient?ficas acerca da maioria deles, particularmente no que tange ao potencial genot?xico, s?o ainda insuficientes para que o uso possa ser considerado seguro. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos genot?xicos de extratos do boldo (Plectranthus ornatus) e da graviola (Annona muricata), atrav?s do ensaio cometa e do teste de micron?cleo em linf?citos humanos com bloqueio da citocinese (MNCtB). Os testes foram feitos em culturas de linf?citos humanos expostas aos extratos em tr?s concentra??es: 1.000?g/ml, 500?g/ml e 250?g/ml. Per?xido de hidrog?nio (1mM) foi utilizado como controle positivo no ensaio cometa e sulfato de vincristina (1mM) no MNCtB. Como controle negativo foi usado o etanol 40% em ambos os testes. O processamento do material para o ensaio cometa e MNCtB foi feito de acordo, respectivamente, com os protocolos de Tice et al. (2000) e Fenech (1993). O ensaio cometa foi realizado em cinco repeti??es, sendo computados, em cada uma delas, 100 cometas em um total de duas l?minas. Para o MNCtB foram realizadas tr?s repeti??es e computados 1.000 linf?citos binucleados por l?mina. A ocorr?ncia de danos ao DNA (ensaio cometa) n?o diferiu entre as c?lulas das culturas expostas ?s diferentes concentra??es dos extratos do boldo entre si e nem quando comparadas ao controle negativo. Maior ocorr?ncia de micron?cleos (MNCtB) foi observada nas c?lulas das culturas tratadas com os extratos nas concentra??es de 1.000?g/ml e de 500?g/ml quando comparadas ao controle negativo (p<0,05) e ?s culturas tratadas com o extrato na concentra??o de 250?g/ml. Os extratos da graviola nas concentra??es de 1.000?g/ml e 500?g/ml induziram ocorr?ncia de danos ao DNA significativamente maior do que o observado no controle negativo e nas culturas tratadas com extrato na concentra??o de 250?g/ml (p<0,001). Nas condi??es em que este estudo foi realizado, os resultados obtidos permitem concluir que: 1) extratos do boldo n?o s?o efetivos em induzir danos ao DNA, mas na depend?ncia da concentra??o apresentam efeitos clastog?nicos e/ou aneug?nicos; 2) extratos da graviola induzem danos ao DNA sob determinadas concentra??es. Os resultados deste estudo suscitam fortemente a realiza??o de outros abordando o tema, para que o real potencial genot?xico dos vegetais aqui analisados possa ser estabelecido.

This PhD work involves the utilization of the femtosecond laser technique to fabricate the novel S-shaped Josephson Junctions on the high - T_C superconducting YBCO thin films. Initially, it was envisaged as the title states to fabricate nano sized Josephson Junctions using this femtosecond laser technique. However in this PhD work, micron sized (1 – 2 µm) and near nano sized (500 – 800 nm) Josephson Junctions where achieved. / University of South Africa / Electrical and Mining Engineering

Ce mémoire traite des systèmes intégrés sur puce (System-on-Chip) à faible consommation d'énergie tels que ceux qui seront utilisés dans les équipements portables de future génération (ordinateurs de poche (PDA), téléphones mobiles). S'agissant d'équipements alimentés par des batteries, la consommation énergétique est un problème critique. <p><p>Ces plateformes contiendront probablement une douzaine de coeurs de processeur et une quantité importante de mémoire embarquée. Une architecture de communication optimisée sera donc nécessaire afin de les interconnecter de manière efficace. De nombreuses architectures de communication ont été proposées dans la littérature: bus partagés, bus pontés, bus segmentés et plus récemment, les réseaux intégrés (NoC).<p><p>Toutefois, à l'exception des bus, la consommation d'énergie des réseaux d'interconnexion intégrés a été largement ignorée pendant longtemps. Ce n'est que très récemment que les premières études sont apparues dans ce domaine.<p><p>Cette thèse présente:<p><p>- Une analyse complète de l'espace de conception des architectures de communication intégrées. Sur base de cet espace de conception et d'un état de l'art détaillé, des techniques jusqu'alors inexplorées ont pu être identifiées et investiguées. <p>- La conception d'environnements de simulation de bas et haut niveaux permettant de réaliser des comparaisons entre différentes architectures de communication en termes de consommation énergétique et de surface.<p>- La conception et la validation d'une architecture de communication intégrée innovante basée sur le multiplexage spatial<p><p>Ce dernier point a pour ambition de démontrer qu'un réseau basé sur le multiplexage spatial (SDM) constitue une alternative intéressante aux réseaux classiques principalement basés sur le multiplexage temporel dans le contexte très spécifique des architectures de communication intégrées.<p><p>Nous démontrerons la validité de la solution proposée à l'aide de campagnes de simulation de haut niveau pour divers types de trafic ainsi que des simulations de plus bas niveau. L'étude concerne successivement la conception de routers SDM, des interfaces réseau et finalement d'un réseau complet. Les avantages et inconvénients d'une telle technique seront discutés en détails. / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This dissertation details theoretical and experimental work in the development of a novel combustion diagnostic: laser levitation of solid particles. Theoretical analyses of the forces involved in the suspension of solid particles in a laser beam provide a comprehensive description of the levitation mechanism. Experimental work provides extensive observations and data that describe each of the forces involved, including results from detailed models. Theoretical models establish that a free-convective drag force, light scattering, photon momentum, and other minor forces contribute to the trapping mechanism. The theory quantitatively predicts particle temperature and magnitudes of each of the forces involved. Experimental measurements contain significant scatter, primarily due to the difficulty of making measurements on these very small particles. However, the best estimate trends of the measurements agree well with the predicted behavior despite the scatter. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions of the free-convective drag force qualitatively agree with published experimental values. The technique represents a tool for studying combustion and gasification of single, micron-sized, solid particles. Biomass fuels and coal (among many others) provide experimental demonstration of particle suspension. The system suspends particles near the focal point of a visible-light laser, allowing continuous monitoring of their size, shape, temperature, and possibly mass. The Particle Levitation Model (PLM) establishes the trapping mechanism using data from three submodels: an energy balance, a drag force model, and a photon force model. Biomass fuels provide experimental demonstrations of particle levitation under a variety of conditions that illustrate each of the primary levitation mechanisms. Several different trapping techniques provide single-particle data in literature, including optical tweezers and electrodynamic levitation. However, optical levitation of opaque particles is a relatively new technique and, although less-well understood, provides a potentially powerful novel diagnostic technique for single-particle combustion investigations. The diagnostic consists of a solid-state laser, a high-speed color camera, an infrared camera, and a variety of optics. All experimental data are obtained optically, including particle dynamics, size and shape, and particle temperature. Thus, this technique enables the in situ investigation of micron-sized, solid particles under conditions similar to commercial combustion and gasification processes.