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O fósforo é um dos minerais mais abundantes no corpo além de ser essencial para muitos processos biológicos. A homeostase do fósforo depende da absorção no intestino, da excreção renal, da remodelação óssea e de hormônios como o paratormônio, calcitriol e FGF-23. Nos pacientes com doença renal crônica, a excreção urinária de fósforo está comprometida levando à hiperfosfatemia, que contribui para o aumento da morbidade e mortalidade desses pacientes. A absorção intestinal de fósforo no intestino delgado, particularmente via cotransportadores NaP-IIb e PiT-1, é pouco estudada. O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar os efeitos de dietas com diferentes concentrações de fósforo na expressão proteica e gênica dos cotransportadores NaP-IIb e PiT-1, bem como na apoptose dos enterócitos dos diferentes segmentos do intestino delgado de animais controles e urêmicos. Estudamos setenta e seis ratos Wistar machos, inicialmente divididos em dois grupos: controles (C) e urêmicos (Nx). Cada grupo foi subdividido em outros três, de acordo com a concentração de fósforo (P) na dieta: dieta Baixa (0,2%), dieta Padrão (0,54%) e dieta Alta (0,9%). Analisamos parâmetros bioquímicos (creatinina, P, Cai, PTH e FGF-23), a expressão proteica dos cotransportadores, através de Western Blotting, ELISA e imunofluorescência, a expressão gênica por PCR em tempo real e a apoptose dos enterócitos pela técnica TUNEL. Os resultados mostraram que os níveis séricos de creatinina, P, PTH e FGF-23 foram significativamente mais elevados nos animais Nx. Nos animais C com dieta baixa em P observamos aumento da expressão proteica do cotransportador NaP-IIb em todos os segmentos do intestino enquanto, no Nx Baixo, a expressão desse cotransportador foi menor somente no jejuno. Quanto ao PiT-1, sua expressão foi menor no íleo do grupo Nx Alto comparado ao seu respectivo controle. A expressão gênica do cotransportador NaP-IIb foi menor no jejuno do Nx Alto e maior no íleo desse mesmo grupo em relação aos seus respectivos controles. A expressão gênica do PiT-1 foi maior em todos os segmentos do grupo Nx Baixo em relação aos seus controles. Detectamos uma correlação direta entre a expressão gênica do NaP-IIb no jejuno com o fósforo sérico. A expressão gênica do PiT-1 no jejuno correlacionou-se com o fósforo sérico e no duodeno e jejuno, com os níveis séricos de FGF-23. No duodeno e no jejuno, a porcentagem de enterócitos apoptóticos foi maior nos animais Nx Alto comparados aos controles, particularmente no duodeno a porcentagem dessas células também foi maior no grupo Nx Baixo e controle padrão. Já no jejuno, tanto o grupo Nx baixo quanto no Nx Padrão observamos menos células apoptóticas que nos seus respectivos controles. Quando analisamos conjuntamente todos os segmentos intestinais o grupo Nx alto apresentou mais células apoptóticas que o controle e o oposto foi observado nos grupos Nx Baixo e Nx Padrão. Em conclusão, dietas com distintas concentrações de fósforo promovem modificações na expressão proteica e gênica dos cotransportadores NaP-IIb e PiT-1 no intestino delgado que não seguem um padrão uniforme. A sobrecarga de fósforo aumenta a porcentagem de enterócitos apoptóticos nos animais urêmicos / Phosphorus is one of the most abundant minerals in the body besides being essential for many biological processes. Phosphorus homeostasis depends on absorption in the small intestine, renal excretion, bone remodeling and hormones such as parathyroid hormone, calcitriol and FGF-23. In patients with chronic kidney disease phosphorus urinary excretion is compromised leading to hyperphosphatemia, which contributes to increased morbidity and mortality of these patients. Intestinal absorption of phosphorus in the small intestine, particularly of NaP-IIb and PiT-1 cotransporters is poorly studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of diets with different concentrations of phosphorus in protein expression and gene of NaP-IIb and PiT-1 cotransporters as well as in apoptosis of enterocytes of different segments of intestine in control and uremic animals. We studied seventy-six male Wistar rats initially divided into two groups: controls (C) and uremic (Nx). Each group was subdivided into three others, according to the phosphorus concentration in the diet: Low diet (0.2% P), Standard diet (0.54% P) and High diet (0.9% P). We analyzed biochemical parameters (creatinine, P, iCa, PTH and FGF-23), protein expression of cotransporters, using Western Blot, ELISA, immunofluorescence, real-time PCR and apoptosis of enterocytes using the TUNEL technique. Results showed that serum creatinine, P, PTH and FGF-23 were significantly higher in Nx animals. In C animals with a diet low in P we observed increase in protein expression of NaP-IIb cotransporter in all segments of the intestine while in low Nx expression of this cotransporter was lower only in jejunum. As for PiT-1 expression was lower in the ileum of the high Nx group compared to their respective control. Gene expression of NaP-IIb cotransporter was lower in the jejunum of high Nx and higher in the ileum of the same group as compared to their respective controls. PiT-1 gene expression was higher in all segments of the low Nx group compared to their controls. We detected a direct correlation between the gene expression of NaP-IIb in jejunum and serum phosphorus. Gene expression of PiT-1 correlated with serum phosphorus in the jejunum, and correlated with the serum levels of FGF-23 in the jejunum and duodenum. In the duodenum and jejunum the percentage of apoptotic enterocytes was higher in high Nx animals compared to controls; particularly in the duodenum the percentage of these cells was also higher in low Nx group and standard control. In the jejunum in both low Nx group and standard Nx we observed fewer apoptotic cells than in their respective controls. When we analyze all intestinal segments together the high Nx group had more apoptotic cells than the control, and the opposite was observed in the low Nx group and standard Nx group. In conclusion, diets with different phosphorus concentrations promote changes in protein expression and gene of NaP-IIb and PiT-1 cotransporters in the small intestine that do not follow a uniform pattern. Phosphorus overhead increases the percentage of apoptotic enterocytes in uremic animals

O fósforo é um dos minerais mais abundantes no corpo além de ser essencial para muitos processos biológicos. A homeostase do fósforo depende da absorção no intestino, da excreção renal, da remodelação óssea e de hormônios como o paratormônio, calcitriol e FGF-23. Nos pacientes com doença renal crônica, a excreção urinária de fósforo está comprometida levando à hiperfosfatemia, que contribui para o aumento da morbidade e mortalidade desses pacientes. A absorção intestinal de fósforo no intestino delgado, particularmente via cotransportadores NaP-IIb e PiT-1, é pouco estudada. O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar os efeitos de dietas com diferentes concentrações de fósforo na expressão proteica e gênica dos cotransportadores NaP-IIb e PiT-1, bem como na apoptose dos enterócitos dos diferentes segmentos do intestino delgado de animais controles e urêmicos. Estudamos setenta e seis ratos Wistar machos, inicialmente divididos em dois grupos: controles (C) e urêmicos (Nx). Cada grupo foi subdividido em outros três, de acordo com a concentração de fósforo (P) na dieta: dieta Baixa (0,2%), dieta Padrão (0,54%) e dieta Alta (0,9%). Analisamos parâmetros bioquímicos (creatinina, P, Cai, PTH e FGF-23), a expressão proteica dos cotransportadores, através de Western Blotting, ELISA e imunofluorescência, a expressão gênica por PCR em tempo real e a apoptose dos enterócitos pela técnica TUNEL. Os resultados mostraram que os níveis séricos de creatinina, P, PTH e FGF-23 foram significativamente mais elevados nos animais Nx. Nos animais C com dieta baixa em P observamos aumento da expressão proteica do cotransportador NaP-IIb em todos os segmentos do intestino enquanto, no Nx Baixo, a expressão desse cotransportador foi menor somente no jejuno. Quanto ao PiT-1, sua expressão foi menor no íleo do grupo Nx Alto comparado ao seu respectivo controle. A expressão gênica do cotransportador NaP-IIb foi menor no jejuno do Nx Alto e maior no íleo desse mesmo grupo em relação aos seus respectivos controles. A expressão gênica do PiT-1 foi maior em todos os segmentos do grupo Nx Baixo em relação aos seus controles. Detectamos uma correlação direta entre a expressão gênica do NaP-IIb no jejuno com o fósforo sérico. A expressão gênica do PiT-1 no jejuno correlacionou-se com o fósforo sérico e no duodeno e jejuno, com os níveis séricos de FGF-23. No duodeno e no jejuno, a porcentagem de enterócitos apoptóticos foi maior nos animais Nx Alto comparados aos controles, particularmente no duodeno a porcentagem dessas células também foi maior no grupo Nx Baixo e controle padrão. Já no jejuno, tanto o grupo Nx baixo quanto no Nx Padrão observamos menos células apoptóticas que nos seus respectivos controles. Quando analisamos conjuntamente todos os segmentos intestinais o grupo Nx alto apresentou mais células apoptóticas que o controle e o oposto foi observado nos grupos Nx Baixo e Nx Padrão. Em conclusão, dietas com distintas concentrações de fósforo promovem modificações na expressão proteica e gênica dos cotransportadores NaP-IIb e PiT-1 no intestino delgado que não seguem um padrão uniforme. A sobrecarga de fósforo aumenta a porcentagem de enterócitos apoptóticos nos animais urêmicos / Phosphorus is one of the most abundant minerals in the body besides being essential for many biological processes. Phosphorus homeostasis depends on absorption in the small intestine, renal excretion, bone remodeling and hormones such as parathyroid hormone, calcitriol and FGF-23. In patients with chronic kidney disease phosphorus urinary excretion is compromised leading to hyperphosphatemia, which contributes to increased morbidity and mortality of these patients. Intestinal absorption of phosphorus in the small intestine, particularly of NaP-IIb and PiT-1 cotransporters is poorly studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of diets with different concentrations of phosphorus in protein expression and gene of NaP-IIb and PiT-1 cotransporters as well as in apoptosis of enterocytes of different segments of intestine in control and uremic animals. We studied seventy-six male Wistar rats initially divided into two groups: controls (C) and uremic (Nx). Each group was subdivided into three others, according to the phosphorus concentration in the diet: Low diet (0.2% P), Standard diet (0.54% P) and High diet (0.9% P). We analyzed biochemical parameters (creatinine, P, iCa, PTH and FGF-23), protein expression of cotransporters, using Western Blot, ELISA, immunofluorescence, real-time PCR and apoptosis of enterocytes using the TUNEL technique. Results showed that serum creatinine, P, PTH and FGF-23 were significantly higher in Nx animals. In C animals with a diet low in P we observed increase in protein expression of NaP-IIb cotransporter in all segments of the intestine while in low Nx expression of this cotransporter was lower only in jejunum. As for PiT-1 expression was lower in the ileum of the high Nx group compared to their respective control. Gene expression of NaP-IIb cotransporter was lower in the jejunum of high Nx and higher in the ileum of the same group as compared to their respective controls. PiT-1 gene expression was higher in all segments of the low Nx group compared to their controls. We detected a direct correlation between the gene expression of NaP-IIb in jejunum and serum phosphorus. Gene expression of PiT-1 correlated with serum phosphorus in the jejunum, and correlated with the serum levels of FGF-23 in the jejunum and duodenum. In the duodenum and jejunum the percentage of apoptotic enterocytes was higher in high Nx animals compared to controls; particularly in the duodenum the percentage of these cells was also higher in low Nx group and standard control. In the jejunum in both low Nx group and standard Nx we observed fewer apoptotic cells than in their respective controls. When we analyze all intestinal segments together the high Nx group had more apoptotic cells than the control, and the opposite was observed in the low Nx group and standard Nx group. In conclusion, diets with different phosphorus concentrations promote changes in protein expression and gene of NaP-IIb and PiT-1 cotransporters in the small intestine that do not follow a uniform pattern. Phosphorus overhead increases the percentage of apoptotic enterocytes in uremic animals

The Belgian Coastal Zone (BCZ) in the Southern Bight of the North Sea is a highly dynamic and optically complex area. This is due to high non-algal particles (NAP) and coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) content which in spring adds together with undesirable blooms of the haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa. There is a need for improving the algorithms for chlorophyll a (chl a) retrieval in these highly turbid waters and for developing algorithms for species detection in order to attempt to create an early warning bloom system. This information will contribute to the knowledge of the extent and magnitude of the P. globosa bloom in Belgian waters. In this study, pure cultures of the main taxa present in the BCZ, diatoms and P. globosa, were combined with field measurements of light absorption of total particles, phytoplankton and dissolved material, pigment determination and phytoplankton counts to address the main objectives. Sampling was performed during 8 cruises covering winter, spring, summer and late summer, and along nearshore-offshore gradients from 2003 to 2006. The area is characterised by a high spatio-temporal variability of IOPs due to the high dynamics of the area in terms of currents, salinity gradients and biological production. During spring the presence of P. globosa modulates the IOPs across all the area, the particle absorption is significantly higher than summer and there is no significant coast-offshore variability for phytoplankton and CDOM. The design of chl a retrieval algorithms assumes negligible absorption of NAP and CDOM in the near infrared (NIR) and the use of a fixed value of specific phytoplankton absorption. It is shown that neglecting the NAP and CDOM absorption in the NIR will have a significant overestimation impact in retrieval of chl a. On the other hand, the specific phytoplankton absorption was found to be highly variable (0.015 „b 0.011 m2 mg chl a-1). Both results will affect directly the retrieved chl a. The spatial variability of CDOM was significant varying between 0.20-1.31 m-1 in the marine area and between 1.81-4.29 m-1 in the Scheldt estuary. CDOM was found to be related to salinity with conservative mixing within the Scheldt estuary and during some seasons in the BCZ, however deviations from conservative mixing suggest other inputs to the CDOM pool. Analyses of the spectral slope of the CDOM absorption curve revealed two main CDOM pools in the area, an allochthonous one delivered by the Scheldt estuary and an autochthonous one associated with the phytoplankton spring bloom decomposition. Algorithms for CDOM retrieval will be affected if the variability in the relation between CDOM and salinity is not taken into account. The optical characterisation of diatoms and P. globosa from the BCZ in pure cultures revealed that the main differences in the phytoplankton absorption spectra were found at 467 and 500 nm corresponding to the absorption of the pigments chlorophyll c3 (chl c3) characteristic of P. globosa and fucoxanthin, respectively. Accordingly, both the absorption at 467 nm and the ratio 500/467 nm were successfully used to discriminate the two taxa in cultures and field samples. This latter indicator was not preserved in the reflectance signal due to degradation of the signal when passing from absorption to reflectance, and thus could not be used for algorithm development. The spectral feature at 467 nm was later used as the basis for the development of a flag-type algorithm to detect chl c3 using either absorption or water-leaving reflectance data. Also, the correlation between the algorithm¡¦s retrieved chl c3 and P. globosa cell number allowed the quantification of the bloom. The main findings of this thesis highlight the importance of the IOPs characterisation for the improvement and development of ocean colour retrieval algorithms in these highly complex waters.

The aim of the diploma thesis is to decide on the basis of pilot questionnaire results whether the business plan of the author is viable and long-term financially sustainable.

Nous étudions dans cette thèse l'algèbre de Hopf H associée à l'opérade pré-Lie. L'espace des éléments primitifs du dual gradué est muni d'une structure pré-Lie à gauche notée ⊲ définie par l'insertion d'un arbre dans un autre. Nous retrouvons la relation de dérivation entre le produit pré-Lie ⊲ et le produit pré-Lie de greffe → sur les éléments primitifs du dual gradué de l'algèbre de Hopf de Connes Kreimer HCK. Nous mettons en évidence un coproduit sur le produit tensoriel H ⊗HCK, qui en fait une algèbre de Hopf dont le dual gradué est isomorphe à l'algèbre enveloppante du produit semi-direct des deux algèbres de Lie considérées. Nous montrons que l'espace engendré par les arbres enracinés qui ont au moins une arête, muni du produit d'insertion, est une algèbre pré-Lie (non libre) engendrée par deux éléments. Nous mettons en évidence deux familles de relations. De plus nous montrons un résultat similaire pour l'algèbre pré-Lie associée à l'opérade NAP. Finalement on introduit les opérades à débit constant et on montre que l'opérade pré-Lie s'obtient comme déformation de l'opérade NAP dans ce cadre.

Orientador: Anita Liberalesso Neri / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T15:17:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marincolo_JulianaCarvalhoSegato_M.pdf: 1936424 bytes, checksum: e899b8b198549300776ea81ab6bf04e3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Objetivo: analisar relações entre indicadores de fragilidade, comorbidades e tempo despendido em atividades de vida diária, em amostra probabilística de idosos comunitários recrutados em domicílio. Métodos: 689 idosos (470 mulheres), 65 a 90 anos (M = 72,28 + 5,27), renda familiar média = 4,72 + 5,27 salários mínimos, sem déficit cognitivo sugestivo de demência. Foram feitas medidas de força de preensão e velocidade da marcha e levantados autorrelatos de fadiga, perda > 4,5 kg ou 5% do peso corporal no ano anterior, número de doenças crônicas e tempo médio diário dedicado a exercícios físicos e esportes ativos, trabalhos domésticos, trabalho fora de casa, lazer passivo e sono diurnos. Resultados: 15,9% perderam peso, 17,13% relataram fadiga, 16,06% pontuaram abaixo do 1º quintil em força de preensão, 15,87% pontuaram acima do percentil 80 em tempo de marcha; 43,02% tinham 3 ou + doenças crônicas e 11,9%, nenhuma. Fadiga e comorbidades foram significantemente mais comuns entre mulheres e idosos jovens, que gastavam mais tempo diário em atividades domésticas e de lazer passivo; os homens e os com maior renda gastavam mais tempo em exercícios físicos; os homens, em descanso diurno. Análises de covariância ajustadas por gênero, idade e renda mostraram relações entre fadiga e maior tempo dedicado a descanso diurno; baixa força de preensão e lentidão da marcha e menos tempo em atividades domésticas. Conclusões: O uso do tempo por idosos é determinado por escolhas e motivações pessoais, papéis de gênero e recursos sociais e ecológicos, em interação com saúde e competência comportamental / Abstract: Objective: This study was aimed to analyze indicators of frailty, comorbidities, and time spent in activities of daily living in a probabilistic sample of community dwelling-elderly. Methods: 689 aged persons (470 women), aged 65 to 90 (M = 72,28 + 5,27), mean monthly family income of 4,72 minimum wages (+ 5,27), without cognitive deficit suggestive of dementia were submited to measures of grip strenght and walking speed, and interviewed about fatigue, unintentional weight loss > 4,5 kg or 5% of body weight in the last year, comorbidities and daily time dedicated to physical exercises, housework, paid or voluntary work done outside home, passive leisure, and daytime sleeping/resting. Results: 15,9% reported unintentional weight loss, 17,13% had fatigue, 16,06% scored below the 1st quintile of grip strenght, and 15,87% scored above percentile 80 of walking time; 43,02% had 3 or more diseases and 11,9% had none. Fatigue and comorbidities were significantly more common among women and the youngest olds, which spent more time performing housework and passive leisure activities; males and those with the highest levels of income spent more time doing physical exercises; male participants spent more daily time sleeping/resting. Covariance analysis adjusted by gender, age and income showed statisticaly significant relations between fatigue and more daytime spent in sleeping/resting; low grip strenght and low walking speed with less time dedicated to housework. Conclusions: Time use by elderly people are determined by personal choices and motivations, gender roles, and social and ecological resources, which interact with health conditions and behavioral competence / Mestrado / Mestre em Gerontologia

Emission trading allowances are one of the new instrument of the environmental protection, which is, as an EU ETS component, influencing almost 400 czech companies with just about 500 air polluting sources in the Czech republic. This diploma thesis deals with the main impact of the EU ETS on the czech companies. The analysis is focused on the first trading period 2005 -- 2007 and on the first year of the second trading period 2008 -- 2012. Methodology of the analysis is based on the qualitative research with individual in-depth interviews with czech companies and is focused on the research of induced costs and diverse approach and motivations of the large and small companies within the EU ETS

My dissertation focuses on (i) the development sputtered films for solid phase microextraction (SPME) and (ii) the comprehensive characterization of materials using a suite of analytical techniques. Chapter 1 reviews the basics of SPME. This chapter also contains (i) a discussion of various sputtering techniques, (ii) a discussion of two techniques I focused on most of my work: spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Chapter 2 focuses the major part of my work, which is to prepare new solid phases/adsorbents for SPME via silicon sputtering followed by thermal deposition of a polymer, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). PDMS was deposited by a simple gas phase technique which has never before been applied to prepare SPME stationary phases. The coatings were characterized by time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), XPS, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), SE, and contact angle goniometry. The extraction efficiencies of ca. 1.8 µm sputtered, PDMS-coated fibers were compared to a commercial fiber (7 µm PDMS) for a series of polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Large carry-over and phase bleed peaks are observed in case of commercial PDMS-based SPME coatings, which decrease the lifetime and usefulness of these fibers. It is of great significance that our sputtered fibers exhibit very small or negligible carry-over peaks and phase bleed peaks under the same conditions. Chapter 3 focuses on the multi-instrument characterization of copper and tungsten films sputtered by direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) using a modern sputter source. The resulting films were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), XPS, SEM, atomic force microscopy (AFM), SE, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). By EDX and XPS, all the sputtered films only showed the expected metal peaks. By XPS, the surfaces sputtered by DCMS were richer in oxygen than those produced by HiPIMS. By AFM, both surfaces were quite smooth. By SEM, the HiPIMS films exhibited smaller grain sizes, which was further confirmed by XRD. The crystallite sizes estimated by XRD are as follows: 18.2 nm (W, HiPIMS), 27.3 nm (W, DCMS), 40.2 nm (Cu, HiPIMS), and 58.9 nm (Cu, DCMS). By SE, the HiPIMS surfaces showed higher refractive indices, which suggested that they were denser and less oxidized than the DCMS surfaces. Chapter 4 reports characterization of liquid PDMS via SE, which required some experimental adaptations. The transmission measurements were obtained via a dual cuvette approach that eliminated the effects of the cuvettes and their interfaces. Only the reflection measurements were modeled with a Sellmeier function which produced decent fits. Chapters 5 consists of contributions to Surface Science Spectra (SSS) of near-ambient XPS spectra of various unconventional materials including cheese, kidney stone, sesame seeds, clamshell, and calcite. This dissertation also contains appendices of tutorial articles I wrote on ellipsometry and vacuum equipment.

Development of vocalizations in early learners with autism is critical to the acquisition of verbal behavior and other important life skills. The purpose of the present studies was to (1) evaluate the efficiency and efficacy of Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing (SSP) and standard Echoic Training (ET) procedures for the development and onset of verbal behavior in early learners with ASD to improve early intervention efficiency and (2) elucidate predictive characteristics or variables for the effective use of SSP. The present studies were comprised of a multiple-baseline (across behaviors) experimental design buttressed within a reversal design, also known more broadly as within-subject controlled experimental designs. It was found that SSP can have a greater treatment efficacy than ET, but any efficacy advantage is transitory. Shifting an SSP treatment to direct reinforcement contingencies once vocalizations are produced are likely the most effective strategy. SSP produces discrepant effects across learners, thus highlighting the need to assess a learner’s characteristics and assumed reinforcer effectiveness. It was also found that higher-functioning learners will benefit more greatly from ET as opposed to SSP.