In this thesis the enriched stable isotope marking technique was examined to determine its validity and effectiveness in marking of Lake Sturgeon fin rays. The enriched stable isotope marking technique uses stable isotopes of elements that replace calcium in boney tissue, which are fixed in nature, however in laboratory settings can be easily manipulated. Manipulated ratios of naturally occurring isotopes can be determined from a small sample of the fin ray, thus allowing for the discrimination of fish stocks. Further, the thesis examined the underlying assumptions for strontium and barium into the Lake Sturgeon. For the marking technique to work, strontium and barium must be taken up from the environment and accumulated long-term in boney tissue. Net flux and tissue retention of strontium is reported and the research has demonstrated that enriched stable isotopes can be successfully used to mark the fin ray of Lake Sturgeon for long-term stock discrimination. / October 2015

The present research project is carried out at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (Rhode-Saint-Genèse, Belgium) with the financial support of the European Space Agency. The first stage of spacecrafts (e.g. Ariane 5, Vega, Shuttle) generally consists of large solid propellant rocket motors (SRM), which often consist of segmented structure and incorporate a submerged nozzle. During the combustion, the regression of the solid propellant surrounding the nozzle integration part leads to the formation of a cavity around the nozzle lip. The propellant combustion generates liquefied alumina droplets coming from chemical reaction of the aluminum composing the propellant grain. The alumina droplets being carried away by the hot burnt gases are flowing towards the nozzle. Meanwhile the droplets may interact with the internal flow. As a consequence, some of the droplets are entrapped in the cavity forming an alumina puddle (slag) instead of being exhausted through the throat. This slag reduces the performances. The aim of the present study is to characterize the slag accumulation process in a simplified model of the MPS P230 motor using primarily optical experimental techniques. Therefore, a 2D-like cold-gas model is designed, which represents the main geometrical features of the real motor (presence of an inhibitor, nozzle and cavity) and allows to approximate non-dimensional parameters of the internal two-phase flow (e.g. Stokes number, volume fraction). The model is attached to a wind-tunnel that provides quasi-axial flow (air) injection. A water spray device in the stagnation chamber realizes the models of the alumina droplets, which are accumulating in the aft-end cavity of the motor. To be able to carry out experimental investigation, at first the the VKI Level Detection and Recording(LeDaR) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurement techniques had to be adapted to the two-phase flow condition of the facility. A parametric liquid accumulation assessment is performed experimentally using the LeDaR technique to identify the influence of various parameters on the liquid deposition rate. The obstacle tip to nozzle tip distance (OT2NT) is identified to be the most relevant, which indicates how much a droplet passing just at the inhibitor tip should deviate transversally to leave through the nozzle and not to be entrapped in the cavity. As LeDaR gives no indication of the driving mechanisms, the flow field is analysed experimentally, which is supported by numerical simulations to understand the main driving forces of the accumulation process. A single-phase PIV measurement campaign provides detailed information about the statistical and instantaneous flow structures. The flow quantities are successfully compared to an equivalent 3D unsteady LES numerical model. Two-phase flow CFD simulations suggest the importance of the droplet diameter on the accumulation rate. This observation is confirmed by two-phase flow PIV experiments as well. Accordingly, the droplet entrapment process is described by two mechanisms. The smaller droplets (representing a short characteristic time) appear to follow closely the air-phase. Thus, they may mix with the air-phase of the recirculation region downstream the inhibitor and can be carried into the cavity. On the other hand, the large droplets (representing a long characteristic time) are not able to follow the air-phase motion. Consequently, a large mean velocity difference is found between the droplets and the air-phase using the two-phase flow measurement data. Therefore, due to the inertia of the large droplets, they may fall into the cavity in function of the OT2NT and their velocity vector at the level of the inhibitor tip. Finally, a third mechanism, dripping is identified as a contributor to the accumulation process. In the current quasi axial 2D-like set-up large drops are dripping from the inhibitor. In this configuration they are the main source of the accumulation process. Therefore, additional numerical simulations are performed to estimate the importance of dripping in more realistic configurations. The preliminary results suggest that dripping is not the main mechanism in the real slag accumulation process. However, it may still lead to a considerable contribution to the final amount of slag.

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During mechanical ventilation the diaphragm experiences an extreme case of muscleunloading. In many cases this results in respiratory muscle dysfunctions making it difficult towean the patient off the ventilator. One component in this dysfunction is the accumulation ofintramyocellular lipids (IMCL) in the diaphragm muscle fibres. Using Oil Red O stainingsand confocal microscopy on rat diaphragm sections we have quantified this process. Theresults show a sudden increase in IMCL contents between 18 and 24 hours. No significantdifference between fibre types could be seen.

This thesis investigates how hegemonic white masculinity adopts a new mode of material accumulation by entering into an ambivalent existence as a historical agent and metahistory at the same time and continues to function as a performative identity that offers a point of identification for the working class white man suggesting that bourgeois identity is obtainable through the performance of bourgeois ethics. The thesis postulates that the phenomenal transitions brought on by industrialization and deindustrialization of 50's through 90's coincide with the representational changes of white masculinity from paradigmatic cowboy incarnations to the postmodern action heroes, specifically as embodied by Bruce Willis. The thesis also examines how postmodern heroes' "intero-alterity" is further problematized by antiheroes in Tim Burton's films.

Influence of catchment spatial subdivision on the accuracy of the snow accumulation and snowmelt model Abstract This thesis is focused on influence of catchment spatial subdivision on the accuracy of rainfall-runoff model simulations. A hydrological model HEC-HMS developed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was applied in the thesis. Study area includes two experimental catchments; Bystřice River basin and Zlatý Brook basin. Both catchments are located in the Krušné Mountains. The research in catchments has been carried out by the Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology since 2008. The influence of four different horizontal and vertical catchments delineation on runoff simulations was analyzed. The simulations were performed in two two-year periods 11/2008-10/2010 and 11/2010-10/2012. The attention was mainly aimed to snowmelt component of the model, for which temperature index method was chosen. The results of simulations were compared with water stages data measured in catchments outlets and with data from winter field measurements (snow depth and snow water equivalent). The results from both catchments showed that higher accuracy of simulation of the snow water equivalent was reached by dividing the catchments into more elevation zones. However, each of the catchments behaved in different way. The...

Les horizons d'accumulations carbonatées (HAC) de Champagne sont des horizons particuliers présents de manière non systématique dans les profils de sol directement sous l'horizon organo-minéral. Bien que des travaux antérieurs se soient déjà attachées à l'étude de ces structures particulières, certaines questions restent encore en suspens, notamment en ce qui concerne leur localisation dans le cadre régional, leur caractérisation par rapport aux autres horizons du profil et la quantification de leur rôle dans les transferts hydriques. Leur localisation sur le terrain n'étant pas réalisable méthodes de prospection habituelles (pénétrométrie dynamique, tarière), les zones de localisation préférentielle des HAC ont été déterminées par une exploration bibliographique. Des analyses en laboratoire ont été conduites sur des échantillons prélevés sur un site pilote représentatif, le Mont du Ménil (08). En plus des analyses géochimiques et de la colorimétrie, les échantillons prélevés tout au long des profils ont subi des analyses pétrophysiques habituellement utilisées dans la caractérisation des pierres en œuvre (porosité totale à l'eau, porosimétrie mercure, cinétiques d'absorptions capillaires et d'évaporation). Ces analyses montrent que les HAC sont bien différents des horizons sus et sous-jacents. Ce sont des niveaux présentant une forte porosité qui va de pair avec leur induration plus faible contrairement à ce qui est généralement admis dans la bibliographie. Les HAC présentent également des micromorphologies différentes des autres horizons du profil pédologique ce qui justifient les réseaux poreux différents identifiés. L'étude des transferts hydriques en laboratoire montre également que ces réseaux poreux différents sont responsables de transferts hydriques plus rapides dans les HAC que dans leurs grèzes d'accueil. Il apparaît donc que contrairement à ce qui est généralement avancé dans la littérature, les HAC champardennais ne semblent pas faire obstacle aux transferts hydriques mais semble au contraire les favoriser. Ce phénomène pourrait avoir des conséquences agronomiques importantes favorisant le drainage et les remontées capillaires. / Carbonate accumulation horizons (CAH) are structures un-systematically present in Champagne-Ardenne soils (NE of France) and are localized directly under de rendic leptosol. They have already been studied but their regional repartition, characterization compare to other soils horizons and impact on water transfers remain unknown. On the field, CAH cannot be directly localized by currently prospection methods. Preferential location areas have been determined by literature analyze. Geochemistry, colorimetry and petrophysical analyzes (total water porosity, mercury porosimetry, absorption en evaporation kinetics tests) have been applied on samples took on a representative site : Mont du Ménil. These analyses have shown that CAH present a high porosity linked to their weak induration contrary to what is generally advanced in the literature. The micromorphology of CAH is different from others horizons that induces porous network différences. Laboratory water transfers study links these porous network differences to faster water transfers measured for CAH contrary to the others horizons. CAH of Champagne do not impede water transfers contrary to what is generally fund into the literature but seems to favor them. This phenomenon could have important agronomic implications favouring draining and capillary rises.

A pesquisa tem como objeto de análise a formação territorial do Ceará desde o estabelecimento das políticas pombalinas do Estado Português ao processo de emancipação política de sua colônia na América do Sul. Uma investigação que atravessa o interregno de 1750 a 1822, quando se pretendia aumentar o controle administrativo e a expropriação dos lucros nas terras conquistadas pela Coroa Portuguesa por meio de acordos de limites. Em movimento sincopado de expansão das fronteiras e corrida aos fundos territoriais defendidos por estratégias geopolíticas que priorizavam o povoamento das áreas fronteiriças, mas também daquelas afastadas da zona litorânea; pela doação de sesmarias; elevação de vilas e cidades; pelo controle e aldeamento dos nativos através de leis ou incentivo à guerra justa, para o aniquilamento, aos que não se adaptavam à imposição de um processo perverso de colonização que os subjugava. Retratamos a frente de apropriação dos sertões das capitanias do Norte, com ênfase no Ceará; uma história de expropriação, de espoliação das terras indígenas, a fixação das fazendas para o criatório do gado, que teve início com o parcelamento de suas terras no final do século XVII acontecimentos que promoveram impactos relevantes sob a sua estrutura fundiária e o introduziram à lógica da acumulação primitiva de capitais, através da implantação das políticas mercantilistas que se expandiram violentamente para além das nações europeias, em escala maior, inseridas agora dentro de um sistema mundial de conformação de uma economia-mundo capitalista em formação e dilatação. / The aim of this investigation was to analyze the territorial formation of Ceará from the stablishment of pombalinas politics of Portuguese state in the process of political emancipation in its colony in South America. An investigation that crosses the interregnum 1750-1822, when was pretended to increase the administrative control and the expropriation of profits in the lands conquered by the Portuguese crown in limits agreements. In a syncopated movement of expansion of borders and race to territorial founds defended by geopolitical strategies that prioritized the settlement of border areas; but also of those far from the coastal zone; for the donation of sesmarias; promotion of villages and cities; control and population of natives trough laws or encouraging to just war, for the destruction- annihilation to people that do not fit the imposition of a perverse evil process of colonization that subjugate them. We show the frente de apropriação of hinterlands captaincies of the north of Portuguese America, with emphasis in Ceará, a history of expropriation, of dispossession of indigenous lands to fixation of farms for cattle breeding that initiated with the installment of their land at the end of the XVII century, events that promote significant impacts in its land and introduced the logic of primitive accumulation of capitals, thought the implementation of mercantilist policies that expand violently beyond of European nations, in large scale, now inserted into a worldwide system of forming a capitalist word economy in development and expansion.

Student Number : 9906382M MSc (Med) dissertation - Faculty of Health Sciences / The G1862T mutation in the bulge of the RNA encapsidation signal, in the precore region of hepatitis B virus, results in reduced expression of HBeAg and accumulation of the HBeAg precursor in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)/Golgi apparatus of the cell. This accumulation can disturb the functioning of the ER and lead to the ER stress response that can affect various cellular pathways, in turn affecting cell viability. The aim of this study was to determine whether apoptosis or necrosis occurred when cultured Huh7 cells were transfected with a plasmid expressing the G1862T mutation. Plasmid constructs, with and without the G1862T mutation, were used to transfect cells. To differentiate between necrosis and apoptosis cells were stained with propidium iodide or YO-PRO-1®, respectively. These were analyzed quantitatively using flow cytometry and qualitatively using confocal microscopy. Confocal microscopy, using monoclonal anti- HBe and the Hoechst stain, was performed to ensure that apoptosis was present as a result of the accumulation of the G1862T mutant HBeAg precursor. Caspase profiling was carried out using a fluorogenic-based assay. When cells were transfected with wild-type plasmid, necrosis predominated over apoptosis. Apoptosis predominated when the cells were transfected with the G1862T mutant plasmid. The highest levels of apoptosis occurred at 72 hours post-transfection. Confocal microscopy revealed the co-localization of aggregates of mutant HBeAg precursor with apoptotic nuclei. Transfection with G1862T mutant plasmids resulted in significant differences in the expression of caspase 3, 8, and 9 relative to the wild-type, at 48 and 72 hours post-transfection. The accumulation of the G1862T mutant HBeAg precursor, in the ER/ Golgi compartment, leads to apoptosis and affects the levels of caspase expression.

ABSTRACT Male subjects are invariably used to study the physiological determinants of middle distance running performance. Studies that do include females have examined only the aerobic contribution to middle distance running performance. The aim of the present study was to investigate aerobic, anaerobic and muscle function factors that could be used to predict middle distance running performance in female runners. This study was performed at an altitude of 1800m. Eleven middle distance female runners aged 18-20 were selected for the study. Aerobic capacity was assessed by measuring the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), running velocity at maximal oxygen consumption (vVO2max), running economy (RE) and onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA). The blood lactate curve of each subject was constructed by relating the oxygen consumption, to the plasma lactate concentrations. Anaerobic capacity was determined by measuring the maximum accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) on a treadmill. Muscle function was assessed by having the subjects cycle as fast as possible against changing brake weights ranging from heavy to light using a Monark cycle ergometer. The brake force (kg) was related to velocity (rpm).