A multidisciplinary research methodology based on the combination of literature review and spatial analysis is presented as a contribution to the historical ecology of olive trees in Sicily (Italy). The thesis crosscuts time and space at different scales for a new epistemological approach to allow the olive trees to “talk”. Structured around the identification of breaking points and nodes of connection, the social and ecological history of the olive trees in the island are explored. While recognising the full agency of trees in the spatial and temporal evolving dynamics of the landscape, the vital importance of their inner connections with other elements of the ecosystems is stressed in the analysis; as also the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. The thesis is concluded with the hypothesis that the olive trees of Sicily could be seen as biocultural refugia, physical places which preserve both agricultural biodiversity and traditional ecological knowledge.

Submitted by Cátia Araújo (catia.araujo@unipampa.edu.br) on 2017-09-28T18:44:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Camille Biron - 2016.pdf: 1950766 bytes, checksum: 1c67b59b592ccb400d0121e58da5eb64 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marlucy Farias Medeiros (marlucy.farias@unipampa.edu.br) on 2017-09-28T19:40:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Camille Biron - 2016.pdf: 1950766 bytes, checksum: 1c67b59b592ccb400d0121e58da5eb64 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-28T19:40:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Camille Biron - 2016.pdf: 1950766 bytes, checksum: 1c67b59b592ccb400d0121e58da5eb64 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-21 / No presente estudo o pó do caroço de azeitona (CA) foi utilizado in natura como biossorvente para a remoção do corante violeta de metila 10B (VM 10B) de solução aquosa. O CA foi preparado e caracterizado através de diferentes técnicas de analíticas. Influência de condições experimentais que afetam a capacidade de adsorção como a quantidade de massa adsorvente, pH da solução, velocidade de agitação, concentração inicial de corante, tempo de contato e a influência da temperatura foram investigados utilizando o procedimento em batelada. As condições favoráveis de adsorção do VM 10B através do CA foram utilizando 500 mg de adsorvente, velocidade de agitação de 100 rpm, pH 8,0 e tempo de contato de 45 minutos. Os dados cinéticos experimentais foram avaliados atravpes dos modelos de pseudoprimeira ordem, pseudossegunda ordem, Elovich e Difusão intrapartícula. O modelo adsorção de pseudossegunda ordem foi que melhor representa a cinética de adosorção VM 10B. Os modelos de Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, Liu, Temkim e Redlich-Peterson foram utilizados para descrever o mecaniso de interação adsorvente-adsorvato. O modelo de Liu foi que melhor se ajustou aos dados experimentais. Com base no modelo de Liu a capacidade máxima de asorção do CA foi de 28,6 mg-¹ e 38,3 mg -¹ para as temperaturas de 25ºC e 60ºC, respectivamente. O CA após uso pode ser regenerado utilizando ácido acético 0,5 mol L-¹ como eluente. Os estudos termodinâmicos de adsorção revelam a adsorção do VM 10B no CA é um processo exotérmico governado por fisiossorção. A aplicação do CA na remoção do VM 10B de efluentes têxteis sintéticos foi satisfatória mostrando que o mesmo pode ser utilizado no tratamento de águas industriais coloridas. / In the present study, olive stones poder in natura (CA) was used as a biosorbent for the removal of violet methyl dye 10B (VM 10B) from aqueous solution. The CA was prepared and characterized by diferente analytical techniques. Influence of experimental conditions affecting adsorption capacity, such as amount of adsorbent mass, solution pH, agitation speed, initial dye concentration, contact time and temperature influence were investigated using the batch procedure. The favorable adsorption conditions of the VM 10B through CA were using 500 mg of adsorbent, agitation speed of 100 rpm, pH 8,0 and contact time of 45 minutes. The experimental kinetic data were evaluated using the pseudo first order, pseudosecond order, Elovich and intraparticle diffusion models. The adsorption modelo f pseudosecond order was that it better representes the adsorption kinetics VM 10B. The Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, Liu, Temkim e Redlich-Peterson models were used to describe the mechanism of adsorbent-adsorbete interaction. The Liu model was the one that best fit the experimental data. Based on the Liu model the maximum adsorption capacity of the CA was 28,6 mg-¹ and 38,3 mg -¹ at 25ºC and 60ºC, respectively. After use CA, the same can be regenerated using 0,5 mol L-¹ acetic acid as the eluent. Thermodinamic adsorption studies show that adsorption of VM 10B in CA is na exothermic process governed by physosorption. The application of CA in the removal of VM 10B from synthetic textile effluents was satisfactory showing that in can be used in the treatment of colored industrial Waters.

O melasma é uma das desordens pigmentativas da pele adquiridas mais comuns que afetam a face da mulher adulta e pode causar comprometimento significativo da qualidade de vida psicossocial. Apesar da grande demanda terapêutica, o tratamento do melasma continua sendo desafiador com resultados inconsistentes, constantes recidivas e frequentes relatos de efeitos adversos. Assim, substâncias ativas alternativas para o controle do melasma são de grande interesse para a área clínica. Considerando que o extrato de oliva com concentração padronizada de hidroxitirosol apresenta propriedades antioxidantes, anti-inflamatórias e potencial ação despigmentante por inibição da tirosinase, a enzima central envolvida na melanogênese, o mesmo apresenta grande potencial para o controle do melasma. Técnicas não invasivas de biofísica e de análise de imagem da pele, como a microscopia confocal de reflectância, são ferramentas fundamentais para a avaliação objetiva da eficácia de tratamentos em estudos clínicos e caracterização do melasma. Nesse contexto, o objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a eficácia do uso oral e/ou tópico do extrato de oliva padronizado em hidroxitirosol no controle do melasma por técnicas de biofísica e análise de imagem da pele. Para isso, um estudo clínico randomizado, duplo-cego e placebo controle foi realizado a partir da inclusão de 56 participantes entre 30 e 50 anos, fototipo III ou IV e melasma na região malar. As participantes foram randomizadas em quatro grupos (n=14): controle, tópico, oral e tópico e oral e receberam o tratamento diário contendo o extrato de oliva ou o placebo/veículo por 90 dias. A caracterização das estruturas morfológicas do melasma foi realizada com o microscópio confocal de reflectância. A avaliação objetiva do melasma para verificar a eficácia dos tratamentos foi realizada mensalmente por técnicas de biofísica como as medidas de luminosidade, melanina e eritema, que foram complementadas pelo índice de severidade e área do melasma modificado (mMASI). Os resultados obtidos apresentaram grande variabilidade intrínseca. Ainda, apesar de observada maior redução da pigmentação do melasma no grupo que recebeu o tratamento oral, quando comparado aos outros grupos, incluindo o grupo controle, nenhuma diferença significativa nos seguimentos avaliados foi observada. Por fim, o extrato de oliva padronizado em hidroxitirosol não é eficaz para o controle do melasma nas concentrações usadas no estudo / Melasma is one of the most common hyperpigmentation disorder that affects the face of adult women and can cause significant psychosocial life quality impairment. Despite great therapeutical demand, melasma treatment remains challenging with unpredictable results, relapses and frequent adverse effects. Therefore, alternative active substances for melasma control is of great interest for clinical area. This way, olive extract containing standardized concentration of hydroxytyrosol presents antioxidant effect and potential depigmenting action by tyrosinase inhibition, the main enzyme involved in melanogenesis. Non-invasive biophysical techniques and image analysis, as confocal reflectance microscopy, are indispensable tools to evaluate the treatment efficacy in clinical trials and melasma characterization. This way, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of an oral and/or topical treatment based on an olive extract titrated in hydroxytyrosol for melasma control using biophysical and skin imaging techniques. For this, a randomized, double-blinded and placebocontrolled clinical trial was conducted by the inclusion 56 women aged 30-50 years, phototype III and IV and melasma. The participants were randomized in four groups (n=14): control, oral or topical - and received daily treatment containing hydroxytyrosol or placebo for 90 days. Efficacy evaluation were performed once a month by biophysical techniques for lightness, melanin and erythema quantification and complemented by the modified melasma area and severity index (mMASI). Results presented great intrinsic melasma variability. Furthermore, depite reduced pigmentation observed in melasma for the oral group compared to the other treatment groups, including the control group, no significant difference was observed at the evaluations. In conclusion, the oral use of olive extract containing hydroxytyrosol was not efficient for melasma control at the studied concentrations

Developing animals primarily receive two kinds of somatosensory input. One arises from stimulation in the external environment (“exafference”) and the other arises from self-produced movements (“reafference”), especially those associated with the myoclonic twitches during active sleep. Neural recordings have shown that exafferent and reafferent neural signals activate sensorimotor structures throughout the brain, but it is not known whether twitches are accompanied by corollary discharge that inform the nervous system that twitches are self-generated. Recordings from the cerebellum in infant rats suggested that motor structures could be conveying twitch-related corollary discharge signals to the cerebellum. If true, one would expect to see evidence of corollary discharge in the precerebellar nuclei. We hypothesized that two precerebellar nuclei: the inferior olive (IO) and the lateral reticular nucleus (LRN), receive corollary discharge associated with the production of twitches. We tested the hypothesis by recording spontaneous activity of the IO and LRN during sleep and wake in infant rats. In the majority of IO units, and in a subset of LRN units, neural activity was particularly pronounced at the time of twitch onset. This activity was remarkably precise, reaching a peak in firing within ±10 ms of a twitch. This unique pattern suggested that, unlike sensory areas that receive reafference from twitches, these two structures receive corollary discharge associated with the production of twitches. Next, using anatomical tracing, immunohistochemistry, and neurophysiology, we identified non-overlapping premotor areas in the midbrain that send corollary discharge to the IO and LRN. Finally, using pharmacological inhibition, we identified that slow potassium channels are responsible for the sharp peak of twitch-related corollary discharge in the IO. Altogether, the current findings suggest that the infant brain has the capacity to distinguish between exafferent stimulation and twitch-related reafference. This capacity may underlie the developing infant’s burgeoning ability to distinguish between self- and other-generated movements.

[No Abstract]

Les lipoxygénases (LOXs, EC 1.13.11.12) sont des dioxygénases qui catalysent l'hydroperoxidation des acides gras polyinsaturés. Bien que de nombreuse isoformes de LOXs aient été caractérisé chez de nombreux végétaux, leur rôle physiologique reste inconnu. Dans le but d'éclaircir le rôle des LOXs dans l'olive et leur contribution dans l'élaboration de l'arôme, nous avons cloné et caractérisé un ADNc codant pour une isoforme de LOX d'olive exprimé dans les derniers stades de maturation du fruit. Cet ADNc présente un cadre de lecture ouvert qui code pour une protéine de 864 acides aminés. Cette LOX d'olive fait partie des LOXs de type-1 et présente un fort pourcentage d'identité avec la LOX de noisette (77,3%) et la LOX de tabac (76,3%). L'enzyme recombinante présente une double spécificité, elle produit des 9- et des 13-hydroperoxydes dans un rapport 2:1. Bien que l'activité LOX soit détectée à tous les stades de développement des olives, la 9/13-LOX est uniquement exprimé dans les stades noirs. Nos résultats suggèrent qu'il existe au moins deux gènes lox exprimés dans les olives noires, et que la 9/13-LOX est associé aux phénomènes de maturation et de sénescence. Cependant, en considérant sa double spécificité de substrat et son profil d'expression, nous ne pouvons pas exclure que cette enzyme puisse jouer un rôle dans l'élaboration de l'arôme. Nous avons modifié l'accessibilité au site actif de la LOX d'olive en mutant les résidus Phe277 et Tyr280 situés à l'entrée du site actif par des résidus à chaîne latérale courte (Ala et Ile). Nous avons exprimé les mutants F277A, Y280I et F277A/Y280I chez E. coli et nous les avons partiellement purifié. Les mutants F277A et F277A/Y280I présentent un taux de conversion de l'acide linoléique 4 fois supérieur à celui de la LOX d'olive non mutée et ont des paramètres cinétiques similaires à la LOX1 de soja.

Purpose: Evidence suggests that olive oil consumption is associated with a decreased prevalence of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. The purpose of this study was to assess the intake and knowledge of olive oil and other lipids in a collegiate population. Methods: Using an IRB-approved protocol, volunteered college students (N=56) from the college of Health and Human Sciences at Georgia State University completed a questionnaire on lipid and knowledge and eating behavior. Results were assessed to determine if students were able to accurately answer questions on the contents of different lipids, and also to determine the consumption behaviors of different lipids. Statistical comparisons were made between undergraduate and graduate students, and between students in different academic majors (nutrition, nursing, respiratory therapy, social work, criminal justice, and other). Results: It was hypothesized that eating behaviors would overemphasize unhealthy lipids. Lipids assessed included: olive oil, butter, canola oil, peanut oil, corn oil, margarine, sunflower oil, and soybean oil. There were no statistically significant differences between the ratios of consumed lipids labeled as ‘good’, and lipids labeled as ‘bad’. There were also no statistically significant differences in the presence of ‘good’ to ‘bad’ lipids in the subjects’ kitchens. Therefore, the results of this study were not able to disprove the null hypothesis. Nevertheless, using a Likert scale response scheme, there was a difference (p=0.041) between academic majors in the consumption of canola oil (an oil high in monounsaturated fatty acid), with Nursing majors reporting the highest consumption (X=3.73; SD=1.61) and Respiratory Therapy majors reporting the lowest consumption (X=1.89; SD=1.53). There was no statistically significant difference between graduate and undergraduate students in the presence of lipids in the kitchen. It was hypothesized that subject knowledge of lipid constituents would be poor. The majority of subjects either failed to respond correctly to the constituents of different lipids or reported that they did not know. Based on this result, the study is able to reject the lipid knowledge null hypothesis. There were clear differences in subgroup knowledge of commonly consumed lipids. Most notably, 100% of nutrition students responded correctly to the constituents of olive oil. Conclusions: This study focused on a group of college students in the College of Health and Human Sciences. One might assume that such a population would be sensitive and knowledgeable about key dietary factors that may influence disease risk. Nevertheless, these findings indicate that, except for isolated exceptions, the eating behaviors and lipid knowledge of these students in not at a level that could be considered health promoting. This suggests that, even with students in the health sciences, personal health classes are likely to be beneficial in reducing disease prevalence.

Ayvalik which is located on the Aegean coast of the West Anatolia made its main breakthrough in the 19th century and owe this development to olive oil production which was the main economic input of the settlement since the establishment of Ayvalik. Ayvalik was within the hinterland of izmir which was gained importance as a regional trade centre in the 19th century. Thus, Ayvalik found the way to improve its trade relations in an international level and eventually increase its olive oil production volume due to the growing demands. The new form of olive oil production / factories, developed together with the traditional house and workshop productions in the last quarter of the 19th century in Ayvalik. These three forms of production made up the second significant usage within the Ayvalik after the residential areas. The two or more floored, large volumed buildings were especially located on the shore, near to the port and trade facilities, on a flat terrain and became the most dominant and attractive buildings of the settlement. Besides the impressive industrial buildings, olive oil production itself effected the settlement pattern of Ayvalik. The main transportation axes were formed accordingly to the relationship between raw material areas and production places. The olive oil production also has an effect on the physical development direction of the settlement. The areas influenced from the negative effects of the production i.e., smell and dust were not chosen for development. The development of industrial buildings also blocked the physical relationship between the residential areas and sea. The industrial buildings such as factories, workshops and warehouses along the coast line reflect the industrial character of Ayvalik in the settlement&rsquo / s silhouette.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / At present the South African olive oil industry is highly dependent on international imports due to local olive oil producers being unable to meet the local demand. The need for extra virgin olive oil has increased each year since people have become more aware of the health benefits of the product. This dissertation documents the design of an olive oil production facility near the foothills of the Draaiberg mountain range in the Touws River valley. Situated in close proximity to the Touws River railway station, the proposed architectural intervention responds to the current situation of neglected railway towns through the implementation of agri-tourism in the area. Public interest creates a platform for the market to educate the broader public about health benefits, which has caused a gradual, growth in the olive oil industry. This in turn shows that olive oil farms need a public interface, such as an information centre, a shop and tasting room to entice the consumer and create awareness of the quality level of olive oil South Africa has to offer. The aim of this thesis is to design an olive oil production facility, focusing on the production of extra virgin olive oil and relevant alternative products. The facility will not only function as an agricultural olive press for a private farming concern, but will also act as a community press facility to allow for continuous growth in the olive industry. One of the design objectives is to create a space for information and social interaction. The main building's size is informed by the size of the productive landscape and formulas were used to calculate the volume of oil produced per hectare. The production process can be followed by the visitor, giving rise to a linear building typology.

The principal neurons of the medial superior olive (MSO) are considered to be responsible for transforming the temporal information present in the binaural acoustic stimulus into an output encoding sound location along the horizontal axis. Spatial resolution of sound localization depends critically on the time resolution with which MSO neurons can detect microsecond differences in the timing of inputs from the two ears. This fast temporal processing is contingent on voltage gated ion channels. The work presented in this thesis demonstrates that two currents, namely a hyperpolarization activated cationic current and low voltage activated potassium current dynamically interact to regulate the intrinsic time resolution of MSO neurons. We observe that the ability of MSO neurons to perform sub-millisecond temporal processing matures after birth, especially around the time of the clearing of the auditory canal. Hyperpolarization activated cationic current was found to be one of the underlying mechanisms transforming slow immature MSO neurons into temporally precise adult MSO neurons. / text