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The bankruptcy of the government of Orange County, California in 1994 is treated as a case study depicting a potentially critical problem emerging for democracies. The analysis links finan-cial and fiduciary perspectives by re-examining the actions of Orange County officials and citi-zens through three separate analytical frames: the dynamics of economic globalization; citizen engagement through the channel of civil society; and the theory of risk--both its nature generally and its financial aspect specifically. The conclusion reached is that globalization has made con-tingency and uncertainty ubiquitous and this indicates that the practice of governance in its pub-lic administration dimension should include a return to pragmatic, process approaches to policy and implementation. / Ph. D.

This thesis explores the synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical behavior of nanocomposites composed of cobalt (Co) and molybdenum (Mo) deposited onto graphene oxide (GO), COOH-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT-COOH), and blends of these two graphitic nanomaterials. The study aims to investigate the structural, morphological, and electrocatalytic properties of these nanocomposites synthesized via a hydrothermal method. Using a combination of analytical techniques including Raman Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Chronoamperometry, and UV-vis Spectroscopy, the nanocomposite structures were comprehensively characterized. SEM imaging demonstrated differential deposition of CoMo particles, demonstrating higher affinity and deposition on CNT-COOH compared to GO. EDX and XPS findings confirmed successful deposition of Co and Mo sulfides and oxides on both supports. According to XPS data, cobalt sulfides, molybdenum dioxide, and molybdenum disulfide were the dominant species synthesized in CoMo-CNT-COOH and CoMo-GO, whereas the prevalent species in CoMo-CNT-COOH-GO were cobalt and molybdenum sulfides. Electrochemical analyses, particularly CV tests, unveiled unique electro-oxidative activity of CoMo-CNT-COOH for Methyl Orange (MO) analyte at -0.4 V. CoMo-CNT-COOH exhibited approximately 68% optimum electrooxidation of MO after 5 hours for 100 mL solution initially made of 30 ppm MO and 0.5 molar sulfuric acid, indicating potential for environmental remediation applications. / Thesis / Master of Chemical Engineering (MChE)

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Un excès d’énergie lumineuse peut être délétère pour les organismesphotosynthétiques ; en effet, il en résulte la formation d’espèces réactives de l’oxygène ausein des centres réactionnels. Les cyanobactéries ont adopté divers mécanismes dephotoprotection afin de contrer ce phénomène. L’un d’eux repose sur l’activité de l’OrangeCarotenoid Protein (OCP), protéine soluble qui attache un kéto-caroténoïde (hydroxyechinenone).Subissant de fortes intensités de lumière bleu-verte, l’OCP se convertit d’uneforme inactive/orange vers sa forme active/rouge. L’OCP ainsi photoactivée possède la facultéd’interagir avec les phycobilisomes - principales antennes collectrices de lumière - induisantla dissipation de l’énergie collectée par ces gigantesques complexes sous forme de chaleur. Lapression d’excitation au niveau des centres réactionnels ainsi que la fluorescence du systèmedécroissent alors.L’OCP photoactivée se fixe au coeur des phycobilisomes qui sont majoritairementconstitués de protéines chromophorylées de la famille des allophycocyanines (APC). J’aiconstruit différentes souches mutantes de Synechocystis PCC 6803 en modifiant ousupprimant les sous-unités mineures d’APC (ApcD, ApcF et ApcE). Ces sous-unités jouent lerôle essentiel d’émetteurs terminaux des phycobilisomes, véhiculant l’énergie qu’ellesreçoivent à la Chlorophylle a. J’ai aussi démontré que le mécanisme photoprotectif associé àl’OCP chez ces mutants restait inchangé, aussi bien in vivo que in vitro. Ces résultatssuggèrent qu’aucun émetteur terminal n’est nécessairement requis pour l’attachement del’OCP aux phycobilisomes et sous-entendent que l’OCP interagit probablement avec unesous-unité majeure d’APC.Divers phycobilisomes, contenant 2, 3 ou 5 cylindres d’APC dans leur coeur, ont étéisolés à partir de cyanobactéries variées. Les OCPs de Synechocytis et d’Arthrospira ont étépurifiées à partir de souches mutantes de Synechocystis. J’ai alors mené une étude in vitro desinteractions entre ces OCPs et les phycobilisomes. Le nombre de cylindres d’APC présents ausein des phycobilisomes n’affecte en rien la diminution de fluorescence. De plus, j’ai constatéque l’OCP de Synechocystis est spécifique pour ses propres phycobilisomes alors que l’OCPd’Arthrospira interagit avec tous les phycobilisomes employés ici. Des hypothèses, fondéessur les structures disponibles, ont été formulées pour élucider ces différences.Les domaines N- et C-terminaux de l’OCP d’Arthrospira ont été dissociés parprotéolyse. Le domaine N-terminal isolé conserve le caroténoïde attaché, ayant uneconformation similaire à celle observée lorsque l’OCP est photoactivée. Ce domaine Nterminalest aussi capable d’induire une importante diminution de la fluorescence desphycobilisomes. A l’inverse, le domaine C-terminal isolé est incolore et n’a aucun effet sur lafluorescence des phycobilisomes. Ces résultats suggèrent que seul le domaine N-terminal del’OCP est impliqué dans l’interaction avec les phycobilisomes. Le domaine C-terminal quantà lui module son activité. / Too much light can be lethal for photosynthetic organisms. Under such conditionsharmful reactive oxygen species are generated at the reaction center level. Cyanobacteria havedeveloped photoprotective mechanisms to avoid this. One of them relies on the solubleOrange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) that binds a ketocarotenoid (hydroxyechinenone, hECN).Under strong blue-green illumination, OCP gets photoconverted from an orange inactive form(OCPo) to a red active one (OCPr). OCPr interacts with phycobilisomes, the majorcyanobacterial light harvesting antennae, and triggers heat dissipation of the excess lightenergy collected by these gigantic pigment-protein complexes. Consequently, excitationpressure on reaction centers and fluorescence emission decrease.OCPr binds to phycobilisome cores, containing mainly chromophorylated proteins ofthe allophycocyanin (APC) family. I constructed Synechocystis PCC 6803 mutants affected insome minor APC forms (ApcD, ApcF and ApcE). These special APCs play the role ofterminal emitters, i.e. funnel light energy to Chlorophyll a. Strong-blue green illuminationtriggered normal OCP-related fluorescence quenching in all mutant cells. The fluorescencedecrease induced by Synechocystis OCP in vitro was similar when using phycobilisomesisolated from wild-type or mutant cells. These results demonstrated that the terminal emittersare not needed for interaction with the OCP and they strongly suggested that OCPr interactswith one of the major APC forms of the phycobilisome core.Phycobilisomes containing 2, 3 or 5 APC cylinders per core were isolated fromdifferent cyanobacterial strains. Synechocystis and Arthrospira OCPs were purified from overexpressingSynechocystis mutant strains. I then performed in vitro OCP/phycobilisomeinteraction studies. The number of APC cylinders per core had no clear influence on theamount of fluorescence quenching. Both OCPs behaved very differently, one appearing muchmore species-specific than the other. Structure-based hypotheses were emitted to explain suchdissimilarity.Arthrospira OCP N-terminal and C-terminal domains were separated throughproteolysis. The isolated N-terminal domain retained a bound carotenoid, which displayedsimilar conformation than in OCPr. This isolated N-terminal domain triggered importantphycobilisome fluorescence quenching even under dark conditions. In contrast, the isolated Cterminaldomain attached no pigment and had no visible effect on phycobilisome emission. Itwas then proposed that only the N-terminal domain of OCP is implied in interactions withphycobilisomes. The C-terminal domain modulates its activity.

S’interroger sur le décor de cinéma parait ouvrir un champ de recherche illimité, surtout lorsqu’il s’agit de la création cinématographique de Stanley Kubrick. Indéniablement le décor nous transmet l'état émotif des personnages, illustre l’ambiance des séquences et est même source de jouissance esthétique. Le décor de cinéma chez Kubrick apparaît alors comme un élément prépondérant de son langage cinématographique. Certains décors de ses films font même partie de notre mémoire cinématographique collective. Parmi ses treize longs métrages, cette recherche analyse plus précisément le décor dans A Clockwork Orange / Orange mécanique  (1971), décor aussi polémique que le film lui-même. Avec une approche pluridisciplinaire : cinématographique, esthétique, sémiologique, sociologique, historique, cette recherche montre le caractère symbolique et esthétique du décor qui est lié à son aspect iconique, plastique et à son rapport à l’élément sonore du film. L’objet principal est de faire comprendre le « sens » du décor et la façon de le construire au sein du film. L’étude du décor chez Kubrick permet de connaître ses sources d’inspiration et son goût pour l’architecture, le design et les Arts. De surcroît, cette recherche atteste son caractère perfectionniste grâce auquel il est considéré comme l’un des plus grands cinéastes visionnaires de l’histoire du cinéma. / Questions on film sets always seem to open up new fields of research, especially when the film is by Stanley Kubrick. Certainly, his scenic design conveys the emotional state of the characters illustrates the atmosphere of the sequences and even arouses our aesthetic pleasure. Kubrick’s film sets are a dominating element for his film language. Many of them are a part of our collective film memory. Among his thirteen films, this research focuses on the scenic design in A Clockwork Orange / Orange mécanique ( 1971 ) which caused as much debate as the movie itself. Thank to a multidisciplinary approach: cinematography, aesthetics, semiology, sociology, and history of art, this research shows the significance and artistic value of the film sets which are linked to its iconic and plastic aspects and to its relationship with sound. The main objective is to clarify the "meaning" of the film sets and the way they are conceived within the movie. The study of the Kubrick’s film sets allows us to know his artistic tastes, his sources, classical and contemporary, of architecture, design and Arts. Furthermore, this research gives evidence of his perfectionist character, thanks to which he is considered as one of the greatest visionary filmmakers of cinema’s history.

A ferrugem alaranjada da cana-de-açúcar, causada pelo fungo Puccinia kuehnii, é atualmente a doença que mais preocupa o setor sucroenergético brasileiro, devido a sua introdução recente no país e aos prejuízos causados em indústrias canavieiras ao redor do mundo. A doença é controlada com variedades resistentes e por isso há a necessidade de maiores informações sobre a reação das cultivares mais importantes no Brasil. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram: (i) avaliar a reação de variedades de cana-de-açúcar à ferrugem alaranjada, em condições de infecção natural no campo; (ii) determinar a melhor época para avaliação da doença; (iii) estabelecer um método, em casa de vegetação e com inoculação artificial do patógeno, para seleção rápida de variedades com resistência no campo. Dezessete variedades foram avaliadas quanto às suas reações a P. kuehnii em dois experimentos de campo, plantados em abril e julho de 2011; neste último, após a colheita em maio de 2012, a cana-soca também foi avaliada. Para multiplicar e uniformizar a distribuição do inóculo, a variedade suscetível SP89-1115 foi usada como bordadura e plantada entre os blocos e em duas linhas, dividindo cada experimento ao meio. Avaliou-se a severidade da doença a cada 15 dias e, a partir destes dados, calculou-se a área abaixo da curva de progresso da doença (AACPD) e obteve-se a severidade máxima da doença. Para identificar o melhor período de avaliação, realizou-se análise de correlação entre a AACPD e cada levantamento de severidade. Em casa de vegetação, seis variedades com reações distintas à doença, com base nos resultados obtidos no campo, foram inoculadas com uma suspensão de 104 urediniósporos viáveis mL-1 de P. kuehnii, com auxílio de pulverizador manual, 60 dias após o plantio. As plantas foram mantidas por 24 horas em câmara de orvalho e, posteriormente, transferidas para casa de vegetação. Foram determinados os períodos de incubação e latência, o número de pústulas por cm2 e a severidade da doença. Oito das 17 variedades avaliadas no campo mostraram alta resistência à doença. As cultivares RB72454 e SP89-1115 foram as mais suscetíveis, seguidas da SP79-2233; por isso, o cultivo das mesmas não é recomendado. As variedades RB925211, SP81-3250, RB855156 e RB92579 tiveram reação intermediária, sendo que as duas primeiras apresentaram maiores níveis da doença. Avaliações realizadas no mês de março foram as que mais se correlacionaram com a AACPD, portanto este é o melhor período para determinar a reação de variedades de cana-de-açúcar à ferrugem alaranjada. O comportamento das variedades em casa de vegetação foi semelhante ao observado no campo, especialmente em relação às cultivares suscetíveis e resistentes. Assim, o método aplicado em casa de vegetação mostrou potencial para selecionar, em poucos dias, cultivares com resistência à doença no campo, além de economizar espaço, mão de obra e de ser facilmente executado. / Currently, sugarcane orange rust, caused by Puccinia kuehnii, is the disease that most concerns the Brazilian sugarcane industry, due to its recent introduction in the country and the damage caused to sugarcane industries all over the world. The disease is controlled with resistant varieties; hence there is a need for more information about the reaction of the major cultivars in Brazil. The objectives of this work were: (i) to evaluate the reaction of sugarcane varieties to orange rust in field, under natural infection conditions; (ii) to determine the best time for disease assessment; (iii) to establish a method in greenhouse, based on artificial inoculation, for rapid selection of field resistant varieties. Seventeen varieties were studied in two field experiments, planted in April and July 2011; in the latter, after the harvest in May 2012, the ratoon was also evaluated. The susceptible variety SP89-1115 was used as border and planted between the blocks in two lines, dividing each experiment in two halves in order to multiply and standardize the inoculum in the area. Disease severity was evaluated every 15 days and the area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) was calculated and the maximum disease severity was obtained. To identify the best time for disease assessment, a correlation analysis between the AUDPC and each disease severity assessment was done. In greenhouse, six varieties with different reactions to the disease based on results obtained in field were inoculated with a suspension of 104 viable urediniospores mL-1 of P. kuehnii with a manual sprayer 60 days after planting. Plants were maintained in dew chamber for 24 hours and afterwards they were transferred to the greenhouse. The incubation and latent period were determined as well as the number of pustules cm-2 and disease severity. Eight out of 17 varieties evaluated in field showed high disease resistance. The varieties RB72454 and SP89-1115 were the most susceptible, followed by SP79-2233; therefore, their commercial cultivation is not recommended. The varieties RB925211, SP81-3250, RB855156 and RB92579 had intermediate reaction, with the first two showing higher disease levels. Evaluations performed in March showed the highest correlation with AUDPC, thus this period is the best for determining sugarcane reaction to orange rust. The varieties reaction in greenhouse was similar to that observed in the field, particularly in relation to susceptible and resistant cultivars. So, the method applied in greenhouse showed potential to select, in a few days, field disease-resistant varieties, besides saving space and labor and being easily implemented.

Foi projetado e construído um espectrômetro Mini-Orange (MO) para eléctrons, utilizando imãs planos permanentes e um detector de barreira de superfície. Foram determinadas as funções de transmissão de diferentes configurações do sistema, para energias entre 200-1100 keV. Foi desenvolvido um modelo matemático do sistema, a partir de solução analítica para o campo de um imã plano e da integração numérica da equação de movimento dos eléctrons no campo de MO. As funções de transmissão assim obtidas foram comparadas aos resultados experimentais e mostraram um bom acordo para energias baixas e intermediárias. / A Mini-Orange spectrometer for electrons was designed and built, using plane permanent magnets and a surface barrier detector. Transmission functions were obtained for various system configurations and for energies between 200-1100 keV. A mathematical model of the system was developed, using the analytical solution for the field of a plane magnet and the numerical integration of the equation of motion of the electrons in the MO magnetic field. The calculated transmission functions were compared to the experimental data, showing a good agreement for low and intermediate energies.