Dans les cellules eucaryotes, chaque membrane a une composition lipidique qui lui est propre. La composition des membranes est finement régulée en fonction des conditions environnementales et physiologiques de la plante. Cette homéostasie lipidique est le résultat des processus de synthèse, conversion, dégradation et de trafic des lipides. Si la majorité des enzymes impliqués dans le métabolisme des lipides est identifiée, la majorité des mécanismes de transferts intermembranaires des lipides reste à caractériser. Nous nous concentrons sur l'homéostasie lipidique des chloroplastes et plus particulièrement celle des galactolipides, lipides essentiels des membranes photosynthétiques. Les galactolipides sont synthétisés au niveau de l'enveloppe des chloroplastes. Cependant, une grande partie des galactolipides proviennent de la phosphatidylcholine, elle-même synthétisée dans le réticulum endoplasmique. Cette délocalisation de la voie de synthèse sur deux compartiments souligne l'importance de l’étape de transfert lipidique associé.Des études transcriptomiques ont montré qu'ALA10, une ATPase de type P4, flippase de phospholipides, est surexprimée dans des conditions faisant varier la synthèse des galactolipides, telles que l'inhibition chimique des MGDG synthases par la galvestine-1 ou la carence de phosphate.Le but de cette thèse est de caractériser ALA10 et d'analyser son rôle dans ce trafic lipidique et dans l’homéostasie des galactolipides chloroplastiques.Pour comprendre le rôle d'ALA10, nous avons d'abord étudié sa localisation subcellulaire à l'aide d'une fusion traductionnelle avec la GFP et effectué des analyses lipidiques de différentes lignées exprimant ALA10 à différents niveaux. L’analyse de la composition lipidique indique qu'ALA10 stimule la synthèse des galactolipides et limite la désaturation de la phosphatidylcholine dans le réticulum endoplasmique. Nous avons recherché les partenaires protéiques potentiels d'ALA10 permettant d'expliquer ces effets et utilisé une approche de complémentation de fluorescence bimoléculaire afin d'étudier ces interactions. Nous avons pu déterminer qu'ALA10 interagit avec ALIS1 et ALIS5, deux sous-unités beta potentiellement nécessaires à la localisation et à la fonction d'ALA10, et confirmer leurs colocalisation avec ALA10 à l'aide de fusions GFP/CFP. ALA10 peut être localisée dans le réticulum endoplasmique à proximité des chloroplastes avec ALIS5 ou au niveau de la membrane plasmique avec ALIS1. Nous avons aussi pu déterminer qu'ALA10 interagit avec l’acide gras désaturase, FAD2, et une E3-ubiquitine ligase, PUB11. L''interaction avec FAD2 confirme un lien entre ALA10 et la désaturation de la phosphatidylcholine.Nous avons ensuite étudié l'effet d'ALIS1 et d'ALIS5 sur la fonction d'ALA10 en utilisant des lignées n’exprimant pas ces protéines ou les surexprimant avec ALA10. L'observation en microscopie électronique a révélé que la forme des chloroplastes et leurs relations avec le système endomembranaire sont modifiées en fonction de l'ALIS coexprimée avec ALA10. Les analyses lipidiques effectuées sur les plantes mutantes confirment un effet d’ALA10 sur l’homéostasie des galactolipides et la désaturation de la phosphatidylcholine. Les résultats suggèrent plusieurs fonctions d'ALA10, dépendantes de l’ALIS. Cet effet apparait variable en fonction de la photopériode ou du rythme circadien et indiquent une régulation post traductionnelle d'ALA10. Le rôle de PUB11 dans cette régulation a été exploré.Au final, cette étude révèle que, dans les cellules chlorophylliennes, ALA10, une flippase de phospholipides du réticulum endoplasmique, est impliquée dans la dynamique de désaturation de la phosphatidylcholine. Son activité stimule la synthèse des galactolipides et active la biogénèse des membranes photosynthétiques, probablement, en favorisant les échanges de lipides entre le chloroplaste et le réticulum endoplasmique. / In a eukaryotic cell, each membrane compartment has a specific lipid composition, regulated according to physiological and environmental conditions. This lipid homeostasis results from coordination of lipid synthesis, conversion, degradation and trafficking. Whereas most enzymes involved in lipid metabolism are now identified, most steps of lipid transport remain to be characterized. We focus on the chloroplast lipid homeostasis, particularly on galactolipid homeostasis, essential lipids of photosynthetic membranes. This lipids are synthetized within the chloroplast's envelope. However, a majority of galactolipids derived from phosphatidylcholine which is synthetized in the endoplasmic reticulum. The delocalization of this synthesis pathway underline the importance of the associated lipid trafficking.Transcriptomic studies have highlighted that ALA10 is overexpressed in condition modifying the galactolipids synthesis such as the chemical inhibition of MGDG synthesis by the galvestine-1, or during phosphate starvation.The aim of this thesis is to characterize ALA10, analyzing its role concerning this lipid trafficking and the chloroplastic galactolipid homeostasis.To understand ALA10's role, we firstly have used GFP fusion to determine its subcellular localization and analyzed lipid composition of different plant lines expressing ALA10 at different levels. Lipid analysis show that ALA10 boosts galactolipid synthesis and limits endoplasmic reticulum located phosphatidylcholine desaturation. We searched ALA10's potential partners in order to explain this effects and studied their interaction using a bimolecular fluorescence complementation approach. We determined that ALA10 interacts with ALIS1 and ALIS5, two beta subunit potentially necessary for ALA10's localization and function, and confirmed the colocalization of these proteins with ALA10 using GFP/CFP fusions. ALA10 with ALIS5 can localize within the endoplasmic reticulum in close proximity to chloroplast, or near the plasma membrane with ALIS1. We have also determined that ALA10 interacts with a fatty acid desaturase, FAD2 and with an E3-ubiquitine ligase PUB11. FAD2 interaction confirms the link between ALA10 and phosphatidylcholine desaturation.Then we have studied the ALIS1 and ALIS5 effect on ALA10 function using KO lines for these proteins or overexpressor lines in conjunction with ALA10 overexpression. Electron microscopy observation revealed that the chloroplast morphology and their relations with endomembrane system are modified depending of the ALIS expressed with ALA10. Lipid analysis on KO lines confirms an impact of ALA10 on galactolipids homeostasis as well as in phosphatidylcholine desaturation. This effect appears to be variable depending of the photoperiod or the circadian rhythm indicating a post traductional regulation of ALA10. The role of PUB11 in this regulation have been studied.Finally this study reveal that, in chlorophyll cells, the endoplasmic reticulum phospholipid flippase ALA10 is involved in the desaturation process of phosphatidylcholine. Its activity stimulates galactolipid synthesis and activates biogenesis of photosynthetic membranes, probably by promoting lipids exchange between chloroplasts and endoplasmic reticulum.

This thesis outlines the development of a control system for a P4-P0 Parallel-Through-The-Road Hybrid Electric Vehicle. This project was part of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, an Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, MathWorks and General Motors. The McMaster Engineering EcoCAR team is participating in its second iteration, re-engineering a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer to suit a car-sharing service located within the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area. The proposed architecture uses a 1.5L Engine together with a Belted Alternator Starter motor connected to the traditional low voltage system. The rear axle is electrified containing an Electric Machine, a power oriented Battery Pack and team-designed gear reduction as well as a clutch. The whole rear powertrain is operating at high voltage and has no connection to the traditional low voltage system. Fuel economy improvements up to 12% can be expected while maintaining stock performance targets. A vehicle simulation model was built to accompany the vehicle design process. This includes a mathematical representation of all powertrain components, the development of energy management algorithms, the design of the Hybrid Supervisory Controller structure, and validating and discussing gathered results. Furthermore, all necessary controllers were chosen and communication within them was established by designing the serial data architecture. The developed energy management algorithm is customized to utilize the strengths of all components and this specific architecture. A simple rule-based algorithm is used to operate the engine as close as possible to its most fuel efficient operation point at any time. The P4 and P0 motor are used to apply supportive torque to the engine or load the engine with a negative torque. In that way the energy can be regenerated inside the powertrain and charge sustaining operation v can be achieved. Fuel economy and performance targets are used to discuss the assumed performance of the vehicle once re-engineered. The set targets range from city and highway fuel economy to IVM – 60 mph acceleration time. Overall the developed control system suits a car-sharing service with its ability to adapt to the occurring driving situations ensuring a close to optimal operation for any known or unknown driving situation. It focuses on modularity, simplicity and functionality to allow a working implementation in future years of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / During the re-engineering of a Hybrid Electric Vehicle different expectations must be considered, for example set government fuel economy regulations, defined performance targets, novelty in innovation, stakeholder expectations as well as the used vehicle platform and the available components. The re-engineering process will be done according to the vehicle development process of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge. Summarized expectations are the use of this vehicle inside a car-sharing service for the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area targeting “Millennials” while focusing on fuel economy improvements and a low cost of ownership. The research shown in this thesis is set by the requirements derived from the expectations mentioned above. One point of interest is achieving a working control system able to operate close to an optimal state to maximize fuel efficiency and ensuring stock vehicle performance targets. Therefore, the control system has to use the electrification components in an intelligent way. Defining what intelligent control of the engine and the electrification components was one of the main challenges. This thesis outlines how developing a control system for a Hybrid Electric Vehicle can be realized while ensuring that all included interests are met. The object of this research contains choosing the necessary controllers, building a sufficient vehicle simulation model, developing the energy management algorithm, validating the model performance and evaluating the gathered results.

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), and especially its caudal, sensory-related, half (cTRN), has been hypothesised for years to be at the very heart of thalamic sensory processing modulation, and attentional processes in particular. Very limited behavioural evidence is available, nonetheless, in support of such a functional attribution. In this thesis we carried out a series of investigations, combining immunocytochemical and lesion techniques with tests of behaviour, in order to examine the potential role of cTRN in attention and identify the attentional processes, if any, that it is more likely to contribute to. In chapter II, we looked at the Fos activation levels within modality-specific sectors of cTRN following attentive behaviours to stimulation of different modalities. We observed a selective activation of the visual sector of cTRN in visually attentive animals but not in tactilely attentive, yet visually stimulated, animals, thus demonstrating an involvement of that area in processes of visual attention. In chapter III we looked at the role of cTRN in cross-modal expressions of divided attention. We found that its removal, through neurotoxic lesioning, did not result in any behavioural costs with regard to the division of attention. Detriments in response accuracy, however, suggested that cTRN may be involved in stimulus processing enhancement operations, unrelated with the division of attention. Finally, in chapters IV and V, we looked at the effects of lesions of the visual sector of cTRN (TRNvis) on the ability to orient attention covertly within visual space. We found that the removal of TRNvis did not affect visual covert orienting behaviour, both when this is triggered by exogenous and endogenous means. Overall our results suggest that even though cTRN appears to be involved in some aspects of attention, it does not represent a necessary structure for the generation and operation of certain other forms of attention.

In-Band Network Telemetry (INT) is a new technique in the area of Software-defined networking (SDN) for monitoring SDN enabled networks. INT monitoring provides fine-grained INT data with less load on the control plane since monitoring is done directly at the data plane. The collected INT data is added as packet headers "In-band" at each INT device along the flow path. The INT data is later composed into telemetry packets which are sent to a collector that is responsible for processing the INT data. The collector of the INT data needs to have good performance since there is a large amount of data that has to be processed quickly. INTCollector, a high performance collector of INT data, is a response to this challenge. The performance of INTCollector is optimized by implementing critical parts in eXpress Data Path (XDP), enabling fast packet processing. INTCollector is, moreover, able to reduce processing of INT data and the need for storage space since it employs a strategy where only important INT data is collected, decided by an internal event detection mechanism.The event detection mechanism in INTCollector can however be offloaded to the INT device itself, with possible perfomance benefits for the collector. Programming Protocol-Independent Packet Processors (P4) opens up this possibility by providing a language for programming network devices. This thesis presents an implementation of INT in P4 with offloaded event detection. We use a programmable P4 testbed to perform an experimental evaluation, which reveal that offloading does indeed benefit INTCollector in terms of performance. Offloading also comes with the advantage of  allowing parameters of the event detection logic at the data plane to be accessible to the control plane.

Certificate Transparency (CT) logs are append-only tamper-evident data structures that can be verified by anyone. For example, it is possible to challenge a log to prove certificate inclusion (membership) and log consistency (append-only, no tampering) based on partial information. While these properties can convince an entity that a certificate is logged and not suddenly removed in the future, there is no guarantee that anyone else observes the same consistent view. To solve this issue a few gossip protocols have been proposed, each with different quirks, benefits, assumptions, and goals. We explore CT gossip below the application layer, finding that packet processors such as switches, routers, and middleboxes can aggregate gossip passively or actively to achieve herd immunity: (in)direct protection against undetectable log misbehaviour. Throughout the thesis we describe, instantiate, and discuss passive aggregation of gossip messages for a restricted data plane programming language: P4. The concept of active aggregation is also introduced. We conclude that (i) aggregation is independent of higher-level transparency applications and infrastructures, (ii) it appears most prominent to aggregate Signed Tree Heads (STHs) in terms of privacy and scalability, and (iii) passive aggregation can be a long-term solution if the CT ecosystem adapts. In other words, not all sources of gossip must be encrypted to preserve privacy. / HITS, 4707

Real-time sensitive network applications are emerging and require ultra-low latency to reach the desired QoS. A main issue that contributes to latency is excessive buffering at intermediate switches and routers. Existing queuing strategies that aim to reduce buffering induced latency typically apply a single queue AQM that does not support service differentiation and treats all packets equally. The recently proposed per packet value framework utilizes a packet value marker and a packet value aware AQM to solve this issue by supporting service differentiation in a single queue and introducing more advanced policies for resource sharing. However, the per packet value framework is implemented and tested in a software environment with no possibility to study the performance on hardware equipment.  This thesis utilizes P4 to design and implement a packet value marker on dataplane programmable devices. The marker should be capable of supporting multiple resource sharing policies, following resource sharing policies accurately, and not being the bottleneck in the network. A target-independent packet value marker is designed and modified with target-dependent P4 constructs to fit the implementation requirements of a Tofino switch and a Netronome smart NIC. An accurate Tofino implementation using this approach is difficult to achieve because of a complicated random number generation process and resource limitation. Evaluation using a testbed with a Netronome marker shows that the marker achieves desired functionality with accurate packet value distribution for throughputs larger than 5000 Kbps. However, the challenge of concurrent packet processing combined with a smart NIC that does not have powerful packet processing cores results in the marker having lower throughput and higher latency than expected. The evaluation also shows that resource limitation in terms of available memory and the number of supported policies affects the maximum number of supported users. We also ported a version to a switching ASIC with limited functionality due to the restrictions of the hardware platform. Our evaluation also provides insights into how such a marking scheme performs on different hardware targets and the limitation imposed by such target specific architecture. / Realtids Känsliga nätverksapplikationer utvecklas och kräver ultra-låg latens för att nå önskad QoS. Befintliga lösningar på detta problem tillämpar AQM på en enda kö och stöder inte tjänst differentiering och behandlar alla paket lika. Det nyligen föreslagna ramverket per packet value löser problemet genom att stödja tjänst differentiering på en kö och införa mer avancerade policyer för resursdelning. Ramverket per packet value implementeras och testas i en mjukvaru miljö utan möjlighet att studera prestanda på hårdvaru utrustning. Denna avhandling använder P4 för att designa och implementera en packet value marker på dataplan programmerbara enheter. Markern bör kunna stödja flera resursdelning principer, följa resursdelning principer exakt, och inte vara bottlenecken i nätverket. En hårdvaruoberoende packet value marker är designad och modifierad med hårdvaruberoende P4-konstruktioner för att passa implementerings kraven för en Tofino switch och en Netronome smart NIC. Slumpmässig talgenerering och resursbegränsning resulterar i en misslyckad implementering av en marker på Tofino med detta tillvägagångssätt. Utvärdering med hjälp av en testbädd med en Netronome marker visar att ett enanvändarscenario och en slumptalsgenerator orsakar lägre genomströmning och högre latens jämfört med forwarding. Resultaten visar att denna metod för Markern är felaktig när man tillämpar policyer vid lägre genomströmningar. Utvärderingen visar också att det maximala antalet användare begränsas av minnet och antalet policyer som stöds. Denna utvärdering ger inblick i hur en sådan marking algoritm är designad och svårigheterna med implementering för olika hårdvara.

New internet services require low and stable latency, which is difficult to provide with traditional routers and queuing mechanisms. Current routers aim to provide high throughput using large buffers causing considerable network latency under load. Recently, Active Queue Management (AQM) algorithms have been proposed to reduce such problem by actively controlling queue lengths to maintain target latencies. However, AQMs are difficult to implement in switching Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) due to inherent architectural constraints. On the other hand, resource sharing is another important goal aiming to differentiate traffic and allocating more resources to different traffic types.  The objective of this thesis is to implement the AQM algorithm Proportional Integral Controller Enhanced (PIE) with a packet marking based resource sharing concept Per Packet Value (PPV) on a programmable switching ASIC using the novel network programmability concept P4. Our solution is designed to maintain low and controllable latency and to utilize the bottleneck link efficiently, while observing the bandwidth sharing properties of the marking scheme. Our goal is to show that Data Plane native implementations of PPV PIE using the Tofino is possible without severely limiting performance or accuracy. The solution places the computation of PIE's drop probability estimation on a timer in the Data Plane utilizing a state machine, packet mirroring, packet recirculation and approximative arithmetics implemented by lookup tables. Additionally, a small control loop is required in order to update lookup tables based on packet statistics from the Control Plane.  In our evaluation using a Tofino based testbed, we evaluate the impact of different parameters on both Control Plane latency, Data Plane throughput and delay for both static and dynamic traffic scenarios. Our results demonstrate commendable performance in terms of controlling queuing delay, effective throughput and bandwidth share when taking operator policy in regard.

Named data networking (NDN) is a content-centric future Internet architecture that uses routable content names instead of IP addresses to achieve location-independent forwarding. Nevertheless, NDN's design is limited to offering hosted applications a simple content pull mechanism. As a result, increased complexity is needed in developing applications that require more sophisticated content delivery functionalities (e.g., push, publish/subscribe, streaming, generalized forwarding, and dynamic content naming). This thesis introduces a novel Enhanced NDN (ENDN) architecture that offers an extensible catalog of content delivery services (e.g., adaptive forwarding, customized monitoring, and in-network caching control). More precisely, the proposed architecture allows hosted applications to associate their content namespaces with a set of services offered by ENDN. The design of ENDN starts from the current NDN architecture that is gradually modified to meet the evolving needs of novel applications. NDN switches use several forwarding tables in the packet processing pipeline, the most important one being the Forwarding Information Base (FIB). The NDN FIBs face stringent performance requirements, especially in Internet-scale deployments. Hence, to increase the NDN data plane scalability and flexibility, we first propose FCTree, a novel FIB data structure. FCTree is a compressed FIB data structure that significantly reduces the required storage space within the NDN routers while providing fast lookup and modification operations. FCTree also offers additional lookup types that can be used as building blocks to novel network services (e.g., in-network search engine). Second, we design a novel programmable data plane for ENDN using P4, a prominent data plane programming language. Our proposed data plane allows content namespaces to be processed by P4 functions implementing complex stateful forwarding behaviors. We thus extend existing P4 models to overcome their limitations with respect to processing string-based content names. Our proposed data plane also allows running independent P4 functions in isolation, thus enabling P4 code run-time pluggability. We further enhance our proposed data plane by making it protocol-independent using programmable parsers to allow interfacing with IP networks. Finally, we introduce a new control plane architecture that allows the applications to express their network requirements using intents. We employ Event-B machine (EBM) language modeling and tools to represent these intents and their semantics on an abstract model of the network. The resulting EBMs are then gradually refined to represent configurations at the programmable data plane. The Event-B method formally ensures the consistency of the different application requirements using proof obligations and verifies that the requirements of different intents do not contradict each other. Thus, the desired properties of the network or its services, as defined by the intent, are guaranteed to be satisfied by the refined EBM representing the final data-plane configurations. Experimental evaluation results demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of our proposed architecture.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo comparar a eficiência de dois dispositivos intravaginais de progesterona (P4) comerciais constituídos de matriz de silicone, um contendo um grama (g) de progesterona (Cronipres® de 3usos, Biogénesis Bagó, Argentina) e outro contendo 0,558 g de P4 (Cronipres® Mono Dose M-24, Biogénesis Bagó, Argentina). O presente estudo foi dividido em três experimentos: O primeiro comparou a cinética de liberação de P4 (Teste in vitro). O segundo, avaliou as concentrações plasmáticas de P4 em vacas ovariectomizadas (Teste in vivo). No terceiro, vacas multíparas ciclícas passaram por um protocolo de sincronização da ovulação para IATF, onde foi avaliada a dinâmica folicular, desde a colocação do implante no D0, até o momento da inseminação (Dinâmica folicular). Nesse experimento as concentrações séricas de P4 foram dosadas nos dias 6, 7 e 8 do protocolo de IATF. No experimento In vitro supracitado, os dois dispositivos, foram alocados em duplicata, no dissolutor de comprimidos, o qual continha álcool e água na proporção de 60:40. Amostras foram colhidas nos seguintes momentos: 2min, 24, 48, 72, e 96 horas. As quantidades de P4 foram dosadas por Cromatografia Líquida de Alto Desempenho (HPLC). Para quantidade acumulada de P4, segundo dispositivo, em função do tempo, houve interação tempo*tratamento (P=0,0002). A quantidade de P4 diferiu entre os dois dispositivos testados e também em relação ao tempo (P<0.0001). Houve diferença estatísitica, nos tempos 2min, 72 e 96 horas. As equações que descrevem as quantidades liberadas são: dispositivos Cronipres® 3 usos Y= 62,396x + 175,70 (R2 = 0,99) Cronipres® Mono Dose Y= 53,314x + 127,7(R2=0,98). No experimento in vivo, 8 vacas ovariectomizadas foram divididas em dois grupos, metade recebeu o Cronipres® de 3 usos e a outra metade recebeu o Cronipres® Mono Dose durante 11 os dias de tratamento. Foram colhidas amostras nos tempos 0 (colocação do dispositivo ), 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 96, 144, 192, 216, 240 e 264 horas. Foram comparados os teores plasmáticos de P4, por espectrometria de massas no laboratório Thomson da Universidade de Campinas (UNICAMP). Houve efeito de tratamento e de tempo (p < 0,05), entretanto, não houve efeito de tempo (p > 0,05). No terceiro experimento, 20 vacas multíparas cíclicas foram submetidas a um protocolo de sincronização da ovulação. Os animais receberam 2 mg intramuscular (IM) de Benzoato de Estradiol . Metade do grupo (n=10) recebeu um dispositivo intravaginal de P4, Cronipres® 3 usos, e a outra metade (n=10) recebeu o Cronipres® Mono Dose M-24. No D8 procedeu-se a retirada do implante e aplicação IM de 150 g de D-cloprostenol . No D9, todos os animais receberam 1mg IM de Benzoato de estradiol . Foi realizado o escaneamento dos ovários por ultrassonografia a cada 24 horas, do momento da inserção do dispositivo até à retirada no D8. A partir da indução, todas as vacas tiveram seus ovários escaneados e mapeados a cada 12 horas, durante 4 dias. Coletas de sangue foram efetuadas nos dias seis, sete e oito do protocolo para comparar as concentrações plasmáticas de P4 antes da retirada do dispositivo. Foram avaliadas as variáveis, início da nova onda de crescimento folicular, diâmetro do folículo préovulatório (de forma retrospectiva) e momento da ovulação pelo teste qui quadrado. Os dados de ovulação, foram submetidos à análise de regressão logística, pelo PROC MIXED e os dados de desenvolvimento folicular, pelo PROC LOGISTIC (SAS, versão 9.3). Não houve diferença no início da nova onda de crescimento folicular, diâmetro do folículo pré-ovulatório e taxa de ovulação (P>0,05). Houve uma tendência de antecipação da ovulação (P=0.06), das vacas do grupo cronipres Mono Dose, uma vaca desse grupo antecipou a ovulação em cerca de 36 h.Mesmo apressentando diferenças estatísticas nos testes in vítro e in vivo, os animais tratados com dispositivo de 0,558 gramas apresentaram padrão de desenvolvimento folicular semelhante ao grupo tratado com o dispositivo de 1g. / This study aimed to compare the efficiency of two commercial intravaginal progesterone (P4) devices consisting of silicone matrix, containing 1 gram (g) of progesterone (Cronipres of 3uses ®, Biogenesis Bagó, Argentina) and another containing 0.558 g P4 (Cronipres ® Mono Dose M-24, Biogenesis Bagó, Argentina). This study was divided into three experiments: The first compared the kinetics of release of P4 (in vitro test). The second evaluated the plasma concentrations of P4 in ovariectomized cows (in vivo test). In the third, multiparous cyclical cows passed a complete protocol where TAI was evaluated follicular dynamics, since the placement of the implant in D0, until the time of insemination (follicular dynamics) and serum concentrations of P4 before removing devices (follicular dynamics). In vitro experiment above, the two devices were placed in triplicate in dissolver of tablets, which contained alcohol and water in the ratio of 60:40. Samples were collected at the following times: 2min, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours. The amounts of P4 were measured by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). To cumulative amount of P4, the second device as a function of time, treatment time * significant interaction (P = 0.0002). The amount of P4 differed between the two implants Cronipres ® and also in relation to time (P <0.0001). There were differences in the times 1, 4, 5. The equations that describe the quantities released are Cronipres device 3 uses ® Y - = 175.70 + 62.396 x (R2 = 0.99) Cronipres Dose ® Mono Y = 53.314 x + 127.7 (R2 = 0.98). In the in vivo experiment, 8 ovariectomized cows were divided into two groups, half received Cronipres ® 3 uses the other half received the Cronipres ® Mono Dose for 11 treatment days. Samples were collected at 0 (implant placement), 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 96, 144, 192, 216, 240, 264 hours. We compared the plasma levels of P4, mass spectrometry laboratory Thomson of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP). No effect was observed treatment and animal (p> 0.05) however there was only time effect (p <0.05). In the third experiment, 20 multiparous cows and cyclic undergone a complete protocol for fixed-time artificial insemination (TAI). In D0 treatment, all animals received 2 mg intramuscular (IM) of estradiol benzoate (Cronibest ® - Biogenesis-Tobago, Argentina). Half of the group (n = 10) received an intravaginal P4 device, Cronipres ® 3 uses, and the other half (n = 10) received the Cronipres ® Mono Dose M-24. In D8 proceeded to implant removal and application of IM 150 mg of D-cloprostenol (Croniben ®, Biogenesis-Bagó, Argentina). On Day 9, all animals received 1 mg IM. of estradiol benzoate (Cronibest ® Biogenesis-Bagó, Argentina). Was performed by ultrasound scanning of the ovaries every 24 hours from time of insertion of the implant to the withdrawal D8. From induction, all cows had their ovaries scanned and mapped every 12 hours for 4 days. Blood samples were taken on days six, seven and eight protocol to compare the plasma concentrations of P4 before removing the device. The variables, early new wave of follicular growth, diameter of the preovulatory follicle (retrospectively), ovulation rate and time of ovulation. Ovulation data were analyzed by logistic regression using PROC LOGISTIC and follicular development data, using PROC MIXED (SAS, version 9.3). The ovulation rate was 80% for both groups (P> 0.05). There was a tendency to anticipate ovulation (P = 0:07), cows in group B. A cow\'s ovulation group B anticipated for about 36 h. There was no difference in estatístisca dominant follicle diameter at the time of TAI, on the emergence of a new wave and pre ovulatory follicle size (p> 0.05).

Este trabalho teve como objetivo comparar a eficiência de dois dispositivos intravaginais de progesterona (P4) comerciais constituídos de matriz de silicone, um contendo um grama (g) de progesterona (Cronipres® de 3usos, Biogénesis Bagó, Argentina) e outro contendo 0,558 g de P4 (Cronipres® Mono Dose M-24, Biogénesis Bagó, Argentina). O presente estudo foi dividido em três experimentos: O primeiro comparou a cinética de liberação de P4 (Teste in vitro). O segundo, avaliou as concentrações plasmáticas de P4 em vacas ovariectomizadas (Teste in vivo). No terceiro, vacas multíparas ciclícas passaram por um protocolo de sincronização da ovulação para IATF, onde foi avaliada a dinâmica folicular, desde a colocação do implante no D0, até o momento da inseminação (Dinâmica folicular). Nesse experimento as concentrações séricas de P4 foram dosadas nos dias 6, 7 e 8 do protocolo de IATF. No experimento In vitro supracitado, os dois dispositivos, foram alocados em duplicata, no dissolutor de comprimidos, o qual continha álcool e água na proporção de 60:40. Amostras foram colhidas nos seguintes momentos: 2min, 24, 48, 72, e 96 horas. As quantidades de P4 foram dosadas por Cromatografia Líquida de Alto Desempenho (HPLC). Para quantidade acumulada de P4, segundo dispositivo, em função do tempo, houve interação tempo*tratamento (P=0,0002). A quantidade de P4 diferiu entre os dois dispositivos testados e também em relação ao tempo (P<0.0001). Houve diferença estatísitica, nos tempos 2min, 72 e 96 horas. As equações que descrevem as quantidades liberadas são: dispositivos Cronipres® 3 usos Y= 62,396x + 175,70 (R2 = 0,99) Cronipres® Mono Dose Y= 53,314x + 127,7(R2=0,98). No experimento in vivo, 8 vacas ovariectomizadas foram divididas em dois grupos, metade recebeu o Cronipres® de 3 usos e a outra metade recebeu o Cronipres® Mono Dose durante 11 os dias de tratamento. Foram colhidas amostras nos tempos 0 (colocação do dispositivo ), 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 96, 144, 192, 216, 240 e 264 horas. Foram comparados os teores plasmáticos de P4, por espectrometria de massas no laboratório Thomson da Universidade de Campinas (UNICAMP). Houve efeito de tratamento e de tempo (p < 0,05), entretanto, não houve efeito de tempo (p > 0,05). No terceiro experimento, 20 vacas multíparas cíclicas foram submetidas a um protocolo de sincronização da ovulação. Os animais receberam 2 mg intramuscular (IM) de Benzoato de Estradiol . Metade do grupo (n=10) recebeu um dispositivo intravaginal de P4, Cronipres® 3 usos, e a outra metade (n=10) recebeu o Cronipres® Mono Dose M-24. No D8 procedeu-se a retirada do implante e aplicação IM de 150 g de D-cloprostenol . No D9, todos os animais receberam 1mg IM de Benzoato de estradiol . Foi realizado o escaneamento dos ovários por ultrassonografia a cada 24 horas, do momento da inserção do dispositivo até à retirada no D8. A partir da indução, todas as vacas tiveram seus ovários escaneados e mapeados a cada 12 horas, durante 4 dias. Coletas de sangue foram efetuadas nos dias seis, sete e oito do protocolo para comparar as concentrações plasmáticas de P4 antes da retirada do dispositivo. Foram avaliadas as variáveis, início da nova onda de crescimento folicular, diâmetro do folículo préovulatório (de forma retrospectiva) e momento da ovulação pelo teste qui quadrado. Os dados de ovulação, foram submetidos à análise de regressão logística, pelo PROC MIXED e os dados de desenvolvimento folicular, pelo PROC LOGISTIC (SAS, versão 9.3). Não houve diferença no início da nova onda de crescimento folicular, diâmetro do folículo pré-ovulatório e taxa de ovulação (P>0,05). Houve uma tendência de antecipação da ovulação (P=0.06), das vacas do grupo cronipres Mono Dose, uma vaca desse grupo antecipou a ovulação em cerca de 36 h.Mesmo apressentando diferenças estatísticas nos testes in vítro e in vivo, os animais tratados com dispositivo de 0,558 gramas apresentaram padrão de desenvolvimento folicular semelhante ao grupo tratado com o dispositivo de 1g. / This study aimed to compare the efficiency of two commercial intravaginal progesterone (P4) devices consisting of silicone matrix, containing 1 gram (g) of progesterone (Cronipres of 3uses ®, Biogenesis Bagó, Argentina) and another containing 0.558 g P4 (Cronipres ® Mono Dose M-24, Biogenesis Bagó, Argentina). This study was divided into three experiments: The first compared the kinetics of release of P4 (in vitro test). The second evaluated the plasma concentrations of P4 in ovariectomized cows (in vivo test). In the third, multiparous cyclical cows passed a complete protocol where TAI was evaluated follicular dynamics, since the placement of the implant in D0, until the time of insemination (follicular dynamics) and serum concentrations of P4 before removing devices (follicular dynamics). In vitro experiment above, the two devices were placed in triplicate in dissolver of tablets, which contained alcohol and water in the ratio of 60:40. Samples were collected at the following times: 2min, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours. The amounts of P4 were measured by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). To cumulative amount of P4, the second device as a function of time, treatment time * significant interaction (P = 0.0002). The amount of P4 differed between the two implants Cronipres ® and also in relation to time (P <0.0001). There were differences in the times 1, 4, 5. The equations that describe the quantities released are Cronipres device 3 uses ® Y - = 175.70 + 62.396 x (R2 = 0.99) Cronipres Dose ® Mono Y = 53.314 x + 127.7 (R2 = 0.98). In the in vivo experiment, 8 ovariectomized cows were divided into two groups, half received Cronipres ® 3 uses the other half received the Cronipres ® Mono Dose for 11 treatment days. Samples were collected at 0 (implant placement), 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 96, 144, 192, 216, 240, 264 hours. We compared the plasma levels of P4, mass spectrometry laboratory Thomson of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP). No effect was observed treatment and animal (p> 0.05) however there was only time effect (p <0.05). In the third experiment, 20 multiparous cows and cyclic undergone a complete protocol for fixed-time artificial insemination (TAI). In D0 treatment, all animals received 2 mg intramuscular (IM) of estradiol benzoate (Cronibest ® - Biogenesis-Tobago, Argentina). Half of the group (n = 10) received an intravaginal P4 device, Cronipres ® 3 uses, and the other half (n = 10) received the Cronipres ® Mono Dose M-24. In D8 proceeded to implant removal and application of IM 150 mg of D-cloprostenol (Croniben ®, Biogenesis-Bagó, Argentina). On Day 9, all animals received 1 mg IM. of estradiol benzoate (Cronibest ® Biogenesis-Bagó, Argentina). Was performed by ultrasound scanning of the ovaries every 24 hours from time of insertion of the implant to the withdrawal D8. From induction, all cows had their ovaries scanned and mapped every 12 hours for 4 days. Blood samples were taken on days six, seven and eight protocol to compare the plasma concentrations of P4 before removing the device. The variables, early new wave of follicular growth, diameter of the preovulatory follicle (retrospectively), ovulation rate and time of ovulation. Ovulation data were analyzed by logistic regression using PROC LOGISTIC and follicular development data, using PROC MIXED (SAS, version 9.3). The ovulation rate was 80% for both groups (P> 0.05). There was a tendency to anticipate ovulation (P = 0:07), cows in group B. A cow\'s ovulation group B anticipated for about 36 h. There was no difference in estatístisca dominant follicle diameter at the time of TAI, on the emergence of a new wave and pre ovulatory follicle size (p> 0.05).