Portland cement concrete (PCC) structures deteriorate with age and need to be maintained or replaced. Early detection of deterioration in PCC (e.g., alkali-silica reaction, freeze/thaw damage or chloride presence) can lead to significant reductions in maintenance costs. Portland cement concrete can be nondestructively evaluated by electrically characterizing its complex dielectric constant in a laboratory setting. A parallel-plate capacitor operating in the frequency range of 0.1 to 40.1 MHz was developed at Virginia Tech for this purpose. While useful in research, this approach is not practical for field implementation. In this study, a capacitor probe was designed and fabricated to determine the in-situ dielectric properties of PCC over a frequency range of 2.0 to 20.0 MHz. It is modeled after the parallel-plate capacitor in that it consists of two conducting plates with a known separation. The conducting plates are flexible, which allows them to conform to different geometric shapes. Prior to PCC testing, measurements were conducted to determine the validity of such a system by testing specimens possessing known dielectric properties (Teflon). Portland cement concrete specimens were cast (of sufficient size to prevent edge diffraction of the electromagnetic waves) having two different air contents, two void thicknesses, and two void depths (from the specimen's surface). Two specimens were cast for each parameter and their results were averaged. The dielectric properties over curing time were measured for all specimens, using the capacitor probe and the parallel-plate capacitor. The capacitor probe showed a decrease in dielectric constant with increasing curing time and/or air content. In addition to measuring dielectric properties accurately and monitoring the curing process, the capacitor probe was also found to detect the presence and relative depth of air voids, however, determining air void thickness was difficult. / Master of Science

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間・環境学) / 甲第18379号 / 人博第692号 / 新制||人||165(附属図書館) / 25||人博||692(吉田南総合図書館) / 31237 / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科相関環境学専攻 / (主査)准教授 土屋 徹, 教授 小松 賢志, 教授 宮下 英明 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間・環境学) / 甲第19069号 / 人博第722号 / 新制||人||173(附属図書館) / 26||人博||722(吉田南総合図書館) / 32020 / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科相関環境学専攻 / (主査)准教授 土屋 徹, 教授 宮下 英明, 教授 川本 卓男 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

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The global demand for nitrogen fertilizer was 12 million metric tonnes in 2014 and is expected to increase to 240 million metric tonnes by the year 2050, with the growth of the global population.  To meet the demand for nitrogen fertilizers, the Haber-Bosch process has primarily been used to produce the precursor of many nitrogen fertilizers - ammonia. The very energy-expensive Haber-Bosch process uses fossil fuels and, therefore, a renewable source of ammonia must be established. Some microorganisms can use atmospheric nitrogen to produce ammonia via the nitrogenase enzyme, a mechanism attractive for alternative ammonia production. In this thesis project, integrating vectors for the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7002 have been designed and generated to facilitate future heterotrophic nitrogenase integration and ammonia production. The vectors were designed for integration in seven neutral sites of the Synechococcus PCC 7002 genome. Five of the seven planned integrating vectors were successfully constructed and transformation was attempted into Synechococcus PCC 7002 to determine the transformation efficiency of the different neutral sites, however, the transformation results were inconclusive.

Microcystine sind die wohl bekanntesten cyanobakteriellen Toxine. Sie werden im Wesentlichen durch die im Süßwasser weltweit verbreitete, koloniebildende Gattung Microcystis synthetisiert. Die biologische Funktion dieser Peptide ist jedoch ungeklärt. In dieser Studie wurde die Fragestellung erstmals über einen globalen Ansatz auf molekularer Ebene analysiert. Die proteomischen Analysen zwischen M. aeruginosa PCC 7806/ Wildtyp und einigen Microcystin-freien Mutanten deuten auf eine physiologische Rolle der Microcystine. Microcystine beeinflussen die Abundanz zahlreicher Proteine. Prominentester Vertreter ist RubisCO – Schlüsselenzym des Calvin Zyklus. RubisCO und andere im 2D selektierte Proteine konnten außerdem als mögliche zelluläre Bindepartner des Microcystins identifiziert werden. Möglicherweise bindet MC an bestimmte Cysteinreste dieser Proteine. Mit dem Knockout der mcy-Gene geht außerdem eine Überexpression eines Morphotyp-spezifischen Proteins einher, das MrpC genannt wurde. Dieses Protein vermittelt möglicherweise Zell-Zell-Interaktionen in Microcystis. / Microcystins are the most common cyanobacterial toxins found in freshwater lakes and reservoirs throughout the world. They are frequently produced by the unicellular, colonial cyanobacterium Microcystis; however, the role of the peptide for the producing organismen is poorly understood. In this study we describe the first global approach to investigate this topic on a molecular level. Proteomic studies with M. aeruginosa PCC 7806 wild-type and several microcystin-deficient mutants indicated a physiological function for microcystin. Microcystin was shown to influence the abundance of several proteins which have an intra- or extracellular function. A prominent candidate is RubisCO, the key enzyme of the calvin cycle. RubisCO and other proteins, initially selected by 2D analysis, are putative cellular binding partners of microcystin. A potentially interaction mechanismen is the kovalent binding of microcystin to cysteine residues of the protein. Moreover, several knockouts of microcystin biosynthesis genes result in an overexpression of a putative morpho-type specific factor, named MrpC. This protein possibly mediates cell-cell interactions in Microcystis.

Eficácia, aperfeiçoar a produção, minimizar custos relativos e otimizar recursos disponíveis são desafios aos quais se deparam os serviços de alimentação coletiva no Brasil. Este estudo procurou avaliar os recursos disponíveis de uma unidade de alimentação e nutrição - UAN, visando subsidiar a implementação do sistema cook-chill. Para realização do estudo foram utilizados dois tipos de proteína animal, o lagarto (músculo semitendinosus) e o peito de frango (pectoralis major) com o emprego das técnicas cook-chill e convencional. O estudo foi divido em três etapas. A primeira avaliou a capacidade instalada a partir da observação dos recursos necessários, tais como, mão de obra empregada, estrutura física relacionada a equipamentos e custo. Os resultados evidenciaram um baixo índice de produtividade de mão de obra quando comparado a outras UAN. O custo total da preparação alimentícia aumentou 2,7% com o emprego da técnica cook-chill quando comparado à técnica convencional. Este aumento foi causado principalmente pelo maior tempo no emprego da mão de obra, de consumo de energia elétrica e no uso da capacidade instalada. Esta, por sua vez pode ser considerada suficiente para a implementação da técnica cook-chill. Na segunda etapa, identificou-se os pontos críticos de controle - PCC - de preparações com o emprego da técnica cook-chill. Testes preliminares definiram o tempo e temperatura do tratamento térmico empregado, devendo ser a temperatura de forno de 160°C até atingir 89°C no centro geométrico por 4 minutos para carne bovina (lagarto) e 2 minutos para carne a base de ave (peito de frango), respectivamente, num tempo total de processo de 2 horas e 25 minutos, binômios suficientes para reduzir 11D do microrganismo alvo do estudo, o Clostridium botulinun type E. Para o emprego da técnica cook-chill, identificou-se como pontos críticos de controle, a partir do método recomendado pelo Codex alimentarius, as etapas de cocção, armazenamento e regeneração, para as duas preparações. Na terceira etapa aplicou-se a técnica cook-chill visando comparar os resultados em relação aos aspectos sensoriais, físicos, químicos e microbiológicos com a técnica convencional. O rendimento total das preparações com o emprego da técnica convencional foi menor quando comparado ao cook-chill, para ambas as proteínas, exceto nas amostras de lagarto com cook-chill que tiveram um rendimento maior no armazenamento durante cinco dias, justificado pela influência da retenção de água provido pelo acondicionamento em saco a vácuo. O emprego da técnica cook-chill e o tempo de armazenamento não influenciaram nos resultados para pH, força de cisalhamento e cor objetiva, para nenhum dos tipos de carnes. As contagens microbiológicas revelaram-se satisfatórias, mesmo para as amostras armazenadas sob refrigeração no período mais longo. Quanto à análise sensorial as duas técnicas obtiveram uma aceitação acima de 60% nos atributos sensoriais avaliados. Concluiu-se que a UAN poderá substituir a técnica convencional, uma vez que obteve resultados satisfatórios de aceitação da técnica cook-chill, principalmente no tempo de armazenamento em até 5 dias a 3°C, e demais análises. Do mesmo modo, essa técnica apresentou-se vantajosa devido à maior facilidade operacional, sugerindo a redução do tempo de produção, a otimização da mão de obra e equipamentos disponíveis o favorecimento do aumento da produção. / Effectiveness, improving the production, minimize costs and optimize available resources are challenges which face the collective power services in Brazil. This study sought to evaluate the resources of a unit of foodservice, aiming to support the implementation of the cook-chill system. To conduct the study were used two types of animal protein, the semitendinosus beef and fillet of chicken breast (pectoralis major) with the use of cook-chill techniques (zero time and five days of storage) and conventional. The study was divided into three stages. First, it was evaluated the installed capacity from observing the necessary resources, such as labour, physical structure related to equipment and cost analysis. While using conventional techniques, the results showed a low labor productivity rate when compared to other foodservice units. The total cost increased to 2.7% with the use of cook-chill technique when compared to the conventional technique, caused mainly by higher use of labor, consumption of electricity and installed capacity, which may be considered sufficient for the implementation of the cook-chill technique. In the second stage, it was identified the critical control points - CCP - of preparations with the use of cook-chill technology. Preliminary tests defined time and temperature of cooking should be 160°C of oven temperature, up to reach 89°C at geometric center for 4 minutes, to semitendinosus beef, and 2 minutes for the chicken breast, respectively, in a total time process of 2 hours and 25 minutes, binomial of time enough to reduce 11D of the study target microorganism, Clostridium botulinun type E. For the implementation of the cook-chill technique it was identified, as critical control points from the method recommended by the Codex alimentarius, the steps of cooking, storage and regeneration, for both of preparations. The third stage applied the cook-chill technique in order to compare its results with the conventional technique, on the sensory, physical, chemical and microbiological aspects. The overall process yield with the conventional technique was lower than in the cook-chill technique for both proteins, except in the lizard samples cook-chill with time of storage of 5 days, that shown a higher process yield, that can be explained by the influence of water retention provided by storage in a vacuum bag. The use of cook-chill technique did not influence the results for pH, shear force, objective color, the storage time, for any of the types of meats, as well as microbiological counts proved to be satisfactory even for the preparations of meats under longer periods of refrigeration. The sensory analysis of two techniques gained acceptance over 60% in the sensory attributes evaluated. In conclusion, the foodservice unit can replace the conventional technique for cook-chill technique, according to satisfactory results of analyzed parameters, particularly for storage time up to 5 days at 3°C, also provides greater operational convenience, reduced production time, and labour optimization creating conditions for further production increase.