Nos encontramos atualmente em um momento histórico privilegiado para a cosmologia. Na última década, o grande progresso das observações astronô- micas permitiu que diversos modelos cosmológicos pudessem ser testados com grande precisão. Com uma série de resultados observacionais sendo lançados, obtivemos informações valiosas sobre a expansão acelerada do universo primitivo e a expansão acelerada atual. Em sua essência, tais esforços observacionais buscam esclarecer algumas das questões mais fundamentais da cosmologia moderna, como a compreensão do mecanismo responsável pela aceleração do universo. Muitas perguntas estão associadas à tal questão, entre elas podemos citar: (i) Qual a natureza da substância, ou qual a origem do fenômeno, que está atualmente acelerando a expansão do universo? (ii) Por qual razão esta expansão acelerada iniciou recentemente (nos últimos 5-8 bilhões de anos), e não no passado distante ou no futuro remoto? (iii) Qual a variante inflacionária que operou no universo primitivo e qual sua conexão (se existe alguma) com o atual estágio acelerado do universo? Em nossa compreensão, as indagações acima fazem parte dos maiores problemas da cosmologia atual. A ampla abrangência de tais questões significa que avanços em qualquer uma delas terá implicações teóricas e observacionais em outras áreas envolvendo a interface formada pela Astronomia, Cosmologia e Física de Partículas. As três questões acima estão diretamente conectadas com os objetivos do presente trabalho. Acreditamos também que seu estudo pode lançar alguma luz e melhorar nossa compreensão sobre questões mais fundamentais da física. Neste contexto, analisamos diferentes modelos cosmológicos para a acelera- ção do universo à luz dos mais recentes dados observacionais de supernovas, radiação cósmica de fundo e oscilações acústicas de bárions. Propomos, aqui, alternativas ao Modelo Padrão da Cosmologia, ao mostrar que diversos fenômenos físicos podem estar associados à expansão do universo, gerando a aceleração observada sem a necessidade de se introduzir componentes desconhecidas no universo além da matéria escura. Além de desenvolver uma revisão crítica do Modelo Padrão, discutimos nesta tese especialmente três modelos para a expansão acelerada do universo. O primeiro deles considera a aceleração cósmica como sendo efeito da criação quântica de partículas de matéria escura, ou radiação, às custas do campo gravitacional variando continuamente com a expansão do universo. O segundo modelo considera o processo de viscosidade volumar no fluido cosmológico como sendo responsável pela aceleração. Esta viscosidade volumar se deve à perda de equilíbrio termodinâmico durante a expansão do fluido. O terceiro modelo, o modelo de decaimento do vácuo, considera como responsá- vel pela aceleração uma energia do vácuo que decai nas outras componentes cósmicas continuamente ao longo do tempo. Analisamos as relações existentes entre estes três modelos, além do Modelo Padrão, e as condições sob as quais os mesmos fornecem uma dinâmica equivalente para o universo. Também obtemos interessantes vínculos para os parâmetros destes modelos ao fazermos, além de uma análise observacional, uma análise teórica baseada na dinâmica e na termodinâmica associada a cada cenário. Sugerimos que estes cenários são capazes de aliviar diversos problemas conceituais do Modelo Padrão da Cosmologia. Numa segunda etapa, mostramos que os processos físicos descritos acima podem ser responsáveis tanto pela aceleração cósmica atual, quanto pela aceleração primordial que se supõe ter ocorrido no universo antigo. Tal abordagem fornece uma descrição unificada para a evolução cosmológica. Acreditamos ser de fundamental importância que o processo que dirigiu a aceleração primordial possa ser relacionado com o mesmo responsável pela atual fase de expansão acelerada do universo. Além disto, é possível que as dificuldades que atingem a interface que une a Relatividade Geral, a Cosmologia e a Teoria Quântica de Campos possam ser amenizadas através de uma melhor compreensão do processo de criação gravitacional de partículas, do decaimento do vácuo e suas conexões com o contexto da inflação primordial. Para comparar e vincular os modelos propostos, analisamos também o processo de formação das estruturas cosmológicas nestes modelos. Introduzimos a teoria de perturbações cosmológicas, primeiramente, através de uma análise do Modelo Padrão. A partir daí, apresentamos uma abordagem mais geral para o tratamento das perturbações chamada teoria de campo efetiva para a inflação. Neste contexto, analisamos quais previsões são obtidas ao se quebrar algumas suposições usualmente assumidas nestes modelos. Por fim, através de uma análise do espectro de potências primordial do modelo de criação gravitacional de partículas e do modelo de viscosidade, mostramos, pela primeira vez, que os mesmos podem ser capazes de gerar um cenário inflacionário para o universo primitivo em concordância com as observações atuais. / We are currently in a privileged moment for cosmology. In the last decade, the great progress of astronomical observations made possible that several cosmological models could be tested with great accuracy. With several observational data being released we obtained valuable information concerning the primordial acceleration of the universe and the recent accelerated expansion. Essentially, these observational efforts aim to clarify some of the most fundamental questions of modern cosmology, which concerns the understanding of the mechanism responsible for the acceleration of the universe. Many questions are related to this issue, among them we can mention: (i) What is the nature of the substance, or what is the origin of the phenomenom, responsible for the acceleration of the expansion? (ii) For which reason the accelerated expansion started recently (within the last 5-8 billion years), and not in the distant past or distant future? (iii) What is the inflationary variant that operated in the early universe, and what is its connection (if there is any) with the current accelerated stage of the universe? In our understanding the above questions are part of the biggest problems in modern cosmology. The interconnection between these issues means that advances in any of them will have theoretical and observational implications in other areas involving the interface formed by Astronomy, Cosmology and Particle Physics. The three questions above are directly connected to the objectives of this work. We also belive that their study can shed some light in our understanding of the remaining issues. In this context, we analyze different cosmological models for the acceleration of the universe in the light of the latest data released from supernovae, cosmic microwave background and baryon acoustic oscillations, comparing the results with the ones concerning the Standard Model of Cosmology. We propose alternatives to the Standard Model of Cosmology, by showing that several physical phenomena can be associated to the expansion of the universe, producing the observed acceleration without the need to introduce unknown components in the universe besides the dark matter. In addition to developing a critical revision of the Standard Model, we discuss in this thesis especially three models for the accelerated expansion of the universe. The first one considers the cosmic acceleration as an effect of the creation of dark matter particles, or radiation, at the expense of the gravitational field varying continuously with the expansion of the universe. The second model considers the process of bulk viscosity in the cosmological fluid as being responsible for the acceleration of the universe. This bulk viscosity is due to the loss of local thermodynamic equilibrium during the expansion of the fluid. The third model, the vacuum decaying model, considers as responsible for the acceleration, a vacuum energy which decays continuously into other cosmological components. We analyze the relations between these three models, and also the Standard Model, and the conditions under which they provide an equivalent dynamic to the universe. We also obtain interesting constraints for the parameters of these models by making, besides an observacional analysis, a theoretical analysis based on the dynamics and thermodynamics associated to each scenario. We will show that these alternative scenarios are able to alleviate several theoretical problems of the Standard Cosmological Model. In a second part, we show that the physical phenomena described above may be responsible for the recent cosmic acceleration, as well as for the primordial acceleration that is supposed to have occurred in the early universe. Such approach provides an unified description for the cosmological history. We belive it is of great importance that the process responsible for inflation can be identified with the one responsible for the current phase of accelerated expansion of the universe. Moreover, it is quite possible that the difficulties concerning the interface connecting General Relativity, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory can be reduced through a better understanding of the gravitational particle creation process, the decay of the vacuum and its connections with the primordial inflationary context. In order to constrain and compare the models proposed here, we also analyse the process of cosmological structure formation in these models. We firstly introduce the perturbation theory through an analysis of the Standard Model. Then we introduce a more general approach to the treatment of cosmological perturbations which is called effective field theory of inflation. In this context, we analyse which predictions are obtained when we break some of the assumptions usually imposed in these models. Finally, through an analysis of the primordial power spectrum of the gravitational particle creation model and the viscosity model, we show, for the first time, that these models are able to describe an inflationary scenario for the early universe totally in agreement with current observations.

Nos encontramos atualmente em um momento histórico privilegiado para a cosmologia. Na última década, o grande progresso das observações astronô- micas permitiu que diversos modelos cosmológicos pudessem ser testados com grande precisão. Com uma série de resultados observacionais sendo lançados, obtivemos informações valiosas sobre a expansão acelerada do universo primitivo e a expansão acelerada atual. Em sua essência, tais esforços observacionais buscam esclarecer algumas das questões mais fundamentais da cosmologia moderna, como a compreensão do mecanismo responsável pela aceleração do universo. Muitas perguntas estão associadas à tal questão, entre elas podemos citar: (i) Qual a natureza da substância, ou qual a origem do fenômeno, que está atualmente acelerando a expansão do universo? (ii) Por qual razão esta expansão acelerada iniciou recentemente (nos últimos 5-8 bilhões de anos), e não no passado distante ou no futuro remoto? (iii) Qual a variante inflacionária que operou no universo primitivo e qual sua conexão (se existe alguma) com o atual estágio acelerado do universo? Em nossa compreensão, as indagações acima fazem parte dos maiores problemas da cosmologia atual. A ampla abrangência de tais questões significa que avanços em qualquer uma delas terá implicações teóricas e observacionais em outras áreas envolvendo a interface formada pela Astronomia, Cosmologia e Física de Partículas. As três questões acima estão diretamente conectadas com os objetivos do presente trabalho. Acreditamos também que seu estudo pode lançar alguma luz e melhorar nossa compreensão sobre questões mais fundamentais da física. Neste contexto, analisamos diferentes modelos cosmológicos para a acelera- ção do universo à luz dos mais recentes dados observacionais de supernovas, radiação cósmica de fundo e oscilações acústicas de bárions. Propomos, aqui, alternativas ao Modelo Padrão da Cosmologia, ao mostrar que diversos fenômenos físicos podem estar associados à expansão do universo, gerando a aceleração observada sem a necessidade de se introduzir componentes desconhecidas no universo além da matéria escura. Além de desenvolver uma revisão crítica do Modelo Padrão, discutimos nesta tese especialmente três modelos para a expansão acelerada do universo. O primeiro deles considera a aceleração cósmica como sendo efeito da criação quântica de partículas de matéria escura, ou radiação, às custas do campo gravitacional variando continuamente com a expansão do universo. O segundo modelo considera o processo de viscosidade volumar no fluido cosmológico como sendo responsável pela aceleração. Esta viscosidade volumar se deve à perda de equilíbrio termodinâmico durante a expansão do fluido. O terceiro modelo, o modelo de decaimento do vácuo, considera como responsá- vel pela aceleração uma energia do vácuo que decai nas outras componentes cósmicas continuamente ao longo do tempo. Analisamos as relações existentes entre estes três modelos, além do Modelo Padrão, e as condições sob as quais os mesmos fornecem uma dinâmica equivalente para o universo. Também obtemos interessantes vínculos para os parâmetros destes modelos ao fazermos, além de uma análise observacional, uma análise teórica baseada na dinâmica e na termodinâmica associada a cada cenário. Sugerimos que estes cenários são capazes de aliviar diversos problemas conceituais do Modelo Padrão da Cosmologia. Numa segunda etapa, mostramos que os processos físicos descritos acima podem ser responsáveis tanto pela aceleração cósmica atual, quanto pela aceleração primordial que se supõe ter ocorrido no universo antigo. Tal abordagem fornece uma descrição unificada para a evolução cosmológica. Acreditamos ser de fundamental importância que o processo que dirigiu a aceleração primordial possa ser relacionado com o mesmo responsável pela atual fase de expansão acelerada do universo. Além disto, é possível que as dificuldades que atingem a interface que une a Relatividade Geral, a Cosmologia e a Teoria Quântica de Campos possam ser amenizadas através de uma melhor compreensão do processo de criação gravitacional de partículas, do decaimento do vácuo e suas conexões com o contexto da inflação primordial. Para comparar e vincular os modelos propostos, analisamos também o processo de formação das estruturas cosmológicas nestes modelos. Introduzimos a teoria de perturbações cosmológicas, primeiramente, através de uma análise do Modelo Padrão. A partir daí, apresentamos uma abordagem mais geral para o tratamento das perturbações chamada teoria de campo efetiva para a inflação. Neste contexto, analisamos quais previsões são obtidas ao se quebrar algumas suposições usualmente assumidas nestes modelos. Por fim, através de uma análise do espectro de potências primordial do modelo de criação gravitacional de partículas e do modelo de viscosidade, mostramos, pela primeira vez, que os mesmos podem ser capazes de gerar um cenário inflacionário para o universo primitivo em concordância com as observações atuais. / We are currently in a privileged moment for cosmology. In the last decade, the great progress of astronomical observations made possible that several cosmological models could be tested with great accuracy. With several observational data being released we obtained valuable information concerning the primordial acceleration of the universe and the recent accelerated expansion. Essentially, these observational efforts aim to clarify some of the most fundamental questions of modern cosmology, which concerns the understanding of the mechanism responsible for the acceleration of the universe. Many questions are related to this issue, among them we can mention: (i) What is the nature of the substance, or what is the origin of the phenomenom, responsible for the acceleration of the expansion? (ii) For which reason the accelerated expansion started recently (within the last 5-8 billion years), and not in the distant past or distant future? (iii) What is the inflationary variant that operated in the early universe, and what is its connection (if there is any) with the current accelerated stage of the universe? In our understanding the above questions are part of the biggest problems in modern cosmology. The interconnection between these issues means that advances in any of them will have theoretical and observational implications in other areas involving the interface formed by Astronomy, Cosmology and Particle Physics. The three questions above are directly connected to the objectives of this work. We also belive that their study can shed some light in our understanding of the remaining issues. In this context, we analyze different cosmological models for the acceleration of the universe in the light of the latest data released from supernovae, cosmic microwave background and baryon acoustic oscillations, comparing the results with the ones concerning the Standard Model of Cosmology. We propose alternatives to the Standard Model of Cosmology, by showing that several physical phenomena can be associated to the expansion of the universe, producing the observed acceleration without the need to introduce unknown components in the universe besides the dark matter. In addition to developing a critical revision of the Standard Model, we discuss in this thesis especially three models for the accelerated expansion of the universe. The first one considers the cosmic acceleration as an effect of the creation of dark matter particles, or radiation, at the expense of the gravitational field varying continuously with the expansion of the universe. The second model considers the process of bulk viscosity in the cosmological fluid as being responsible for the acceleration of the universe. This bulk viscosity is due to the loss of local thermodynamic equilibrium during the expansion of the fluid. The third model, the vacuum decaying model, considers as responsible for the acceleration, a vacuum energy which decays continuously into other cosmological components. We analyze the relations between these three models, and also the Standard Model, and the conditions under which they provide an equivalent dynamic to the universe. We also obtain interesting constraints for the parameters of these models by making, besides an observacional analysis, a theoretical analysis based on the dynamics and thermodynamics associated to each scenario. We will show that these alternative scenarios are able to alleviate several theoretical problems of the Standard Cosmological Model. In a second part, we show that the physical phenomena described above may be responsible for the recent cosmic acceleration, as well as for the primordial acceleration that is supposed to have occurred in the early universe. Such approach provides an unified description for the cosmological history. We belive it is of great importance that the process responsible for inflation can be identified with the one responsible for the current phase of accelerated expansion of the universe. Moreover, it is quite possible that the difficulties concerning the interface connecting General Relativity, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory can be reduced through a better understanding of the gravitational particle creation process, the decay of the vacuum and its connections with the primordial inflationary context. In order to constrain and compare the models proposed here, we also analyse the process of cosmological structure formation in these models. We firstly introduce the perturbation theory through an analysis of the Standard Model. Then we introduce a more general approach to the treatment of cosmological perturbations which is called effective field theory of inflation. In this context, we analyse which predictions are obtained when we break some of the assumptions usually imposed in these models. Finally, through an analysis of the primordial power spectrum of the gravitational particle creation model and the viscosity model, we show, for the first time, that these models are able to describe an inflationary scenario for the early universe totally in agreement with current observations.

Submitted by Marilene Donadel (marilene.donadel@unioeste.br) on 2018-09-06T21:08:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruna_Retameiro_2018.pdf: 1499096 bytes, checksum: eb6da56ebdbd87a5eb022705e664901a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-06T21:08:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruna_Retameiro_2018.pdf: 1499096 bytes, checksum: eb6da56ebdbd87a5eb022705e664901a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-07 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This dissertation in question intends to present Merleay-Ponty and Cézanne’s piece of work, from selected texts and paintings, that show the philosopher’s and the artist’s advances, about the perceived world and its pre-reflective feature. As theoretical foundation we will be using Phenomenology of Perception, which is Merleau-Ponty’s piece of work regarding this thematic, as well as his essay about the painting and its contribution as a phenomenological achievement. Merleau-Ponty questions classical theories about the perception and criticizes them in many aspects, but mainly by the mind-body dichotomy, reason and sensation, subject and object. For him, the classical theories, mainly rationalism and empiricism, influenced by the scientism from that time, reduced the world to interpretations. He tries to get back to the previous world of science and reflection, from which these are formed. Studying Merleau-Ponty’s piece of work about the perceived world, we have noticed that the painting is a frequent subject, to which the philosopher always comes back. From that, the main problem of this dissertation consists in trying to understand the following question: how does Cézanne’s painting come to be an expression of this returning to a pre-reflective world? Since his thoughts about the questions of perception change in some aspects during his work, the painting has always followed him in these changes, considering Cézanne’s doubt, Indirect language and the voices of silence, Eye and mind, each one of them written in a different period of his life and thoughts. Merleau-Ponty attributes to the painting, and especially the artist Paul Cézanne’s piece of work, the ability to express what, until then, was silence and to become visible what was thought to be invisible in perception. It is to the pre-reflective world that, still in a wild state, Merleau-Ponty intends to return through phenomenology and, according to him, this is the world that Cézanne paints. / A referida dissertação pretende apresentar as obras de Merleau-Ponty e de Cézanne, a partir de textos e pinturas selecionadas, que indiquem os avanços do filósofo e do pintor, acerca do mundo percebido e seu caráter pré-reflexivo. Como fundamentação teórica, nos reportaremos à Fenomenologia da percepção como principal obra de Merleau-Ponty no que tange a temática em questão, nos munindo também, de ensaios do filósofo sobre a pintura e a contribuição desta como um empreendimento fenomenológico. Merleau-Ponty questiona as teorias clássicas sobre a percepção e as critica em diversos aspectos, mas principalmente pela dicotomia corpo e mente, razão e sensação, sujeito e objeto. Para ele, as teorias clássicas, principalmente o racionalismo e o empirismo, influenciadas pelo cientificismo da época, acabaram por reduzir o mundo a interpretações. O que o filósofo almeja é retomar o mundo anterior ao da ciência e da reflexão, a partir dos quais estes se formam. Ao percorrer as obras de Merleau-Ponty sobre a questão do mundo percebido, notamos que a pintura é um assunto recorrente, ao qual o filósofo sempre volta. A partir daí o problema principal desta dissertação consiste justamente em tentar compreender a seguinte questão: como a pintura de Cézanne pode ser uma expressão desse retorno a um mundo pré-reflexivo? Ainda que seu pensamento sobre a questão da percepção mude em alguns aspectos ao longo de suas obras, a pintura sempre o acompanhou nessas mudanças, haja vista os ensaios A dúvida de Cézanne, A linguagem indireta e as vozes do silêncio, O olho e o espírito, cada qual escrito em um período diferente da vida e do pensamento do filósofo. Merleau-Ponty atribui à pintura e, principalmente, aos trabalhos do pintor Paul Cézanne, a habilidade de expressar o que até então era silêncio e tornar visível o que se acreditava invisível na percepção. É ao mundo pré-reflexivo, ainda em estado selvagem, que Merleau-Ponty pretende retornar através da fenomenologia e, para o filósofo, é este mundo que Cézanne pinta.

[pt] A presente dissertação consiste em uma análise teórico-psicanalítica da anorexia com enfoque nas questões relacionadas ao amadurecimento emocional na relação mãe-bebê, bem como nas questões envolvendo o trauma no amadurecimento psíquico. Primeiramente, será conceituada a anorexia tanto em sua vertente patológica quanto no uso da doença como uma maneira de manter-se vivo. Posteriormente, serão abordados os conceitos winnicotianos referentes à relação primordial materna com o indivíduo anoréxico. Por fim, serão apresentados os modelos do trauma pelo viés freudiano. O presente estudo discorre sobre a organização psíquica dos sujeitos comprometidos pela anorexia, olhando para as falhas do objeto primordial em um momento precoce do desenrolar psíquico, assim como a necessidade do indivíduo de usar a doença como uma forma de manter-se vivo e de tentar separar-se do objeto externo. / [en] This dissertation consists of a theoretical - psychoanalytic analysis of anorexia with a focus on issues related to emotional maturation in the mother - baby relationship, as well as on issues involving trauma in psychic maturation. Firstly, we will conceptualize anorexia both in its pathological aspect and in the use of the disease as a way of maintaining oneself alive, in order to approach the Winnicotian concepts regarding the maternal primordial relationship with the anorexic individual. And finally, present the models of trauma through the Freudian bias. The present study deals with the psychic organization of the individuals compromised by anorexia, looking at the failures of the primordial object at an early moment of the psychic unfolding, as well as the individual s need to use the illness as a way to stay alive and try to separate from the external object.

No description available.

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the precursors of the germ cell lineage that eventually differentiate into mature spermatozoa and oocytes. Although present throughout the animal kingdom, the specification and migration of PGCs differs widely between species. In vertebrates, avians are evolutionary divergent from mammals and therefore allow a comparative system in which to study germ cell development in higher organisms. Unlike mouse, PGCs can be isolated from the chicken embryo, expanded and cultured long term in vitro. Analysis of these cells showed that cultured chicken PGCs maintain the characteristics of their in vivo counterparts, including the expression of key germ cell specific markers and cell surface adhesion proteins, and thus, are an ideal system to study germ cell biology. Further characterisation revealed that an avian homologue of the zinc finger transcription factor PRDM14, essential for the specification of the mammalian germ cell lineage, was expressed in chicken PGCs. cPRDM14 was found to be expressed in PGCs in vitro and in vivo from early developmental stages until expression is lost by embryonic day 10 and subsequently re-expressed in the adult testis. The expression of cPRDM14 suggested that this gene may play a conserved role in the avian germ cell lineage. To investigate the function of cPRDM14, a novel single piggyBac transposon vector containing a reverse tetracycline activator protein and a tetracycline response element-regulated promoter was developed. Testing of the integrated transposon revealed that expression was tightly regulated and it was possible to conditionally express one gene product whilst simultaneously reducing the expression of a second gene, both in vitro and in vivo. This vector system was fully functional in PGCs, and was used to create transgenic founder chickens capable of having gene expression manipulated in germ cells at various developmental stages. Transgenic offspring were produced and the transgene was inducible at early developmental stages in the G1 animals. The un-induced transgene proved to be toxic to early embryos so a transgenic line of birds could not be produced. The inducible transposon was used to knockdown cPRDM14 expression in chicken PGCs. Knockdown of this gene led to reduced PGC numbers and increased cell death, both in vitro and in ovo. Expression of the pluripotency factor cNANOG was also significantly reduced which may explain the increased cell death. The knockdown of cPRDM14 also led to an increased susceptibility of PGCs to spontaneously de-differentiate to pluripotent embryonic germ cells (EGCs). cPRDM14 knockdown PGCs exhibited elevated levels of phosphorylated ERK, a target of the FGF signalling pathway. It was possible to prevent de-differentiation of the knockdown PGCs by removing ectopic FGF from the media. Furthermore, a sustained high level of FGF signalling in the media was sufficient to drive the de-differentiation of control PGCs to EGCs, suggesting that increased FGF signalling was key to the de-differentiation process. Extensive epigenetic remodelling of mouse PGCs occurs during embryonic development and PRDM14 was shown to be involved in this process. Chicken PGCs in vitro, contain several key histone modifications (H3K4me3, H3K9me2 and H3K27me3) and are 5-methyl cytosine (5-mC) positive. Immunohistochemical analysis of these markers in PGCs, at various stages during early embryonic development, suggests that these cells do not undergo the extensive epigenetic remodelling found in their mammalian counterparts. In contrast to the mouse germ cell lineage, knockdown of cPRDM14 in cultured PGCs had no noticeable effect on the epigenetic status of chicken PGCs. Together these results demonstrate that cPRDM14 is essential for the survival and maintenance of germ cell identity in chicken PGCs, but may not be critical for maintaining the epigenetic status of these cells.

This research is a study of the Female Metaphor in her three aspects of Virgin, Mother and Crone. It is an interpretation of these three faces as representing the Dynamic by which the Cosmos unfolds, that is, the extant Creativity that is in continual transformation and has always been so. Accordingly, as this thesis takes the Cosmos to be a seamless whole, the conscious alignment with the continual process of transformation innate to Being. Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme call the composition of these three, cosmic grammar. The ritual celebration of seasonal points are then developed as a method of embodying and sensualizing, and speaking this deep Dynamic of Creativity. These ritual celebrations are based in ancient Western spiritual practice that relates with Earth's cyclical transitions. Through methods of ritual, meditation, imagination, dance and storytelling, over the period of the annual seasonal cycle, I created a context, which sought to enable more harmonious relationship with self, other and Cosmos through identification of the self with an organic and primordial process innate to the unfolding Cosmos. I found it to be a process that catalyzed personal transformation of the participants over time - a transformation that has clear and inevitable cultural implications. While it is not the focus of this thesis to track these cultural changes, such change is implicit in the personal and relational changes experienced and noted, since the personal and the cultural are mutually embedded in a shamanic process like this is. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The key functions of the mammalian ovary are the production of fertilizable oocytes and thesecretion of steroid hormones. At the time of birth the human ovary is composed of basic unitstermed primordial follicles. Primordial follicles are long-lived structures in the ovary and some ofthem last until the woman reaches menopause. However, the intra-oocyte signaling pathways thatactivate primordial follicles and early follicular development are largely unknown. In this thesis, the functional roles that the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathwayplays in follicular development were investigated. In vivo approaches using genetically modifiedmouse models were used to determine the functions of several members of the PI3K signalingpathway in oocytes and in follicles. The function of Foxo3a, a substrate of Akt, was investigatedby expressing Foxo3a constitutively in oocytes of primary follicles. We found that continuouslyactive Foxo3a in mouse oocytes caused retardation of oocyte growth, resulting in arrest offollicular development. The functions of p27kip1 (p27) were studied using p27-deficient (p27-/-)mice. It was found that p27 suppresses follicle endowment/formation and activation, and that itinduces follicle atresia. The functions of PI3K signaling in oocytes during follicular activationwere also investigated using conditional mutant mice, by disrupting the Pten in oocytes ofprimordial follicles. We found that, all primordial follicles were prematurely activated due toovergrowth of oocytes and these follicles were depleted in young adulthood, causing prematureovarian failure (POF). At the same time, disruption of the Pten from oocytes of primary follicleshad no effect on activation of primordial follicles, and the follicles developed and maturednormally. The results clearly show that the PI3K pathway in the mammalian oocyte plays a keyrole in follicular activation through control of initiation of oocyte growth and folliculardevelopment. / Ovary development

La visión que se tiene actualmente del universo se basa en el modelo cosmológico de Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW), habitualmente conocido como el modelo del Big bang. Este modelo considera que en su origen el universo era un plasma de muy alta energía que se ha ido expandiendo y enfriando hasta nuestros días, dando lugar a diferentes transiciones de fase que han llevado al universo a su estado actual. En los últimos 15 años, las observaciones han permitido probar este modelo con una alta precisión, llegando a una espléndida confirmación.A parte de fundamentarse en la teoría de la relatividad general, la otra pieza clave del modelo de FRW es el modelo estándar de las partículas elementales. Este modelo, que describe las interacciones entre todas las partículas elementales conocidas hasta ahora, se ha corroborado experimentalmente con gran precisión en el rango de energías accesible en los experimentos terrestres. Aún así, se sabe que este modelo de las partículas elementales es una teoría efectiva que no es válida cuando vamos a más altas energías, inaccesibles hasta el momento en experimentos de laboratorio terrestres. Es por eso, que el estudio del universo primitivo, donde las energías típicas son mucho más altas que las accesibles desde la tierra, nos puede dar información sobre nuevas interacciones o nuevas partículas.La nucleosíntesis primordial es una de las predicciones teóricas que ha dado una confirmación más rotunda al modelo del Big bang. Su éxito se basa en la predicción de la cantidad de núcleos ligeros producidos en el universo primitivo, cantidad que hoy en día podemos medir dando una confirmación al modelo teórico, así como información de importantes parámetros cosmológicos. La nucleosíntesis primordial se basa en la interacción de fotones, electrones, positrones, neutrinos, protones y neutrones en el marco de un universo en expansión. A medida que el universo se va expandiendo, el equilibrio entre estas interacciones se va rompiendo dando lugar a la formación de los núcleos más ligeros. La expansión del universo viene descrita por la ecuación de Friedmann, una de las piezas claves del modelo de FRW. Cualquier modificación de esta ecuación alteraría la expansión del universo modificando así las predicciones estándares de la nucleosíntesis primordial. En esta tesis se hace un estudio cuantitativo de cual es el margen de modificación de la ecuación de Friedmann que permiten las observaciones. Acotando cualquier desviación de la ecuación de Friedmann estándar podemos limitar la posible nueva física que pueda ser relevante en el momento en el que se produce al nucleosíntesi primordial. Como aplicación se acotan distintos modelos donde la gravedad se acopla de forma distinta a materia y antimateria y a las distintas familias leptónicas. Es importante señalar que el momento de la nucleosíntesis primordial es el más antiguo de la historia del universo del que se tiene evidencia observacional.Como ya se ha comentado, uno de los retos importantes de la física teórica actual es encontrar extensiones al modelo estándar de las partículas elementales. Estas extensiones pueden ser en forma de nuevas interacciones así como en la presencia de nuevas partículas, no detectadas hasta el momento. Uno de los ejemplos paradigmáticos de nueva partícula es el caso del axión. Esta partícula aparece como consecuencia de la solución al problema teórico de violación de CP en las interacciones fuertes. Más explícitamente, esta partícula es el bosón de Goldstone que aparece después de la rotura espontánea de la simetría de Peccei-Quinn (PQ). Esta rotura se produce a muy altas energías, por lo tanto el axión es una partícula que se produce principalmente en el universo primitivo. Hay diferentes mecanismos de producción de axiones, siendo uno de ellos la producción térmica a través de reacciones con las partículas presentes en el universo primitivo. En esta tesis se reanalizan las condiciones bajo las que hay producción térmica de axiones, dando nuevas cotas a los parámetros relevantes a la física de axiones así como nuevas predicciones a la densidad de axiones térmicos presentes actualmente en el universo.Actualmente se sabe que el universo está compuesto por un 0.5% de materia que emite luz (y por lo tanto, que podemos observar), un 30% de materia oscura y el resto se encuentra en forma de energía. De la materia oscura, solo un 5% de ésta se sabe que está formada por partículas que conocemos. El 90% restante estaría formada por partículas que aun no han sido detectadas (materia oscura no bariónica). Una de las características más atractivas del axión es la posibilidad de que sea uno de los constituyentes de la materia oscura no bariónica. No obstante, hay motivaciones teóricas para pensar que en el universo primitivo han podido haber simetrías similares a la de PQ que actualmente están rotas y que por lo tanto hayan dado lugar a partículas escalares similares al axión, pero con una física distinta. Como aportación final de esta tesis, se hace un estudio general de la posibilidad de que la materia oscura no bariónica esté formada por bosones de Goldstone que han adquirido masa por efectos cuánticos de la gravedad. / Our present understanding of the universe is based on the Friedmann Robertson Walker (FRW) cosmological model, commonly known as the Big Bang. This model considers that in the beginning the universe was a very hot plasma. This high energy plasma has expanded and cooled down until now. During this time several phase transitions have brought the universe to its present state. In the last decades many observations have tested this model with a high precision, and a very good agreement almost always has been found.The FRW model is based on two pillars: the theory of General Relativity and the Standard Model of Elementary Particles. This last model describes the interactions among all known elementary particles. It agrees with all the experimental tests that have been performed in ground experiments to an impressive level of accuracy. Despite this success, is widely accepted that the Standard Model is an effective theory that cannot be valid at higher energies. For this reason the study of the early universe, where the typical energies are much larger than the terrestrial ones, can give us hints about new interactions or new particles. Primordial Nucleosynthesis is one of the theoretical predictions of the Big Bang Model that has been confirmed with the highest accuracy. One of the main success of the model of the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) is the determination of the light nuclei yields produced in the early universe. These quantities can be inferred through present observation, giving us a confirmation of the theoretical model as well as information of some important cosmological parameters. BBN is based on the interaction between photons, electrons, positrons, neutrinos, protons and neutrons in the context of an expanding universe. While the universe expands, the equilibrium between these interactions breaks down leading to the formation of the lightest nuclei. The expansion of the universe is described by the Friedmann equation, one of the cornerstones of the FRW model. Any modification of this equation alters the expansion of the universe and therefore modifies the standard predictions of the BBN. One of the objectives of this thesis is to make a quantitative study of how much can we modify the Friedmann equation based on the observations of the light elements abundances. Constraining the deviations from the standard Friedmann equation enables us to obtain limits on new physics that can be relevant in the early universe. As an application we study several models of new physics where gravity couples in a different strength to matter than to antimatter and to the three leptonic families. It is important to notice that primordial nucleosynthesis is the first moment of the history of the universe that we have observational evidence.As we said, one of the most important objectives of present research in theoretical physics is finding extensions beyond the standard model of the elementary particles. These new theories can introduce new interactions and/or new particles not yet detected. One of the best known example is the case of the axion. This particle appears as a consequence of the solution of the strong CP problem. The axion is the Goldstone boson related to the spontaneous breaking of the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry. This breaking occurs at very high energies so the axion is a particle that would be produced mainly in the early universe. The axion can be produced by several mechanisms. One of them is thermal production from known particles in the early universe. In this thesis we reanalyze under which conditions there is thermal production of axions, giving new bounds to relevant parameters of axion physics and also giving new predictions to the density of thermal axions that could be observed today in the universe.Today we know that the universe is formed by luminous matter (0.5%), dark matter (30%) and dark energy (the rest). Only the 5% of the amount of dark matter is composed by known particles. The other 95% (non-baryonic dark matter) is formed by particles that we haven't discovered yet. One of the most attractive points of the axion is that it could be one of the constituents of the non-baryonic dark matter. Nevertheless, based on theoretical motivations, we know that in the universe there has been other symmetries similar to PQ symmetry. The breaking of these symmetries give rise to scalar particles similar to the axion, but with different physical properties. As a final contribution of this thesis we make a general study about the possibility that non-baryonic dark matter is formed by Goldstone bosons that have become massive by quantum gravity effects.

The land of deep water lies in Ontario’s north, atop the boundless rock of the Shield. It holds the secret of an island once blossoming with copper ore. Here primordial elements dance in the ancient landscape and invite us to join them in their awakening. Liquid portals, layered ancient rock and plunging mine shafts unearth a cosmic order born of chaos. Myth, geology and alchemy all fuse together in defining this place. This thesis is a journey to centre of the Shield, through the deep water, rock and voids that encircle it. It is an expedition into the multiplicities of time through the poetic imagination. Here on the bridge to preconsciousness, we are invited in. At the heart lies Copperfields, a mine isolated on an island in Temagami. Once bearing some of the purest copper on Earth, it now sits abandoned amidst fragments of its former glory. The design proposed reclaims these elements and animates them as gateways to the dynamic Shield. In the folds of time, quivering between thought and the preconscious, a fiction rich in meaning and experience is offered up. Let us now embark on our journey to the centre of the Shield.