Este trabalho consistiu numa avaliação, sob um ponto de vista físico, da aplicabilidade da sílica mesoporosa ordenada tipo SBA-15 como adjuvante imunológico. Inicialmente foi estudado o método de preparação e reprodutibilidade das propriedades do material, condição necessária para a síntese de grandes quantidades (N 100g). Mostrou-se que a calcinação em vácuo, comparada com o processo em N2 e ar, resulta em material com estrutura mesoporosa mais bem ordenada. Para aplicações biológicas foi analisado o potencial de encapsulação de antígerios no material, através de estudos de incorporação de Albumina Bovina (BSA) e vacina contra Hepatite A. Foi observada uma incorporação bem-sucedida de BSA na sílica, com essa proteína alojando-se dentro da estrutura de poros. Resultado semelhante foi observado para a vacina contra hepatite A. O processo mais eficiente de incorporação foi determinado para uma mistura em repouso e seca através de evaporação. A aplicabilidade da sílica como adjuvante para uso animal foi avaliada através de análises, pelo método PIXE, da acumulação do material no organismo de camundongos. A sílica foi administrada a camundongos Swiss por via oral e intra-muscular, e o teor de silício em diferentes órgáos foi comparado aos teores em um grupo controle. Foi detectada a presença de sílica em determinados órgãos dos camundongos, cuja eliminação total se processa num período de 70 dias. Além disso, em testes toxicológicos realizados no Instituto Butantan, a sílica mostrou-se eficaz na indução de resposta humoral e atóxica. / This work consisted of an evaluation, from a physical standpoint, of the applicability of SB.4-15 type ordered rnesoporous silica as an inmunological adjuvant. The method of preparation and reproducibility of the material properties were initially studied. Those conditions are necessary to synthesize large quantities of the material (N 100g). Vacuum calcination, whem compared to the process executed in A5 and air, results in a better ordered mesoporous structure. For biological applications, the potential to encapsulate antigens in the material was analyzed through studies of incorporation of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and vaccine for Hepatitis A. A successful incorporation of BSA in the silica was observed, with that protein being lodged inside the porous structure. A similar result was obtained for the vaccine for Hepatitis A. The most efficient incorporation process was determined by keeping the solution at rest and drying it through evaporation. The applicability of silica as an immunological adjuvant for animal use was evaluated through PIXE analyses of the silicon accumulation in mice\'s organs. Silica was administrated to Swiss mice through oral and intramuscular ways and the silicon content of different organs was compared to the figures of the control group. The silica´s presence was detected on certain organs, and it was completely eliminated after 70 days. Besides that, toxicological studies accomplished at the Butantan Institute showed that the silica is efficient for inductíon of humoral response and it is non-toxic.

Este trabalho consistiu numa avaliação, sob um ponto de vista físico, da aplicabilidade da sílica mesoporosa ordenada tipo SBA-15 como adjuvante imunológico. Inicialmente foi estudado o método de preparação e reprodutibilidade das propriedades do material, condição necessária para a síntese de grandes quantidades (N 100g). Mostrou-se que a calcinação em vácuo, comparada com o processo em N2 e ar, resulta em material com estrutura mesoporosa mais bem ordenada. Para aplicações biológicas foi analisado o potencial de encapsulação de antígerios no material, através de estudos de incorporação de Albumina Bovina (BSA) e vacina contra Hepatite A. Foi observada uma incorporação bem-sucedida de BSA na sílica, com essa proteína alojando-se dentro da estrutura de poros. Resultado semelhante foi observado para a vacina contra hepatite A. O processo mais eficiente de incorporação foi determinado para uma mistura em repouso e seca através de evaporação. A aplicabilidade da sílica como adjuvante para uso animal foi avaliada através de análises, pelo método PIXE, da acumulação do material no organismo de camundongos. A sílica foi administrada a camundongos Swiss por via oral e intra-muscular, e o teor de silício em diferentes órgáos foi comparado aos teores em um grupo controle. Foi detectada a presença de sílica em determinados órgãos dos camundongos, cuja eliminação total se processa num período de 70 dias. Além disso, em testes toxicológicos realizados no Instituto Butantan, a sílica mostrou-se eficaz na indução de resposta humoral e atóxica. / This work consisted of an evaluation, from a physical standpoint, of the applicability of SB.4-15 type ordered rnesoporous silica as an inmunological adjuvant. The method of preparation and reproducibility of the material properties were initially studied. Those conditions are necessary to synthesize large quantities of the material (N 100g). Vacuum calcination, whem compared to the process executed in A5 and air, results in a better ordered mesoporous structure. For biological applications, the potential to encapsulate antigens in the material was analyzed through studies of incorporation of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and vaccine for Hepatitis A. A successful incorporation of BSA in the silica was observed, with that protein being lodged inside the porous structure. A similar result was obtained for the vaccine for Hepatitis A. The most efficient incorporation process was determined by keeping the solution at rest and drying it through evaporation. The applicability of silica as an immunological adjuvant for animal use was evaluated through PIXE analyses of the silicon accumulation in mice\'s organs. Silica was administrated to Swiss mice through oral and intramuscular ways and the silicon content of different organs was compared to the figures of the control group. The silica´s presence was detected on certain organs, and it was completely eliminated after 70 days. Besides that, toxicological studies accomplished at the Butantan Institute showed that the silica is efficient for inductíon of humoral response and it is non-toxic.

Cette thèse s'intéresse à différents types d'interactions entre les cliques et les stables, deux objets très importants en théorie des graphes, ainsi qu'aux relations entre ces différentes interactions. En premier lieu, nous nous intéressons au problème classique de coloration de graphes, qui peut s'exprimer comme une partition des sommets du graphe en stables. Nous présentons un résultat de coloration pour les graphes sans triangles ni cycles pairs de longueur au moins 6. Dans un deuxième temps, nous prouvons la propriété d'Erdös-Hajnal, qui affirme que la taille maximale d'une clique ou d'un stable devient polynomiale (contre logarithmique dans les graphes aléatoires) dans le cas des graphes sans chemin induit à k sommets ni son complémentaire, quel que soit k.Enfin, un problème moins connu est la Clique-Stable séparation, où l'on cherche un ensemble de coupes permettant de séparer toute clique de tout stable. Cette notion a été introduite par Yannakakis lors de l’étude des formulations étendues du polytope des stables dans un graphe parfait. Il prouve qu’il existe toujours un séparateur Clique-Stable de taille quasi-polynomiale, et se demande si l'on peut se limiter à une taille polynomiale. Göös a récemment fourni une réponse négative, mais la question se pose encore pour des classes de graphes restreintes, en particulier pour les graphes parfaits. Nous prouvons une borne polynomiale pour la Clique-Stable séparation dans les graphes aléatoires et dans plusieurs classes héréditaires, en utilisant notamment des outils communs à l'étude de la conjecture d'Erdös-Hajnal. Nous décrivons également une équivalence entre la Clique-Stable séparation et deux autres problèmes  : la conjecture d'Alon-Saks-Seymour généralisée et le Problème Têtu, un problème de Satisfaction de Contraintes. / This thesis is concerned with different types of interactions between cliques and stable sets, two very important objects in graph theory, as well as with the connections between these interactions. At first, we study the classical problem of graph coloring, which can be stated in terms of partioning the vertices of the graph into stable sets. We present a coloring result for graphs with no triangle and no induced cycle of even length at least six. Secondly, we study the Erdös-Hajnal property, which asserts that the maximum size of a clique or a stable set is polynomial (instead of logarithmic in random graphs). We prove that the property holds for graphs with no induced path on k vertices and its complement.Then, we study the Clique-Stable Set Separation, which is a less known problem. The question is about the order of magnitude of the number of cuts needed to separate all the cliques from all the stable sets. This notion was introduced by Yannakakis when he studied extended formulations of the stable set polytope in perfect graphs. He proved that a quasi-polynomial number of cuts is always enough, and he asked if a polynomial number of cuts could suffice. Göös has just given a negative answer, but the question is open for restricted classes of graphs, in particular for perfect graphs. We prove that a polynomial number of cuts is enough for random graphs, and in several hereditary classes. To this end, some tools developed in the study of the Erdös-Hajnal property appear to be very helpful. We also establish the equivalence between the Clique-Stable set Separation problem and two other statements: the generalized Alon-Saks-Seymour conjecture and the Stubborn Problem, a Constraint Satisfaction Problem.

The present thesis consists of four research papers. Each article deals with quan- tifications of certain properties of Banach spaces. The first paper is devoted to the Grothendieck property. The main result is that the space ∞ enjoys its quan- titative version. The second paper investigates quantifications of the Banach- Saks and the weak Banach-Saks property. The relationship of compact, weakly compact, Banach-Saks, and weak Banach-Saks sets is quantified, as well as some characterizatons of weak Banach-Saks sets. In the third article we discuss possible quantifications of Pelczy'nski's property (V), their characterizations and relations to quantitative versions of other properties of Banach spaces. The last paper is a continuation of the third one. We prove that C∗ -algebras have a quantita- tive version of the property (V), which generalizes one of the results obtained in the previous paper. Moreover, we establish a relationship between quantita- tive versions of the property (V) and the Grothendieck property in dual Banach spaces. 1

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In this thesis we present an extensive characterization of weak* sequentially precompact subsets of the dual of a sequentially order complete M-space with an order unit. This central part of the thesis generalizes results due to H.H. Schaefer and X.D. Zhang showing that small weak* compact subsets of the dual of a space of bounded measurable real-valued functions (continuous real-valued functions on a compact quasi-Stonian space) are weakly compact. Moreover, while the proofs of Schaefer and Zhang use measure theoretical arguments, the arguments presented here are purely elementary and are based on the well-known result, that the space l1 has the Schur property. Finally some applications are given. For example, we investigate compact or sequentially precompact subsets, which consist of order-weakly compact operators, in the space of continuous linear operators defined on a sequentially order complete Riesz space with values in a Banach space provided with the strong operator topology: as an immediate consequence of the results, we can easily deduce extended versions of the Vitali-Hahn-Saks theorem for vector measures. For this we need a generalization of the Yosida-Hewitt decomposition theorem, which is proved here with other techniques like the factorization of an order-weakly compact operator through a Banach lattice with order continuous norm.

From 1922-1942, the Austrian-American architect and designer Frederick Jacob Kiesler (1890-1965) designed architecture based on the idea that it must complement the physiological and psychological processes of the human body. In order to reconcile the technological changes wrought by industrialized production with the need for structures that promoted human health, he developed an inspired model for interactive design. His formative experiences in Europe working with De Stijl and the G-Group, along with his exposure to Central European examples of architecture, art, and science set the agenda for his later works. Yet he never stopped experimenting with new concepts that would bolster his essential philosophy of body-generated space. After he immigrated to the United States in 1926, Kiesler’s pursued his ideas about physiological and psychological architecture within a new cultural milieu and a network of encouraging personal connections. He forged relationships with a sympathetic community of émigré industrial designers and architects who promoted his efforts to integrate modern technology with new design idioms. During his first fifteen years in New York City, Kiesler looked to contemporary science as a way to advance a model of flexible architectural design. He also worked at the cutting edge of industrial design research and was an early protagonist of human factors engineering methods. His body-centered methodology stood in opposition to aesthetic and reductive approaches toward modernism and functionalism. Instead of designing according to a priori determinations of what was functional and what was not, Kiesler’s functionalism was based on an iterative design practice that would reveal progressively more useful and universally applicable forms. / text