The purpose of this investigation was to examine whether a single 10 minute bout of exercise, performed at multiple intervals throughout the day to equal 30 minutes, can effectively elicit post-exercise hypotension (PEH). Secondly, it is important to explore whether a light (40% VO2R) or moderate (70% VO2R) intensity is required to elicit PEH within 10 minutes. Subjects (N=11) completed a VO2max test utilizing the Bruce Treadmill protocol. Each subject returned within 3 – 5 days to complete two separate exercising trials. A counter balanced system was employed so that each subject did not perform the same intensity rotation (Counter Balance 1 = 40% VO2R and 70% VO2R for session 1 and session 2, respectively; Counter Balance 2 = 70% VO2R and 40% VO2R for session 1 and session 2). The first session consisted of 3 sessions (morning, noon, evening) separated by an average of 3.5 hours at one of two intensities (40% VO2R or 70% VO2R). The second group of sessions were performed identical to the first, however, the intensity was altered depending upon counter balance. Baseline BP was measured prior to exercising. After each session, BP was measured at 2 intervals for the morning and noon sessions (immediately following and 20 minutes post-exercise); and at 3 intervals for the evening sessions (60 minutes post-exercise added) for both intensities. At 40% VO2R, BP decreased significantly at the morning (p = 0.007), noon (p = 0.018) and evening (p = 0.010) sessions at the 20 minute post-exercise interval. Although not significantly different, BP was observed to be lower at 60 minutes post-exercise interval. During the 70% VO2R session, BP was significantly lower at the morning 20 minute (p = .029) and evening 60 minute post-exercise measurements (p = .006) when compared to baseline. There was no significant difference noted between 40% and 70% VO2R intensities at eliciting a drop in BP at any interval at any time point. Although not statistically significant, 70% VO2R appeared to produce a further decrease at the 60 minute post-exercise measurement (102 mmHg) than did the 40% session (106 mmHg). The results of this study indicate that PEH may be elicited after a single 10 minute exercise session. Furthermore, multiple bouts of 10 minutes produce an accumulated decrease in BP that can be observed at the completion of the day.

The illegal bushmeat harvest has been identified as a reason for declining wildlife populations throughout much of Africa. For many years the trade was thought to exist primarily in Western Africa. The illegal use of bushmeat in Eastern Africa, including Kenya, went undocumented and unstudied. In 2004, the Born Free Foundation published a study which claimed illegal sale of wild game was substantial in butcheries throughout Nairobi, Kenya. In an effort to determine other markets of the commercial trade, the goal of this study was to analyze local restaurants in Voi, Kenya for illegal bushmeat sale. The town of Voi was selected due to recent published reports in the popular press, its proximity to Tsavo National Park, and its access to a major highway. Samples were collected and analyzed using mDNA sequencing analysis of the cytochrome B gene. None of the collected samples were identified as illegal game meat. The restaurants in Voi, Kenya were not a commercial outlet for illegal bushmeat trading in the local economy during the period of this study. The results from this study provide valuable baseline data which can be used in future research to help determine possible vectors of the bushmeat trade.

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a unicellular eukaryotic green alga, serves as a model organism to study the circadian clock in plants and animals. Rhodopsins are blue/green-light photoreceptors also found in C. reinhardtii. Chlamyrhodopsin (COP), the most abundant eyespot protein, was reported to have no role in the phototactic and photophobic responses in C. reinhardtii. Its function is yet unknown. In the present study, we hypothesized that the function of COP is to mediate entrainment of the circadian clock by light. In order to test this hypothesis, a C. reinhardtii selection marker conferring resistance to the antibiotic paromomycin was cloned into a COP RNAi construct obtained from another lab. Firstly, the COP RNAi construct was restriction digested to linearize it. The linearized plasmid was then blunt ended with T4 DNA polymerase and dephosphorylated with phosphatase. The linearized fragment was ligated with the paromomycin resistance marker obtained by restriction digestion of the plasmid containing it and transformed into E.coli. The recombinant clones obtained were confirmed by restriction digests. Fusion regions and the orientation of the insert in the recombinant plasmid were confirmed by sequencing. An attempt was made to transform C. reinhardtii with the construct, but this was not successful. Future studies will be required to optimize the C. reinhardtii transformation method. Transformants with reduced COP amounts can then be tested for defects in resetting the clock after light pulses. This will determine whether chlamyrhodopsin is involved in the circadian input pathway or not. The results of the complete project are expected to contribute to our understanding of the circadian clock of many other organisms including humans.

Diet-induced obesity promotes type 2 diabetes (T2D). Drugs that inhibit the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) have been demonstrated in clinical trials to decrease the onset of T2D. Previously, we demonstrated that mice made obese from chronic consumption of a high-fat (HF) diet have marked elevations in systemic concentrations of angiotensin II (AngII). Pancreatic islets have been reported to possess components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), including angiotensin type 1a receptors (AT1aR), the primary receptor for AngII, and angiotensin converting-enzyme 2 (ACE2), which negatively regulates the RAS by catabolizing AngII to angiotensin-(1-7) (Ang-(1-7)). These two opposing proteins have been implicated in the regulation of β-cell function. We hypothesized that the RAS contributes to the decline of β-cell function during the development of T2D with obesity. To test this hypothesis we first examined the effects of whole-body deficiency of ACE2 in mice on β-cell function in vivo and in vitro during the development of T2D. Whole-body deficiency of ACE2 resulted in impaired β-cell adaptation to insulin resistance with HF-feeding and a reduction of in vivo glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) associated with reduced β- cell mass and proliferation. These results demonstrate that ACE2 plays a role in the adaptive response to hyperinsulinemia with obesity. In islets from HF-fed mice, AngII inhibited GSIS. In mice with pancreatic-specific deletion of AT1aR, AngII-induced inhibition of GSIS in vitro from islets of HF-fed mice was abolished. However, there was no effect of pancreatic AT1aR-deficiency on glucose homeostasis in vivo in HF-fed mice exhibiting pronounced hyperinsulinemia. Notably, pancreatic weight, insulin content and basal and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from islets were decreased in mice with pancreatic AT1aR deficiency. These results suggest that AT1aR may contribute to pancreatic cell development, and also contribute to AngII-induced reductions in GSIS from islets of HF-fed mice. Overall, these studies suggest a role for the RAS in the regulation of β-cell function in T2D.

An estimated 12% of couples worldwide are infertile. The contributing factor is approximately equal between men and women with nearly 25% diagnosed as idiopathic. Despite the increasing numbers of couples seeking assistance from infertility clinics, few molecular mechanisms have been identified for treatment. Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved cellular process for bulk degradation and recycling of cytosolic components through the lysosome to maintain homeostasis. Several studies have observed increased levels of autophagy during ovarian folliculogenesis and gonadal steroidogenesis; however, no genetic studies to determine the significance of autophagy exist. To investigate the function of autophagy in the ovary and testis, a directed genetic knockout approach was used to independently knockout two key autophagy genes, Becn1 and Atg7. Chapter 2 reports that deficiency of Becn1 results in 56% fewer primordial follicles at postnatal day 1. In addition, Atg7 knockout mice do not have identifiable primordial follicles, suggesting that autophagy is necessary for survival of female germ cells during embryogenesis. Chapter 3 presents that Becn1 is necessary to sustain pregnancy and the deficiency of Becn1 in granulosa cells is a novel genetic model to study preterm labor due to impaired corpora lutea function. The results indicate that Becn1 is necessary for lipid droplet formation and subsequent progesterone production in luteal cells. In contrast, Atg7 is not necessary and deficiency results in overproduction of progesterone throughout pregnancy, suggesting that the defect in Becn1 conditional knockout mice is additional to autophagy. Chapter 4 presents that Sertoli cell expression of Becn1 is required for spermatogenesis after 8 weeks of age. Beyond 9-weeks-old, Becn1 conditional knockout mice are unable to sire a litter due to a failure of spermatogenesis and a Sertoli-cell-only phenotype in a majority of the seminiferous tubules. Atg7 was also identified as a necessary factor for spermatogenesis beyond 26-weeks-old. Together the data presented in Chapter 4 suggests that autophagy is necessary for adult Sertoli cell function. Primarily, this dissertation presents data from the first functional studies on autophagy in the reproductive tract. The results demonstrate an understanding of the functional significance for Becn1 and Atg7 in both the ovary and testis.

This project is an exploration, through art making processes, of a relationship between the interpretation of symbols and the interpretation of everyday life experiences, with a view to evolving a metaphorical visual language that might translate these experiences. Individuation is a process within Jungian psychology that relates the interpretation of symbols to the interpretation of life experiences and places their common meanings within a definitive framework of individual human development. The archetypal pattern that this framework outlines is the development of a healthy relationship between an individual’s consciousness and the unconscious. The word metaphor originates from Greek metapherein – “to carry over, transfer; meta` beyond, over + fe`rein to bring, bear. It is the transference of the relation between one set of objects to another set for the purpose of brief explanation… the statement “that man is a fox,” is a metaphor” (Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 2008) Due to its particular relationship to time, space, memory and light photography has proven to be an ideal way to engage, record, and present this exploration. Our personal photographs operate as visual metaphors for our personal experience, we transfer the experience into the photograph, we consider the photograph is that moment in time, that place, that experience, rather than being like that experience. The interpretation of personal photographs is entirely individual and emotional. When photographs are placed into the public arena their emotional value changes, their interpretation, purpose, and authenticity can become questionable. In this project the experience and the photographs are placed within the context of individuation, which is a model that guides the interpretation of the photographs and include the individual and emotional values as a necessary part of that interpretation. In this project the symbols and visual metaphors interpreted in the photographs operate as a narrative of the personal experience of the archetypal journey of individuation.

This project is an exploration, through art making processes, of a relationship between the interpretation of symbols and the interpretation of everyday life experiences, with a view to evolving a metaphorical visual language that might translate these experiences. Individuation is a process within Jungian psychology that relates the interpretation of symbols to the interpretation of life experiences and places their common meanings within a definitive framework of individual human development. The archetypal pattern that this framework outlines is the development of a healthy relationship between an individual’s consciousness and the unconscious. The word metaphor originates from Greek metapherein – “to carry over, transfer; meta` beyond, over + fe`rein to bring, bear. It is the transference of the relation between one set of objects to another set for the purpose of brief explanation… the statement “that man is a fox,” is a metaphor” (Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 2008) Due to its particular relationship to time, space, memory and light photography has proven to be an ideal way to engage, record, and present this exploration. Our personal photographs operate as visual metaphors for our personal experience, we transfer the experience into the photograph, we consider the photograph is that moment in time, that place, that experience, rather than being like that experience. The interpretation of personal photographs is entirely individual and emotional. When photographs are placed into the public arena their emotional value changes, their interpretation, purpose, and authenticity can become questionable. In this project the experience and the photographs are placed within the context of individuation, which is a model that guides the interpretation of the photographs and include the individual and emotional values as a necessary part of that interpretation. In this project the symbols and visual metaphors interpreted in the photographs operate as a narrative of the personal experience of the archetypal journey of individuation.

In this work, new reconstruction and analysis methods were developed for 3D field ion microscopy (FIM) data, motivated by the goal of atomic scale characterisation of radiation damage for fusion applications. A comparative FIM/ atom probe tomography (APT) study of radiation damage in self-implanted tungsten revealed FIM advantages in atomistic crystallographic characterisation, able to identify dislocations, large vacancy clusters, and single vacancies. While the latter is beyond the detection capabilities of APT, larger damage features were observed indirectly in APT data via trajectory aberrations and solute segregation. An automated 3DFIM reconstruction approach was developed to maintain reliable, atomistic, 3D insights into the atomic arrangements and vacancies distribution in ion-implanted tungsten. The new method was utilized for the automated ‘atom-by-atom' reconstruction of thousands of tungsten atoms yielding highly accurate reconstructions of atomically resolved poles but also applied to larger microstructural features such as carbides and a grain boundary, extending across larger portions of the sample. Additional tools were developed to overcome reconstruction challenges arising from the presence of crystal defects and the intrinsic distortion of FIM data. Those were employed for the automated 3D mapping of vacancies in ion-implanted tungsten, analysing their distribution in a volume extending across 50nm into the depth of the sample. The new FIM reconstruction also opened the door for more advanced analyses on FIM data. It was applied to the preliminary studies of the distortion of the reconstructed planes, found to depend on crystallographic orientation, with an increased variance in atomic positions measured in a radial direction to the centre of the poles. Additional analyses followed the subtle displacements in atomic coordinates on consecutive FIM images, to find them affected by the evaporation of atoms from the same plane. The displacements were found to increase with size as the distance to the evaporated atom decreased, and are likely to be the result of a convolution between image gas effects, surface atoms relaxation, and charge re-distribution. These measurements show potential to probe the dynamic nature of the FIM experiment and possibly resolve contributions from the different processes effecting the final image. Finally, APT characterisation was performed on bulk and pre-sharpened needles to determine the effect of sample's geometry on the resulting implantation profiles, and the extent to which pre-sharpened needles could be employed in radiation damage studies. While the ions depth profiles in needles were not found within a good match to SRIM simulations, the damage profiles exhibited closer agreement. Further, the concentration of implanted ions in bulk samples was found significantly higher than in the respective needle implanted samples, with excessive loss found for the light ion implantation.

Submitted by PPG Administra??o e Neg?cios (ppgad@pucrs.br) on 2018-11-20T19:28:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JOSIANE_BRIETZKE_PORTO_TES.pdf: 2215776 bytes, checksum: fc5d237ed433a12756eb499883e32497 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Sheila Dias (sheila.dias@pucrs.br) on 2018-11-21T12:12:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 JOSIANE_BRIETZKE_PORTO_TES.pdf: 2215776 bytes, checksum: fc5d237ed433a12756eb499883e32497 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-21T12:20:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JOSIANE_BRIETZKE_PORTO_TES.pdf: 2215776 bytes, checksum: fc5d237ed433a12756eb499883e32497 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-30 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / Smart city is an approach to managing and coping with urban challenges in search for innovative solutions leading to better quality of life and sustainability in cities. Several initiatives have been undertaken, with a significant worldwide growth trend in the coming years. Such initiatives, however, may require non-trivial public investment, and failures resulting from them can have important consequences such as monetary loss, loss of reputation, reduced confidence and lack of public value. This research aims at setting a methodology in smart cities composed of a reference model and an assessment method from the Public Value perspective. These artifacts were evaluated based on the perception of 23 representatives of the Quadruple Helix (government, industry, university and citizens) and on the results of the applicability in practice, through an initial pilot evaluation, in the city of Nova Santa Rita. It follows Design Science as its epistemological paradigm and Design Science Research as its method, uniting theoretical and methodological rigor as well as practical utility for society. The results showed that the artifacts developed in this research can help in the design and assessment of smart cities in a gradual way, bringing together best practices considered intelligent and that allow for the expansion and/or generation of Public Value, consisting of a prescriptive scientific contribution. Among the contributions are the protocol, contingency and construction heuristics, which detail how these artifacts were rigorously designed and developed, under the Design Science paradigm, to solve the problem identified in this research. They are specific and useful knowledge, generated from this research, aimed at the practice and resolution of real problem, and can be used for future evolutions of the artifacts developed in the research and/or design of new artifacts, in different contexts and classes of problems. / Smart city corresponde a uma abordagem para gerenciamento e enfrentamento de desafios urbanos, em busca de solu??es inovadoras para melhor qualidade de vida e sustentabilidade nas cidades. Em raz?o disso, diversas iniciativas v?m sendo feitas, com tend?ncia de crescimento significativo nos pr?ximos anos, em ?mbito mundial. Entretanto, tais iniciativas podem requerer investimentos p?blicos n?o triviais e falhas podem ter consequ?ncias importantes como perda monet?ria, preju?zo em rela??o ? reputa??o, redu??o de confian?a e aus?ncia de valor p?blico para as partes interessadas. Este trabalho desenvolveu uma metodologia em smart cities, sob a perspectiva de Valor P?blico, composta por um modelo de refer?ncia e um m?todo de avalia??o, avaliados com base na percep??o de 23 representantes da Qu?drupla H?lice (governo, ind?stria, universidade e cidad?os) e nos resultados da aplicabilidade na pr?tica, por meio de uma primeira avalia??o piloto, na cidade ga?cha de Nova Santa Rita. Adota Design Science como paradigma epistemol?gico e Design Science Research como m?todo de pesquisa, unindo rigor te?rico-metodol?gico e utilidade pr?tica para a sociedade. Os resultados mostraram que os artefatos desenvolvidos nessa pesquisa podem ajudar na concep??o e na avalia??o de smart cities de um modo gradual, reunindo melhores pr?ticas consideradas inteligentes, que possibilitam amplia??o e/ou gera??o de Valor P?blico, consistindo numa contribui??o cient?fica de car?ter prescritivo. Entre as contribui??es t?m-se tamb?m o protocolo, as heur?sticas contingenciais e de constru??o, que detalham como esses artefatos foram projetados e desenvolvidos com rigor, sob o paradigma de Design Science, para a resolu??o do problema identificado nessa pesquisa. Constituem conhecimento espec?fico e ?til, gerado a partir da pesquisa, voltado ? pr?tica e ? resolu??o de um problema real, podendo ser usado para futuras evolu??es dos artefatos desenvolvidos na pesquisa e/ou no projeto de novos artefatos, em diferentes contextos e classes de problemas.

Na aviação, os procedimentos para situações anormais e de emergência, geralmente organizados em checklists compilados no Quick Reference Handbook (QRH), são elaborados e revisados como mecanismos de controle organizacional. Esta abordagem, no entanto, tem mostrado limitações em servir como solução para todos os tipos de situações, principalmente para problemas não estruturados. Neste cenário, o conceito ‘procedimentos como recursos para a ação’ tem sido visto como uma abordagem alternativa, embora tenha sido desenvolvida apenas de forma incipiente. Assim, o objetivo geral desta tese foi propor um protocolo para revisão dos procedimentos disponíveis em cockpits de aviões comerciais como apoio aos pilotos durante a gestão de anomalia. Para atingir o objetivo, a pesquisa adotou a Design Science Research e foi dividida em quatro etapas: compressão do problema, sugestão e desenvolvimento, avaliação e conclusão. Um estudo etnográfico cognitivo conduzido em uma companhia aérea brasileira propiciou melhor entendimento do problema por meio de observações participantes, entrevistas retrospectivas, entrevistas em grupo, dados secundários e documentos técnicos. Os resultados mostraram como fatores contextuais fora do escopo do QRH geraram demandas extras e requereram estratégias de adaptação dos sistemas cognitivos correlacionados. Fragmentos do QRH e de recursos adicionais foram intercalados para apoiar essas estratégias. As sugestões de melhorias envolveram a reorganização do QRH, dos checklists e dos recursos adicionais, a fim de melhor apoiar o reconhecimento de anomalias, o diagnóstico de problemas e o curso de ação. As sete etapas do protocolo foram desenvolvidas com base nos princípios teóricos e empíricos derivados do estudo e, em seguida, o protocolo foi avaliado de acordo com cinco critérios. Enquanto o artefato teve um bom desempenho em dois critérios, três deles revelaram a necessidade de ajustes, que podem ser superados com novas aplicações em diferentes contextos. Em conclusão, o estudo atingiu os objetivos geral e específicos, contribuiu para a classe de problemas ao operacionalizar o conceito ‘procedimentos como recursos para a ação’ e contribuiu para solucionar o problema prático ao proporcionar um artefato para ajudar as companhias aéreas a revisar seus procedimentos e outros recursos de modo a melhor apoiar os pilotos na gestão de anomalias. / In aviation, procedures for abnormal and emergency situations, generally organized in checklists compiled in the Quick Reference Handbook (QRH), are designed and redesigned as mechanisms of organizational control. This approach, however, has shown some drawbacks as a solution for any situation, specially for unstructured problems. In this scenario, the concept ‘procedures and resources for action’ has been seen as an alternative approach, although it has been incipiently developed. Thus, the general objective of this thesis was to propose a protocol for redesigning the procedures available in commercial aircraft cockpits as means of supporting pilots during anomaly management. To achieve the objective, the research adopted the Design Science Research approach and was divided into four stages: awareness of the problem, suggestion and development, evaluation and conclusion. A cognitive ethnographic study conducted in a Brazilian airline provided better understanding of the problem through participant observations, retrospective interviews, group interviews, secondary data and technical documents as sources of data. The results showed how contextual factors beyond the QRH scope generated extra demands and required adaptive strategies from the joint cognitive systems. Fragments from the QRH and from additional resources were interleaved to support these strategies. The design implications involved the reorganization of the QRH, the checklist and the additional resources in order to better support the anomaly recognition, the problem diagnosis and the course of action. The seven steps of the protocol were developed based on the theoretical and empirical principles derived from the study and, then, the protocol was evaluated according to five criteria. While the artefact performed well in two criteria, in three of them revealed opportunities of improvement, which can be overcame with more applications in different settings. In conclusion, the study achieved general and specifics objectives, contributed to the class of problems by operationalizing the concept ‘procedures as resources for action’ and contributed to solve the practical problem by providing an artefact that help airlines to redesign procedures and other resources in order to better support pilots during anomaly management.