Syftet med studien är att genomföra en kritisk granskning av SM-veckan och belysa hur värdstäder motiverar och följer upp evenemanget samt arbetar med planering, utförande samt uppföljning av arrangemanget. Detta görs genom tre frågeställningar; Hur kommer SM-veckan till och vad kräver Riksidrottsförbundet (RF) av värdstaden för att få agera värdstad, vad motiverar en värdstad att arrangera SM-veckan och hur följs detta upp samt hur samlar värdstaden in kunskap för att utveckla och utvärdera evenemanget och vilka lärdomar förs vidare? Vi har i vår studie utgått från tre olika teoretiska modeller och begrepp, vilket bildat vår teoretiska ram. Dessa är intressentmodellen, projektstrategier och utvärderingsteori.Vidare har en kvalitativ metod använts för att uppfylla syftet och svara på frågeställningarna. Därför har vi valt att genomföra en dokumentanalys på dokument som berör SM-veckan, samt genomfört intervjuer med totalt 11 respondenter. Resultatet av studien visar att de ekonomiska effekterna av arrangemanget samt samarbetet inom kommunens förvaltningar har stärkts genom att arrangera SM-veckan. Dock har studien inte kunnat verifiera att arrangemanget har påvisat en ökad stolthet över staden för invånarna eller att fler människor har anslutit sig till föreningar på grund av arrangemanget, något som samtliga respondenter använder som motivering för ett arrangemang av SM-veckan. Resultatet visar att denna känsla som finns i Borås även delas med RF och andra värdstäder.Vi har genom resultatet dragit slutsatserna att SM-veckan trots organisationens komplexa struktur upplevs som välfungerande av värdstäderna, föreningslivet samt RF. Enligt RF ska en utvärdering i utvecklingssyfte göras (Riksidrottsförbundet, 2018b). Trots det beställer RF enbart en turistekonomisk undersökning och en medieanalys som inte syftar till att vara kunskapsutvecklande. Det innebär således att det finns utvecklingspotential vad gäller utvärderingsarbetet för värdstaden. För vidare forskning kan ett större grepp kring arrangerande föreningar och förbund och deras uppfattning av arrangemanget utföras för att få en än tydligare bild av evenemanget. / The purpose of the study is to conduct a critical review of the Swedish championship week and highlight how host cities motivate and follow up on the event as well as work with planning, execution and follow-up of the event. This is done through three issues; How does the Swedish championship week occur and what does the Riksidrottsförbund (RF) require from the host city to become the host, what motivates a host city to host the Swedish championship week and how is it followed up on, and how does the host city gather knowledge to develop and evaluate the event and what lessons are passed?In our study we have used three different theoretical models and concepts, which formed our theoretical framework. These are the interest model, project strategies and evaluation theory.Furthermore, in order to fulfill the purpose and answer questions, a qualitative method has been used. Therefore, we have chosen to carry out a document analysis on documents relating to the Swedish championship week, and conducted interviews with a total of 11 respondents.The result of the study shows that the economic impact of the arrangement and the cooperation within the municipality's administrations have been strengthened by arranging the Swedish championship week. However, the study has not been able to verify that the event has shown increased city pride for residents or more people have joined associations because of the event, which all respondents use to motivate an arrangement of the Swedish championship week. The result shows that this feeling in Borås is also shared with the RF and other host cities.Through the results, we have concluded that, despite the complex structure of the organization, the Swedish championship week is perceived as well-functioning by host cities, associations and RF.The Host City Manual shows that an evaluation should be made in the purpose of developing and improving the Swedish championship week (Riksidrottsförbundet, 2018b). Despite this, RF only orders a tourism-economic survey and a media analysis that does not aim to be knowledge-building. This means that there is development potential in the evaluation work for the host city. For further research, a greater grip on arranging associations and unions and their perception of the arrangement can be performed to get a clearer picture of the event.

A lack of efficient red luminecscent line emitters which exhibit a high absorption between 400 and 500 nm of the electromagnetical spectrum was the decisive factor to start this work. The invention of the blue LED (light emitting diode) enables the production of white light by combining the blue emitting LED with a yellow emitting phosphor. Advances in chip technology lead to high power LEDs with a power consumption of several watts. Long lifetimes (>50 000 working hours) and their high energy efficiency make them very interesting for the lighting market, but further problems have to be solved for the application in general lighting. A big issue for warm-white LEDs are colour rendering and colour temperature due to the lack of red parts in the spectrum. Another important feature of light sources is a stable colour over time. Therefore the applied converter material has to be chemically and photochemically stable. The chip-phosphor package is operated at working temperatures of about 150 to 200¡C Ð that also should not influence performance of the phosphor material. High absorption at the emission maximum of the LED and a high conversion efficiency (>90%) are important properties for designing a marketable converter material. In this work tungstates were studied due to their high chemical stability and their high alkaline character. Their use as a host lattice for lanthanide ions was investigated. LiLaW2O8 with 50 mol-% and La2W3O12 with 40 mol-% EuIII show the best performance in converting the blue light of the chip with quantum efficiencies of up to 90% at high absorption cross-setctions. Further investigations of temperature behaviour, long term durability under high photon fluxes and their conversion efficiency of the blue emitted to red converted light have to be done to allow a statement about their use in LED applications.

I denna licentiatuppsats har svenska elitseriens respektive finska SM-liigas seriemodeller analyserats i ljuset av NHL:s dominans över den globala ishockeyn. Bakgrunden till problemområdet är att företrädarna för svensk respektive finsk elitishockey implementerat olikartade organisatoriska lösningar, trots att de utvecklats i kontexter med likartade sportmodeller och samhällsvillkor. Metodologiskt bygger denna licentiatuppsats på komparativa studier. Som grund för min analys har jag använt mig av dokumentanalys med inslag av rättsdogmatik. Den teoretiska ramen har utgjorts av historikern Martin Alms amerikaniseringsbegrepp samt juristen och forskaren Lars Halgreens analys om amerikaniseringen av europeisk sport.Följande frågeställningar har analyserats: Hur har elitserien respektive SM-liiga utvecklats i relation till den amerikanska respektive europeiska sportmodellen, sedan 1970-talets mitt? Vilka kännetecken kan fastställas för de respektive organisationsmodellerna? På vilka sätt skiljer respektive liknar de varandra samt vilka förutsättningar för parallellverkan kan urskiljas, dels generellt och dels specifikt i en ishockeykontext? Vilka tendenser och inslag kan skönjas i elitserien respektive SM-liiga av det faktum att ishockeyn genom åren både sportsligt och kommersiellt dominerats av NHL?Min studie visar att ishockeysporten är en spjutspets i amerikaniseringen och kommersialiseringen av nordisk sport samt att ishockeyns kommersialisering och professionalisering i någon form leder till en amerikanisering. Studien visar att företrädarna för den finska elitishockeyn haft stor autonomi präglat av förbundssplittring, vilket har sin förklaring i Finlands 1900-talshistoria. Denna självständighet har utgjort grund för den finska elitishockeyns snabba och häftiga utveckling efter andra världskriget. I jämförelse är Sverige präglat av konsensusorientering med Sveriges Riksidrottsförbund som centraladministration och paraplyorganisation för hela den svenska idrotten, även om Svenska Hockeyligan Ab på senare år fått allt större roll inom svensk ishockey. En slutsats är att Finlands högsta ishockeyserie kan anses vara en hybrid mellan den amerikanska respektive europeiska sportmodellen. Sveriges högsta ishockeyserie är å andra sidan närmare sammanlänkad med den europeiska sportmodellen, även om det finns stora kommersiella intressen inom svensk elitishockey.

Yes / Formation of cracks represents one of the major causes of concrete deterioration, which can lead to durability and safety issues. In this work, a novel crack closure system is developed, using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer fibres embedded in a mortar mix. The PET polymer has shape memory properties and shrinks upon thermal activation, if free to do so, or otherwise exerts shrinkage restraint forces. A single knot was manufactured at each end of the PET fibres to provide mechanical anchorage into the mortar matrix. Mortar samples with embedded knotted fibres were pre-cracked and subsequently placed in an oven to thermally activate the polymers and induce the shrinkage mechanism into the fibres. Crack closure was measured in the range 45–100%, depending on the geometry, dimension and distribution of the fibres, and the size of the initial crack. / This work is supported by UKRI-EPSRC (Grant No. EP/P02081X/1, Resilient Materials 4 Life, RM4L).

<p> Using the technique of perturbed angular correlations, the rotation of the 4 + 366 keV 152Sm level and the rotation of the 2 + 344 keV 152Gd level was observed. These nuclei were the daughter nuclei of 152Eu, present in the europium - gadolinium and europium - holmium alloys which were commercially obtained (europium concentration was about 1% in both alloys). Anomolously low fields were obtained for 152Gd in gadolinium and in the holmium which raised doubts as to the homogeneity of the alloys.</p> <p> Samples of the alloys were analysed metallurgically. After chemical treatment and microscopic examination the presence of inclusions was detected. Electron microprobe examinations indicated that the inclusions were europium. The metallurgical analysis confirmed the doubts raised by the nuclear experiments showing that the two methods can be employed complementarily for alloy analysis.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Two-neutron pick up reactions have been performed on targets of 149Sm and radioactive 151Sm using 18 MeV protons. The outgoing tritons from the 151Sm target were analyzed with a magnetic spectrograph at 16 angles between 6 degrees and 8 degrees. Unlike the two-neutron transfer data on neighbouring even-even targets, the angular distributions indicated l=o transitions to many levels in the final nucleus. Partial angular distributions for the 149Sm (p, t) 147Sm reaction were obtained, but showed only one strong l=o transition populating the 147Sm ground state. In addition, spectra from the 152Sm (p, t) reaction were measured at several angles in order to provide normalization to previous results. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

La datation des carbonates est un enjeu important en géosciences car ces minéraux sont présents dans tous les grands cycles superficiels terrestres. Actuellement, l’âge de formation des cristaux de calcite de failles peut être déterminé par la méthode de déséquilibre U-Th ou par la méthode U-Pb. La potentialité de la méthode (U-Th-Sm)/He a été envisagée à partir des premiers résultats de diffusion de l’hélium dans les carbonates (Copeland et al. 2007) qui montrent que l’hélium est rétentif à basse température, inférieure à 70°C. Le développement de cette méthode nécessite une identification des propriétés cristallochimiques et du comportement de la calcite afin de discuter la validité des âges obtenus. Une zone de déformation au contact d’une faille normale du fossé d’effondrement de Gondrecourt à Augeville (Est du bassin de Paris) et des cristaux de calcite géodique des argilites de Tournemire (Aveyron) ont été étudiés. Une étude pétrographique et géochimique (analyse des isotopes stables δ18O et δ13C et des éléments mineurs et traces) a permis d’identifier les phases de remplissage de la zone de déformation d’Augeville. Sur les phases de remplissages une étude cristallographique par DRX (diffraction des rayons X) et ATG (analyse thermogravimétrique) a permis d’identifier les propriétés mécaniques de la calcite à différentes températures. Des expériences de diffusion de l’hélium ont été conduites selon un protocole différent de celui de Copeland et al. (2007) : temps de chauffage inférieur à 12 heures au lieu de paliers de chauffage de plusieurs heures à semaines. Des datations (U-Th-Sm)/He ont été réalisées sur toutes les phases de remplissage de la zone de déformation ainsi que sur les cristaux géodiques de Tournemire. Les résultats pour Gondrecourt mettent en évidence une zone de déformation à remplissage calcitique pluriphasée qui marque chaque étape de l’évolution tectonique de la zone. Il s’agit majoritairement de remplissages de brèches hydrauliques à brèches chaotiques avec, pour finir, la mise en place de filons. Sur ces minéralisations les résultats cristallochimiques montrent que lorsqu’ils sont soumis à une température croissante, de température ambiante à 400°C, ou sur le long terme à 200°C, il y a un accroissement du nombre de microfissures qui aboutit à la formation de clivage. L’évolution cristallochimique sous l’effet de la température présente des modifications structurales pour chacune des phases étudiées. Les expériences de diffusion dépendent de ces microfissures et de cette évolution microstructurale. Ces résultats mettent en évidence les mécanismes de diffusion de l’hélium dans la calcite à travers de multiples domaines de diffusion différents de la taille du grain. Ces domaines de diffusion dépendent de l’état microstructural de l’échantillon. Les résultats de datation (U-Th-Sm)/He présentent une large dispersion de 0,1 Ma à 35 Ma pour la zone de déformation de Gondrecourt et de 0,4 Ma à 20 Ma pour les cristaux géodiques de Tournemire. La variation des âges est en partie liée à la position des cristaux de calcite dans la succession paragénétique qui entraine un continuum de fracturation qui génère de multiples domaines de diffusion dans les cristaux de calcite. / Carbonate dating is a major issue in geosciences due to their widespread terrestrial environments presence . Precipitation ages determination are actually provide by U-Th disequilibrium series for young <1 Ma carbonates crystal and/or U-Pb method for older samples. In addition, Copeland et al. (2007) have proposed the development of (U-Th-Sm)/He dating method based on retentive helium behavior at surface temperature, conclusion issue of their first diffusion coefficients determined on carbonates samples. In this thesis work, the intention was to get an identification of crystallo-chemical properties and behavior of helium in calcite to date samples by (U-Th-Sm)/He and finally discuss the validity of this method. Deformation zones in contact to the normal fault of the Gondrecourt trench close to Augeville (eastern side of Basin of Paris) and calcite crystals geodic Tournemire argillites (Aveyron) were studied. Petrographic and geochemical couples studies (analysis of stable isotopes δ18O and δ13C and minor and trace elements) have allow the filling phases identification of the Augeville deformation zone. Based on the filling phases results, a crystallographic study by XRD (X-ray diffraction) and TGA (Thermogravimetric analysis) have been performed to identify the mechanical properties of calcite at different temperatures. Then, diffusion experiments on natural helium were conducted using a protocol differing than Copeland et al. (2007): heating time less than 12 hours instead of heating stages from hours to weeks. (U-Th-Sm)/He analyses were performed on all filling phases of the deformation zone and on the crystal geodes of Tournemire. Results for Gondrecourt samples show a deformation zone that marks several calcitic fillings corresponding to each stage of the tectonic evolution of the area. Calcite filling mainly corresponds to breccia and/or vein fillings which have precipitated approximatively in the same time. Crystallochemical results of these samples, show an increased number of microcracks leading to the formation of cleavage when samples are subjected to temperature increasing, from room temperature to 400 °C, or several days the long term at 200 °C. The crystallochemical evolution under the effect of temperature exhibits structural modifications for each studied phase. Diffusion experiments depend on these microcracks abundance and the microstructural evolution. These results emphasize the mechanisms of helium diffusion in calcite across multiple diffusion domains at different grain size. These multiple diffusion domains are linked to microstructural state of the sample. The results of dating (U-Th-Sm)/He ages show a wide dispersion of 0.1 to 35 Ma for the deformation zone Gondrecourt and from 0.4 to 20 Ma for Tournemire crystal geodes. Ages variation are partly related to the calcite crystals position in the paragenetic sequence. When a mineral undergoes deformations it becomes less retentive.

O SL trans-splicing (do inglês, spliced leader trans-splicing) catalisado pelo spliceossomo em Trypanosoma brucei é responsável pelo processamento dos pré-mRNAs policistrônicos em mRNAs maduros. Esta maquinaria é associada a partir de pequenas partículas ribonucleoproteicas nucleares (snRNPs) U1, U2, U4/U6 e U5 constituídas de pequenos RNAs nucleares (snRNAs), um complexo canônico de sete proteínas Sm (SmB, SmD3, SmD1, SmD2, SmE, SmF e SmG) e fatores proteicos específicos. O núcleo de proteínas Sm de T. brucei apresenta variações com funções desconhecidas, como a substituição do heterodímero SmD3/SmB por Sm16,5K/Sm15K na snRNP U2, e de SmD3 por SSm4 na snRNP U4. Na primeira parte deste trabalho, investigou-se a interação destes diferentes complexos Sm recombinantes com os snRNAs U2, U4 e U5 obtidos por transcrição in vitro. Todos os complexos apresentaram alta afinidade pelo snRNA cognato. Observou-se, ainda, que apenas o núcleo Sm que contém Sm16,5K/Sm15K associado ao snRNA U2 interage com alta afinidade com U2A/U2B. Adicionalmente, foi obtida a estrutura cristalográfica de U2A/U2B de T. brucei, que revela uma organização similar àquela já descrita para ortólogas de Homo sapiens. Entretanto, há um desvio de pelo menos 6 &Aring; no ponto médio da alça carregada positivamente no domínio RRM de U2B para a acomodação do snRNA U2. Além disso, observou-se uma longa hélice-&alpha; adicional na extremidade C-terminal de U2A. A análise dos três núcleos Sm de T. brucei a partir da combinação de modelagem molecular e espalhamento de raios-X a baixo ângulo revela estruturas de barril-&beta; altamente torcido com interior carregado positivamente para interação com snRNAs. A principal diferença entre as estruturas encontra-se nas extremidades C- e N-terminal dos variantes de proteínas Sm, possivelmente para interação com U2A no braço 1 do spliceossomo, no caso de Sm15K/Sm16,K, e com U5-220K e U5-200K no corpo do spliceossomo, no caso de SSm4. Na segunda parte deste trabalho, a expressão homóloga da proteína U5-200K de T. brucei completa e do produto truncado no seu cassete helicase/ATPase/Sec63 N-terminal levou à copurificação de um subcomplexo de snRNP U5 composto por U5-220K, U5-116K, U5-40K e U5-Cwc21, sendo que a proteína recombinante completa ainda copurificou as proteínas Sm. Experimentos de imunolocalização mostraram que a proteína U5-200K truncada não é direcionada ao núcleo, como é o caso da proteína completa. As células que expressam a proteína truncada apresentaram um defeito de crescimento significativo, e os processamentos de pré-mRNA por cis- e SL trans-splicing foram ligeiramente afetados, já que a proteína truncada não entra no núcleo, onde deveria exercer sua atividade. Os resultados apresentados indicam a formação de um subcomplexo de snRNP U5 ainda no citoplasma, sendo que as proteínas Sm devem ser um sinal para o seu transporte nuclear mediado por importina-&beta;. Em leveduras, a proteína Aar2 substitui U5-200K no citoplasma, regulando assim a biogênese de snRNP U5, porém esta proteína não foi identificada em T. brucei. Os resultados apresentados neste trabalho contribuem como o primeiro estudo estrutural de proteínas spliceossomais de um parasita do homem e também com novas informações sobre a biogênese das partículas ribonucleoproteicas U2 e U5 de T. brucei. / The spliced-leader (SL) trans-splicing catalyzed by the spliceosome in Trypanosoma brucei is responsible for processing polycistronic pre-mRNAs into mature mRNAs. The spliceosome machinery is assembled by small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) U1, U2, U4/U6 and U5 that are composed by small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), a canonical complex of Sm proteins (SmB, SmD3, SmD1, SmD2, SmE, SmF, SmG) and specific factors. The Sm core peculiarly varies in T. brucei, where SmD3/SmB are replaced by Sm16.5K/Sm15K in U2 snRNP and SmD3 is substituted by SSm4 in U4 snRNP. In the first part of this thesis, we investigated the interaction of the different recombinant Sm cores with U2, U4 and U5 snRNAs obtained by in vitro transcription. All the protein complexes bind the cognate snRNA with high affinity. Only the Sm core that contains Sm16.5K/Sm15K associated with U2 snRNA interacts with the recombinant U2A/U2B subcomplex. Additionally, the crystallographic structure of T. brucei U2A/U2B was obtained, showing an overall organization similar to the one observed in the human counterpart. However, we observed a 6 &Aring; deviation in the medium point of a positively charged turn in the RRM motif of U2B to accommodate U2 snRNA. Besides, a long &alpha; -helix was observed in the C-terminal region of U2A. Structural analysis of Sm core variations in T. brucei was proceeded using molecular modelling techniques associated with small angle X-ray scattering. The quaternary structure models show seven Sm proteins as &beta;-barrels with positively charged interior for cognate snRNA interaction. The main difference among these Sm core structures resides in the C- and N-terminal regions of the variant proteins, probably enabling the interaction of Sm15K/Sm16,5K with U2A in the spliceosomes arm 1, and the association of SSm4 with U5-220K and U5-200K in the spliceosomes body. In the second part of this thesis, homologous expression of full-length and N-terminally truncated U5-200K from T. brucei led to the copurification of a U5 snRNP subcomplex containing U5-220K, U5-116K, U5-40K and U5-Cwc21. The full-length U5-200K construct also copurified Sm proteins. Immunolocalization experiments showed that the truncated U5-200K protein is not directed to the nucleus as is the case for the full-length protein. Cells that expressed the truncated protein showed a significant growth defect and the pre-mRNA processing by cis- and SL trans-splicing was negatively affected since the truncated protein did not enter the nucleus where it should be active. The results suggest that a subcomplex of U5 snRNP begins to be assembled in the cytoplasm and the Sm proteins may be the signal for the nuclear transport mediated by &beta;-importin. In yeast, Aar2 replaces U5-200K in the cytoplasm in another regulation step. However, Aar2 has not been identified in T. brucei. The results presented here contribute with the first structural study of spliceosomal proteins of a human parasite and give new insights into the biogenesis of U2 and U5 snRNPs in T. brucei.

O SL trans-splicing (do inglês, spliced leader trans-splicing) catalisado pelo spliceossomo em Trypanosoma brucei é responsável pelo processamento dos pré-mRNAs policistrônicos em mRNAs maduros. Esta maquinaria é associada a partir de pequenas partículas ribonucleoproteicas nucleares (snRNPs) U1, U2, U4/U6 e U5 constituídas de pequenos RNAs nucleares (snRNAs), um complexo canônico de sete proteínas Sm (SmB, SmD3, SmD1, SmD2, SmE, SmF e SmG) e fatores proteicos específicos. O núcleo de proteínas Sm de T. brucei apresenta variações com funções desconhecidas, como a substituição do heterodímero SmD3/SmB por Sm16,5K/Sm15K na snRNP U2, e de SmD3 por SSm4 na snRNP U4. Na primeira parte deste trabalho, investigou-se a interação destes diferentes complexos Sm recombinantes com os snRNAs U2, U4 e U5 obtidos por transcrição in vitro. Todos os complexos apresentaram alta afinidade pelo snRNA cognato. Observou-se, ainda, que apenas o núcleo Sm que contém Sm16,5K/Sm15K associado ao snRNA U2 interage com alta afinidade com U2A/U2B. Adicionalmente, foi obtida a estrutura cristalográfica de U2A/U2B de T. brucei, que revela uma organização similar àquela já descrita para ortólogas de Homo sapiens. Entretanto, há um desvio de pelo menos 6 &Aring; no ponto médio da alça carregada positivamente no domínio RRM de U2B para a acomodação do snRNA U2. Além disso, observou-se uma longa hélice-&alpha; adicional na extremidade C-terminal de U2A. A análise dos três núcleos Sm de T. brucei a partir da combinação de modelagem molecular e espalhamento de raios-X a baixo ângulo revela estruturas de barril-&beta; altamente torcido com interior carregado positivamente para interação com snRNAs. A principal diferença entre as estruturas encontra-se nas extremidades C- e N-terminal dos variantes de proteínas Sm, possivelmente para interação com U2A no braço 1 do spliceossomo, no caso de Sm15K/Sm16,K, e com U5-220K e U5-200K no corpo do spliceossomo, no caso de SSm4. Na segunda parte deste trabalho, a expressão homóloga da proteína U5-200K de T. brucei completa e do produto truncado no seu cassete helicase/ATPase/Sec63 N-terminal levou à copurificação de um subcomplexo de snRNP U5 composto por U5-220K, U5-116K, U5-40K e U5-Cwc21, sendo que a proteína recombinante completa ainda copurificou as proteínas Sm. Experimentos de imunolocalização mostraram que a proteína U5-200K truncada não é direcionada ao núcleo, como é o caso da proteína completa. As células que expressam a proteína truncada apresentaram um defeito de crescimento significativo, e os processamentos de pré-mRNA por cis- e SL trans-splicing foram ligeiramente afetados, já que a proteína truncada não entra no núcleo, onde deveria exercer sua atividade. Os resultados apresentados indicam a formação de um subcomplexo de snRNP U5 ainda no citoplasma, sendo que as proteínas Sm devem ser um sinal para o seu transporte nuclear mediado por importina-&beta;. Em leveduras, a proteína Aar2 substitui U5-200K no citoplasma, regulando assim a biogênese de snRNP U5, porém esta proteína não foi identificada em T. brucei. Os resultados apresentados neste trabalho contribuem como o primeiro estudo estrutural de proteínas spliceossomais de um parasita do homem e também com novas informações sobre a biogênese das partículas ribonucleoproteicas U2 e U5 de T. brucei. / The spliced-leader (SL) trans-splicing catalyzed by the spliceosome in Trypanosoma brucei is responsible for processing polycistronic pre-mRNAs into mature mRNAs. The spliceosome machinery is assembled by small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) U1, U2, U4/U6 and U5 that are composed by small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), a canonical complex of Sm proteins (SmB, SmD3, SmD1, SmD2, SmE, SmF, SmG) and specific factors. The Sm core peculiarly varies in T. brucei, where SmD3/SmB are replaced by Sm16.5K/Sm15K in U2 snRNP and SmD3 is substituted by SSm4 in U4 snRNP. In the first part of this thesis, we investigated the interaction of the different recombinant Sm cores with U2, U4 and U5 snRNAs obtained by in vitro transcription. All the protein complexes bind the cognate snRNA with high affinity. Only the Sm core that contains Sm16.5K/Sm15K associated with U2 snRNA interacts with the recombinant U2A/U2B subcomplex. Additionally, the crystallographic structure of T. brucei U2A/U2B was obtained, showing an overall organization similar to the one observed in the human counterpart. However, we observed a 6 &Aring; deviation in the medium point of a positively charged turn in the RRM motif of U2B to accommodate U2 snRNA. Besides, a long &alpha; -helix was observed in the C-terminal region of U2A. Structural analysis of Sm core variations in T. brucei was proceeded using molecular modelling techniques associated with small angle X-ray scattering. The quaternary structure models show seven Sm proteins as &beta;-barrels with positively charged interior for cognate snRNA interaction. The main difference among these Sm core structures resides in the C- and N-terminal regions of the variant proteins, probably enabling the interaction of Sm15K/Sm16,5K with U2A in the spliceosomes arm 1, and the association of SSm4 with U5-220K and U5-200K in the spliceosomes body. In the second part of this thesis, homologous expression of full-length and N-terminally truncated U5-200K from T. brucei led to the copurification of a U5 snRNP subcomplex containing U5-220K, U5-116K, U5-40K and U5-Cwc21. The full-length U5-200K construct also copurified Sm proteins. Immunolocalization experiments showed that the truncated U5-200K protein is not directed to the nucleus as is the case for the full-length protein. Cells that expressed the truncated protein showed a significant growth defect and the pre-mRNA processing by cis- and SL trans-splicing was negatively affected since the truncated protein did not enter the nucleus where it should be active. The results suggest that a subcomplex of U5 snRNP begins to be assembled in the cytoplasm and the Sm proteins may be the signal for the nuclear transport mediated by &beta;-importin. In yeast, Aar2 replaces U5-200K in the cytoplasm in another regulation step. However, Aar2 has not been identified in T. brucei. The results presented here contribute with the first structural study of spliceosomal proteins of a human parasite and give new insights into the biogenesis of U2 and U5 snRNPs in T. brucei.

Dados isotópicos U-Pb, Hf e de O foram obtidos em zircões detríticos das unidades do final do Paleozoico e início do Mesozoico da Bacia do Paraná, sudeste do Brasil, com o objetivo de determinar a proveniência dos sedimentos, assim como contribuir para o entendimento da evolução tectônica da bacia. Assinaturas isotópicas Sm-Nd e Pb-Pb em amostras de rocha-total também foram obtidas com o intuito de auxiliar na interpretação sobre as áreas fontes. A seção estudada, Coluna White em Santa Catarina, inclui rochas de 11 unidades estratigráficas (da base para o topo): Formação Rio do Sul, Formação Rio Bonito, incluindo os membros Triunfo, Paraguaçu e Siderópolis, Formação Palermo, Formação Irati, Formação Serra Alta, Formação Teresina, Formação Rio do Rasto, subdividida nos membros Serrinha e Morro Pelado, e Formação Botucatu, Idades U-Pb foram obtidas em 1941 grãos de zircão detrítico e variam de 242 Ma a 3,4 Ga. Todas as unidades sedimentares apresentam quatro grupos principais de zircões detríticos, Neoarqueano (2,7-2.5 Ga), Paleoproterozoico Médio (2,0-1,8 Ga), Grenviliano (1,1-0,9 Ga) e Brasiliano (850-490 Ma), refletindo a importância do embasamento Pr-e-Cambriano que bordeja a parte leste da bacia como áreas fontes, tais como as Faixas Dom Feliciano, Kaoko e Namaqua-Natal, incluindo o embasamento local datado em 584 Ma. O Membro Siderópolis apresenta uma importante mudança nas fontes dos sedimentos que preencheram a Bacia do Paraná, pois é a partir dessa unidade que o pico de idade permiana (266 a 290 Ma) é observado. Esse pico persiste até o topo da seção, a Formação Botucatu. As assinaturas isotópicas de O e Hf dos zircões detríticos mostram que parte dos grãos do Paleoproterozoico Médio é provavelmente de rochas do embasamento atualmente recoberto, que estava exposto até a deposição da Formação Rio Bonito. Os isotópos de Hf e O também mostram que parte dos zircões com idade grenviliana é proveniente de rochas argentinas, o que implica em longas distâncias de transporte. As assinaturas isotópicas de parte dos grãos permianos os ligam a fontes da Argentina e Chile, sendo que parte desses grãos possui forma mais arredondada, o que sugere que eles alcançaram a bacia pelo transporte em ambientes subaquáticos e não somente pelo ar (quedas de cinzas vulcânicas) como é comumente apontado. Outros picos de idade mais jovens (Ordoviciano ao Carbonífero), observados a partir da Formação Palermo e nas unidades superiores, também são provenientes de fontes argentinas e chilenas, mostrando a importância dos detritos de fontes distantes durante o preenchimento da bacia. Os dados Sm-Nd e Pb-Pb em rocha total mostram que os sedimentos da Bacia do Paraná apresentam predominância de fontes de origem crustal. As assinaturas são semelhantes aos granitoides de Santa Catarina, rochas da Faixa Ribeira, do Escufo Brasileiro, das Faixas Namaqua-Natal e Kaoko, Terreno Arequipa-Antofalla (embasamento dos Andes) e granitoides do Norte da Patagônia. Esses dados corroboram os padrões de zircões detríticos observados, que apontam para áreas fontes tanto proximais quanto distais. Além disso, as idades modelo Sm-Nd (\'T IND. DM\') obtidas são mais antigas que 1,4 Ga e mais negativas (-10 a -15) nas unidades inferiores (Formação Rio do Sul até o Membro Paraguaçu), enquanto que as unidades superiores apresentam valores de \'\'épsilon\' IND.Nd(0) entre -6 a -12 e idades modelo \'T IND.DM\' mais jovens que 1,5 Ga, sugerindo a participação de uma fonte mais jovem a partir da deposição do Membro Siderópolis, conforme foi observado pelos dados de zircão detrítico (pico de idade permiana) / U-Pb, Hf and O isotope data were obtained from detrital zircons from late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic units from Paraná Basin, southeastern Brazil, in order to constain the provenance of the sediments, as well as to contribute to the understanding of the tectonic evolution of the basin. Whole rock Sm-Nd and Pb-Pb isotopic signatures were also taken in order to help the interpretation. The studied section, White Column in Santa Catarina state, includes rocks from 11 stratigraphic units (from base to top): Rio do Sul Formation, Rio Bonito Formation (Triunfo, Paraguaçu and Siderópolis members), Palermo Formation, Irati Formation, Serra Alta Formation, Teresina Formation, and Rio do Rasto Formation (Serrinha and Morro Pelado members) and Botucatu Formation. U-Pb ages were obtained on 1941 detrital zircons and range from 242 Ma to 3400 Ma. All sedimentary units show four main detrital age groups, Neoarchean (2700-2500 Ma), mid-Paleoproterozoic (2000-1800 Ma), Grenvillian (1100-900 Ma) and Brasiliano (850-490 Ma), reflecting the importance of the Precambrian basement bordering the east side of the basin, such as Dom Feliciano, Kaoko and Namaque-Natal Belts as source areas, including the local basement that was dated at 584 Ma. The Siderópolis Member shows an important change in the source of sediments with a Permian age-peak (266 to 290 Ma). This age-peak persists towards the top of the section until the Botucatu Formation. O and Hf isotopic signatures from the detrital zircons show that a portion of the mid-Paleoproterozoic grains is probably from rocks of the presently covered basement, which was exposed until the deposition of the Rio Bonito Formation. O and Hf isotopes also show that some Grenvillian aged zircons are from Argentinian rocks, which implies a long transport distance. Isotopic signatures of part of the Permian grains also link them to sources from Argentina and Chile, and part of these grains has more rounded shapes, suggesting that they reached the basin after long distance traveling on subaquatic environment and nor only through the air (ash falls) as it is commonly accepted. Other younger age peaks (Ordovician to Carboniferous) found from Palermo Formation upsection are also linked to Argentinian and Chilean sources, showing the importance of distant sources during the filling of the basin. The Sm-Nd and Pb-Pb data on whole rocks show that the sediments from the Paraná Basin present predominance of sources with crustal origin. Osotopic signatures are similar to granitoid rocks from Santa Catarina, Ribeira Belt, Brazilian Shield, Namaqua-Natal and Kaoko Belts, as well as the Arequipa-Antofalla terranes (Andes basement) and granitoids from North Patagonia. These data corroborate the observed detrital zircon patterns thar point to both proximal and distal source areas. \'T IND.DM\' model ages older than 1.4 Ga and more negative (-10 to -15) epsilon values were observed in the lower units (Rio do Sul Formation to Paraguaçu Member), while the upper units show \'\'épsilos\' IND.Nd(0)\' values ranging from -6 to -12 and \'T IND. DM\' model ages younger than 1.5 Ga, corroborating the addition of a younger source starting from the Siderópolis Member deposition upwards, as noted by detrital zircon data (Permian age-peak).