Children and adolescents are thought to use oxidative metabolism to a greater extent than adults during high intensity exercise. The studies reported in this thesis examine the nature and implications of age-related differences in muscle metabolism during high intensity exercise and recovery. Chapter 4 concluded that during heavy intensity exercise, phosphocreatine (PCr) kinetics did not differ with age or sex, while Chapter 5 revealed that during very heavy intensity exercise, the fundamental τ was slower and slow component amplitude greater in men compared with adolescent boys, indicating that exercise intensity might play a role in determining age-related differences in muscle metabolism. In Chapter 6, two bouts of very heavy intensity exercise were completed, and prior exercise reduced the PCr slow component amplitude in men but not boys. Deoxyhaemoglobin (HHb) kinetics was faster in adolescents compared with adults during both heavy and very heavy intensity exercise, indicating that matching of oxygen delivery to oxygen utilisation is less precise at the onset of exercise in adolescents compared with adults. PCr recovery from high intensity exercise was faster in boys than men, but not different in girls and women, as described in Chapter 7. The speed of PCr recovery was correlated with maturity in adolescents, but was not correlated with end-exercise [PCr] or pH. Two different tests to measure mitochondrial capacity in adolescents were evaluated in Chapter 8, and a fitted curve and gated test were both used to determine PCr recovery kinetics. Finally, in Chapter 9, age-related differences in muscle metabolism and oxygenation during fatiguing exercise were examined; a strong trend for greater fatigue in adults compared with adolescents was accompanied by greater metabolic perturbation in adults. Overall, these data show that muscle metabolism and oxygenation differs between adolescents and adults during and following very high intensity exercise.

A irradiação de sistemas adesivos com laser tem obtido resultados promissores, no entanto, seu mecanismo de ação, bem como a longevidade da camada híbrida obtida após a irradiação com laser ainda não estão bem estabelecidos na literatura. A presente tese teve como objetivo: avaliar a absorvância do laser de Diodo por diferentes sistemas adesivos por meio de espectroscopia no infravermelho próximo; avaliar a evaporação de água e solventes proporcionada pelo laser por meio da variação da massa analisada em balança de precisão; avaliar a resistência de união por meio de teste de microtração após envelhecimento de 12 meses. Os dados obtidos foram analisados por modelos de ANOVA, seguidos de teste Tukey (p<0,05) e os resultados demonstraram que: a irradiação no infravermelho próximo, área do espectro eletromagnético que compreende o laser de Diodo, não apresenta interação com os sistemas adesivos testados; o laser de Diodo é capaz de proporcionar maior alteração de massa, mesmo após contínua evaporação dos solventes com jatos de ar por 60s; sistemas adesivos simplificados apresentaram valores de resistência de união imediato semelhantes aos valores obtidos após 12 meses de envelhecimento. Os dados obtidos neste estudo sugerem que a irradiação com laser de Diodo pode contribuir favoravelmente para a adesão em dentina com sistemas adesivos simplificados após 1 ano. / The laser irradiation of adhesive systems has obtained promising results, however, its mechanism of action, as well as the longevity of the hybrid layer obtained after laser irradiation are still not yet well established in the literature. This thesis aimed to: assess the diode laser interaction with different adhesive systems by means of near infrared spectroscopy; evaluate the evaporation of solvents and water provided by the laser through the mass variation analyzed at a precision balance; evaluate the bond strength through microtensile bond strength test after 12 months of aging. The data was analyzed through ANOVA models, followed by Tukey test (p<0.05), and the results demonstrated that: in the near-infrared irradiation area, the electromagnetic spectrum comprising the diode laser, shows no interaction with the adhesive systems tested; the diode laser was able to provide greater mass variation, even after continual evaporation of solvents with air jets for 60s; simplified adhesive systems presented immediate bond strength values similar to the ones verified after 12 months of aging. The data obtained in this study suggest that the Diode laser irradiation can contribute favorably for the adhesion between dentin and simplified adhesive systems after 1 year.

A irradiação de sistemas adesivos com laser tem obtido resultados promissores, no entanto, seu mecanismo de ação, bem como a longevidade da camada híbrida obtida após a irradiação com laser ainda não estão bem estabelecidos na literatura. A presente tese teve como objetivo: avaliar a absorvância do laser de Diodo por diferentes sistemas adesivos por meio de espectroscopia no infravermelho próximo; avaliar a evaporação de água e solventes proporcionada pelo laser por meio da variação da massa analisada em balança de precisão; avaliar a resistência de união por meio de teste de microtração após envelhecimento de 12 meses. Os dados obtidos foram analisados por modelos de ANOVA, seguidos de teste Tukey (p<0,05) e os resultados demonstraram que: a irradiação no infravermelho próximo, área do espectro eletromagnético que compreende o laser de Diodo, não apresenta interação com os sistemas adesivos testados; o laser de Diodo é capaz de proporcionar maior alteração de massa, mesmo após contínua evaporação dos solventes com jatos de ar por 60s; sistemas adesivos simplificados apresentaram valores de resistência de união imediato semelhantes aos valores obtidos após 12 meses de envelhecimento. Os dados obtidos neste estudo sugerem que a irradiação com laser de Diodo pode contribuir favoravelmente para a adesão em dentina com sistemas adesivos simplificados após 1 ano. / The laser irradiation of adhesive systems has obtained promising results, however, its mechanism of action, as well as the longevity of the hybrid layer obtained after laser irradiation are still not yet well established in the literature. This thesis aimed to: assess the diode laser interaction with different adhesive systems by means of near infrared spectroscopy; evaluate the evaporation of solvents and water provided by the laser through the mass variation analyzed at a precision balance; evaluate the bond strength through microtensile bond strength test after 12 months of aging. The data was analyzed through ANOVA models, followed by Tukey test (p<0.05), and the results demonstrated that: in the near-infrared irradiation area, the electromagnetic spectrum comprising the diode laser, shows no interaction with the adhesive systems tested; the diode laser was able to provide greater mass variation, even after continual evaporation of solvents with air jets for 60s; simplified adhesive systems presented immediate bond strength values similar to the ones verified after 12 months of aging. The data obtained in this study suggest that the Diode laser irradiation can contribute favorably for the adhesion between dentin and simplified adhesive systems after 1 year.

Dans un contexte où la consommation de viande bovine est en constante diminution, en partie à cause de sa composition lipidique, il apparaît important pour l'ensemble de la filière de pouvoir communiquer sur l’intérêt nutritionnel de cette viande et plus particulièrement sur sa composition en acides gras (AG). Pour que cette communication soit « efficiente » à tous les niveaux de la filière, il faut disposer de moyens analytiques fiables mais aussi faciles de mise en œuvre et de surcroît peu coûteux. La méthode analytique que nous avons choisi de tester est la spectrométrie proche infrarouge (SPIR) qui présente l’avantage d’être peu coûteuse, peu invasive et qui pourrait ainsi être utilisée à grande échelle et en routine en abattoir. Nous avons montré que la SPIR est performante pour déterminer les teneurs en AG saturés (AGS) et monoinsaturés (AGMI) (R2>0,9). Dans les meilleures conditions pour la prédiction des AGPI (échantillons comportant des teneurs élevées en AGPI et/ou une grande variabilité), les performances de prédiction restent encore insuffisantes (R2 <0,75). Pour pallier cette faiblesse de la SPIR, des équations de prédiction indirectes des AGPI ont été mises en place à partir des teneurs en AGS et AGMI, teneurs correctement déterminées par SPIR, et les informations disponibles en abattoir. Ces équations élaborées par régression linéaire multiple ont permis de prédire correctement les AGPI totaux et les AGPI n-6 (R2 >0,8). Elles restent perfectibles pour la détermination des AGPI n-3 totaux (R2=0,64) mais surtout pour le 18:3 n-3, le 20:5 n-3 et le 22:6 n-3 (R2 <0,55). L’objectif final de ce travail étant d'utiliser les équations en complément des mesures réalisées par SPIR à des fins industrielles afin de déterminer rapidement la composition en AG de la viande bovine, des études complémentaires seront nécessaires pour tester l'ensemble de notre démarche associant SPIR et équations de prédiction. / In a context where the consumption of beef is declining in part because of its lipid composition, an opportunity to revive the beef industry is to communicate with consumers on nutritional quality of beef, especially its fatty acids (FA) composition. To ensure this communication is “efficient” at all levels of the industry, we must have reliable analytical resources but also easy to implement and also inexpensive. The analytical method proposed for determining the beef FA composition is the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) which is inexpensive, minimally invasive and could thus be widely used in routine in slaughterhouse. We showed that NIRS was effective to determine the concentrations of saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated (MUFA) FA (R2> 0.9). Under the best conditions for the prediction of PUFA (samples containing high levels of PUFA and / or with a high variability), PUFA predictions were still not enough (R2 <0.75). So, to overcome this weakness of NIRS, indirect prediction equations of PUFA were performed from the SFA and MUFA contents correctly determined by NIRS and information available in slaughterhouses. These equations, developed by multiple linear regression, were used to correctly predict total and n-6 PUFA (R2> 0.8). These equations are still to be improved for the determination of the total n-3 PUFA (R2 = 0.64) and of the 18:3 n-3, the 20:5 n-3 and the 22:6 n-3 (R2 <0.55). Given that the ultimate aim of this research is to use the equations as a complementary tool in tandem with NIRS measurements to serve industry as a way to rapidly determine the FA content of beef, further studies will be needed to trial and test our novel coupled NIRS–prediction equations approach.

Postmortem interval (PMI) estimation is a necessary but often difficult task that must completed during a death investigation. The level of difficulty rises as time since death increases, especially with the case of skeletonized remains (long PMI). While challenging, a reliable PMI estimate may be of great importance for investigative direction and cost-savings (e.g. suspect identification, tailoring missing persons searches, non-forensic remains exclusion). Long PMI can be estimated by assessing changes in the organic content of bone (i.e. collagen), which degrades and is lost as the PMI lengthens. Visible-near infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy is one method that can be used for analyzing organic constituents, including proteins, in solid specimens. A 2013 preliminary investigation using a limited number of human cortical bone samples suggested that VNIR spectroscopy could provide a fast, reliable technique for assessing PMI in human skeletal remains. Clear separation was noted between "forensic" and "archaeological" specimen spectra within the near-infrared (NIR) bands. The goal of this research was to develop reliable multivariate classification models that could assign skeletal remains to appropriate PMI classes (e.g. "forensic" and "non-forensic"), based on NIR spectra collected from human cortical bone. Working with a large set of cortical samples (n=341), absorbance spectra were collected with an ASD/PANalytical LabSpec® 4 full range spectrometer. Sample spectra were then randomly assigned to training and test sets, where training set spectra were used to build internally cross-validated models in Camo Unscrambler® X 10.4; external validations of the models were then performed on test set spectra. Selected model algorithms included soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA), linear discriminant analysis on principal components (LDA-PCA), and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA); an application of support vector machines on principal components (SVM-PCA) was attempted as well. Multivariate classification models were built using both raw and transformed spectra (standard normal variate, Savitzky-Golay) that were collected from the longitudinally cut cortical surfaces (Set A models) and the superficial cortical surface following light grinding (Set B models). SIMCA models were consistently the poorest performers, as were many of the SVM-PCA models; LDA-PCA models were generally the best performers for these data. Transformed-spectra model classification accuracies were generally the same or lower than corresponding raw spectral models. Set A models out-performed Set B counterparts in most cases; Set B models often yielded lower classification accuracy for older forensic and non-forensic spectra. A limited number of Set B transformed-spectra models out-performed the raw model counterparts, suggesting that these transformations may be removing scattering-related noise, leading to improvements in model accuracy. This study suggests that NIR spectroscopy may represent a reliable technique for assessing the PMI of unknown human skeletal remains. Future work will require identifying new sources of remains with established extended PMI values. Broadening the number of spectra collected from older forensic samples would allow for the determination of how many narrower potential PMI classes can be discriminated within the forensic time-frame.