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The influence of sucrose as an important factor in the vase-life of cut flowers has been dually noted. Sucrose is actively transported across the cell membrane via a symport system and the membrane-imbedded ATPase enzyme generates the required energy and proton gradient for the process. The activity of this enzyme decreases during the senescence of Petunia petals, concomitant with a decrease in sucrose-uptake in the post-climacteric phase. However, ATP does not appear to be limiting, indicating that a change in proton gradients may be responsible for this phenomenon. In order to study the uptake of sucrose in Petunia corollas various inhibitors of ATPase enzyme activity (DES and sodium orthovanadate) were introduced. The effect of potassium ferricyanide on the disruption of the membranal electro-chemical gradient was also determined. In addition it was found that the plasma membrane redox system seems to be influential in creating the H+-gradient necessary for sucrose-uptake. These effects were also studied in relation to prior treatment of flowers with the hormone, ethylene, for 24 hours. The results obtained have shown the i) importance of a stable inter- and intracellular pH environment; ii) the imbedded ATPase enzyme’s dependence on the membrane stability; iii) the maintenance of the electro-chemical gradient across membranes; the active energy generated by the ATPase enzyme; and lastly, iv) the effect of ethylene directly on membrane integrity and indirectly on sucrose-uptake. / Prof. C.S. Whitehead

Orientador: Clóvis Augusto Ribeiro / Coorientador: Fernando Luis Fertonani / Banca: Sônia de Almeida / Banca: Adélia Emilia de Almeida / Resumo: A sacarose é um dos produtos químicos puro mais abundante produzido no mundo. A determinação do ponto de fusão trata-se de um parâmetro importante para elucidar a pureza do cristal de açúcar, sendo sugerido, recentemente, como um parâmetro para assegurar a qualidade do produto. No entanto, uma ampla gama de pontos de fusão para a sacarose cristalina foi relatada, intervalo de 160 a 191 ºC, e referente ao mecanismo de decomposição de açúcares de alta pureza. Neste sentido, no presente trabalho pretendeu-se abordar os aspectos gerais da presença da água e produtos de degradação em sacarose de cana-de-açúcar, estudando materiais de referência (material de referência de consenso), comercial e pré-formulado (purificado), para o estabelecimento de relação entre impurezas e a variabilidade do ponto de fusão, que conduzem ao aparecimento de coloração amarela no produto e a formação de pedras, o que imprime grandes perdas quando se trata de comércio, principalmente do comércio exterior. Para tanto, utilizou-se técnicas de análise térmica amplamente difundidas: Termogravimetria (TG), a Análise Térmica Diferencial (DTA) e a Calorimetria Exploratória Diferencial (DSC). A análise térmica dos componentes estudados foi realizada em um aparelho SDT 2960-simultâneo TG-DTA, da TA Instruments , nas seguintes condições: ∆T 30-700 ºC; β = 20, 10 e 0,5 ºC min-1; cadinho de α-alumina; massa de amostra da ordem de 7 mg; atmosfera de ar sintético e nitrogênio . Para a obtenção das curvas de DSC, foi usado o DSC modelo DSC1 Stare Sistem, da Mettler Toledo, nas seguintes condições: ∆T 25-220 ºC; β = 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 e 0,5°C min - 1; cadinho de alumínio vazio (perfurado Φ = 1mm); massa de amostra da ordem de 3 mg; atmosfera de nitrogênio. Os resultados obtidos em termogravimetria (TG/DTG) e análise térmica diferencial (DTA) se mostraram análogas para todas... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Sucrose is one of the most abundant pure chemicals produced worldwide. Determining the melting point of this is an important parameter to elucidate the purity of crystal sugar, being suggested recently as a parameter to ensure product quality. However, a wide range of melting points for crystalline sucrose has been reported, range from 160 to 191 ° C, and for the mechanism of decomposition of sugars in high purity. In this sense, the present study was intended to address the general aspects of the presence of water and degradation products of sucrose in cane sugar, study reference materials (reference material of consensus), commercial and pre-formulated (purified) for the establishment of a relationship between impurities and variability of the melting point, leading to the appearance of yellow in the product and the formation of stones, which prints great loss when it comes to trade, especially foreign trade. To this end, we used thermal analysis techniques widespread: Thermogravimetry (TG), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Thermal analysis of the components studied was performed on a unit-simultaneous SDT 2960 TG-DTA, TA Instruments, under the following conditions: ∆T 30-700 ° C, β = 20, 10 and 0.5 ° C min-1; crucible α -alumina, sample mass around 7 mg; atmosphere of synthetic air and nitrogen. For the curves of DSC, DSC model was used DSC1 Stare Sistem, Mettler Toledo, the following conditions: ∆T 25-220 ° C Dt, β = 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 and 0.5 ° C min - 1; empty aluminum crucible (drilled Φ = 1 mm), sample mass of about 3 mg, nitrogen atmosphere. The results of thermogravimetry (TG / DTG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) were similar for all samples of sucrose, where the first mass loss corresponds to the fusion followed by loss of water or volatilization... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The protein Poly was first discovered in Drosophila melanogaster, during a screening for third chromosome lethal mutations. Drosophila poly mutant larvae exhibit a slower rate of development. However, they reach the third instar larval stage and remain at that stage for 21 days before they die without reaching pupation. This phenotype is attributed to developmental impairment of the imaginal discs, therefore suggesting defects in cell growth and/or proliferation. During that stage, the mutant larvae develop melanotic masses. Poly is conserved and its homolog, Elp6, is one of the small subunits of the Elongator Complex, a complex involved in many cellular functions including transcription and translation. Drosophila larvae mutated at the Elp3 gene, the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of the Elongator complex, develop melanotic masses, a phenotype very similar to that of poly. The Heck laboratory published that Poly is a positive mediator of the Insulin Receptor/TOR (InR/TOR) pathway, which leads to protein, glycogen and fatty acid synthesis, regulates cell growth and apoptosis. It was shown that Poly interacts with InR, at least in some cases, therefore promoting cell growth and metabolism (Bolukbasi et al., 2012). The Drosophila genome shares 60% similarity to the human, with 77% of the genes attributed to a human disease having a Drosophila counterpart (Chien et al., 2002). In 2011, an intriguing study by Musselman et al. reported that feeding wild type Drosophila larvae with excessive amounts of sucrose led to the development of an insulin resistance phenotype similar to that of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), thus rendering Drosophila an easily accessible T2D model. The phenotype included impaired metabolism, slower rate of development, and excessive accumulation of triglycerides (TAG) in the larval fat body. In my thesis research, I examined the involvement of Poly in insulin resistance - T2D using Drosophila as a model. The understanding of the connection between the protein and the disease came upon the discovery of a new form of Poly, Poly14. Poly14 is enriched in the Drosophila fat body, the equivalent of the human fat tissue and liver and its protein levels are significantly decreased when larvae are fed a high sucrose diet, compared to other types of diets – potentially linking the protein to the onset of T2D. Poly mRNA levels were also lower. To examine whether the overexpression of poly might be able to rescue the insulin resistance phenotype, two new Drosophila transgenes were generated with the ability to express the gene in a tissue of interest. In these two new transgenes, Poly is tagged with tRFP (Red Fluorescence Protein) at the N’- (UAS_N’RFPpoly) or the C’-terminus (UAS_polyC’RFP). Overexpression of Poly rescued the insulin resistance phenotype, therefore implicating Poly as a possible important regulator in the development of the insulin resistance phenotype. All of the above findings suggest a vital role of Poly in metabolism and the development of the insulin resistance/diabetic phenotype in Drosophila, providing us the opportunity for new tools in this very medically-relevant field of research.

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Urban forests grow in stressful environments that can have negativerepercussions on tree energy reserves. The goal of this research was to evaluate theimpact of exogenously applied carbohydrates on growth and vitality of live oaks(Quercus virginiana P. Miller). An initial study focused on carbohydrate partitioningrevealed that annual mean glucose concentration in leaf tissues (49.55 mg·g-1 DW) wasalmost double that in twigs, trunks, or roots. Starch concentrations in roots and trunks(38.98 and 38.22 mg·g-1 DW of glucose, respectively) were higher during the dormantseason and approximately three times the concentrations found in other tissues. Aninvestigation of the effects of exogenous soil applications of glucose and starch on soilmicrobial activity revealed no significant differences using recoverable viable microbes.However, soil respiration was significantly increased (P<0.05) by glucose a week afterapplication, while higher starch concentrations (120 g·L-1) significantly increased(P<0.05) soil respiration after the fourth week. Although tree soil drenched withcarbohydrates in a different study showed significantly (P<0.05) greener leaf color, higher chlorophyll fluorescence, and increased soil respiration at higher concentrationsof starch (120 g·L-1), no significant differences were observed in photosynthesis or trunk,canopy, or root growth. Analysis of 13C signatures was unable to detect uptake ofexogenous carbohydrates. For trunk-injected trees with glucose and sucrose, trunkgrowth was significantly (P<0.05) increased by carbohydrate supplementation.Differences were also found in twig glucose content, root starch content, and chlorophyllfluorescence among overall concentration means. A study to compare field diagnostictools with carbohydrate laboratory analysis established that a portable blood glucosemeter can be used to measure glucose content in trees. However, ohmmeter,refractometer, chlorophyll fluorescence spectrometer, and iodine staining results did notcorrelate well with laboratory analysis of carbohydrate concentrations. Results fromthese studies reveal that soil applied carbohydrates can greatly increase soil microbialactivity, provide evidence that trunk-injected carbohydrates may improve growth andvitality of live oaks, and provide a new field diagnostic tool to increase the efficiency ofmeasuring carbohydrates in trees.

Urban forests grow in stressful environments that can have negativerepercussions on tree energy reserves. The goal of this research was to evaluate theimpact of exogenously applied carbohydrates on growth and vitality of live oaks(Quercus virginiana P. Miller). An initial study focused on carbohydrate partitioningrevealed that annual mean glucose concentration in leaf tissues (49.55 mg·g-1 DW) wasalmost double that in twigs, trunks, or roots. Starch concentrations in roots and trunks(38.98 and 38.22 mg·g-1 DW of glucose, respectively) were higher during the dormantseason and approximately three times the concentrations found in other tissues. Aninvestigation of the effects of exogenous soil applications of glucose and starch on soilmicrobial activity revealed no significant differences using recoverable viable microbes.However, soil respiration was significantly increased (P<0.05) by glucose a week afterapplication, while higher starch concentrations (120 g·L-1) significantly increased(P<0.05) soil respiration after the fourth week. Although tree soil drenched withcarbohydrates in a different study showed significantly (P<0.05) greener leaf color, higher chlorophyll fluorescence, and increased soil respiration at higher concentrationsof starch (120 g·L-1), no significant differences were observed in photosynthesis or trunk,canopy, or root growth. Analysis of 13C signatures was unable to detect uptake ofexogenous carbohydrates. For trunk-injected trees with glucose and sucrose, trunkgrowth was significantly (P<0.05) increased by carbohydrate supplementation.Differences were also found in twig glucose content, root starch content, and chlorophyllfluorescence among overall concentration means. A study to compare field diagnostictools with carbohydrate laboratory analysis established that a portable blood glucosemeter can be used to measure glucose content in trees. However, ohmmeter,refractometer, chlorophyll fluorescence spectrometer, and iodine staining results did notcorrelate well with laboratory analysis of carbohydrate concentrations. Results fromthese studies reveal that soil applied carbohydrates can greatly increase soil microbialactivity, provide evidence that trunk-injected carbohydrates may improve growth andvitality of live oaks, and provide a new field diagnostic tool to increase the efficiency ofmeasuring carbohydrates in trees.

In my research, I use sucrose to modify TiO2 nanoparticles to study the influence of sucrose modification in the performance of dye-sensitized solar cell. Two types of TiO2 are used in the experiments, one is P-25 (80% anatase, Degussa, Germany) and the other is ST-21 (100% anatase, Ishihara Sangyo, Japan). The results shows that the solar cells with TiO2 photoanode sintered in N2 has better conversion efficiency than that sintered in air. On the other hand, the TiO2 with 0.08 g/mL sucrose modification and sintered in N2 has the best conversion efficiency than the others with different sucrose concentration modifications and the highest conversion efficiency reaches 5.55 %. The performance of P-25 with 0.08 g/mL sucrose made solar cell is 10.9% higher than that without sucrose modification TiO2 photoanode made solar cell and the performance of ST-21 with 0.08 g/mL sucrose made solar cell is 5.4% higher than that without sucrose modification.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Food Science." Includes bibliographical references.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends childhood immunization as one of the necessary preventive health measures to reduce the chance of contracting infectious diseases in children. Despite the proven benefits, immunization is associated with pain and management of immunization-induced pain has been neglected in current local practice. Administration of oral sucrose is found to be an effective pain-relieving intervention during routine immunizations as evidenced by seven systematic reviews. This simple intervention is encouraged to be carried out during routine immunizations in community settings such as Maternal and Child Health Centres in Hong Kong. Evidence-based practice guidelines and implementation plans are set up in carrying out the new practice. Stakeholders are identified with communication strategies noted. In addition, pilot testing and evaluation are also necessary to improve the new practice. It is expected that the implementation of the intervention can bring about obvious positive outcomes for infants, parents, nurses and the health care system by means of reducing infants’ pain and distress during routine immunizations. / published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing