Pour lutter contre les maladies virales chez les plantes cultivées, il est important de développer des résistances génétiques. Dans ce contexte, les facteurs d’initiation de la traduction eIF4E jouent un rôle majeur dans la mise en place de résistance aux potyvirus, un groupe de virus à ARN nuisible pour les cultures. Fréquemment, des allèles naturels de résistances ont été sélectionnés dans les espèces à intérêt agronomique. Cependant, nombreuses sont les espèces ne possédant pas de résistance naturelle. Pour remédier à ce problème, j’étudie lors de ma thèse le pathosystème Arabidopsis thaliana-potyvirus afin d’élaborer de nouvelles sources de résistances, en vue d’étendre leur application aux plantes cultivables. Pour ceci, je crée artificiellement par mutagénèse dirigée des allèles de résistances dont je teste dans la plante la fonctionnalité ainsi que l’efficacité vis-à-vis de la résistance. En combinant ces allèles de résistance synthétiques avec d’autres résistances liées aux facteurs eIF4E, je vise à élargir le spectre de résistance aux potyvirus ainsi qu’à augmenter la durabilité de ces résistances. Cette étude permettra de prouver la faisabilité de ce système pour obtenir des plantes à large spectre de résistance avant de pouvoir ainsi l’appliquer aux plantes à intérêt agronomique. / The development of genetic resistance is important to avoid viral infections in cultivated crops. In this context, translation initiation factors eIF4E have a major role in resistance to potyviruses, a family of viruses damageable to crops. Although natural resistance alleles are often used in crops breeding, there are still species devoided of such natural resistance, making it impossible to develop genetic resistance. Using the Arabidopsis thaliana-potyviruses pathosystem, I aim at developing new sources of resistances as a proof of concept before considering their application to crop species. For this, I am developing artificial resistance alleles created by directed mutagenesis before testing them for both their functionality and their resistance efficiency in plants. By combining these synthetic resistance alleles with others eIF4E factors-mediated resistance, my aim is to enlarge resistance spectrum to potyviruses as well as to increase the resistance durability. This study will make proof of the feasibility of this system to obtain large spectrum resistance plants with the perspective of extending it to cultivated plants.

Conjugated macrocycles have emerged as novel structural motifs that modulate the electronic properties of organic molecules because of their strained and contorted structures. Cycloparaphenylenes, known as nanohoops, are a particularly attractive scaffold for the design of new types of carbon nanomaterials because of their size-selective synthesis, radially oriented π-systems and tunable electronic properties. The development of modular syntheses of nanohoops over the past decade should enable the preparation of substituted derivatives that can be tuned for applications in biology and materials science. Chapter I provides a brief overview of conjugated macrocycles recently reported in the literature with a discussion of the structural effects that are responsible for the remarkable properties of this class of molecules. Chapter II highlights a scalable and mild synthetic approach developed in our lab to prepare nanohoop conjugated macrocycles and expands the generality of this methodology with the formal synthesis of natural product Acerogenin E. Chapter III describes the synthesis of cycloparaphenylenes with versatile functional handles and uncovers the reactivity of the strain nanohoop backbone under reaction conditions that promote the formation of radical cations. Chapter IV takes advantage of the functional groups described in chapter III to develop the first example of nanohoops as a new class of biocompatible fluorophores. Chapter V details a novel synthetic approach that enables the incorporation of the linear acene pentacene into the nanohoop backbone and reports our findings on the impact that the macrocyclic structure has on the properties of this organic semiconductor. In summary, the findings discussed in this dissertation provide synthetic strategies for the selective functionalization of nanohoops and highlight this class of molecules as a novel scaffold for the design of new types of carbon nanomaterials. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the durability, toughness, and strength of Synthetic Fiber Reinforced Concrete after being immersed in five separate environments for one year at FAU SeaTech. The specimens were molded and reinforced with two-inch Polypropylene/Polyethylene Fibers in a concrete aggregate matrix and were cut into identical sizes. Some of these environments had accelerated parameters meant to increase degradation to simulate longevity and imitate harsh environments or seawater conditions. The environments consisted of: a high humidity locker (ideal conditions), submerged in the Intracoastal Waterway (FAU barge), seawater immersion, a wet and dry seawater immersion simulating a splash/tidal zone, and another in low pH seawater. The latter three were in an elevated temperature room (87-95°F) which produced more degradative properties. The specimens were monitored and the environments were controlled. The specimens were then evaluated using the IDT test method using force to initiate first-cracking and post-cracking behaviors. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Ebolavirus is responsible for a deadly hemorrhagic fever that has claimed thousands of lives in Africa and could become a global health threat. Because of the danger of infection, novel Ebola research is restricted to BSL-4 laboratories; this slows progress due to both the cost and expertise required to operate these laboratories. The development of a safe surrogate would speed research and reduce risk to researchers. Two highly conserved Ebola gene segments—from the glycoprotein and nucleoprotein genes—were designed with modifications preventing expression while maintaining sequence integrity, spliced into high copy number plasmids, cloned into E.coli, and tested for stability, safety, and potential research applications. The surrogates were stable over 2-3 months, had a negligible mutation rate (<0.165% over the experiment), and were detectable in human blood down to 5.8E3-1.17E4 surrogates/mL. These protocols could be used to safely simulate other pathogens and promote infectious disease treatment and detection research. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This thesis is built upon two areas of research concerning metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The first focuses on the functionalisation of MOFs via post-synthetic modification (PSM). The second involves the investigation on the potential of MOFs as hosts for insect pheromones. Chapter 1 introduces the field of MOF chemistry, and covers their properties along with a brief description of their applications. The concept of PSM is introduced and a review of recent literature given. The aims of the thesis are also detailed at the end of this chapter. Chapter 2 describes the PSM of [Zr6O4(OH)4(BDC-NH2)6], UiO-66-NH2, via Aza-Michael reactions. Different functionalities were successfully introduced into its pores and the degrees of conversion were determined via 1H NMR spectroscopy. Gas sorption measurements (CO2 and N2) of the PSM products were carried out and compared. In particular, two PSM products were shown to exhibit higher CO2 over N2 selectivity than that for the starting MOF, UiO-66-NH2. Chapter 3 describes a new PSM route in obtaining azole-functionalised MOFs via Mannich reactions. The amino groups in three different MOFs were converted into a range of azole-functionalised MOFs with conversions up to 100%. In particular, one of the PSM reactions afforded a new material, formulated as [Zn3(BDC-NH2)1.32(BDC-NHCH2N2C3H3)1.68(C6H12N2)], based on single crystal X-ray crystallography, 1H NMR and TGA analyses. Gas sorption studies demonstrate increased selectivity for CO2 over N2 for the PSM products. One of the modified MOFs was shown to exhibit a high Hg(II) uptake from aqueous solutions. Chapter 4 introduces the concept of using MOFs as hosts for ant pheromones. The factors which influenced the pheromone loading in zinc and zirconium based MOFs were investigated. The MOFs containing the linker BDC-NHPr (2-(propylamino)benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate) were found to be effective at hosting two types of ant pheromones, 3-octanone and (S)-4-methyl-3-heptanone.

The goal of this project was to clone and express the antimicrobial peptide protegrin 1 (PG-1). Initially a yeast system was chosen but was discarded due to technical difficulties. Invitrogen's bacterial T7 expression system was chosen next to express the peptide. PG-1 expression was verified by anti-his immunoblot and then the peptide was purified by IMAC. Its activity was verified using a Bacillus subtillis radial diffusion assay.

The cement industry contributes around 5-7% of man-made CO2 emissions globally because of the Portland Cement (PC) production. Therefore, innovative reactive magnesia cement, with significant sustainable and technical advantages, has been proposed by blending reactive MgO and hydraulic binders in various proportions. MgO is currently produced from the calcination of magnesite (MgCO3), emitting more CO2 than the production of PC, or from seawater/brine which is also extremely energy intensive. Hence this research aims to investigate an innovative method to produce MgO from reject brine, a waste Mg source, through carbon sequestration, by its reaction with CO2, to provide a comparable low carbon manufacturing process due to the recycling of CO2. The produced deposits are then calcined to oxides with potential usage in construction industry. The entire system is a closed loop to achieve both environmental optimisation and good productivity. This research focuses on the chemical manufacturing process, integrated with material science knowledge and advancements, instead of concentrating purely on chemistry evaluations. Six series of studies were conducted, utilising MgCl2, CaCl2, MgCl2-CaCl2, MgCl2-CaCl2-NaCl, and MgCl2-CaCl2-NaCl-KCl to react with CO2 under alkaline conditions. The precipitates include hydrated magnesium carbonates, calcium carbonates and magnesian calcite. Generated carbonates were then calcined in a furnace to obtain MgO, CaO or dolime (CaO•MgO). All six series of carbonation processes were carried out under a controlled pH level, to study the constant pH’s effect on the process and resulting precipitates. Other controllable factors include pH, temperature, initial concentration, stirring speed, and CO2 flux rate. In conclusion, the optimum parameters for the production of the carbonated precipitates are: 0.25MgCl2 + 0.05CaCl2 + 2.35NaCl + 0.05KCl, 700rpm stirring speed, 25oC room temperature, pH=10.5, and 500cm3/min CO2 infusion rate. Reaction time is within a day. These parameters are chosen based on the sequestration level, particle performance morphology and the operational convenience. The optimum calcination parameters are at 800oC heating temperature with a 4h retention time.

Thesis. 1976. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Engineering. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Julian A. LoRusso. / M.S.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Synthetic chemistry has played a pivotal role in the evolution of modern life. More recently, the emerging field of synthetic biology holds the promise to bring about a paradigm shift with designer microbes to renewably synthesize complex molecules in a fraction of the time and cost. Still, given synthetic chemistry’s superior parsing powers to access a greater number of unnatural end products and nature’s virtuosity at stitching a staggering palette of carbon frameworks with ease, a hybrid approach that leverages the respective strengths of the two fields could prove advantageous for the efficient production of valuable natural molecules and their analogs. In a first demonstration of the hybrid approach where the biosynthesized intermediate is not part of the target molecule’s biosynthetic pathway, we engineered E. coli to produce Z,E-farnesol, which we subsequently transformed into a library of novel analogs of the commercially important amber fragrance Ambrox®, including the first synthetic patchouli scent. In a second demonstration of the hybrid approach, we produced the valuable tocotrienols (vitamin E) from yeast-produced geranylgeraniol in a single step C–C coupling with concomitant regioselective cycloetherification of the most proximal vinyl of the polyene, the first such process of its kind. The novel acid catalyst system that allowed for this unique regioselective cyclization holds promise as an asymmetric proton transfer tool and could open the door to facile asymmetric synthesis of vitamin E and other molecules.