The common shrew, Sorex araneus, has one of the most variable karyotypes among mammals, displaying numerous chromosomes races throughout its distribution, which can be categorized into different karyotypic groups. The objective of this thesis was to examine the postglacial population history of Fennoscandian common shrews using autosomal microsatellites, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and a Y chromosome specific microsatellite (L8Y). Autosomal microsatellites and mtDNA revealed weak genetic structure over a hybrid zone between the karyotypically divergent Northern and Western karyotypic groups. However, the genetic structure displayed by the Y chromosome microsatellite was orders of magnitude higher. Hence, considerable chromosomal differences between the groups do not prevent female gene flow, while male gene flow is reduced (cf. Haldane's rule). Further, the results suggest that the Haldane effect may be caused by the chromosomal differences between the karyotypic groups. No mtDNA differentiation was observed either between chromosome races or between the Northern and Western karyotypic groups in Fennoscandia. The combined pattern of karyotypic and mtDNA variation of Fennoscandian common shrews, suggest bi-directional postglacial recolonisation from a single refugium in Europe. The variation of the Y-linked microsatellite supported this conclusion. In contrast, significant mtDNA structure, discordant with the karyotypic variation, revealed that common shrews in southern Finland belong to a different lineage than remaining Fennoscandian regions, implying postglacial recolonisation from a different source. MtDNA variation of the chromosome races in Sweden supports the hypothesis that three races of the Western karyotypic group have been formed through whole arm reciprocal translocations (WARTs), as suggested by their mutual karyotypic variation. The variation of the molecular markers supports the theory of rapid karyotypic evolution in the common shrew.

Among better-educated employed workers, the fraction of full-time full-year (FTFY) workers is quite high and stable over time in the U.S. Among those with low education levels, however, this fraction is much lower and considerably more volatile. These observations suggest that the composition of unobserved skills is subject to sharp movements within low-educated employed workers, while the scale of these movements is potentially much smaller within high-educated ones. The standard college premium framework accounts for the observed shifts between education categories, but it cannot account for unobserved compositional changes within education categories. This thesis uses Heckman&#039 / s two-step estimator on repeated Current Population Survey cross sections to calculate a relative supply series that corrects for unobserved compositional shifts due to selection in and out of the FTFY status. We find that the well-documented deceleration in the growth rate of relative supply of college-equivalent workers after mid-1980s becomes even more pronounced once we correct for selectivity. This casts further doubt on the relevance of the plain skill-biased technical change hypothesis. We conclude that what happens to the within-group skill composition for low-educated groups is critical for fully understanding the trends in the relative supply of college workers in the United States.

Among better-educated employed workers, the fraction of full-time full-year (FTFY) workers is quite high and stable over time in the U.S. Among those with low education levels, however, this fraction is much lower and considerably more volatile. These observations suggest that the composition of unobserved skills is subject to sharp movements within low-educated employed workers, while the scale of these movements is potentially much smaller within high-educated ones. The standard college premium framework accounts for the observed shifts between education categories, but it cannot account for unobserved compositional changes within education categories. This thesis uses Heckman&#039 / s two-step estimator on repeated Current Population Survey cross sections to calculate a relative supply series that corrects for unobserved compositional shifts due to selection in and out of the FTFY status. We find that the well-documented deceleration in the growth rate of relative supply of college-equivalent workers after mid-1980s becomes even more pronounced once we correct for selectivity. This casts further doubt on the relevance of the plain skill-biased technical change hypothesis. We conclude that what happens to the within-group skill composition for low-educated groups is critical for fully understanding the trends in the relative supply of college workers in the United States.

Negli anni ’80, paesi in via di sviluppo (DCs) e paesi meno sviluppati (PMS) hanno subito cambiamenti strutturali, muovendosi da politiche di sostituzione di importazione a strategie di liberalizzazione. Questi paesi hanno assistito ad una crescita dinamica risultata dall’aumento della produttività dovuto alla maggiore esposizione delle industrie locali alla concorrenza, dall'aumento delle importazioni tecnologiche incarnate in capitale e in beni intermedi, e ad una maggiore diffusione di conoscenze e informazioni. Questo lavoro esamina come liberalizzazione commerciale ed aggiornamento tecnologico abbiano influito sull’occupazione in paesi DCs e PMS, e studia il fenomeno del cambiamento tecnologico skill biased. Si esaminano il settore manifatturiero turco tra il 1980-2001 e quello etiope tra il 1996-2004. Questo studio, basato sul System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM-SYS), implementa un quadro dinamico di due equazioni che raffigurano tendenze occupazionali a livello enterprise per lavoratori qualificati e non qualificati. I risultati confermano l'aspettativa teorica che DCs e LDC affrontano fenomeni di skill-biased technological change e incrementano il potere d’importazione di tecnologia, aumentando il divario d’occupazione tra lavoratori qualificati e non qualificati. Tuttavia, le cause specifiche di skill-bias e la portata del loro effetto possono variare in base a diverse infrastrutture istituzionali e capacità nazionali. / In the 1980's developing countries (DCs) and least developed countries (LDCs) underwent structural changes, moving from import substitution policies to liberalization strategies. These countries witnessed a dynamic growth effect that emerges from productivity growth due to increased exposure of local industries to competition, increased technological imports embodied in capital and intermediate goods, and to the transfer of knowledge. This work looks into the employment impact of trade liberalization and technological upgrading in DCs and LDCs, and studies the phenomenon of skill biased technological change in those countries. It takes the case of the Turkish manufacturing sector for the period 1980 - 2001, and the case of the Ethiopian manufacturing sector for the period 1996 - 2004. It deploys System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM-SYS) procedure to this effect, implementing a two-equation dynamic framework that depicts enterprise-level employment trends separately for skilled and unskilled workers. The results confirm the theoretical expectation that DCs and LDCs face the phenomena of skill-biased technological change and skill-enhancing technology import, both leading to increasing the employment gap between skilled and unskilled workers. However, the specific determinants of skill bias and the size of their effect can differ due to diverse institutional infrastructures and national capabilities.

Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.44-45).

Depuis des années, l’imagerie TEP des récepteurs 5-HT1A a permis une compréhension accrue du rôle physiopathologique de ces récepteurs. Toutefois les radiotraceurs actuels ne permettent pas d’évaluer le couplage entre récepteurs 5-HT1A et protéines G, susceptible d’être altéré au cours de pathologies. Les travaux effectués au cours de cette thèse visent à promouvoir l’utilisation de techniques d’imagerie translationnelles pour explorer le couplage des récepteurs 5-HT1A in vivo. La première partie a consisté à évaluer un agoniste des récepteurs 5-HT1A, le F13640, comme potentiel radiotraceur TEP. L’ensemble des résultats suggère que le [18F]F13640 est spécifique des récepteurs 5-HT1A couplés, avec des propriétés inédites par rapport aux radiotraceurs classiques.La deuxième partie a consisté à évaluer l’intérêt de l’imagerie des récepteurs 5-HT1A couplés. Les variations de densité de récepteurs couplés et totaux ont été comparées en autoradiographie postmortem au cours de la maladie d’Alzheimer. La fixation du [18F]F13640 dans l’hippocampe est diminuée dès les premiers stades, tandis que la fixation du [18F]MPPF n’est réduite qu’aux stades avancés. Ces observations démontrent la complémentarité entre traceurs agonistes et antagonistes des récepteurs 5-HT1A en imagerie TEP.La dernière partie s’est focalisée sur le concept d’agonisme biaisé, impliquant la possibilité de cibler différentes populations de récepteurs 5-HT1A en fonction de leur couplage aux protéines G. Le F13640 a été comparé au F15599 à doses pharmacologiques en imagerie TEP et en IRMf. Chez le rat, ces deux agonistes produisent des réponses hémodynamiques et métaboliques différentes. Chez le chat, ils diffèrent également en termes d’occupation des récepteurs et de réponse hémodynamique conséquente. L’ensemble des données est en faveur d’une stimulation préférentielle des récepteurs postsynaptiques par le F15599 par rapport aux autorécepteurs, contrairement au F13640 / Since the 1990s, PET imaging of 5-HT1A receptors has led to an increased understanding of the pathophysiological role of these receptors. However, the coupling between 5-HT1A receptors and G-proteins, which may be altered during pathologies, cannot be explored using current radiotracers. The work carried out in this thesis aims to promote the use of translational imaging techniques to explore the coupling of 5-HT1A receptors in vivo. In the first part, we evaluated the 5-HT1A receptor agonist F13640 as a PET radiotracer candidate. Taken together, the results suggest that [18F]F13640 binds specifically to coupled 5-HT1A receptors and displays novel properties and distribution pattern compared to classical 5-HT1A radiotracers. The second part was a proof-of-concept study regarding the interest of coupled 5-HT1A receptors imaging. Densities of coupled and total receptors were compared in postmortem autoradiography during Alzheimer’s disease. [18F]F13640 binding in hippocampus was decreased in the early stages, whereas [18F]MPPF binding was reduced in the advanced stages only. These results confirm the complementarity between 5-HT1A receptor agonists and antagonist tracers in PET imaging.In the last part we focused on the concept of biased agonism, which implies the possibility of targeting different populations of 5-HT1A receptors depending on their coupling with G-proteins. F13640 and F15599 were compared at pharmacological doses using PET and fMRI imaging. The two agonists produce different hemodynamic and metabolic responses in rat brain. They also differ in cat brain in terms of receptor occupancy and subsequent hemodynamic responses. Taken together, the results are consistent with a preferential stimulation of postsynaptic receptors over autoreceptors for F15599, in contrast with F13640

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:30:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ingrid Gomes.pdf: 1150103 bytes, checksum: 5903ef0526addf7bd4c13cd8b0b828e3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-03-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The proposal theme for this project of master is selected for its social relevance. A reflection about the role of the printing in the democracy through the analysis of magazines in the period that preceded the last elections for president in 2002. The objects of the analysis are periodics that affect important segments of brazilian society; the magazines CartaCapital (from September up to November), Primeira Leitura (from August up to November) and Veja (from September up to November). The politics subject is determined in the construction of the image presented of the candidate Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, which way these magazines treated in its editorial lines about the candidate.(AU) / As três imagens de Lula - Os posicionamentos das revistas CartaCapital, Primeira Leitura e Veja nas eleições para presidente em 2002. O tema proposto por este projeto de mestrado é selecionado pela sua relevância social: uma reflexão sobre o papel da imprensa na democracia através de análises de revistas no período que antecedeu as últimas eleições para presidente em 2002. Os objetos de análise são periódicos que atingem segmentos importantes da sociedade brasileira: as revistas CartaCapital (de setembro a novembro), Primeira Leitura (de agosto a novembro) e Veja (de setembro a novembro). O assunto definido para a análise é a construção da imagem apresentada do candidato Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, ou seja, de que maneira essas revistas trataram em suas linhas editoriais da figura do presidenciável em questão.(AU)

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No. of bitstreams: 1 teseDSFV.pdf: 5669668 bytes, checksum: 165ca1333f2345e5e1406b40a2c0548c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-08 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / In the case of composites materials, which presents the magnetoelectric coupling, there are so many questions about the influence of the microstructure on the coupled and uncoupled properties. Thereby, this work proposes the study of the grain size influence, of ferroelectric and magnetic phases, on the magnetic, electric and coupled properties in particulate magnetoelectric composites. In order to study the relationship property/microstructure in volumetric magnetoelectric composites, it was necessary to prepare samples with different average grain sizes, ie, the phases having average grain size in the order of micrometers or nanometers. To perform this study it was used as magnetic phase the CoFe2O4 and, as the ferroelectric phase, the [0,675] Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 – [0,325] PbTiO3, mixed in molar ratio 20/80 %, using techniques like micro ball milling (to reduce particle size) and high energy ball milling (to mixture the phases) during the powder syntheses, and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) to densify the bulk. Due the presence of secondary phases in sintered composites generated during the application of SPS, a processing protocol was created based on a post sintering thermal treatment, in PbO rich atmosphere, which allowed the reduction of secondary phases without, however, changing the average size of grain. These procedures resulted in composite material suitable for the investigations of the electrical, magnetic and magnetoelectric properties, considering the different microstructures obtained. The magnetoelectric composites showed the self-biased effect arising from the intrinsic strain generated in one phase over the other. It was observed the properties dependence, coupled or uncoupled, with average grain size of both phases. Furthermore, the magnetoelectric composites presented the selfbiased effect that appears due to intrinsic strain generated from one phase over the other. Moreover, the evolution of the magnetoelectric coefficient behavior as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field has been more dependent on the variation of the average grain size of the ferroelectric phase than the ferrimagnetic phase, which can be attributed to the largest amount of ferroelectric phase in the structure compound. / No caso de materiais compósitos, que apresentam o acoplamento magnetoelétrico, existem muitas questões sobre influência da microestrutura nas propriedades independentes e acopladas das fases. Dessa forma, este trabalho propõe o estudo da influência do tamanho médio de grão, tanto da fase ferroelétrica quanto da magnética, nas propriedades elétricas, magnéticas e de acoplamento em compósitos magnetoelétricos particulados. Com o objetivo de estudar a relação propriedade / microestrutura em compósitos magnetoelétricos volumétricos, fez-se necessária a preparação de amostras com tamanho médio de grão distintos, ou seja, as fases possuindo tamanho médio de grão na ordem de micrômetros ou nanômetros. Para a realização deste estudo, foi utilizada como fase magnética o CoFe2O4 e, como fase ferroelétrica, o [0,675] Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 – [0,325] PbTiO3, misturados na proporção molar 20/80, utilizando técnicas como micromoagem (para redução de partículas) e moagem de altas energias (para a mistura homogênea das fases) durante a síntese dos pós, e a de Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) para a densificação dos corpos cerâmicos compósitos. Devido à presença de fases secundárias nos compósitos sinterizados, geradas durante a aplicação de SPS, foi criado um protocolo de processamento baseado em tratamento térmico pós-sinterização, com atmosfera rica em PbO, o qual possibilitou a redução das fases secundárias sem, contudo, alterar os tamanhos médios de grão. Tais procedimentos resultaram em material compósito adequado à realização das investigações das propriedades elétricas, magnéticas e magnetoelétricas, considerando as diferentes microestruturas obtidas. Os compósitos magnetoelétricos apresentaram o efeito self-biased, que aparece devido ao strain intrínseco gerado de uma fase sobre a outra. Foi observada a dependência das propriedades, acopladas ou não, com o tamanho médio de grão de ambas as fases. Além disso, a evolução do comportamento do coeficiente magnetoelétrico em função da temperatura e do campo magnético se mostrou mais dependente da variação do tamanho médio de grão da fase ferroelétrica do que da ferrimagnética, fato que pode ser atribuído à maior quantidade de fase ferroelétrica na estrutura do composto.

<div> <p>Historically, natural products from plants, fungi, bacteria and animals have played an important role in the discovery of new drugs. In fact, it has been found that 34% of new FDA-approved drugs over the last 30 years were derived from natural products or their derivatives. Because of the chemical and structural diversity of natural products, they continue to be one of the best options for discovering novel compounds and scaffolds; this is especially true for compounds targeting the µ-, δ-, and κ- opioid receptors. However, traditional opioids such as morphine cause many therapeutically limiting side effects. Therefore, there have been immense efforts to develop opioids that avoid these side effects, with “signal-biased” compounds being an intense area of interest. The research presented here investigates of the biased mechanisms of compounds found in and derived from <i>Mitragyna speciosa</i>, also known as kratom, and <i>Picralima nitida</i>, also known as akuamma. Kratom and akuamma compounds are examined for their therapeutic potential in treating alcohol abuse and pain, respectively, two prevalent conditions with extreme societal and economic costs.</p> </div> <br>

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest group of membrane-bound receptors. Transmission of signals into the cell interior is mediated through the interactions of these receptors with other signaling molecules. Nowadays, a great attention is devoted to biased ligands which are able to alter the conformation of the receptor in a specific way and thus distinctly affect its function. This diploma thesis was focused on a study of µ-opioid receptor (MOR), which is important in nociception. The aim of this study was to find out, how the activation of MOR by specific biased ligands (morphine, endomorphin-2 and DAMGO) affects the function and the interactions of MOR with potential molecular partners (for example G proteins or β-arrestin) A method of siRNA interference was used to knock down the following selected signaling molecules: Gαi1, Gαi2, Gαi3, Gαz and β-arrestin2. The effect of biased ligands on lateral mobility of MOR in the plasma membrane and on activity of adenylyl cyclase (AC) was examined under these conditions. We observed a possible involvement of Gαz subunit in the lateral mobility of MOR after the effect of morphine and endomorphin-2. The lateral mobility of MOR was significantly increased in cells lacking Gαi2 or Gαi3 or β-arrestin2. In this case the MOR was in inactive state....