Nesta tese utilizamos o Modelo de Bose-Hubbard (MBH) generalizado para duas espécies bosonicas para investigar a estabilidade dinâmica da fase superfluida de uma mistura binaria de átomos bosonicos ultra-frios confinados em uma rede optica periódica anelar com M sítios. Na primeira parte consideramos a Hamiltoniana do MBH sem a presença do tunelamento inter-especies. Deduzimos e resolvemos as equações de Gross-Pitaevskii para os estados de equilíbrio do MBH e mostramos que são misturas binarias de condensados nos quais os átomos de cada espécie ocupam um estado de quase-momento q bem definido. As excitações elementares foram determinadas resolvendo as equações de Bogoliubov-de Gennes o que foi possível graças a estrutura de acoplamento dos quase-momentos que reduziu a Hamiltoniana Efetiva a uma soma direta de um dubleto e quadrupletos. Através da analise do comportamento das energias de excitação como função dos parâmetros de controle do sistema, investigamos a estabilidade dinâmica de dois casos de misturas de condensados onde, em um caso, os átomos de cada espécie ocupam o mesmo estado de quase-momento, qA = qB e, no outro, quase-momentos opostos, qA = qB. Em ambos os casos as condições de estabilidade dependem do quase-momento q estar nos quartos centrais ou laterais da primeira zona de Brillouin. No caso qA = qB vemos que a forma do diagrama de estabilidade independe do quase-momento do condensado. Por outro lado, o mesmo não ocorre nos condensados contra-propagantes qA = qB. Esta diferença fica mais acentuada no limite termodinâmico onde os diagramas de estabilidade no centro e nas extremidades da primeira zona de Brillouin ficam idênticos nos dois casos. Já nas bordas que separam os quartos centrais e laterais o comportamento ´e diferente pois a presença de uma interação interespécies por menor que seja desestabiliza completamente a mistura com qA = qB. Em todos estes casos ficou evidente o papel desestabilizador da interação interespécies. Na segunda parte consideramos o efeito de um termo de tunelamento inter-especies. As soluções das equações de Gross-Pitaevskii revelam uma estrutura biestável de estados de equilíbrio essencial para a ocorrência de bifurcação no sistema e, portanto, a presença de catástrofe. Investigamos se a catástrofe e acessível a uma observação experimental. De acordo com nosso critério, esta observação e impossível se o plano de bifurcação for a fronteira de um domínio de instabilidade dinâmica. Através da analise da estabilidade dinâmica dos estados de equilíbrio vimos que para um sistema invariante por inversão de cor essa resposta depende apenas da razão entre as intensidades de tunelamento intra e inter-especies de modo que se JAB/J > 1 a observação e impossível e se JAB/J < 1 é possível, supondo existir uma rota adiabática ate a bifurcação. / In this thesis we used the two-component Bose-Hubbard Model (BHM) to investigate the dynamical stability of the superfluid phase of a binary mixture of ultra-cold bosonic atoms confined in a ring-shaped periodic optical lattice with M sites. In the first part we considered the BHM Hamiltonian without the presence of interspecies tunnelling. We deduced and solved the Gross-Pitaevskii equations for the equilibrium states of the BHM and showed that they are binary mixtures of condensates where the atoms of each species occupy a state of well defined quasi-momentum q. The elementary excitations were determined solving the Bogoliubov-de-Gennes equations which was possible thanks to the coupling structure of the quasi-momenta that reduced the Effective Hamiltonian to a direct sum of a doublet and quadriplets. Through the analysis of the behavior of the excitation energies as a function of the control parameters of the system, we investigated the dynamical stability of two cases of mixtures of condensates where, in one case, the atoms of each specie occupy the same state of quasi-momentum, qA = qB, and, in the other, opposite quasi-momentum, qA = qB. In both cases the stability conditions depend of the quasi-momentum q to be in the central or lateral quarters of the first Brillouin zone. In the case qA = qB, we see that the form of the stability diagram is not dependent of the quasi-momentum of the condensate. However, the same does not occur in the counter-propagating condensates qA = qB. This difference is accentuated in the thermodynamic limit where the stability diagrams in the center and in the extremities of the first Brillouin zone are identical in both cases. In the borders that separate the central and lateral quarters the behavior is different because the presence of a slightly non vanishing inter-species interaction completely destabilize the mixture with qA = qB. In all these cases it was evident the destabilizing role of the inter-species interaction. In the second part we considered the effect of a inter-species tunnelling term. The solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii equations reveal a bi-stable structure of equilibrium states that is essential for the occurrence of the bifurcation in the system and, therefore, the presence of catastrophe. We investigated if the catastrophe is accessible to a experimental observation. According to our criteria, this observation is impossible if the bifurcation plane is the frontier of a dynamical instability domain. Through the analysis of the dynamical stability of the equilibrium states we saw that for a system invariant by color inversion this answer depends only on the ratio between the intra and inter-species tunnelling intensities in a way that if JAB/J > 1 the observation is impossible and if JAB/J < 1 it is possible, supposing that it exists an adiabatic route until the bifurcation.

Orientador: Araí Augusta Bernárdez Pécora / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T01:52:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ramirez-Quintero_DeyberAlexander_M.pdf: 57776826 bytes, checksum: 709c4f673f8b985e10d70c951d88de9d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: A aplicação de biomassas em processos de geração de energia como a combustão, pirólise e gaseificação, operando com a tecnologia de leito fluidizado, tem merecido atenção crescente nas últimas décadas. Esses sistemas necessitam da adição de partículas de material inerte que ajudam a promover uma fluidização estável, permitindo a melhoria da eficiência de tais processos. Dentre as biomassas com potencial para geração de energia sustentável está o bambu, material que apresenta propriedades semelhantes às de outras biomassas utilizadas em processos de geração de energia, com a vantagem de apresentar rápido crescimento, fácil propagação, regeneração vigorosa, maturidade rápida. O objetivo deste projeto foi estudar o comportamento fluidodinâmico de misturas de partículas de areia e bambu (in natura e na forma de carvão proveniente de processo de pirólise) visando à obtenção de parâmetros inerentes à fluidização dessas misturas, bem como analisar o efeito da degradação térmica da partícula de bambu sobre a fluidização do leito. A análise foi realizada a partir do levantamento experimental da curva fluidodinâmica em sistema de leito fluidizado operando a frio, com diferentes composições das misturas bambu-areia e carvão-areia. Adicionalmente foi verificada a influência do tamanho das partículas de areia e da altura estática do leito sobre a fluidodinâmica do leito. Os resultados mostraram que a melhor qualidade da fluidização do leito contendo partículas de bambu in natura foi obtida usando a areia identificada como areia 3 (diâmetro médio de 460 µm), relação entre a altura estática do leito e o diâmetro do leito igual à unidade (H/D = 1) e máximo teor de biomassa no leito igual a 5% (em massa). No entanto, esse tamanho areia não forneceu boas condições de fluidização para a mistura carvão-areia. A utilização da Umf do material inerte para o projeto de reatores de pirólise, utilizando partículas de bambu como combustível, não é recomendável, uma vez que a presença de apenas 5 % (em massa) de bambu in natura aumenta o valor da Umf em 20 %, enquanto que esse aumento é de 10 % no leito contendo carvão de bambu. Espera-se que os resultados obtidos neste estudo forneçam dados úteis para o projeto de reatores que utilizam a tecnologia de leito fluidizado. Pretende-se também contribuir para o entendimento da fluidodinâmica de sistemas que utilizam misturas de biomassas e areia para geração de energia / Abstract: The use of biomass in power generation processes such as combustion, pyrolysis and gasification, operating with the fluidized bed technology, has received increasing attention in recent decades. These systems require the addition of inert particles to promote a stable fluidization, allowing the improvement of process efficiency. Among the biomasses with potential for sustainable power generation is bamboo, which presents similar properties to other biomasses used in energy generation processes, with the advantage of rapid growth, easy propagation, vigorous regeneration and quick maturity. In addition, its properties allow the recovery of environmentally degraded areas. The objective of this research was to study the hydrodynamics behavior of fluidized beds composed by mixtures of sand and bamboo particles (in natura and in the form of coal from pyrolysis process). Parameters inherent to fluidization of these mixtures, as well as the effect of thermal degradation on the fluidization process of bamboo particles are analysed. The analysis was performed from hydrodynamics curves obtained in an experimental system operating at room temperature, with different compositions of bamboo in nature and bio-char in the bed. Additionally, the influences of sand particle size and static bed height on the fluidized bed hydrodynamics were verified. Results showed that the best quality of fluidization of the studied mixtures was achieved using sand particles 460 ?m diameter (sand 3), static bed height and column diameter ratio equal to unity (H/D = 1) and maximum weight fraction of bamboo in the bed equal to 5%. However, this size of sand particles did not provide a good quality of fluidization for coal-sand mixture. The Umf of the inert material is not recommended to be used in the design of pyrolysis reactors as the addition of 5 wt% of bamboo in natura in the bed causes an increment of 20 % on Umf while this increment is 10 % for the bed containing bamboo char. Results obtained from this study could provide useful data for the design of fluidized bed reactors that operate with bamboo particles. It is also intended to contribute on understanding the hydrodynamics behavior of fluidized beds using mixtures of biomass and sand for power generation / Mestrado / Termica e Fluidos / Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

Thesis advisor: Gabor J. Kalman / Mixtures of charged particles, where the components have different charge numbers (Z_A ), masses (m_A ) and densities (n_A ), with A = 1, 2 denoting the components, occur in Nature in a great variety. To be sure, even the simplest plasmas are necessarily multicomponent systems, consisting of negative and positive charges. This feature is, however, obscured within the centrally important and popular OCP (one component plasma) or jellium models, where the role of one of the components is reduced to providing a neutralizing background. When this background is inert, one is led to the Coulomb OCP model, while when the background is polarizable (such as an electron gas surrounding heavy particles), to a Yukawa OCP (YOCP), with a screened Yukawa potential replacing the Coulomb potential between the dynamically active particles. There are, however situations of physical importance, where the OCP description is inadequate and a genuine two component description of a plasma composed of two species is required. This Thesis focuses on the study of the dynamics of many-body systems consisting of two components of like charges (all the Z_A -s being of the same signature) in a neutralizing background. The methodology is based upon parallel attacks through theoretical analysis and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, the latter yielding the capability of instant verification of the former. The investigation involves the study of the partial (i.e. species by species) structure functions S_AB (k, ω) and current-current correlation functions L_AB (k, ω). The Fluctuation–Dissipation Theorem (FDT) con- nects these quantities to the total and partial response functions χ_AB (k, ω) (matrices in species space), which are instrumental in the description of the collective mode excitations of the system. This analysis has revealed an entirely novel feature: both S_11 (k, ω) and S_22 (k, ω) exhibit very sharp and deep (several orders of magnitude) minima in the strongly coupled liquid phase at robust characteristic frequencies of the system, which are virtually coupling independent. The FDT then demands that these anti-resonances show up as well in the imaginary part of the partial density response function χ_AB (k, ω). Our theoretical analysis, based on the Quasi-Localized Charge Approximation (QLCA), has confirmed that this is indeed the case. These anti-resonant frequencies being related to the dissipative part of the response, require a physical description of the principal source of dissipation. This has been identified as the inter-species momentum transfer, governed by drag between the microscopic current fluctuations of the two species. The description of this effect was incorporatedv in the QLCA formalism, making it possible to derive a closed analytic representation of the fluctuation spectra in the frequency domain of interest and compare them with the results of the MD simulations. Other important novel concepts, such as the idea of coupling dependent effective mass, fast vs. slow sound, the mechanism of tran- sition from short-range to long-range interaction have been identified and analyzed. Furthermore, the investigation of the dynamics has led to the first comprehensive description of the mode structures of classical binary Coulomb and Yukawa mixtures at arbitrary coupling values, which has been a longstanding problem in statistical plasma physics. Focusing on the longitudinal excitations, we describe the transition from weak coupling (where one is acquainted with the RPA result yielding only the single plasmon mode in the Coulomb case or a single acoustic mode in the Yukawa case) to strong coupling, with a doublet of modes that arise from the complex rel- ative motion between the two components, as affected by the interaction with the background. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

In this work, we use pulsed-field gradient (PFG) NMR to probe molecular diffusion of liquids inside mesoporous structures and assess the influence of surface modifications, namely, deposition of palladium (Pd) nanoparticles over alumina (Al2O3) surfaces and passivation of titania (TiO2) surfaces with alkyl chains, on the diffusion pattern.

<p>  </p> <p>From applications in nanoscale electronics to regenerative medicine, there is a strong need for control assembly processes at nanometer length scales.1,2 In this work, we investigate the application of microscale droplet delivery as a rapid and scalable approach to pattern the molecular assembly of nanoscale chemical patterns on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). Furthermore, it was also observed that variations in the blend of alkyl impurities present in technical-grade OLAm reagents influenced the temperature-dependent assembly behavior.13 This suggests a likely role of alkyl chain phase transitions in the ligand shell, particularly in more complex mixtures and for anisotropic nanocrystals.</p> <p>Oleylamine (OLAm) is a common technical-grade reagent used in nanocrystal synthesis. Most nanocrystal synthesis is done using technical grade Oleylamine (70% purity). Higher purity reagents are not readily available because in certain instances, technical grades are obtained from natural substances, resulting in differing impurities compared to those generated during preparative reactions using pure raw materials.3 Technical grade reagents of OLAm contain 70% of the cis chain OLAm and 30% of an unspecified mixture of Elaidylamine (ELAm) , Octadecylamine (ODAm) and segments of various lengths and saturated alkyl chains.4,5 Here, we use Differential Scanning Calorimetry thermograms to investigate the miscibility of binary mixtures of OLAm/ELAm, OLAm/ODAm, and ELAm/ODAm. Ternary mixtures of the lipids showed clear peaks for the trans and saturated impurities.</p> <p>We patterned graphite surfaces with amphiphiles via inkjet printing to quickly generate 1-nm-wide functional patterns. Inkjet printing allowed for long-scale hierarchical patterning. We investigated various ink formulations and the resulting printing quality of functional monolayers on 2D crystalline materials. </p>

The thesis presents detailed results of theoretical analyses based on extensive computer simulation studies with an aim to explore, quantify whenever possible, and understand structure and dynamics of polymers and proteins in several complex solvents. In order to make the Thesis coherent, we also study certain aspects of binary mixtures. Based on the phenomena studied, the thesis has been divided into four major parts: I. Dynamics of biological water: Distance dependent variation of dielectric constants in aqueous protein solutions II. Temperature dependent study of structural transformations in aqueous binary mixtures III. Conformation and dynamics of polymers in solution: Role of aqueous binary mixtures IV. Conformational change and unfolding dynamics of proteins: Role of sol-vent environment The above mentioned four parts have further been divided into thirteen chapters. In the following we provide a brief chapter-wise outline of the thesis. Part I consists of two chapters, where we focus on the study of dynamics of biological water and distance dependent variation of static and dynamic proper-ties (including dielectric constant) of water near different proteins. To start with, chapter 1 provides an introduction to the structure and dynamics of biological water. Here we discuss different experimental studies; including dielectric relaxation, NMR and salvation dynamics those explore the bimolecular hydration dynamics in great detail. We also discuss the wide range of computer simulation and theoretical studies that have been carried out to understand the dynamical behaviour of biological water. In chapter 2, we present our molecular dynamics simulation study to ex-plore the distance dependent static and dynamic behaviour of biological water near four different protein surfaces. Proteins are known to have large permanent dipole moments that can influence structure and dynamics of even distant water molecules. Therefore, distance dependence of polarization punctuation can provide important insight into the nature of biological water. We explore these aspects by studying aqueous solutions of four different proteins of different char-acteristics and varying sizes. We find that the calculated dielectric constants of the systems show a noticeable increment in all the cases compared to that of neat water. Total dipole moment auto time correlation function of water is found to be sensitive to the nature of the protein. We also define and calculate the effective dielectric constant of successive layers and find that the layer adjacent to protein always has significantly lower value (∼ 50). However, progressive layers exhibit successive increment of dielectric constant, finally reaching a value close to that of bulk 4–5 layers away. Theoretical analysis providing simple method for calculation of shellwise local dielectric constant and implication of these findings are elaborately discussed in this chapter. Part II deals with the temperature dependent study of aqueous DMSO and ethanol solutions and consists of three chapters. Chapter 3 provides a general introduction to the non-ideality (deviation from Raoult’s law) encountered in different binary mixtures. We discuss different theoretical models for treatment of binary mixtures. Finally we provide a systematic study about the non-ideality observed in aqueous binary mixtures. Here we discuss the anomalies observed in such systems and carry out a brief survey on the existing ideas of structural transformations associated with the solvation of a foreign molecule in water. In chapter 4, we discuss the results of temperature dependent study of struc-tural and dynamic properties of aqueous dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) mixture. It is now well-known that aqueous DMSO mixture exhibits signature of perco-lation driven structural aggregation at a mole fraction range xDMSO ≈ 0.15. We study the structural and dynamical change in this binary mixture below and above the percolation threshold along with decreasing temperature. Significant change in the molecular structure of DMSO as well as that of water is observed above the percolation threshold at a lower temperature, particularly at 200K. The structural arrangement of the DMSO molecules is found to be progressively more ordered with increasing DMSO concentration and decreasing temperature. On the other hand, water structure is found to be significantly deviated from tetrahedral arrangement in presence of DMSO clusters even at low temperature. The dynamics of water is also found to be considerably affected with increase of concentration and lowering of temperature. Similar phenomenon is observed for another amphiphilic molecule, ethanol, and has been discussed in chapter 5. Aqueous ethanol mixture is a widely studied solvent, both experimentally and using computer simulations. All the studies indicate several distinct salvation regimes. In recent molecular dynamics simulation studies, the reason for formation of micro-aggregates of ethanol is again attributed to percolation driven structural transformation. We carry out a temperature dependent study of water-ethanol binary mixture, particularly at low ethanol concentration to understand the molecular origin of such structural transformation. We find that the structural arrangement of ethanol as well as water molecules is similarly affected as that of DMSO with lowering of temperature. However, dynamics of water molecules in aqueous ethanol solution is found to be marginally affected, unlike the case of aqueous DMSO solution. We discuss the microscopic reason for such behaviour in a detailed manner. In Part III, we discuss the dynamics of linear polymer chains in different aqueous binary mixtures. Here we have three chapters. In chapter 6, we carry out a brief survey of the existing theories of polymers in solution. We discuss the quality of solvents depending on the preferred interactions between the polymer and the solvent or the polymer with its own. We also discuss the celebrated Flory-Huggins theory. We derive the expression of free energy of the Flory-Huggins theory in terms of the volume fraction of monomer and solvent molecules. In chapter 7, we discuss the results of our study of polymer dynamics in aqueous DMSO solution. We find that at a mole fraction 0.05 of DMSO (xDMSO ≈ 0.05) in aqueous solution, a linear polymer chain of intermediate length (n=30) adopts collapsed conformation as the most stable conformational state. The same chain exhibits an intermittent oscillation between the collapsed and the extended coiled conformations in neat water. Even when the mole fraction of DMSO in the bulk is 0.05, the concentration of the same in the first hydration layer around the polymer is found to be as large as 17 %. Formation of such hydrophobic environment around the hydrocarbon chain may be viewed as the reason for the collapsed conformation gaining additional stability. We find a second anomalous behaviour to emerge near xDMSO ≈ 0.15 that is attributed to the percolation driven structural aggregation of DMSO that lowers the relative concentration of the DMSO molecules in the hydration layer. In chapter 8, we carry out similar study of linear polymer chain in water– ethanol binary mixture. In this case also, we find a sudden collapse of the poly-merat xEtOH ≈ 0.05. Since ethanol molecules are known to form micro-aggregates in this concentration range, stability of collapsed state of polymer at this con-centration is anticipated to be correlated to this phenomenon. In fact, a purely hydrophobic polymer chain, in its collapsed form is anticipated to assist in the formation of spanning cluster comprised of hydrophobic ethyl groups at this concentration range thereby facilitating the percolation transition. We discuss these prospects in this chapter. Part IV deals with the solvent sensitivity to the conformational change and unfolding dynamics of protein. Part IV consists of five chapters. In chapter 9, we develop an understanding of protein folding and unfolding dynamics by discussing the fundamental theories developed in the last few decades. We also discuss the major role of solvents in stabilizing or destabilizing the native, ordered state. In chapter 10, we present a detailed study of unfolding of a small protein, chicken villin headpiece (HP36) in water-ethanol binary mixture, using molecular dynamics simulations. The prime objective of this work is to explore the sensitivity of protein dynamics towards increasing concentration of the cosolvent and unravel essential features of intermediates formed in the unfolding path-way. In water–ethanol binary mixtures, HP36 is found to unfold partially, under ambient conditions, that otherwise requires temperature as high as ∼ 600K to denature in pure aqueous solvent. The study unravels certain interesting aspects about the pathway of unfolding, guided by the formation of unique intermediates. Unfolding is initiated by the separation of hydrophoic core comprising three phenylalanine residues (Phe7, Phe11, Phe18). This separation initiates the melting of the helix2 of the protein. However, with an increase of cosolvent concentration different partially unfolded intermediates are found to be formed. We attribute the emergence of such partially unfolded states to the preferential solvation of hydrophobic residues by the ethyl groups of ethanol. We explore and subsequently quantify the detailed dynamics of unfolding in water-ethanol that appear to be more complex and sensitive to solvent composition. With an aim to develop a general understanding of the role of water–ethanol binary mixture in facilitating anomalous conformational dynamics of proteins, we carry out combined theoretical and experimental studies to explore detailed structural change of a larger protein, Myoglobin with increasing ethanol concentration. These studies are described in chapter 11. In agreement with our pre-vious observations, we identify in this case two well-defined structural regimes, one at xEtOH ≈ 0.05 and the other at xEtOH ≈ 0.25, characterized by formation of distinct partially folded conformations and separated by a unique partially unfolded intermediate state at xEtOH ≈ 0.15. We also find non-monotonic com-position dependence of (i) radius of gyration (ii) long range contact order (iii) residue specific solvent accessible surface area of tryptophan (iv) circular dichro-ism spectra and UV-absorption peaks. Multiple structural transformations, well-known in water-ethanol binary mixture, appear to have considerably stronger effects on the conformation and dynamics of protein Myoglobin. In chapter 12, we explore the free energy surface of unfolding pathway through umbrella sampling, for the small globular alpha-helical protein chicken-villin headpiece (HP36) in three different solvent conditions (water, xDMSO ≈ 0.15 and xDMSO ≈ 0.3). Recently established as a facilitator of helix melting, DMSO is found to be a good denaturant for HP36 and at a mole fraction of xDMSO ≈ 0.3, complete melting of the protein is ensured. The unfolding proceeds through initial separation or melting of the same aggregated hydrophobic core that com-prises three phenylalanine residues (Phe7, Phe11 and Phe18) accompanied by simultaneous melting of the helix2. Unfolding is found to be a multistage process involving crossing of three consecutive minima and two barriers at the initial stage. At a molecular level, Phe18 is observed to reorient itself towards other hy-drophobic grooves to stabilize the intermediate states. We identify the configuration of intermediates in all the solvent conditions which are found to be unique for the corresponding minima with similar structural arrangement. Consider-able softening of the barriers is observed with increasing DMSO concentration. Higher concentration of DMSO tunes the unfolding pathway by destabilizing the third minimum and stabilizing the second one, indicating the development of solvent modified, less rugged pathway. Chapter 13 provides a detailed microscopic mechanism of DMSO induced unfolding of HP36. We analyze the free energy contours of the protein HP36, obtained from molecular dynamics simulation in xDMSO ≈ 0.15 and xDMSO ≈ 0.3. The most probable intermediates obtained from the free energy contours are found to be similar to those obtained from umbrella sampling which again sup-ports the fact that the melting proceeds through formation of a series of unique intermediates. We characterize the preferential hydrophobic salvation of the hydrophobic core that drives the melting of secondary structure, by calculating time dependent radial distribution function and identifying the formation of strong orientation order between methyl groups of DMSO and phenyl alanine residues. Finally we employ Kramer’s rate equation to calculate the rate of bar-rier crossing that reveals significantly faster rate of unfolding with increasing DMSO concentration that is in agreement with simulation results. Whenever possible, we have discussed the scope of future work at the end of each chapter.

Le système trigéminal –tout comme l’olfaction et la gustation– est un sens chimique qui permet la perception des informations chimiosensorielles de notre environnement. Contrairement à l’olfaction et à la gustation, notre connaissance du traitement des mélanges par le système trigéminal est limitée. Nous avons donc utilisé des mélanges de trois agonistes relativement spécifiques à des récepteurs (eucalyptol, agoniste TRPM8; aldéhyde cinnamique, agoniste TRPA1 ; camphre, agoniste TRPV1) et d’une odeur pure (alcool phényléthylique) dans différentes proportions afin de déterminer les dimensions de base de la perception trigéminale. Quatre dimensions principales se sont avérées pertinentes: l’intensité, la sensation de chaleur, la sensation de froid et la douleur. Nous avons utilisé ces dimensions pour étudier la perception de mélanges et de combinaisons dans différentes proportions d’un stimulus qui procure une sensation de froid (eucalyptol) et d’un stimulus qui procure une sensation de chaleur (aldéhyde cinnamique). Les résultats indiquent que les mélanges obtiennent généralement des scores plus élevés que les combinaisons sur les dimensions « intensité », « sensation de chaleur » et « douleur » alors que les combinaisons obtiennent des scores plus élevés sur la dimension « sensation de froid ». Ces résultats suggèrent des interactions spécifiques pour les différentes dimensions de la perception trigéminale. Nous en venons à la conclusion d’un effet d’additivité pour les mélanges sur les dimensions « intensité », « sensation de chaleur » et « douleur » alors que nous observons plutôt un effet de suppression de la perception de froid pour les deux stimuli dans les mélanges, ce qui semble indiquer des interactions particulières pouvant prendre place aux niveaux périphérique ou central. / The trigeminal system – along with smell and taste – is a chemical sense that allows the perception of chemosensory information in our environment. However, contrary to smell and taste, we lack knowledge of the trigeminal processing of mixtures. We therefore investigated trigeminal perception using mixtures of three relatively receptor specific agonists (eucalyptol, TRPM8 agonist; cinnamaldehyde, TRPA1 agonist and camphor, TRPV1 agonist) together with one control odor (phenyl ethyl alcohol or PEA) in different proportions to determine basic dimensions of trigeminal perception. Four main dimensions were proven relevant to trigeminal perception: intensity, warmth sensation, cold sensation and pain sensation. Subsequently, we used these dimensions to investigate perception of mixtures and combinations of trigeminal stimuli using different concentrations of a cooling stimulus (eucalyptol) with a stimulus which evokes warmth perception (cinnamaldehyde). Results showed mixtures generally yielded higher ratings than combinations on the trigeminal dimensions “intensity”, “warm” and “painful” whereas combinations yielded higher ratings than mixtures on the trigeminal dimension “cold”. These results suggest dimension specific interactions in the perception of trigeminal mixtures. For the mixtures we used, we reach the conclusion of additivity for the dimensions “intensity”, “warm” and “painful”; we observed suppression of the cold perception of both stimuli in mixtures suggesting particular interactions which may take place on peripheral or central levels.

Crop production provides the food and fiber necessary to sustain the world\'s population. Effective weed management is critical to maintaining agricultural productivity. Intensive or continuous use of herbicides that act on the same target site, or are detoxified by similar processes within crops and target weeds frequently results in the development of weeds resistant to a specific herbicide or class of herbicides. Weed resistance due to the extensive use of glyphosate in glyphosate tolerant crop systems has become one of the most serious issues facing agriculture today. Thus PPO-inhibitor herbicides are an alternative mechanism of action that have the potential to mitigate the development of resistant weeds in weed control systems where crop tolerance is sufficient to allow them to be effectively deployed. While there are few reports of weed resistance to PPO-inhibitor herbicides it has not developed to the extent that it is a commercial problem for growers. When used at recommended doses, they typically have favorable regulatory profiles. Furthermore, most of them are highly compatible with no-tillage agriculture. However, PPO-inhibitor herbicides are typically more active on dicots than monocots. This thesis provides information with regards to effectiveness of certain binary mixtures of PPO herbicides as weed control agents. The mixtures showed synergistic effects and could control monocots as Echinochloa crus-galli and volunteer corn besides control the dicots species. Regarding the compounds studied, trifludimoxazin and flumioxazin required less amount of compound to inhibit 50% of PPO2 activity in all plants species tested, while sulfentrazone and saflufenacil, one of the best mixtures in the field, showed that needed bigger concentrations to inhibit 50% of the PPO2 compared to other compounds evaluated.The absorption and translocation of these compounds individually or in mixtures, showed that as single compounds, the absorption was slower in maize than E. crus-galli and there was no difference among the herbicides except trifludimoxazin, that was significantly lower than the other compounds. Saflufenacil was the herbicide that showed the best translocation out of treated leaf point, while trifludimoxazin has not shown any translocation out of leaf treated. In mixtures, the compounds showed some differences in absorption and translocation, which it was variable according to species studied. Some traits of PPO-tolerant were also evaluated in Arabidopsis thaliana which indicates potential traits to be developed in crops of interest. / Agricultura é responsável por fornecer alimento e fibras necessárias para sustentar a população mundial. Controle de plantas daninhas é essencial para obter uma boa produtividade. O uso intensivo de herbicidas que age no mesmo sitio de ação ou são detoxificados por processos similares pelas plantas daninhas resulta geralmente no desenvolvimento de plantas daninhas resistentes a um herbicida específico ou à uma classe de herbicidas. A resistência de plantas daninhas devido ao uso de culturas tolerantes à glifosato tem se tornado um dos mais sérios problemas na agricultura. Inibidores da PPO pode ser uma ferramenta para mitigar o desenvolvimento de plantas daninhas resistentes. Há poucos relatos de plantas daninhas resistentes a este mecanismo de ação. Quando aplicados na dose recomendada, apresentam perfil toxicológico favorável e além disso, a maioria dos herbicidas deste grupo são compatíveis com plantio direto. No entanto, são mais eficientes em dicotiledôneas do que em monocotiledôneas. O objetivo dessa tese foi fornecer informações em relação a associação binária de herbicidas inibidores da PPO no controle de plantas daninhas. As associações mostraram efeito sinérgico no controle de Echinochloa crus-galli e milho voluntário, além do controle de dicotiledôneas. Avaliou-se também a atividade de alguns inibidores da PPO na inibição de 50% da enzima PPO2 e observou-se que para inibir 50% da PPO2 necessitou de menor quantidade de trifludimoxazin e flumioxazin em todas as plantas testadas, enquanto que sulfentrazone e saflufenacil, que associados apresentaram a melhor eficácia nos ensaios de campo, mostraram que precisar de maiores concentrações para inibir a PPO2 comparada aos outros produtos. A absorção e translocação destes produtos, isolados ou em mistura, mostraram que a absorção foi mais lenta em milho do que em E. crus-galli. Os herbicidas apresentaram comportamentos similares, sendo absorvidos quase 95% até 72 horas após aplicação, com exceção do trifludimoxazin, que foi significativamente mais lento que os outros. Saflufenacil foi o herbicida que apresentou melhor translocação na folha aplicada, enquanto trifludimoxazin não apresentou nenhuma translocação. Em relação às associações, os produtos mostraram diferenças na absorção e translocação, variando conforme as plantas daninhas estudadas. Alguns eventos tolerantes a inibidores da PPO foram avaliados em Arabidopsis thaliana e indicaram como potenciais eventos para ser desenvolvidos nas culturas de interesse.

A transição sol-gel de lisozima dispersa em tetrametiluréia/água foi investigada em profundidade. Tais dispersões geraram sistemas de alta viscosidade que evoluíram para a formação de géis ?físicos?, i.e., sistemas de redes viscoelásticas mantidas por interações do tipo forças de van der Walls e ligações de hidrogênio. O enfoque deste trabalho foi dividido em duas frentes: a) estudo do sistema lisozima nas misturas binárias; b) estudo das misturas binárias indutoras do efeito de gelificação na ausência da proteína. Realizou-se um estudo cinético e dinâmico das dispersões e géis por meio de experimentos reológicos, espectroscópicos e calorimétricos. A partir dos resultados reológicos procurou-se correlacionar as propriedades mecânicas macroscópicas dos géis com suas propriedades microscópicas, tendo sido possível estabelecer o caráter fractal dos agregados formados. Os estudos espectroscópicos no infravermelho permitiram acompanhar mudanças estruturais da proteína durante o processo de gelificação, revelando o efeito do meio na estruturação secundária da lisozima. Observou-se que a mistura binária tende a causar um aumento de conteúdo de folhas b na proteína quando acima da concentração crítica de fração de massa de tetrametiluréia em água (wTMU > 0,6), com uma concomitante redução no teor de hélices alfa. Estudos calorimétricos revelaram uma dependência inversamente linear das entalpias e temperaturas de denaturação da lisozima com a concentração do co-solvente orgânico no sistema, observando-se ausência de qualquer evento térmico na região acima da concentração crítica do solvente misto. Com a finalidade de se sondar as características dinâmicas e estruturais das misturas binárias responsáveis pela indução do efeito de gelificação em lisozima, foram realizados estudos solvatocrômicos envolvendo as misturas binárias tetrametiluréia/co-solvente, em que os co-solventes ensaiados foram água e alguns álcoois. A comparação entre o efeito solvatocrômico das misturas TMU/água e TMU/álcool permitiu verificar o caráter estruturador da TMU em meio aquoso e seu efeito desestruturador nos meios alcoólicos. / Lysozyme sol-gel transition in tetramethylurea/water was investigated in depth. These dispersions produced highly viscous systems, which evolved to physical gels, i.e., systems where the gel backbone is maintained by van der Walls forces and hydrogen bonding. The work was conducted in two fronts: a) the study of lysozyme dispersions in binary mixtures; b) the study of the binary mixtures themselves. A kinetics and dynamical characterization of the dispersions and gels was undertaken by means of rheological, spectroscopic and calorimetric assays. In the light of the rheological data, correlations were proposed between the gel mechanical macroscopic behaviour and its microscopic properties. The fractal character of the gels was established and their dimensionality calculated. Infrared spectroscopic experiments revealed changes in the protein secondary structure during and well after the sol-gel transition induced by the binary solvent mixture. It was found that the binary mixture induces an increase in the b-sheet content with a concomitant reduction of the a-helix, when above its critical concentration, as expressed in mass fraction of tetramethylurea in the binary mixture (wTMU >0.6). Calorimetric studies revealed that both denaturation temperature and enthalpy decrease linearly with the increase of TMU mass fraction in the mixed solvent, with no thermal effect being noticed above the binary mixture critical concentration. In order to investigate the dynamic and structural characteristics of the binary mixtures responsible for lysozyme sol-gel transition, solvatochromic assays were carried out for several TMU/co-solvent systems, where the co-solvents assayed were water and a few alcohols. Results revealed that TMU has structure-maker behaviour in water and structure-breaker behaviour in alcohol systems.

A transição sol-gel de lisozima dispersa em tetrametiluréia/água foi investigada em profundidade. Tais dispersões geraram sistemas de alta viscosidade que evoluíram para a formação de géis ?físicos?, i.e., sistemas de redes viscoelásticas mantidas por interações do tipo forças de van der Walls e ligações de hidrogênio. O enfoque deste trabalho foi dividido em duas frentes: a) estudo do sistema lisozima nas misturas binárias; b) estudo das misturas binárias indutoras do efeito de gelificação na ausência da proteína. Realizou-se um estudo cinético e dinâmico das dispersões e géis por meio de experimentos reológicos, espectroscópicos e calorimétricos. A partir dos resultados reológicos procurou-se correlacionar as propriedades mecânicas macroscópicas dos géis com suas propriedades microscópicas, tendo sido possível estabelecer o caráter fractal dos agregados formados. Os estudos espectroscópicos no infravermelho permitiram acompanhar mudanças estruturais da proteína durante o processo de gelificação, revelando o efeito do meio na estruturação secundária da lisozima. Observou-se que a mistura binária tende a causar um aumento de conteúdo de folhas b na proteína quando acima da concentração crítica de fração de massa de tetrametiluréia em água (wTMU > 0,6), com uma concomitante redução no teor de hélices alfa. Estudos calorimétricos revelaram uma dependência inversamente linear das entalpias e temperaturas de denaturação da lisozima com a concentração do co-solvente orgânico no sistema, observando-se ausência de qualquer evento térmico na região acima da concentração crítica do solvente misto. Com a finalidade de se sondar as características dinâmicas e estruturais das misturas binárias responsáveis pela indução do efeito de gelificação em lisozima, foram realizados estudos solvatocrômicos envolvendo as misturas binárias tetrametiluréia/co-solvente, em que os co-solventes ensaiados foram água e alguns álcoois. A comparação entre o efeito solvatocrômico das misturas TMU/água e TMU/álcool permitiu verificar o caráter estruturador da TMU em meio aquoso e seu efeito desestruturador nos meios alcoólicos. / Lysozyme sol-gel transition in tetramethylurea/water was investigated in depth. These dispersions produced highly viscous systems, which evolved to physical gels, i.e., systems where the gel backbone is maintained by van der Walls forces and hydrogen bonding. The work was conducted in two fronts: a) the study of lysozyme dispersions in binary mixtures; b) the study of the binary mixtures themselves. A kinetics and dynamical characterization of the dispersions and gels was undertaken by means of rheological, spectroscopic and calorimetric assays. In the light of the rheological data, correlations were proposed between the gel mechanical macroscopic behaviour and its microscopic properties. The fractal character of the gels was established and their dimensionality calculated. Infrared spectroscopic experiments revealed changes in the protein secondary structure during and well after the sol-gel transition induced by the binary solvent mixture. It was found that the binary mixture induces an increase in the b-sheet content with a concomitant reduction of the a-helix, when above its critical concentration, as expressed in mass fraction of tetramethylurea in the binary mixture (wTMU >0.6). Calorimetric studies revealed that both denaturation temperature and enthalpy decrease linearly with the increase of TMU mass fraction in the mixed solvent, with no thermal effect being noticed above the binary mixture critical concentration. In order to investigate the dynamic and structural characteristics of the binary mixtures responsible for lysozyme sol-gel transition, solvatochromic assays were carried out for several TMU/co-solvent systems, where the co-solvents assayed were water and a few alcohols. Results revealed that TMU has structure-maker behaviour in water and structure-breaker behaviour in alcohol systems.