Heidelberg, Universiẗat, Diss., 2003.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-05-09Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:13:28Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 urbaczek_ac_me_arafcf.pdf: 941529 bytes, checksum: 018e3c8e75f3ede5618f06630714815e (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / Os receptores para a porção Fc das IgG (FcgR) estão amplamente expressos nas células do sistema imune e podem estimular uma variedade de respostas efetoras. Três classes de FcgR são descritas nos humanos: FcgRI, FcgRII e FcgRIII. O neutrófilo expressa constitutivamente as isoformas FcgRIIa (CD32) e FcgRIIIb (CD16), as quais apresentam um polimorfismo funcional decorrente do polimorfismo alélico. No FcgRIIa, a substituição da histidina (H) pela arginina (R) na posição 131 resulta nas variantes polimórficas FcgRIIa- R131 e FcgRIIa-H131, que diferem quanto à capacidade de ligação à IgG2 humana. Quanto ao FcgRIIIb (CD16), o polimorfismo genético é responsável pela expressão dos antígenos de neutrófilo (NA)1, NA2 e SH e resulta em um maior número de sítios de glicosilação em NA2. O FcgRIIIb é responsável pela aproximação dos ligantes na membrana para o FcgRIIa e também interage com o receptor para complemento tipo 3 (CR3) na superfície celular. A cooperação entre os FcgRIIa/IIIb com o CR3 promove a estimulação máxima das respostas do neutrófilo, dentre elas o burst oxidativo. Uma vez que a interação FcgRIIIb/CR3 ocorre via sítio de ligação lectina-sacarídeo, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar se o polimorfismo alélico do FcgRIIIb poderia afetar a cooperação entre os FcgR e os CR em mediar o burst oxidativo dos neutrófilos. As freqüências dos alelos H/R-131 e NA1/NA2/SH foram analisadas por genotipagem com oligonucleotídeos alelo-específicos e reação em cadeia da polimerase e a densidade de expressão dos receptores (FcgRIIa, FcgRIIIb, CR1 e CR3) foi determinada por citometria de fluxo. A distribuição dos genótipos para o FcgRIIIb (n=169) foi NA1/NA2 (52,1%), NA2 (27,8%) e NA1 (20,1%). Dentre 174 indivíduos, apenas 6,3% apresentaram o gene SH. Quanto aos genótipos para o FcgRIIa (n=143), a distribuição... / Receptors for immunoglobulin G (FcgR) are known to be expressed on many cells of the immune system and they can trigger a variety of biological responses. Human FcgR belong to the Ig superfamily and three classes of these receptors have been recognized: FcgRI, FcgRII and FcgRIIl, with different affinities and specificities for IgG subclasses. Neutrophils express the FcgRIIa (CD32) and FcgRIIlb (CD16) isoforms, which display a functional polymorphism due to biallelic polymorphisms. In the case of FcgRIIa, an arginine (FcgRIIa-R131) or histidine (FcgRIIa-H131) at amino acid position 131 determines receptor affinity for IgG2, FcgRIIa-H131 being the isoform with highest affinity. On neutrophils, the FcgRIIIb bears the neutrophil antigen (NA) polymorphism, NA1, NA2 and SH, NA2 being the more glycosylated isoform. Cooperation of FcgRIIIb with FcgRIIa and CR3 (complement receptor type 3) is necessary for efficient neutrophil responses, including the oxidative burst. Since the FcgRIIIb/CR3 cooperation occurs via lectin-sacharide-like interaction, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether the allelic polymorphism, NA1 and NA2, could influence the cooperation of FcgRIIIb with CR3 in mediating the oxidative burst of neutrophils. FcgRIIa and FcgRIIIb genotyping analysis were performed by polymerase chain reaction with allelespecific primers and surface expressions of FcgRIIa, FcgRIIIb, CR1 and CR3 on neutrophils were determined by flow cytometry. The FcgRIIIb genotype distribution (n=169) was NA1/NA2 (52.1%), NA2 (27.8%) and NA1 (20.1%). SH gene was found in 11 (6.3%) volunteers from 174 subjects. With respect to the FcgRIIa genotype (n=143), the distribution observed was R131 (41.2%), H/R131 (38.5%) and H (20.3%). Neutrophils were stimulated with immune complexes (IC)-IgG opsonized or not with complement and the oxidative burst... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Les formes multiparticulaires injectables présentent l’inconvénient d’une libération initiale prématurée dont les conséquences sont une toxicité systémique si les concentrations sanguines du principe actif deviennent importantes ainsi qu’une modification de la libération. Pour résoudre ce problème, des microparticules composites ont été mises au point : il s’agit de microparticules encapsulant des nanoparticules. Le concept a d’abord été démontré in vitro en encapsulant des nanoparticules de poly(epsilon-caprolactone) dans un polymère non biodégradable en choisissant comme modèles une molécule de faible masse moléculaire (ibuprofène) et un peptide (acétate de triptoréline). L’originalité du travail réside dans le choix des polymères et des solvants retenus pour la fabrication des microparticules. Le solvant utilisé pour fabriquer les microparticules doit être un non-solvant du polymère des nanoparticules. L’acétate d’éthyle répondait à ces conditions puisqu’il ne dissout pas la poly(epsilon-caprolactone) mais que c’est un excellent solvant de l’éthylcellulose ou du polymère polycationique utilisé dans la première partie du travail. Sur la base d’études de libération in vitro, il a ainsi été démontré que les microparticules composites permettaient effectivement de fortement réduire cette libération précoce tout en continuant d’assurer une libération prolongée. Dans un deuxième temps, la réduction de la libération initiale a été confirmée par une étude in vivo chez le rat avec 2 principes actifs modèles : ibuprofène et insuline. Toutefois, le polymère de la matrice des microparticules a été remplacé par un copolymère biodégradable constitué d’acides lactique et glycolique. Il a été démontré que le nouveau concept de microparticules composites permettait de proposer une forme originale limitant la libération initiale des principes actifs suite à leur administration sous-cutanée ou intramusculaire tout en assurant une libération prolongée / Multiparticular injectable dosage forms present a burst effect known to lead to i) a systemic toxicoligal critical issue if blood concentrations of the drug are too high and ii) a change in the release profile due to a lower loading charge in microparticles. In order to solve this problem, composite microparticles have been developed: they consist in nanoparticles encapsulated in microparticles. Such a concept has been demonstrated in vitro by encapsulating poly(epsiloncaprolactone) nanoparticles in a non-biodegradable polymeric matrix with two model drugs: a small molecular weight drug (ibuprofene) and a peptide (triptorelin acetate). The novelty of the research work lies on the adequate choice of polymers and solvents used for microparticles manufacturing. Indeed, the solvent used to manufacture microparticles has to be a non-solvent of the nanoparticles polymer. Ethyl acetate was a good candidate since it does not dissolve poly(epsilon-caprolactone) nanoparticles but is an excellent solvent for ethylcellulose and the polycationic polymer used in the first part of the work. Based on in vitro release studies, it was demonstrated that composite microparticles allowed the initial release to be strongly reduced together with a prolonged release. In a second part, the burst release reduction has been confirmed in vivo in rats with 2 drug models: ibuprofen and insulin. However, the microparticles polymer matrix was replaced by a biodegradable copolymer made of lactic and glycolic acids. It has been demonstrated that the novel composite microparticles were an innovative dosage form able to control the initial burst release often associated to microparticles after sub-cutaneous or intramuscular administration while still maintaining the prolonged release of the encapsulated drugs. Such a result can be associated with the more difficult diffusion of the drug through the two consecutive polymeric barriers of nanoparticles and microparticles.

Abstract Due to advances of technologies and growth of Internet usage, demand for larger and larger network capacity remains the major challenge for network operators. To meet the increasing demand, optical network has become the key technology in the current and next-generation Internet. In terms of network architecture, optical packet switching (OPS) is a promising up-star in achieving high efficiency just as the electronic counterpart. However, it is currently far reached because of the difficulty in making optical random access memory and ultra-high cost in making fast optical switches that can handle more than 10^9 packets per second. Optical burst switching (OBS), on the other hand, is a more achievable, economical alternative. In OBS networks, packets are aggregated into much larger sized bursts before entering the core network. It thus does not require fast optical switches. And by incorporating one-way delayed reservation scheme, OBS avoids using optical RAM. There have been many research activities toward OBS. However, for Internet with 90% of TCP traffic, the effect of packet aggregation introduced by OBS on TCP performance is still not well understood. Detti and Listanti derived a model for it and the model was verified in simulation [2]. Yet, we found many of the assumptions in their study are not realistic. The obtained result is therefore questionable. In this thesis, we relax their assumptions and design two new models accordingly in order to get deeper understanding on the effects of packet aggregation on TCP performance. From our simulation results, we conclude three affecting factors: burst assembly, assembly delay and assembler buffer size. Burst assembly shows positive effect, while the other two demonstrate negative effects, on TCP throughput.

The aim of this thesis is to study Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) progenitors and central engines, I begin by examining unexpected plateaus in GRB light curves and place constraints on the central engine, that are consistent with a proto-magnetar. Next I compare these to the normal plateaus seen in the light curve and expand my investigation to include flares. Finally I investigate whether some giant flares could actually be a GRB if the GRB in those light curves could be a progenitor.

No

We present the second multi-frequency radio detection of a reverse shock in a gamma-ray burst. By combining our extensive radio observations of the Fermi-Large Area Telescope gamma-ray burst 160509A at z - 1.17 up to 20 days after the burst with Swift X-ray observations and ground-based optical and near-infrared data, we show that the afterglow emission comprises distinct reverse shock and forward shock contributions: the reverse shock emission dominates in the radio band at. less than or similar to 10 days, while the forward shock emission dominates in the X-ray, optical, and near-infrared bands. Through multi-wavelength modeling, we determine a circumburst density of n(0) approximate to 10(-3) cm(-3), supporting our previous suggestion that a low- density circumburst environment is conducive to the production of long-lasting reverse shock radiation in the radio band. We infer the presence of a large excess X-ray absorption column, N-H approximate to 1.5. x 10(22) cm(-2), and a high rest-frame optical extinction, A(V) approximate to 3.4 mag. We identify a jet break in the X-ray light curve at t(jet) approximate to 6 days, and thus derive a jet opening angle of theta(jet) approximate to 4 degrees, yielding a beaming-corrected kinetic energy and radiated gamma-ray energy of E-K approximate to 4 x 10(50) erg and E-gamma approximate to 1.3 x 10(51) erg ( 1-10(4) keV, rest frame), respectively. Consistency arguments connecting the forward shocks and reverse shocks suggest a deceleration time of t(dec) approximate to 460 s approximate to T-90, a Lorentz factor of Gamma( t(dec)) approximate to 330, and a reverse-shock-to-forward-shock fractional magnetic energy density ratio of R-B equivalent to is an element of(B, RS)/is an element of(B, FS) approximate to 8. Our study highlights the power of rapid-response radio observations in the study of the properties and dynamics of gamma-ray burst ejecta.

Neutrophils are important innate immune effector cells that primarily function during infection by engulfing and killing pathogens using a combination of toxic granule components and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by the NADPH oxidase. Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative bacterium and the causative agent of tularemia, an infectious disease that, in the absence of treatment, results in 30-60% mortality. A closely related species, F. novicida, does not cause human disease but causes a tularemia-like illness in mice and productively infects human and murine cells in vitro; thus this organism is often employed as a model. In our previous work, we have shown that virulent and avirulent F. tularensis enters neutrophils without inducing a respiratory burst, as the NADPH oxidase fails to assemble on bacterial phagosomes. Further, this pathogen inhibits enzyme activity upon subsequent neutrophil stimulation despite successful oxidase assembly, indicating that F. tularensis employs multiple mechanisms to inhibit the NADPH oxidase. It remains unknown, however, whether F. novicida retains these mechanisms of oxidase inhibition, or whether its inability to modulate neutrophil function partially accounts for its avirulence in humans. Additional work has suggested a potential role for Francisella acid phosphatases and catalase genes in inhibited production and detoxification of neutrophil-derived ROS, respectively. In the current study, we employ subjective and objective techniques to evaluate the magnitude and location of ROS generation during infection with F. tularensis LVS, F. novicida, or F. novicida mutants acpA or katG. Our results demonstrate that serum-opsonized F. novicida, but not LVS, induced a prominent respiratory burst that coincided with oxidase assembly and intraphagosomal superoxide production in bacterial phagosomes. Furthermore, our data show for the first time that opsonized F. novicida, but not LVS, engaged Fc-gammaRIII (CD16) during phagocytosis by neutrophils suggesting that this receptor may play a role in signaling events that lead to respiratory burst induction. Despite its inability to evade burst induction, F. novicida inhibited post-assembly oxidase activity following sequential stimulation of neutrophils, similar to F. tularensis strains. Finally, we conclude that acpA and katG do not play a significant role in F. novicida-neutrophil interactions as these mutants did not induce a stronger respiratory burst during phagocytosis, and their ability to inhibit post-assembly NADPH oxidase activity and survive in neutrophils was indistinguishable from wild type organisms. Thus, these data strongly suggest that differential opsonization of F. novicida compared to F. tularensis results in engagement of specific receptors that function to activate these cells during infection. Further, the retained ability of F. novicida to inhibit post-assembly oxidase activity confirms that Francisella utilize two independent mechanisms by which they modulate NADPH oxidase function. Finally, our conclusions that acpA and katG are disposable for these interactions with neutrophils suggest that F. novicida encodes other important genes that enable them to productively infect these cells.

Since phages use the host resources to replicate themselves after infection, the different sizes of the phage genome should influence the replication rate. We, therefore, hypothesized that the smaller genomes should burst the cell faster than the larger ones. As well, the shorter genomes would have greater burst sizes because they should replicate faster. Here, we obtained 16 phages of various genome length. All phages were isolated on Streptomyces griseus and available in our phage bank at the University of North Texas. We performed one-step growth studies for the 16 phages, as well as determined the host doubling time from its growth curve. The results show that S. griseus grown in nutrient broth has a doubling time of 5 hours and 22 minutes. This doubling time is used as a guideline for the phage growth studies. Because the filamentous nature of the host caused several difficulties during the experiment, we isolated single cells by sonication and centrifugation. After the cell number was determined by viable cell count, the cells were infected with each type of phage using a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.5. The results show that phages' burst times range between 45 (±0, standard error) and 420 (±30) minutes and burst sizes from 12 (±0) to 1500 (±60) The statistical analyses show that there is no correlation between either genome size and burst time (R= -0.01800, P=0.97894) or genome size and burst size (R= -0.32678, P=0.21670). We further performed the comparative genomics studies to investigate whether the phages with similar burst times and burst sizes show similar genome structures. The studies show that Eddasa and Lorelei have similar burst times of 45 to 60 minutes and share 52 homologs. For burst size, only Tribute and Blueeyedbeauty that have similar burst sizes of 21-30, and they are genetically related because of the 48 shared homologs. Although this study did not find any correlation between genome size and burst time/burst size, it provides a foundation for further studies to determine what regulates these two traits.

No description available.