Originally published as author's dissertation-- Freie Universität Berlin, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [393]-418).

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-82). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Diss.--Freie Universität Berlin, 1994. / Bibliogr. p. 503-557. Index.

A travers l‟intervention des technologies numériques (films/vidéos, performances, installations multimédias, art en ligne), les artistes contemporains proposent de nouveaux imaginaires corporels et des perceptions inédites des genres. Cette recherche propose une analyse comparée des travaux pluridisciplinaires de Maria Klonaris, Katerina Thomadaki, Steven Cohen et Shu Lea Cheang. Leurs oeuvres permettent d‟élaborer le concept de « jouer le genre » (Judith Butler, 1990), et d‟approcher l‟image de « l‟utopie cyborg sans genre » (Donna Haraway, 1985). Ces possibilités du corps et des sexes font écho à des évolutions technologiques et culturelles, croisant la théorie queer. Ce sont des expérimentations en cours sur des identités en devenir. / Following the actual uses of digital technology (films, videos, performances, multimedia installations and Internet art), contemporary artists offer new visions of the human body and new perceptions of gender. This research offers a comparative analysis of the multidisciplinary works of Maria Klonaris, Katerina Thomadaki, Steven Cohen and Shu Lea Cheang. Their works provides a useful framework for understanding Judith Butler's theory of "gender performativity"(1990) and Donna Haraway‟s vision of "utopian dream of the hope for a monstrous world without gender"(1985). The possibilities of the body and gender respond to technological and cultural evolutions that are linked with queer theory. These works are on-going experiments for identities that are in-the-making.

Meduloblastoma é o tumor intracranial mais comum em crianças, provavelmente derivado de células precursoras da camada granular externa do cerebelo durante seu desenvolvimento. O tratamento padrão consiste em cirurgia, radioterapia e quimioterapia, que produzem graves sequelas nos pacientes e garantem uma sobrevida baixa, o que demonstra a necessidade de novas alternativas terapêuticas para a doença. Evidências demonstram que o receptor do peptídeo liberador de gastrina (GRPR) está superexpresso em diversos tumores humanos, assim como seu agonista (GRP) pode atuar como um fator de crescimento autócrino em tumores cerebrais. No presente estudo, avaliamos a expressão de GRPR e o efeito de seus agonistas, bombesina (BB) e GRP, além do antagonista RC-3095, sobre a viabilidade celular de linhagens de meduloblastoma humano DAOY, D283 e ONS76. Mostramos que meduloblastomas, apesar de expressarem GRPR, não têm sua viabilidade celular afetada por agonistas e antagonista desse receptor. Uma vez que há evidências de que BDNF (fator neurotrófico derivado de cérebro) esteja relacionado à diferenciação celular em meduloblastomas, também avaliamos o efeito de BDNF sobre a viabilidade celular das linhagens de meduloblastoma humano. As linhagens DAOY e D283 tiveram sua viabilidade celular reduzida pela presença de BDNF. Uma vez que a via da PKA tem sido implicada na iniciação e progressão de vários tumores, também avaliamos o efeito de rolipram, um inibidor de fosfodiesterase tipo IV, sobre a viabilidade celular das linhagens de meduloblastoma humano, sendo que rolipram reduziu a viabilidade celular de todas as linhagens estudadas. Os receptores de BDNF e a via da PKA podem, portanto, ser alvos moleculares promissores para o desenvolvimento de novas terapias para meduloblastomas. / Medulloblastoma is the most common intracranial tumor in children and is believed to arise from the precursor cells of the external granule layer of the developing cerebellum. The standard treatment, consisting of surgery, craniospinal radiotherapy and chemotherapy, produces severe sequelae in patients and provides a poor overall survival, indicating the need for new therapeutic alternatives for treating this disease. Evidences show that the gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) is overexpressed in various human tumors and its agonist (GRP) can act as an autocrine growth factor in brain tumors. In the present study, we evaluated GRPR expression, as well as the effect of its agonists, bombesin (BB) and GRP, and its antagonist RC-3095, over cell viability of the human medulloblastoma cell lines DAOY, D283 and ONS76. We found that medulloblastomas, in spite of expressing GRPR, do not have its viability affected by the presence of agonists and antagonist of this receptor. Since there are evidences that BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) is related to cell differentiation in medulloblastomas, we also evaluated the effect of BDNF over the viability of medulloblastoma cell lines. The viability of the cell lines DAOY and D283 was reduced by the presence of BDNF. Since the PKA pathway has been implicated in the initiation and progression of various tumors, we also evaluated the effect of rolipram, a phosphodiesterase IV inhibitor, over the viability of the same medulloblastoma cell lines and we found that rolipram inhibited the viability of all the cell lines studied. BDNF receptors, as well as the PKA pathway, may be therefore promising molecular targets for the development of new therapies for treating medulloblastomas.

En dehors de son rôle de stockage de l’énergie cellulaire, l’adénosine-triphosphate (ATP) est également une molécule de signalisation extracellulaire qui agit sur deux familles de récepteurs, les récepteurs métabotropiques P2Y et les récepteurs ionotropiques P2X. Dans le système nerveux central, les récepteurs P2X et la signalisation purinergique sont impliqués dans de nombreuses fonctions physiologiques comme la modulation de la transmission synaptique et la communication neurone-glie ainsi que dans diverses pathologies telles que les douleurs chroniques, l’épilepsie ou les maladies neurodégénératives. Enregistrer l’activité des récepteurs P2X in situ reste aujourd’hui encore difficile de par la paucité des outils pharmacologiques et de par les propriétés biophysiques particulières de ces récepteurs canaux. De surcroit, les mécanismes de libération de l’ATP sont encore mal caractérisés et la détection de cette molécule dans l’espace extracellulaire est limitée par la faible résolution spatio-temporelle des techniques disponibles. A ce jour, il n’existe aucune méthode satisfaisante permettant de suivre l’activité des récepteurs P2X ou détecter la libération d’ATP en temps réel. Pour pallier à ces manques, nous avons développé de nouveaux outils fluorescents basés sur la fusion du rapporteur calcique GCaMP6s aux récepteurs P2X.Notre étude montre d’abord que ces biosenseurs P2X-GCaMP6s sont capables de rapporter spécifiquement et dynamiquement, en fluorescence, l’activité des récepteurs P2X dans différentes lignées cellulaires (HEK, astrocytes, macrophages), ainsi que dans des neurones hippocampiques en culture. Dans un deuxième temps, l’outil P2X2-GCaMP6s a été modifié afin de créer un biosenseur de haute affinité pour l’ATP extracellulaire. Deux mutants, dont l’affinité apparente est de l’ordre de la centaine de nanomolaire, ont permis de détecter et de quantifier une libération d’ATP endogène. En combinant l’utilisation de ces biosenseurs avec des approches pharmacologiques et génétiques, nous avons montré que lors d’un choc hypotonique l’activation du canal VRAC LRRC8 contribue à la libération d’ATP par les cellules HEK et par des monocytes humains différenciés en macrophages. Enfin, nous avons montré que la libération d’ATP lors du gonflement des cellules déclenchait le phénomène de régulation du volume cellulaire, permettant aux cellules de retrouver leur volume initial.Ces biosenseurs fluorescents permettent donc de visualiser de façon dynamique l’activité des récepteurs P2X et la libération d’ATP. Ces outils étant compatibles avec des approches in vivo, ils devraient permettre une meilleure caractérisation des mécanismes moléculaires de la communication purinergique. / Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) is an extracellular signaling molecule acting on two major classes of membrane receptors, metabotropic P2Y receptors and ionotropic P2X receptors. In the central nervous system, P2X receptors are involved in diverse functions such as modulation of synaptic transmission or neuron-glia communication and are implicated in different pathologies including chronic pain, epilepsy or neurodegenerative diseases. Recording P2X receptor activity is difficult because of the paucity of pharmacological tools and because P2X receptors are prone to desensitization. In addition, measuring extracellular ATP concentration is challenging since the mechanisms and the source of ATP are still poorly characterized. In addition, classical ATP detecting approaches have clear spatial and temporal limitations. As a consequence, following P2X activity and visualizing or quantifying ATP release in real time remains challenging. To overcome these issues, we developed new fluorescent biosensors based on the fusion of the fluorescent calcium reporter GCaMP6s to P2X receptors.We first determined that fluorescence specifically reports on the activity of the P2X2 channel in different cell line (HEK, astrocytes, macrophages) and in primary culture of hippocampal neurons. We next engineered P2X2 receptor to create high affinity ATP biosensors. We identified two mutants with EC50s for ATP in the 100 nanomolar range that allow for the detection and the quantification of endogenous ATP release evoked by cell swelling. Using pharmacological approaches and knock-out cells, we demonstrated the implication in ATP release of the recently identify volume-regulated anion channel, LRRC8A in HEK cells and differentiated human macrophages. Finally, we provided evidence that the LRRC8-dependant ATP release is necessary for the cellular regulation of volume decrease after swelling.Our results show that these fluorescent ATP biosensors can be used to dynamically track P2X channel activity and can be used in vivo to decipher the molecular mechanisms involved in purinergic signaling.

Bodies - be they fleshy or other - are simultaneously made by, made of, moved by, and the makers and movers of other bodies. Driven by the questions how do bodies emerge? what makes bodies move? and what can bodies do? bodies are placed at the very centre of this book in order to explain and show, not only how such bodily making and re-making - (re)making - and movement is done, but also why awareness and understanding of the processes and practices involved in the continual and ongoing (re)making and moving of bodies - of three particular kinds in particular (bodies of power/knowledge, humanised bodies, and bodies politic) - is vital to the study of international relations, conflict, and security and thus to the discipline of International Relations (IR). In short, bodies - of these three kinds in particular - require foregrounding because international relations, conflicts, and security practices are conducted by, on, and for bodies (humanised bodies and bodies politic in particular), according to bodies (namely referred to as dominant bodies of power/ knowledge, which become fleshed out as material bodies including humanised bodies and bodies politic and enact statecraft, further down the line). Moreover, as demonstrated in this book, which takes up the broad empirical case of post-9/11 American body politics and two case studies into the visual body politics of suffering and dead American soldiers since 9/11 and the 2013 Camp Delta hunger strike, there is much to be gained by taking the very particular embodiments of bodies into account, as every body is unique and it is according to distinctive bodily features, malaise/ailments, and feelings that bodies are moved to act (and in turn touch and move other bodies) and continually become other than they are.

Meduloblastoma é o tumor intracranial mais comum em crianças, provavelmente derivado de células precursoras da camada granular externa do cerebelo durante seu desenvolvimento. O tratamento padrão consiste em cirurgia, radioterapia e quimioterapia, que produzem graves sequelas nos pacientes e garantem uma sobrevida baixa, o que demonstra a necessidade de novas alternativas terapêuticas para a doença. Evidências demonstram que o receptor do peptídeo liberador de gastrina (GRPR) está superexpresso em diversos tumores humanos, assim como seu agonista (GRP) pode atuar como um fator de crescimento autócrino em tumores cerebrais. No presente estudo, avaliamos a expressão de GRPR e o efeito de seus agonistas, bombesina (BB) e GRP, além do antagonista RC-3095, sobre a viabilidade celular de linhagens de meduloblastoma humano DAOY, D283 e ONS76. Mostramos que meduloblastomas, apesar de expressarem GRPR, não têm sua viabilidade celular afetada por agonistas e antagonista desse receptor. Uma vez que há evidências de que BDNF (fator neurotrófico derivado de cérebro) esteja relacionado à diferenciação celular em meduloblastomas, também avaliamos o efeito de BDNF sobre a viabilidade celular das linhagens de meduloblastoma humano. As linhagens DAOY e D283 tiveram sua viabilidade celular reduzida pela presença de BDNF. Uma vez que a via da PKA tem sido implicada na iniciação e progressão de vários tumores, também avaliamos o efeito de rolipram, um inibidor de fosfodiesterase tipo IV, sobre a viabilidade celular das linhagens de meduloblastoma humano, sendo que rolipram reduziu a viabilidade celular de todas as linhagens estudadas. Os receptores de BDNF e a via da PKA podem, portanto, ser alvos moleculares promissores para o desenvolvimento de novas terapias para meduloblastomas. / Medulloblastoma is the most common intracranial tumor in children and is believed to arise from the precursor cells of the external granule layer of the developing cerebellum. The standard treatment, consisting of surgery, craniospinal radiotherapy and chemotherapy, produces severe sequelae in patients and provides a poor overall survival, indicating the need for new therapeutic alternatives for treating this disease. Evidences show that the gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) is overexpressed in various human tumors and its agonist (GRP) can act as an autocrine growth factor in brain tumors. In the present study, we evaluated GRPR expression, as well as the effect of its agonists, bombesin (BB) and GRP, and its antagonist RC-3095, over cell viability of the human medulloblastoma cell lines DAOY, D283 and ONS76. We found that medulloblastomas, in spite of expressing GRPR, do not have its viability affected by the presence of agonists and antagonist of this receptor. Since there are evidences that BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) is related to cell differentiation in medulloblastomas, we also evaluated the effect of BDNF over the viability of medulloblastoma cell lines. The viability of the cell lines DAOY and D283 was reduced by the presence of BDNF. Since the PKA pathway has been implicated in the initiation and progression of various tumors, we also evaluated the effect of rolipram, a phosphodiesterase IV inhibitor, over the viability of the same medulloblastoma cell lines and we found that rolipram inhibited the viability of all the cell lines studied. BDNF receptors, as well as the PKA pathway, may be therefore promising molecular targets for the development of new therapies for treating medulloblastomas.

This research aimed to evaluate the technological properties of wood three forest species subjected to biodegradation. To this end, C. americana, P. rigida and M. azedarach trees belonging to a forest, located in Jaguari - RS, aged 32 to 45, were used. After cutting, the logs have been broken down into a central plank with 7.0 cm thick and 20.0 cm wide and following the specimens were made. So they were stored in a climatic chamber at temperature of 20 ° C and relative humidity of 65%, where they remained until the equilibrium moisture content. The installation of field trials took place in three distinct regions: Santa Maria, São Gabriel and Pelotas. Every 60 days, ten samples per treatment were taken in each region, which were placed in a climatic chamber under the same initial conditions and subjected to equilibrium moisture test (TU), density, weight loss, colorimetry, evaluation of the deterioration index, bending, hardness, chemical analysis and testing of accelerated decay in the laboratory. Based on the results it was observed the wood of C. americana, P. rigida showed better technological properties with respect to M. azedarach wood, with high durability when subjected to natural conditions of deterioration and highly resistant to the action of decay fungi. On the other hand M. azedarach wood did not show good durability when exposed directly in contact with the ground, with a significant reduction of their mechanical and physical properties. / A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo avaliar as propriedades tecnológicas da madeira de três espécies florestais submetidas à biodegradação. Para tanto, foram utilizadas árvores de Guajuvira, Angico vermelho e Cinamomo pertencentes à Floresta Estacional Decidual, localizada na cidade de Jaguari RS com idades entre 32 à 45. Após o corte, as toras foram desdobradas e foi retirado o pranchão central com 7,0 cm de espessura e 20,0 cm de largura e na sequência foram confeccionados os corpos de prova. Logo, foram armazenados em câmara climatizada à temperatura de 20ºC e umidade relativa de 65%, onde permaneceram até atingir o equilíbrio higroscópico. A instalação dos ensaios de campo foi realizada em três regiões distintas: Santa Maria, São Gabriel e Pelotas. A cada 60 dias, 10 amostras por tratamento foram retiradas em cada região, as quais foram acondicionadas em câmara climatizada, sob as mesmas condições iniciais e submetidas aos testes de umidade de equilíbrio (TU), massa específica aparente, perda de massa, colorimetria, avaliação do índice de deterioração, flexão estática, dureza Janka, análise química e ao ensaio de apodrecimento acelerado em laboratório. Com base nos resultados obtidos observou-se que a madeira de Guajuvira e Angico-vermelho apresentaram melhores propriedades tecnológicas em relação ao Cinamomo, com alta durabilidade natural quando submetidas às condições de deterioração e altamente resistentes à ação de fungos apodrecedores, com melhor aptidão para utilização em ambientes externos sob condições adversas e em contato direto com o solo. Já a madeira de Cinamomo não apresentou boa durabilidade quando exposta diretamente em contato com o solo, com decréscimo acentuado de suas propriedades mecânicas e físicas.

Considerando-se como fonte primária os manuais escolares brasileiros de Matemática, o saber a ser ensinado ainda situa uma apresentação dual, polarizado no viés pragmático ou teórico, ao que se segue um procedimento temático padrão que privilegia o desenvolvimento operatório envolvendo contextos exatos, finitos e determinísticos. Em particular, essas características se acentuam gravemente no momento de introdução dos números irracionais no ensino básico, o que ocasiona uma abordagem restritiva. Para superar este quadro, Bruner (1987) fundamenta que não devemos adiar o ensino de assuntos essenciais com base na crença de que são difíceis demais, pois as ideias fundamentais de qualquer assunto podem ser ensinadas na escolaridade básica, porém demanda um trabalho para além dos aspectos técnicos, o que equivale a retomada de características ligadas à compreensão. Neste trabalho, tivemos por hipótese que os pares discreto/contínuo; exato/aproximado; finito/infinito, presentes na análise da evolução epistemológica dos números reais e descritos em Machado (2009), se constituem em pilares conceituais essenciais para fundamentar um panorama favorável a uma abordagem significativa do tema dos números irracionais, de modo a compor um amálgama entre os aspectos técnicos e semânticos. Em face da necessária reflexão, em nível educacional, em torno de tal tema, delimitamos inicialmente um contexto investigativo pautado em um estudo qualitativo orientado pela questão Como são abordados os números irracionais no ensino básico, considerando-se como fonte o livro didático de Matemática?, a fim de mapear a apresentação deste assunto no Ensino Fundamental II e no Ensino Médio. O fundamento metodológico se inspirou nos núcleos de significação, descritos em Aguiar&Ozella (2006), que buscou apreender os sentidos que constituem o conteúdo do discurso expresso nos textos dos livros didáticos. O percurso dos núcleos de significação confirmou que, nos livros didáticos analisados, a apresentação dos números irracionais ocorre de modo polarizado: alguns optam por um viés empírico e outros pela definição formal. Verificou-se que, após uma abordagem inicial, não ocorre intercâmbio destas opções, o que acarreta um rápido esgotamento das ferramentas para se desenvolver as temáticas, limitando a compreensão da complexidade dos números irracionais no ensino básico. A partir das hipóteses e da pesquisa empírica, nos propusemos a delinear as contribuições presentes no movimento dialético entre os pares discreto/contínuo, finito/infinito e exato/aproximado, cujas mútuas conexões permeiam um espaço de significações, um campo que possibilita organizar, tecer e ampliar a rede de significados, conforme Machado (1995), favorecendo um quadro de maior compreensão à apresentação dos números irracionais. O enfoque epistemológico realizado revelou uma multiplicidade de relações envolvendo os números irracionais e diversos assuntos do currículo de Matemática, não devidamente caracterizadas e exploradas no ensino básico, o que serviu de mote para a apresentação de algumas situações de ensino para ilustrar os aportes orientadores sugeridos. Acreditamos que o caminho epistemológico trilhado viabilizou uma abertura para ampliar o quadro de significados em relação a outros tópicos presentes na Matemática Elementar, considerando-se como suporte a potencialidade presente nos eixos discreto/contínuo; exato/aproximado; finito/infinito, assim como no par determinístico/aleatório. / Considering Brazilian mathematics school textbooks as a primary research source, the knowledge to be taught still has a dual presentation, polarized in a pragmatic or theoretical way, what follows a thematic procedure pattern that favors an operational development involving exact, finite and deterministic contexts. In particular, these characteristics are seriously accentuated by the time of irrational numbers introduction at basic education, which leads to a restrictive approach. To overcome this situation, Bruner (1987) states that we should not postpone teaching key issues based on the belief that they are too hard, because the fundamental ideas of any subject can be taught at basic education, but it demands a work that overcome technical aspects, considerations that are equivalent to the resumption with aspects related to understanding. In this work, we had by hypothesis that the tension inherent on discrete/continuous, exact/approximate, finite/infinite pairs, extracted from analyses on real numbers epistemological evolution and described at Machado (2009), constitutes an essential conceptual pillar to establish a helpful framework to enable a significant irrational numbers approach, in order to compose an amalgam between technical and semantic aspects. Considering the necessary educational discussion involving this theme, we initially delimited an investigative context based on a qualitative study guided by the question How irrational numbers are approached in basic education, considering mathematics textbook as a source?\' in order to map this subject presentation at Middle and High School. The methodological foundation was inspired in meaning core, described in Aguiar and Ozella (2006), which aims to capture the sense that constitutes the speech content expressed inside mathematics scholar textbooks. The analysis from meaning core route reveals that, in the textbooks examined, the most known irrational numbers introduction occurs in a polarized way: some opt for a pragmatic bias and others by formal definition. However, it was found that after an initial approach, there is no further relationship between these options, which causes a rapid depletion of the tools to develop these themes, which limits the complexity understanding of irrational numbers in basic education. From the hypotheses and the empirical research, we intended to delineate contributions presented on the dialectical movement between discrete/continuous, finite/infinite and exact/approximate pairs, whose mutual connections permeate a \'space of meanings\', a field that allows to organize, to weave and to expand a network of meanings, as Machado (1995), favoring a framework for better understanding the irrational numbers development in basic school. The epistemological approach performed revealed a multiplicity of relationships involving irrational numbers and various subjects of mathematics curriculum, not properly characterized and exploited in basic education, references which served as contexts for the presentation of some teaching situations to illustrate the contributions guidance suggested. We believe that the epistemological path trodden enables an opening to increase possibilities of meanings in relation to other topics of Elementary Mathematics, considering as support the capability constituents presented in discrete/continuous, exact/approximate, finite/infinity axis, as well as in deterministic/random pair.