Macrophages are active participants in many important biological processes, including antimicrobial activity, tumour surveillance, apoptotic cell clearance, homeostasis and wound healing. The activity of all cells is under the direct influence of their genetic makeup and macrophages are no exception. Natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (Nramp1, also known as SLC11A1) is a macrophage-restricted gene that confers resistance to intracellular pathogens in mice. Mitogen activated protein kinase activated protein kinase 2 (MAPKAPK-2 or MK2), a substrate of p38 MAPK, is known to influence the activation of macrophages in response to stressors, including the Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 ligand LPS. Like NRAMP1, MK2 has also been shown to influence the efficiency of the antibacterial response. The present study evaluates the role of NRAMP1 and MK2 in TLR-mediated cytokine induction and their role in cutaneous wound healing. Mice lacking NRAMP1 are severely impaired in their rate of cutaneous wound healing. Nramp1 gene ablation has been associated with lower levels of SLPI, a protein previously demonstrated to influence the rate of wound healing in a non-redundant fashion. Macrophages derived from Nramp1-null mice are less efficient in activating p38 MAPK signaling, which results in lower levels of MK2 phosphorylation. The reduced level of p38 MAPK and MK2 activation in Nramp1-null macrophages also correlates with decreased cytokine induction in response to TLR7 ligand stimulation of these cells. Using p38 MAPK inhibitor and MK2-deficient macrophages, we demonstrate that TLR7- and TLR9-mediated cytokine induction is directly under the control of this signaling pathway. Furthermore, cytokine induction is regulated by MK2 at the post-transcriptional level. Macrophage-induced cytokines play an important role in cutaneous wound healing. Since MK2-deficient macrophages are severely impaired in their ability to induce cytokines following activation, we next evaluated the role of MK2 in cutaneous wound healing. Our results demonstrate that the rate of wound healing is significantly delayed in the absence of MK2. The level of cytokine expression in the wounds is impaired and macrophages are major players in cutaneous wound healing. Our data also show that intradermal transfer of macrophages with intact MK2 significantly improved wound healing kinetics. Overall, the studies presented in this dissertation demonstrate the importance of NRAMP1 and MK2 in the modulation of macrophage gene expression, and their important role in the control of cutaneous wound healing.

The current study investigated application of natural adsorbents in brine treatment. Brines are hypersaline waters generated in power stations and mining industries rich in Mg2+, K+, Ca2+, Na+, SO4 2- , Cl- and traces of heavy metals, thus there is a need for these brines to be treated to recover potable water and remove problematic elements. Natural adsorbents have been successfully used in waste water treatment because of their high surface area and high adsorptive properties when they are conditioned with acid or base. The investigation of pH showed that natural adsorbents did not perform well at low pH of 4 and 6. The adsorbents were able to work efficiently at the natural pH of 8.52 of the brine solution. These results show that natural adsorbents hold great potential to remove cationic major components and selected heavy metal species from industrial brine wastewater. Heterogeneity of natural adsorbents samples, even when they have the same origin, could be a problem when wastewater treatment systems utilizing natural clinoptilolite and bentonite are planned to be developed. Therefore, it is very important to characterize the reserves fully in order to make them attractive in developing treatment technologies.

Very specific protein-salt interactions are involved in a multitude of biological phenomena such as protein folding/stability, enzymatic activity, and signal transduction events. In this work, we used two very simple, protein-mimic model biopolymers to obtain a better understanding of specific cation effects operating in aqueous protein environments. The two biopolymers used were Elastin-like Polypeptides (ELPs) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). ELPs are an especially an ideal model system as these polypeptides can be easily genetically engineered to observe the effect of specific amino acid residues and peptide chain length on these salt interactions. Both of these biopolymers are also highly thermoresponsive as their aqueous solutions undergo a hydrophobic collapse/aggregation induced phase transition process above a lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Thermodynamic measurements of these biopolymers were carried out under various salt solution conditions. Additionally, both of these biopolymers are suitable for making surface specific spectroscopic measurements. Vibrational sum frequeny spectroscopy (VSFS), a non-linear interface sensitive spectroscopic technique, was employed here to investigate biologically relevant cation interactions which occur at peptide/protein surfaces. First, the LCST response of a non-polar ELP and a neutral biopolymer, PNIPAM, was investigated in the presence of 12 different alkali, alkaline-earth metal and transition metal chloride salts. Even though the salt interactions for uncharged proteins are dominated by anions, subtle specific cation effects were also observed. The results followed a direct Hofmeister series for cations. Most alkali cations are excluded from the polar amide regions of proteins. More polarizable cations, however, can solvate the hydrophobic moieties and somewhat counter the salting-out effect of the chloride anion. More charged and hydrated ions like lithium and divalent cations showed a weak interaction to the amide moiety through their hydration shell. The role of acidic amino acid residues in inducing cation specificities was investigated using an aspartate-rich ELP system. Both thermodynamic and spectroscopic data conclusively proved that the negative charge on protein surfaces is the main driving force for cation partitioning and specificity under physiological relevant concentration regimes. Apparent binding constants of carboxylate moieties with cations were determined. This is the first quantitative and thoroughly systematic study of such biologically relevant cation-carboxylate interactions prevalent in enzyme active sites and protein surfaces.

A series of cis- and trans-bis(ethynyl)platinum complexes containing dimethyldihydropyrene (DHP) photochromic compounds were synthesized from RDHPCCH (R = H, CH3CO, PhCO, 1-naphthoyl and benzo[e]) and platinum chloride with appropriate ancillary ligands (PEt3, PPh3, dppe, bipy and phen). The complexes were studied using mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy (1H, 13C, 31P and 195Pt) and IR. The X-ray structural information for bis(DHP-ethynyl) platinum complexes 44, 45, 47, 49, and 52 revealed that the Pt complexes possessed a square planar geometry at the metal centers. These platinum complexes are T type photochromic compounds. The BDHP-derived platinum complexes 48, 49, and 52 open completely when irradiated by visible light (λ > 590 nm). The photoopening rates for the platinum complexes are about 4 times slower than the corresponding DHP-alkynes. All the alkynyl platinum complexes close thermally faster than the corresponding free alkynes, and the closing rate is not affected substantially by changing the ancillary phosphine ligands. The BDHP-ethynyl platinum complexes with PEt3, PPh3 and dppe ligands have similar thermal closing half lives at 25°C of τ1/2 = 42 h, 38 h and 33 h, respectively, in contrast to the half life τ1/2 = 62 h of the BDHP-ethyne 40. The first cyclobutadienyl cobalt substituted dihydropyrenes were prepared by CpCo(CO)2 cyclization of a series of dihydropyrenyl ethynes. When the other alkyne substituent was small (methyl or carboxyethyl) only cis (head-to-head) isomers were obtained, but with larger sized groups, mixed head-to-head and head-to-tail isomers were obtained. The crystal structure of complex 21 indicated some unusually short bond distances were present. By comparison of the NMR and bond length data for complexes 21 or 69 with those for phenyl-DHP 60, the aromaticity of the cyclobutadienyl cobalt fragment was estimated quantitatively to be at least as large as that of benzene. The organometallic fragment [Cbd-Co-Cp] substantially slowed the DHP photoopening reaction of complex 72 relative to precursors 67 or 35. DHP[e]tropone, 17, DHP[e]tropylium cation, 18 and DHP[e]cyclooctatetraene dianion, 20 were synthesized to study the relative bond localizing abilities of COT dianion 80 (105 % relative to benzene), tropylium cation 15 (55 % relative to benzene), tropone 79 (13 % relative to benzene) using DHP as the NMR probe. The internal methyl protons of DHP resonated at δ -3.56 for 17, δ -2.61 for 18 and δ -1.38 for 20. Cycloheptatrienyl anions 111, 112 and 19 were made from cyclohepta-2,4,6-triene (CHT) isomers 107 and 108 (for two anions, 112 and 19). The internal methyl protons of their DHP resonated at δ -2.52, 2.67 for 111, δ -0.80, -0.84 for 112 and δ +2.10 for 19. The anion 19 was best taken as a 20π electron paratropic system. The homo-aromaticity of the CHT isomers 107, 108 and 117 was estimated based on the NMR data and X-ray structural data. Obvious anisotropic effects existed and the bond localization ability of the CHT (24% based on NMR data for 108) may have a large error. The ring inversion barriers of the COT 82 and CHT 77 were measured using variable temperature NMR spectroscopy as 13.9 and 8.7 kcal/mol, respectively. Five X-ray crystallography structures were obtained for 99B, 17, 108, 117 and 125 and the information was used in estimating the bond localization abilities and in establishing absolute stereochemistry / Graduate

Membrane chromatography was investigated as an alternative method to packed-bed chromatography for protein recovery. The purification of lysozyme from egg white with Natrix adseptTM weak cation-exchange membranes was investigated under two different binding configurations: (1) a non-flow, static set-up with variable pH and sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations during the binding and elution steps, and (2) a dynamic, cross-flow set-up with recycle at pH 7.5 and no NaCl addition during binding. The weak cation-exchange membrane consisted of a carboxylic acid-based, environmentally-responsive hydrogel layer bonded to a polymer matrix. Lysozyme was chosen to illustrate protein-membrane binding interactions due to its well-characterized nature and positive surface charge over a large pH range. For the static binding set-up, two sources of lysozyme were studied: pure lysozyme and egg whites treated with 60 % (v/v) ethanol (ESEW). Elution of bound protein was performed with 1 M NaCl under two pH strategies: binding and elution at a constant pH, and binding at pH 4.5 and variable elution pH. The highest maximum total protein binding capacity for pure lysozyme and ESEW was observed at pH 4.5 with no NaCl addition; however, poor total protein and lysozyme activity recovery were achieved during separation. As well, other egg white proteins, such as ovomucoid, were observed to bind to the membrane surface at pH 4.5, despite possessing similar charge polarity to the anionic membrane surface, indicating a non-electrostatic binding mechanism during operation below the membrane’s pKa (4.7). Based on the conditions tested, the highest total protein and lysozyme activity recovery was demonstrated for the separation of lysozyme from ESEW at pH 7.5 binding and elution and no NaCl addition. In the dynamic binding study, very high pure lysozyme dynamic binding capacity was achieved at 10 % breakthrough (167.3 mg/ml membrane for a 0.35 mg/ml lysozyme solution). The lysozyme dynamic binding capacity was 2.2 times greater than the static binding capacity under similar conditions, significantly higher than published results for other cation-exchange membranes. The separation of lysozyme from four lysozyme sources was tested: pure lysozyme, ESEW, and aqueous egg whites with (ASEW) and without (AEW) 100 mM NaCl. The highest lysozyme activity recovery during separation and lysozyme purity was achieved from the ESEW feed. Lysozyme separation from aqueous egg whites was not as effective, likely due to a high concentration of negatively-charged protein impurities fouling the surface of the membrane. Competitive binding to the membrane limited lysozyme binding and reduced the purity of the recovery elution stream. The application of feed-side pressure during the separation of ESEW produced a high purity, high recovery lysozyme elution stream with a significant reduction in processing time; however, protein aggregates were observed to form on the membrane surface, limiting the applicability of high-pressure operation and reducing protein functionality in the elution stream. The weak cation-exchange membrane system was shown to successfully separate out a target protein from a low concentration protein mixture through electrostatic interactions, and may be further applied to other protein systems.

The purpose of this thesis was to design controllers by using H1 and &sup1 / control strategies in order to suppress the free and forced vibrations of smart structures. The smart structures analyzed in this study were the smart beam and the smart &macr / n. They were aluminum passive structures with surface bonded PZT (Lead-Zirconate-Titanate) patches. The structures were considered in clamped-free con&macr / guration. The &macr / rst part of this study focused on the identi&macr / cation of nominal system models of the smart structures from the experimental data. For the experimentally identi&macr / ed models the robust controllers were designed by using H1 and &sup1 / -synthesis strategies. In the second part, the controller implementation was carried out for the suppression of free and forced vibrations of the smart structures. Within the framework of this study, a Smart Structures Laboratory was established in the Aerospace Engineering Department of METU. The controller implementations were carried out by considering two di&reg / erent experimental set-ups. In the &macr / rst set-up the controller designs were based on the strain measurements. In the second approach, the displacement measurements, which were acquired through laser displacement sensor, were considered in the controller design. The &macr / rst two &deg / exural modes of the smart beam were successfully controlled by using H1 method. The vibrations of the &macr / rst two &deg / exural and &macr / rst torsional modes of the smart &macr / n were suppressed through the &sup1 / -synthesis. Satisfactory attenuation levels were achieved for both strain measurement and displacement measurement applications.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Sept. 16, 2008). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-112).

Thorium(IV) and uranium(IV) coordination complexes have been studied for the last 60 years. They have shown interesting reactivity that is often divergent from that of transition metal complexes, and that also provides an insight into some unanticipated differences between thorium(IV) and uranium(IV). An introduction to thorium(IV) and uranium(IV) organometallic chemistry supported by carbocyclic and N-donor ligands is given in Chapter One. The reactivity of actinide alkyl, amide and alkynyl complexes towards small molecules is discussed and select examples provided. The redox chemistry of thorium and uranium is also introduced. Chapter Two describes the alkylation and amination chemistry of uranium(IV) and thorium(IV) trans-calix[2]benzene[2]pyrrolide ((L)2-) complexes, [(L)AnCl2], yielding new actinide(IV) complexes of the type [M(L-2H)An(R)] (M = Li or K, R = Me, CH2SiMe3, CH2Ph, N(SiMe3)2), where (L)2- undergoes further deprotonation to (L-2H)4-. Additionally, the lability of the [M(L-2H)An(R)] “ate”-complexes towards M+ ion exchange is addressed. Further, the selective ligand reprotonation of (L-2H)4- to (L)2- using HSiR'3 (R' = Me, iPr) and [Et3NH][BPh4] yielding [(L)An(C≡CSiR'3)2] and [(L)An(R)][BPh4] respectively, is explained. The reactivity of these complexes towards amines, silanes, alkenes, tin hydrides, silicone grease, tBuNC, H2, CO, CO2 or CS2 is described. Crystallographic characterisation shows that [(L)Th(N(SiMe3)2)][BPh4] contains an unusual example of a thorium(IV) bis-arene coordination mode. The reactivity of [(L)Th(C≡CSiMe3)2] towards a number of substrates including alkenes, [Ni(COD)2], [Pt(norbornene)3], P4, CO2 or H2 is also discussed. Activation of CO2 by [(L)Th(C≡CSiMe3)2] at 80 °C results in (L)2- functionalisation and abstraction to yield a new tricyclic organic molecule with the general formula LCO. The addition of [Ni(COD)2] to [(L)Th(C≡CSiMe3)2] and PR''3 (R'' = phenyl, cyclohexyl) yields heterobimetallic complexes [(L)Th(C≡CSiMe3)2·Ni(PR''3)]; these products display both dipyrrolic and bis-arene coordination. The changes in ligand coordination mode are discussed alongside DFT computational analyses that have been carried out by collaborators. The substitution reactions of [(L)AnCl2] with NaBH4 to form actinide(IV) borohydride complexes [(L)An(BH4)2] and subsequent attempted abstractions of BH3 from [(L)Th(BH4)2] are presented. Conclusions are provided at the end of the chapter. Chapter Three focusses on the oxidation chemistry of uranium(IV) within the (L)2- and (L-2H)4- ligand framework, prompted by the isolation of a uranium(V) complex [Li[(L)UO2]·LiI] from the oxidation of the uranium(IV) complex [Li(L-2H)U(Me)]. Conclusions are provided at the end of the chapter. Experimental methods and characterising data are given in Chapter Four.

This diploma thesis deals with the composting of biodegradace waste in selected plants. The goal was to determine the CEC according to Sandhoff and to create a proposal for the optimal composting technology of biodegradable materials in Trhový Štěpánov composting plant. Samples were taken from five selected plants, from the EKOSO Trhový Štěpánov composting plant, the municipalcomposting plant Votice, AGORY s.r.o. Želivec, kompostárny Jarošovice s.r.o. and the HANTÁLY composting plant in Velké Pavlovice. The thesis contains two interconnected parts, theoretical knowledge and practical part, where the results of laboratory analyzes are summarized.