L'objectif général de ce projet est d'apporter des données pertinentes sur le devenir de produits pharmaceutiques dans l'environnement, en particulier aux interfaces eau/sol, afin de mieux suivre les conséquences de leurs utilisations et de leurs rejets. A long terme, les enjeux concernent la protection de l'environnement et de la santé publique. Ces travaux portent sur la caractérisation des propriétés de rétention de cinq médicaments dans des sols calcaires de la région Champagne-Ardenne afin d'évaluer notamment leur potentiel transfert vers les milieux aquatiques. Différents paramètres ont été identifiés comme ayant une influence sur leur rétention. La rétention de l'enrofloxacine dépend fortement du pH et de la force ionique, celle du diclofénac des teneurs en CaCO3 et en matière organique des sols qui ont un effet antagoniste sur son adsorption, celle de la carbamazépine et du sulfaméthoxazole est faible sur un sol calcaire, et enfin la rétention du iopamidol est négligeable. Par ailleurs, l'influence des cations métalliques, polluants ubiquistes des sols, sur la rétention des médicaments a également été étudiée. Les expériences de co-adsorption ont montré que la présence de cuivre et de zinc influence significativement la rétention de l'enrofloxacine, conduisant à une augmentation des quantités adsorbées sur le sol via la formation d'un complexe ternaire de surface, et met ainsi en évidence l'importance de prendre en compte l'interaction des médicaments avec les métaux pour une meilleure compréhension de leur comportement dans les sols. Toutefois, aucune influence notable de la présence de cuivre sur la rétention des autres produits pharmaceutiques n'a été observée. / The overall objective of this project is to provide a better knowledge of pharmaceuticals fate in the environment, more particularly at water/soil interfaces, in order to follow the consequences of their use and disposal. The long-term issues concern the protection of the environment and public health. This work focuses on the characterization of retention properties of five pharmaceuticals in calcareous soils of the Champagne-Ardenne region in order to evaluate their potential transfer to water compartments. Various parameters having an influence on their retention were identified. The retention of enrofloxacin is highly affected by pH and ionic strength, diclofenac retention by CaCO3 and organic matter contents of soils which have antagonistic effect on its adsorption, the retention of sulfamethoxazole and carbamazepine is low on a calcareous soil, and iopamidol adsorption is negligible. Moreover, the influence of metal cations, ubiquitous pollutants in soils, on pharmaceuticals retention was also studied. Co-adsorption experiments indicated that the presence of copper and zinc modifies significantly enrofloxacin retention, leading to an increase of adsorbed amounts on the soil via the formation of a ternary surface complex, thus highlighting the importance to take into account the interaction between metals and pharmaceuticals for a better understanding of their behavior in soils. However, no noticeable impact of the presence of copper on other pharmaceuticals retention has been noticed.

La service-dominant logic (S-D logic) est une approche qui montre l'importance de créer le marketing avec les consommateurs (orienté-processus) et non vers les consommateurs (orienté-output). En outre, la S-D logic souligne l'importance des ressources opérantes (immatérielles, par exemple les compétences) plutôt que les ressources opérandes (matérielles). La contribution la plus importante de la S-D logic est que le consommateur n’y est pas considéré comme un acteur passif mais comme un partenaire actif toujours cocréateur de valeur. La compréhension de ce qui mène à la co-création de valeur et son importance est rarement étudiée. De plus, bien que la S-D logic ait des implications majeures pour toutes les autres activités de marketing, il n’existe que peu de recherches abordant le processus de rétablissement de service après un incident. Plus spécifiquement, les études précédentes ont peu abordé des points tels que ce qui contribue à la co-création de la valeur, le rôle des ressources opérantes, le moment de co-création de la valeur et la motivation des consommateurs à contribuer au processus de rétablissement du service. Cette recherche se propose de répondre à ces questions en étudiant le mécanisme psychologique sous-jacent à la façon dont les ressources opérantes sont utilisées pour le processus de rétablissement de service et sur leurs conditions de co-affectation pour générer une valeur co-créée. Cette thèse soutient que la capacité des consommateurs à intégrer leurs ressources pour co-créer le rétablissement de service les motive à exprimer une volonté plus forte de co-création et les amène à profiter de valeurs hédoniques et utilitaires. Pour tester cette hypothèse, cette thèse étudie lΥimpact de la capacité des consommateurs pour la cocréation de rétablissement de service sur leur participation à ce rétablissement en tenant compte des motivations extrinsèque et intrinsèque en tant que médiateurs. De plus, elle explore le rôle de plusieurs variables modératrices (clarté du rôle, blâme interne, confiance dans la capacité de résolution du fournisseur de services et émotions négatives) pour acquérir une meilleure compréhension de la co-création de rétablissement de service. Les résultats révèlent que seulement la motivation extrinsèque médiatise partiellement la relation entre la capacité des consommateurs pour la co-création et la participation des consommateurs au rétablissement du service. En outre, les résultats démontrent que la participation des consommateurs au rétablissement de service augmente sa valeur utilitaire mais diminue sa valeur hédonique. / Service-dominant logic is a mindset in marketing literature which embraces a process orientation rather than an output orientation. Moreover, S-D logic emphasizes the role of operant resources (e.g skills) rather than operand (tangible) resources, which importance is high as there are the source of competitive advantage. The most important contribution of this emerging school of thought is that customers shift from being passive to active, who always co-create value with firms and other stakeholders. Understanding therefore what leads to value co-creation is a major issue and also neglected. Furthermore, although this shift has important implications for all service activities, very little research has focused on service recovery context. What is more it is not yet known what contributes to value co-creation and what is the role of operant resources in a service recovery context, while prior studies have no examined under which circumstances value is co-created and what motivates customers to contribute their resources in the service recovery process. With the goal of addressing these issues, this study focuses on the underlying mechanism of how operant resources are utilized during service recovery and, in turn, under which conditions co-allocation of these resources generates co-created value. It argues that the consumers’ ability to integrate their resources to co-recover from a service failure motivates them to express higher value co-recovery in-role behavior and hence enjoy higher hedonic and utilitarian values. To test this claim, this dissertation investigates the impact of consumers’ ability to co-recover on value co-recovery in-role behavior by taking into account extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as mediators. It also explores the role of several moderating variables (role clarity, internal blame, trust in service provider’s resolution ability, and negative emotions) to gain a deeper understanding of the co-recovery process. The results reveal that only extrinsic motivation partially mediates the relationship between ability to co-recover and value co-recovery in-role behavior. Furthermore, outcomes demonstrate that value co-recovery in-role behavior increases utilitarian value but decreases hedonic value.

Student Number : 0109917P - PhD thesis - School of Process and Materials Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / The aim of this project was to characterise new WC-10VC-Co powders, and to deposit WC-10VC-Co thermal spray coatings from these powders for characterisation and testing in adhesion, wear and corrosion tests. Throughout the project, the new powders and coatings were compared to commercial WC-Co powders of the same binder content and commercial WC-Co thermal spray coatings. All the powders i.e WC-10VC-Co and WC-Co powders, were produced by agglomeration (by spray drying) and sintering and characaterised by determining the sizes and size distributions of the powders' particles, the morphology, the flowability and the phase composition and grain size and size distribution of carbide grains. The vanadium carbide in the WC-10VC-Co powders occurred in the solution as the double carbide (V,W)C and the carbides present in the WC-10VC-Co powders were WC and (V,W)C. None of the starting VC was left in the powders. Coatings were deposited using high pressure high velocity oxy-fuel (HP/HVOF) spraying systems, and characterized by determining the microstructures, the phase compositions and the carbide grain sizes, as had been done for the powders. Three types of tests were done on the coatings: adhesion tests, (according to standard SNECMA 14 -008); dry abrasion, wet abrasion and slurry erosion tests; and corrosion tests, in synthetic mione water. Thermal spraying lead to some WC decarburization to W2C and eta phase, and to the formation of amorphous binder. The W2C grains from the WC decarburization formed in the amorphous binder matrix of coatings. All the coatinge were porous, but the new WC-10VC-Co coatings were more porous than the commercial Wc-Co coatings because the spray parameters had only been optimized for the WC-Co coatings. The carbide grains decreased in size by as much as 50% during decomposition. Evidence suggested that the WC grains in the coatings were subjected to different residual stresses that in the powders, probably due to the formation of the amorphous binder. Vanadium carbide in the Wc-10VC-Co coatings occurred as (V,W)C, just as in the powders, with as distribution that was reasonably homogeneous. The apparent hardness of the new Wc-10VC-Co coatings was slightly lower than that of WC-Co coatings of the same cobalt content, due to their higher porosity. The adhesion of the new Wc-10VC-Co coatings was as good as that of the Wc-Co coatings. The dry and wet abrasion resistance of the new Wc-10VC-Co coatings was better that for the Wc-Co coatings of equal Co wt%, on account of the Wc-10VC-Co coatings having a lower binder volume fraction, finer carbide grains, and (V,W)C grains. The (V,W)C grains are harder than WC grains and apparently slowed down the overall abrasion rate. In slurry erosion, the best performance of the Wc-10VC-Co coatings was as good as that of the commercial WC-Co coatings at equal cobalt mass content, due to the higher porosity of the Wc-10VC-Co coatings, apparent faster erosion of the harder but brittle (V,W)C grains, and, from what evidence appreared to suggest, generally slightly poorer erosion resistance of the fine WC grains under the test conditions used. Polishing the slurry erosion test specimens reduced mass losses in slurry erosion by factor of up to 10 compared to the unpolished specimens, and led to better erosion resistance of the WC-10VC-Co coating compared to the WC-12Co coating. The results of the tests done to investigate the corrosion properties of the coatings were conclusive. This is because the effects of cleaning procedures on mass loss after immersion corrosion were not explored, and it appeared, for some coatings, that the corrosion mechanisms in immersion corrosion could not be reproduced in electrochemical testing.

Ce projet de thèse se propose d’évaluer le devenir, la cytotoxicité et la réponse inflammatoire pulmonaire in vitro suite à l’exposition aux nanoparticules, et plus particulièrement vis-à-vis de la région alvéolaire.Les nanoparticules étudiées sont formulées à base d’acide poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) (polymère biodégradable), stabilisées, ou non, par différents polymères de surface (alcool polyvinylique (PVA), chitosane (CS), pluronic F68 (PF68)). Les nanoparticules ont une taille d’environ 200 nm, et présentent des charges de surface neutre (PLGA/PVA), positive (PLGA/CS) ou négative (PLGA/PF68 et PLGA sans stabilisant). Des nanoparticules non-biodégradables de dioxyde de titane (TiO2) et de polystyrène ont été choisies comme contrôle positif. Pour mimer les conditions alvéolaires, la lignée cellulaire A549 d’épithélium alvéolaire humain a été utilisée en mono-culture et en co-culture en contact direct avec des macrophages différenciés de monocytes humains (lignée THP-1). Les caractérisations phénotypique et microscopique de la co-culture, ont confirmé la présence de deux types cellulaires viables et en contact. Le CD14, récepteur membranaire exprimé uniquement par les macrophages, sera utilisé pour identifier chaque sous-population cellulaire. D’autre part, l’analyse du récepteur CD54 a montré la présence d’interactions intercellulaires en co-culture : exprimé uniquement par les macrophages en mono-culture, il est exprimé par les deux sous-populations cellulaires en co-culture. Ces interactions ont été confirmées lors de la quantification des cytokines sécrétées après exposition au lipopolysaccharide: les niveaux de sécrétions en co-culture étant jusqu’à 5 fois supérieurs aux niveaux théoriques (issus de la somme des sécrétions en mono-culture).L’analyse en microscopie confocale a confirmé que les nanoparticules sont internalisées par chaque type cellulaire, Les cinétiques d’internalisation suivies en cytométrie en flux ont montré que les nanoparticules de charge de surface négative sont internalisées en plus grande quantité que les autres, quelque soit le type cellulaire, en mono ou en co-culture, selon un mécanisme énergie-dépendant. Enfin, en co-culture, les macrophages internalisent davantage de nanoparticules que les cellules épithéliales.La cytotoxicité des nanoparticules a été évaluée par la mesure de l’activité mitochondriale, l’étude de l’intégrité membranaire, et le type de mort cellulaire. Les résultats montrent qu’à faible concentration toutes les nanoparticules de PLGA induisent une cytotoxicité généralement faible (60 à 80 % de viabilité), avec une mort exclusivement nécrotique, sans induire de forts dommages à la membrane. La toxicité des nanoparticules de PLGA/CS peut être expliquée par la toxicité propre du chitosane. A forte concentration, le cas des nanoparticules de PLGA sans stabilisant mérite d’être noté, car elles n’induisent aucune cytotoxicité vis-à-vis des macrophages, contrairement aux nanoparticules stabilisées. La cytotoxicité des nanoparticules de TiO2 est plus importante, mais peu de dommages à la membrane sont causés. La réponse inflammatoire a été évaluée par la quantification des cytokines sécrétées après 24 h d’exposition aux nanoparticules (0,1 mg/mL). En mono-culture, seules les nanoparticules de PLGA/PF68 induisent une réponse inflammatoire sur les cellules A549, corrélée à leur plus grande internalisation. En co-culture, la réponse inflammatoire est peu prononcée. En revanche, ni les polymères de surface ni les nanoparticules de PLGA sans stabilisant, n’induisent de réponse inflammatoire spécifique.Ces résultats montrent la faible toxicité des nanoparticules de PLGA vis-à-vis des conditions alvéolaires, et soulignent l’importance du recouvrement de surface. En conclusion, les nanoparticules de PLGA testées présentent un fort intérêt pour une application biomédicale, modulée par l’ajustement des propriétés de surface. / The pulmonary route has attracted great attention for the delivery of nanomedicines due to the non invasiveness, a weak enzymatic activity and potential alveolar retention and/or absorption. However, the potential pulmonary toxicity of nanoparticles raises a lot of concern, especially for manufactured, non-biodegradable nanoparticles. In this study, we design and characterize an in vitro model of lung epithelium based on a co-culture of alveolar epithelial-like cells (A549) and macrophages (differentiated from THP-1 monocytes), and use it to assess the potential toxicity of various biodegradable nanoparticles in the form of nanocarriers, as compared to non-biodegradable nanoparticles used in manufactured products. The ultimate goal is to provide a safety pattern of nanoparticles relevant for drug delivery to the lung.The co-culture was characterized by flow cytometry (analysis of three cell membrane receptors: CD14, CD11b and CD54) and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The presence of two different cell types was evidenced, as well as several cellular interactions. For instance, after exposure to a pro-inflammatory compound, synergistic effects were observed, in terms of cytokine secretions ( IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and MCP-1). Such co-cultures are thus a valuable tool to investigate the inflammatory response following exposure to nanoparticles. On the other hand, the cell membrane receptor CD14 (expressed only by macrophages) was used as an identification tool to distinguish each cell population in co-culture.Biodegradable nanoparticles having size around 230 nm, were prepared according to an emulsion-evaporation process using poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA). The use of polyvinylalcohol (PVA), chitosan (CS) or poloxamer (PF68) as stabilizers allows the formation of, respectively, neutral, positively- or negatively-charged nanoparticles. In addition, stabilizer-free nanoparticles (negatively charged) were prepared. Commercial titanium dioxide and polystyrene nanoparticles were used as non-biodegradable nanoparticles.After exposure to nanoparticles, uptake kinetics (flow cytometry and confocal microscopy) were performed in cells in mono and co-culture. Negatively-charged nanoparticles (stabilizer-free PLGA and PLGA/PF68 nanoparticles) were found in higher quantity in each cell population. Several cytotoxicity tests (MTT, trypan blue, selective membrane permeability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release) have shown a low to medium cytotoxicity of PLGA nanoparticles. The cytotoxicity of PLGA/CS nanoparticles was attributed to the cytotoxicity of the chitosan in solution, whereas the cytotoxicity of PLGA/PF68 nanoparticles was attributed to their higher uptake. After 24 h exposure to a low dose of PLGA nanoparticles, a low inflammatory response was detected. Non-biodegradable nanoparticles have shown a slightly higher toxicity.Differences observed among PLGA nanoparticles in terms of cytotoxicity, cell uptake quantity and inflammatory response highlight the importance of the coating of nanocarriers for drug delivery application.

Ce travail doctoral concerne l’expérience de co-création d’innovation, il s’agit de concours d’innovation organisés par les marques à travers des plateformes internet. Cette pratique présente l’intérêt de produire des idées créatives à moindre coût et dans un délai plus court. Cependant cette démarche d’innovation n’est pas sans poser de nombreuses questions en termes d’ergonomie du site et de politique de stimulation favorisant l’engagement des consommateurs. A partir de quatre études empiriques, deux qualitatives et deux quantitatives, (1) nous identifions les motivations des consommateurs à participer à des concours d’innovation, (2) puis nous mettons en évidence 5 dimensions du concept d’expérience de co-création d’innovation, (3) nous caractérisons les récompenses qui favorisent le plus la créativité et enfin, (4) nous présentons les effets de l’expérience de co-création sur la créativité, la participation et la réputation de la firme innovante / This doctoral work deals with co-creation experience of innovation, it is innovation competition organized by brands through internet platforms. This practice has the advantage of producing creative ideas at lower cost and in a shorter time. However, this innovative approach raises many questions in terms of website usability and incentives promoting consumer engagement. From four empirical studies, two qualitative and two quantitative , (1) we identify consumers’motivation to participate in innovation competition, (2) and we highlight five dimensions of co-creation experience concept , (3) we characterize the rewards that stimulate creativity and finally, (4) we present the effects of experience co-creation on creativity, participation and reputation of the innovative firm

Dans ce travail de thèse, nous abordons les problèmes de commande posés en co-manipulation robotique pour des tâches de manutention à travers un point de vue dont nous pensons qu’il n’est pas suffisamment exploité, bien qu’il a recourt à des outils classiques en robotique. Le problème de commande en co-manipulation robotique est souvent abordé par le biais des méthodes de contrôle d’impédance, où l’objectif est d’établir une relation mathématique entre la vitesse linéaire du point d’interaction homme-robot et la force d’interaction appliquée par l’opérateur humain au même point. Cette thèse aborde le problème de co-manipulation robotique pour des tâches de manutention comme un problème de commande optimale sous contrainte. Le point de vue proposé se base sur la mise en œuvre d’un Générateur de Trajectoire Temps-Réel spécifique, combiné à une boucle d’asservissement cinématique. Le générateur de trajectoire est conçu de manière à traduire les intentions de l’opérateur humain en trajectoires idéales que le robot doit suivre ? Il fonctionne comme un automate à deux états dont les transitions sont contrôlées par évènement, en comparant l’amplitude de la force d’interaction à un seuil de force ajustable, afin de permettre à l’opérateur humain de garder l’autorité sur les états de mouvement du robot. Pour assurer une interaction fluide, nous proposons de générer un profil de vitesse colinéaire à la force appliquée au point d’interaction. La boucle d’asservissement est alors utilisée afin de satisfaire les exigences de stabilité et de qualité du suivi de trajectoire tout en garantissant l’assistance une interaction homme-robot sûre. Plusieurs méthodes de synthèse sont appliquées pour concevoir des correcteurs efficaces qui assurent un bon suivi des trajectoires générées. L’ensemble est illustré à travers deux modèles de robot. Le premier est le penducobot, qui correspond à un robot sous-actionné à deux degrés de liberté et évoluant dans le plan. Le deuxième est un robot à deux bras complètement actionné. / In this thesis, we address the co-manipulation control problems for the handling tasks through a viewpoint that we do not think sufficiently explored, even it employs classical tools of robotics. The problem of robotic co-manipulation is often addressed using impedance control based methods where we seek to establish a mathematical relation between the velocity of the human-robot interaction point and the force applied by the human operator at this point. This thesis addresses the problem of co-manipulation for handling tasks seen as a constrained optimal control problem. The proposed point of view relies on the implementation of a specific online trajectory generator (OTG) associated to a kinematic feedback loop. This OTG is designed so as to translate the human operator intentions to ideal trajectories that the robot must follow. It works as an automaton with two states of motion whose transitions are controlled by comparing the magnitude of the force to an adjustable threshold, in order to enable the operator to keep authority over the robot’s states of motion. To ensure the smoothness of the interaction, we propose to generate a velocity profile collinear to the force applied at the interaction point. The feedback control loop is then used to satisfy the requirements of stability and of trajectory tracking to guarantee assistance and operator security. Several methods are used to design efficient controllers that ensure the tracking of the generated trajectory. The overall strategy is illustrated through two mechanical systems. The first is the penducobot which is an underactuated robot. The second is the planar robot with two degrees of freedom fully actuated.

Bacteriocinas produzidas por bactérias láticas (BAL) apresentam um importante potencial de aplicação na bioconservação de alimentos, por sua ação antimicrobiana contra algumas espécies de microrganismos patogênicos de relevância, como Listeria monocytogenes. Este estudo analisou o efeito da interação entre cepas selecionadas de BAL produtoras de bacteriocinas com outras BAL viáveis ou não viáveis (bacteriocinogênicas ou não) na indução da produção de bacteriocinas. O efeito dos metabólitos produzidos por estas cepas na indução da bacteriocinogênese também foi avaliado. As cepas produtoras de bacteriocinas selecionadas para o estudo foram Lactobacillus sakei MBSa1, produtora de sakacina A e Pediococcus acidilactici ET34, produtora de pediocina, isoladas de salame e salmão defumado, respectivamente. A produção de pediocina por P. acidilactici ET34 foi avaliada também em leite em pó desnatado reconstituído, além de meio de cultura (caldo MRS). Os resultados indicaram que, quando em co-cultura com Enterococcus faecalis ATCC12755, Lactobacillus sakei ATCC15521 ou Listeria monocytogenes (cepas 104, 711 e 637), ou na presença do sobrenadante livre de células (SLC) dessas culturas, nenhuma das duas cepas testadas produziu maior quantidade de bacteriocina do que a produzida quando em monocultura ou na ausência do SLC. A bacteriocina produzida por P. acidilactici ET34 apresentou um efeito bacteriostático contra L. monocytogenes 104 no leite em pó desnatado reconstituído nas 12 h analisadas, com extensão da fase lag, de forma dose-dependente. Os resultados indicaram, também, que P. acidilactici ET34 não foi capaz de produzir pediocina no leite em pó desnatado reconstituído quando em monocultura ou em co-cultura, ao contrário do observado para o caldo MRS. Mais investigação é necessária para esclarecer os efeitos de possíveis interações entre as BAL presentes em um alimento, bem como o efeito dos componentes dos alimentos na produção das bacteriocinas pelas BAL bacteriocinogênicas. / Bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) present an important application potential in food biopreservation, by their antimicrobial activity against some species of pathogenic microorganisms of relevance, such as Listeria monocytogenes. This study analyzed the effect of the interaction between selected strains of bacteriocin-producing LAB with other viable or non-viable LAB (bacteriocinogenic or not) in the induction of bacteriocin production. The effect of the metabolites produced by these strains on the induction of bacteriocinogenesis was also evaluated. The bacteriocin-producing strains selected for the study were Lactobacillus sakei MBSa1, producer of sakacin A and Pediococcus acidilactici ET34, producer of pediocin, isolated from salami and smoked salmon, respectively. The production of pediocin by P. acidilactici ET34 was also evaluated in reconstituted skimmed milk powder as well as culture medium (MRS broth). The results indicated that when co-cultivated with Enterococcus faecalis ATCC12755, Lactobacillus sakei ATCC15521 or Listeria monocytogenes (strains 104, 711 and 637), or in the presence of the cell free supernatant (SLC) of these cultures, neither of the two strains tested produced greater amount of bacteriocin than that produced in monoculture or in the absence of SLC. The bacteriocin produced by P. acidilactici ET34 presented a bacteriostatic effect against L. monocytogenes 104 in skimmed milk powder reconstituted in 12h, with extension of lag phase, in a dose-dependent manner. The results also indicated that P. acidilactici ET34 was not able to produce pediocin in the reconstituted skimmed milk powder when in monoculture or in co-culture, unlike that observed for the MRS broth. More research is needed to clarify the effects of possible interactions between BAL present in a food and the effect of food components on bacteriocin production by bacteriocinogenic BAL.

Sementes de tomate do híbrido Gladiador foram expostas a radiações gama do Co-60 nas doses 0; 2,5; 5; 7,5; 10; 12,5; 15 e 20 Gy. Foram analisados vários parâmetros como germinação, altura da plântula até o cotilédone, altura total da plântula, peso fresco e seco da plântula, altura da planta, diâmetro do caule da planta, peso fresco e seco e área da 5º folha, número de frutos verdes com diâmetro maior que 3 cm, número de frutos esverdeados, de vez e maduros, número total de frutos, Brix e pH dos frutos, peso médio dos frutos e produção total de frutos. Diferentes efeitos estimulantes foram observados nos diversos estádios de desenvolvimento das plantas. O maior estímulo, para produção ocorreu para a dose de 10 Gy. As maiores alturas médias da plântula e da planta ocorreram para a dose de 7,5 Gy. O maior número de frutos verdes com 3 cm de diâmetro ocorreu para o tratamento de 12,5 e 15 Gy. A irradiação também estimulou a produção de maior número total de frutos, em todas as doses aplicadas, com vantagem para a dose de 10 Gy que produziu 88% mais frutos que a testemunha e também uma produção em peso 86% maior. O pH dos frutos acidificou significativamente a partir da dose de 12,5 Gy. Houve aumento na produção em todos os tratamentos em relação à testemunha sendo que o maior estímulo para produção ocorreu para as doses de 10, 12,5 e 15 Gy. O uso de baixas doses de radiação gama do Co- 60 aplicado no tratamento pré-semeadura, nas sementes, mostrou-se eficiente em estimular o desenvolvimento das plantas e aumentar a produção do tomate. / Tomato seeds of the Gladiador hybrid were exposed to gamma radiation of Co-60 with the following doses: 0; 2,5; 5; 7,5; 10; 12,5; 15 e 20 Gy. Analysis were performed on germination, seedlings height to cotyledon, seedling total height, seedling fresh and dry weight, plant height, stalk diameter at the root beginning, fresh and dry weight of the 5th leaf, number of green fruits with diameter higher than 3 cm, number of green, half ripen and ripen fruits, total number of fruits, Brix and pH of fruits, average fruit weight and fruit total production. A variety of stimulation effects were observed on the different plant developing stages. The greatest stimulus for production was observed in the 10 Gy dose. The highest seedling average height and plant average height were observed for the 7,5 Gy dose. The biggest number of green fruits with diameter higher than 3 cm occurred for the 12,5 and 15 Gy treatments. Irradiation also stimulated a higher total number of fruits in all doses, having advantage the 10 Gy dose which produced 88% more fruits than control as well as 86% more weight production. The fruits pH acidified significantly in a dose of 12,5 Gy and higher. Production increased in all treatments comparing to control and the highest stimulus for production observed was for the 10, 12,5 and 15 Gy. The use of low gamma radiation doses of Co-60 applied as pre-sowing treatment in the seeds, efficiently stimulated the development of plants and the tomato production.

Atualmente, as nanopartículas superparamagnéticas despertam enorme interesse científico devido sua grande variedade de aplicações em biomedicina, tanto na área de diagnóstico quanto no tratamento de enfermidades. Embora muitos materiais vem sendo estudados, os óxidos de ferro (magnetita e maghemita) apresentam maiores avanços nos estudos para aplicações em medicina. A preferência por óxidos de ferro se deve a baixa toxicidade destas partículas quando comparado as nanopartículas metálicas ou ligas. Entretanto, as nanopartículas destes óxidos possuem baixas magnetizações de saturação que diminuem ainda mais com as sucessivas etapas de recobrimento necessárias para conferir funcionalidade a estas partículas. Desse modo, há uma necessidade atual para o desenvolvimento de nanopartículas superparamagnéticas com elevada magnetização, baixa toxicidade e maior facilidade de funcionalização da sua superfície com biopolímeros e agentes funcionalizantes. Neste trabalho, nanopartículas superparamagnéticas de cobalto metálico e ferrita de cobalto foram sintetizadas e suas propriedades magnéticas foram comparadas com a magnetita. Nanopartículas de cobalto foram escolhidas, pois seu elevado comportamento ferromagnético é menor apenas que o ferro metálico, além do baixo custo de seus reagentes. As nanopartículas magnéticas foram sintetizadas pelos métodos de microemulsão e decomposição térmica (baseado no método poliol) e suas composições química, estrutural, tamanho e distribuição de tamanho foram devidamente determinadas. Além disso, as nanopartículas de cobalto metálico e ferrita de cobalto foram recobertas com ouro utilizando o método de crescimento mediado por semente. Os sistemas microemulsionados utilizados neste trabalho não foram eficientes nem na síntese de nanopartículas estáveis de cobalto metálico nem no seu esperado controle morfológico. Já o método de decomposição térmica resultou em um rigoroso controle de composição química, estrutural e morfológico para as diferentes nanopartículas sintetizadas. O recobrimento com ouro foi efetivo na proteção do núcleo magnético e adicionalmente conferiu estabilidade, baixa toxicidade e bifuncionalidade às nanopartículas magnéticas através do seu fenômeno de ressonância plasmônica de superfície o qual foi preservado na nanoestrutura core@shell. O comportamento superparamagnético das nanopartículas de cobalto metálico recobertas com ouro e sua elevada magnetização de saturação foram expressivamente intensificadas quando comparadas as nanopartículas de magnetita sem recobrimento. Portanto, as nanopartículas sintetizadas neste trabalho apresentam propriedades de superfície e magnéticas otimizadas demonstrando um bom potencial para aplicações em biomedicina como sensores bifuncionais óptico-magnético. / Superparamagnetic nanoparticles have been extensively studied because its wide range of biomedical applications in both diagnostic and therapy areas. Although different materials are currently investigated, superparamagnetic iron oxides nanoparticles (SPION), magnetite and maghemite, are the most extensively studied for applications in medicine. The lower toxicity profile of the SPION becomes the most attractive than metal or alloys nanoparticles. Nevertheless, iron oxides nanoparticles have low saturation magnetization, which further decreases due to successive coats to provide their functionality, leading the actual demand to develop superparamagnetic nanoparticles with high magnetization, low toxicity and easy surface functionalization with biocompatible agents. In this work, superparamagnetic nanoparticles of metallic cobalt and cobalt ferrite were synthesized and their magnetic properties were compared with the magnetite SPION. Cobalt nanoparticles were chosen because present high ferromagnetic behavior among chemical elements, second only to iron, besides their low cost. The magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by both microemulsion and thermal decomposition (based on the polyol process) methods and their chemical composition, structure, size and size distribution were properly characterized. In addition, the ferrite and metallic cobalt nanoparticles were coated with gold by using the seed-mediated growth method. The used microemulsion systems were not efficient enough to synthesize stable metallic nanoparticles and to promote the expected morphological control even to ferrites. Instead, the thermal decomposition processes resulted in rigorous control of chemical compositional, structure and morphology in all different prepared samples. Au-coating process was effective to protect the magnetic nuclei also giving additional stability, low toxicity and a bifunctionality to the magnetic nanoparticle since their surface plasmon resonance phenomenon was preserved in the core@shell nanostructure. The superparamagnetic behavior of the Au-coated cobalt nanoparticle was preserved and their saturation magnetization was significantly increased compared with the naked magnetite SPION. In conclusion, the synthesized nanoparticles present enhanced magnetic and surface properties showing good potential to be used in biomedical application as bifunctional optical-magnetic sensor.

O cálculo dos vetores de movimento é utilizado em vários processos na área de visão computacional. Problemas como estabelecer rotas de colisão e movimentação da câmera (egomotion) utilizam os vetores como entrada de algoritmos complexos e que demandam muitos recursos computacionais e consequentemente um consumo maior de energia. O fluxo ótico é uma aproximação do campo gerado pelos vetores de movimento. Porém, para aplicações móveis e de baixo consumo de energia se torna inviável o uso de computadores de uso geral. Um sistema embarcado é definido como um computador desenvolvido com um propósito específico referente à aplicação na qual está inserido. O objetivo principal deste trabalho foi elaborar um módulo em sistema embarcado que realiza o cálculo do fluxo ótico. Foi elaborado um co-projeto de hardware e software dedicado e implementados em FPGAs Cyclone II e Stratix IV para a prototipação do sistema. Desta forma, a implementação de um projeto que auxilia a detecção e medição do movimento é importante não só como aplicação isolada, mas para servir de base no desenvolvimento de outras aplicações como tracking, compressão de vídeos, predição de colisão, etc / The motion vectors calculation is used in many processes in the area of computer vision. Problems such as establishing collision routes and the movement of the camera (egomotion) use this vectors as input for complexes algorithms that require many computational and energy resources. The optical flow is an approximation of the field generated by the motion vectors. However, for mobile, low power consumption applications becomes infeasible to use general-purpose computers. An embedded system is defined as a computer designed with a specific purpose related to the application in which it is inserted. The main objective of this work is to implement a hardware and software co-design to assist the optical flow field calculation using the CycloneII and Stratix IV FPGAs. Sad that, it is easily to see that the implementation of a project to help the detection and measurement of the movement can be the base to the development of others applications like tracking, video compression and collision detection