The characteristics of irregular algorithms make a parallel implementation difficult, especially for PC clusters or clusters of SMPs. These characteristics may include an unpredictable access behavior to dynamically changing data structures or strong irregular coupling of computations. Problems are an unknown load distribution and expensive irregular communication patterns for data accesses and redistributions. Thus the parallel implementation of irregular algorithms on distributed memory machines and clusters requires a special organizational mechanism for a dynamic load balance while keeping the communication and administration overhead low. We propose task pool teams for implementing irregular algorithms on clusters of PCs or SMPs. A task pool team combines multithreaded programming using task pools on single nodes with explicit message passing between different nodes. The dynamic load balance mechanism of task pools is generalized to a dynamic load balance scheme for all distributed nodes. We have implemented and compared several versions for task pool teams. As application example, we use the hierarchical radiosity algorithm, which is based on dynamically growing quadtree data structures annotated by varying interaction lists expressing the irregular coupling between the quadtrees. Experiments are performed on a PC cluster and a cluster of SMPs.

Les récepteurs couplés aux protéines G (RCPG) représentent la plus grande famille de protéines membranaires, et ils sont la cible de plus de 25% des médicaments. Ces récepteurs activent diverses voies de signalisation cellulaire via plusieurs familles de protéines G hétéro-trimériques (Gs, Gq, Gi/o et G12/13). Etant donné qu’un RCPG peut activer différentes protéines G, il est important de comprendre comment des ligands favorisent l’activation de certaines protéines G au détriment des autres (ligands biaisés). L’objectif de mon travail a été de développer de nouveaux tests pour l’étude des protéines G qui soient spécifiques d’une famille voire même de certains sous-types de protéines. / G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the main family of membrane proteins, and they are the target of more than 25% of drugs in the market. These receptors activate various signaling pathways through different families of heterotrimeric G proteins (Gs, Gq, Gi/o et G12/13). Since a given GPCR can activate several G proteins, it is important to understand how ligands favor the activation of some of these G proteins (biased ligands). The objective of my thesis was to develop assays to study most G protein subtypes.

Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第16400号 / 工博第3481号 / 新制||工||1526(附属図書館) / 29031 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科電気工学専攻 / (主査)教授 引原 隆士, 教授 田畑 修, 准教授 山田 啓文 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当

Abstract The luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that has a large N-terminal ligand binding ectodomain. The LHR ectodomain splice variant, expressed concomitantly with the full-length LHR in tissues, has an unknown biological function. GPCRs are a major pharmacological target, however, very little is known about the intracellular regulation of these receptors. In the present work, expression and maturation of the rat LHR and its variant were elucidated using both tissues and heterologous expression systems. A special effort was made to identify the role of developmental stage and tissue type on the LHR maturation and to find out about the molecular role of the ectodomain splice variant. We found two sites of localization for the receptor, namely the sensory system and urogenital tissues. This was demonstrated at mRNA and protein level and by rat LHR promoter-driven β-galactosidase (β-Gal) expression in the mice. In neurons, the β-Gal co-localized with the cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme, which may indicate a novel role in the neurosteroid synthesis. The neuronal LHR was expressed in the mature and immature protein forms in both developing and adult tissues, being able to bind hormone with similar high-affinity as gonadal receptors. In contrast, only immature receptors were detected in the fetal rat urogenital structures. A significant novel finding was substantial upregulation of the LHR in pregnant female rat adrenal glands and kidneys at a time that coincides with the differentiation of the fetal urogenital tissues. The mice overexpressing the ectodomain splice variant showed interference in pituitary-gonadal functions and morphological changes in the urogenital tissues. The studies showed that the variant was an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-retained soluble protein. It accumulated in juxtanuclear regions of the ER together with ER folding chaperones and was a substrate for ER associated degradation (ERAD). The co-expression of the variant with the full-length receptor decreased the amount of receptors and misrouted them to the juxtanuclear ER subcompartment. Taken together, we suggest that the maturation of the LHR protein is developmentally and physiologically regulated at the post-translational level in tissues. The LHR ectodomain splice variant possibly modulates post-translationally the number of full-length receptors through physiological signals. Our observation of the chaperone and protein accumulation into a specific ER subcompartment may represent a protein quality control holding compartment for inefficiently/misfolded ERAD substrates.

[pt] Simuladores de escoamento em reservatórios são ferramentas importantes na otimização do desenvolvimento de um campo de petróleo. Estes simuladores modelam o escoamento multifásico através de meios porosos compressíveis, levando em conta as equações de equilíbrio de fases, as leis de fluxo e a variação volumétrica do meio poroso associada à variação da pressão de poros do sistema. As tensões in situ são consideradas através da aplicação de tensões constantes no contorno do reservatório. Este trabalho descreve a utilização de um simulador convencional de reservatório, baseado em diferenças finitas com e sem um módulo geomecânico, e a utilização de um simulador acoplado, que resolve as equações de escoamento e de tensão num mesmo código de elementos finitos. Nesta dissertação são feitas comparações entre os modelos geomecânicos aproximado e rigoroso oferecidos pelos simuladores comerciais, além de ser apresentada uma análise de situações em que esta última forma deve ser realmente considerada. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a influência das tensões in situ em reservatórios de petróleo com base na comparação entre os campos de poropressões obtidos a partir da modelagem de um mesmo sistema com os dois simuladores geomecânicos. São apresentadas as formas de acoplamento e a formulação utilizada em cada um dos modelos. Os modelos geomecânicos utilizados em cada um dos simuladores são comparados. É feita uma comparação entre os resultados obtidos pelos dois simuladores a partir de um modelo bidimensional. / [en] Numerical simulators for reservoir flow analysis are important tools for the optimization of oil field development. These simulators model the multiphase flow through compressible porous medium taking into account the phase equilibrium equations, flow laws and the rock volumetric change associated to the pore pressure change during production. Some simulators have been associated with stress analysis modules in order to use the pore pressure field obtained by the flow simulator and update the stress field within the reservoir. This dissertation describes the use of a conventional reservoir simulator based on finite differences that models multiphase flow in porous media, with and without a geomechanical module, and the use of a fully-coupled simulator that solves both the flow and stress equations in a single finite element code. This dissertation compares the two geomechanical modules, the approximated and the precise, offered by commercial simulators, and analyses the situations in which the rigorous form should be considered, or not. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the influence of in situ stresses in petroleum reservoirs based on the comparison of the pore pressure fields obtained from the modeling of the same system with both geomechanical simulators. The coupling and formulation used in each model are presented. The geomechanical models of both simulators are described. A comparison of the simulators is made using a bidimensional model.

No description available.

M.Sc. / The behaviour i.e. the distribution, bioavailability and toxicity of an element depends on the particular species in which it is present. That being said the prediction of the behaviour of species can therefore not be predicted by determination of the total concentration alone. Speciation analysis is thus an important process, which seeks to identify and quantify the species that occur in a sample. By identifying the species one is better equipped to predict the behaviour of the element if it were released into the ecosystem as well as if it were used in industrial processes. The speciation analysis of the dominant chromium species, Cr(III) and Cr(VI), has received much attention as these contradictory species are involved in many industrial processes such as plating and tanning for example. The species have opposing behaviour as Cr(III) is found to be a necessary micronutrient for mammals where as Cr(VI) is known to be toxic. Of the numerous methods developed for chromium speciation analysis, the on-line process of chromatographic preconcentration followed by simultaneous detection with a sensitive detector produces a synergistic effect for the successful speciation analysis of chromium. It was thus decided to study ion chromatography hyphenated with an ICP-OES as a means of studying chromium species. Anion chromatography coupled with ICP-OES was the basis for the development of the first method. Complexation of Cr(III) with EDTA to form a monovalent anion preceded its separation from Cr(VI) as the chromate anion. A carbonate-bicarbonate eluent was used to elute the species from a Dionex AG 9 guard column coupled with an AS 9 separation column. This method proved to be effective and fast, with each analysis taking less than two minutes. The second method was based on cation chromatography in the form of a Dionex CG12A guard column being coupled with an ICP-OES spectrometer as the detector. This method made use of a gradient elution program in which hexavalent chromium was eluted first with ammonium nitrate followed by trivalent chromium with nitric acid. This method was successfully applied to synthetic samples and was found to be effective.

M.Sc. / The 11B/10B stable isotope ratio in wine- and provenance soil samples of four South African wine regions was determined by means of quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The data obtained was combined with multi-element results for the same samples. Discriminant analysis and ANOVA statistics were utilized to create a footprint of wines compared to their provenance soil. The results showed that the stable boron isotope ratio was a distinguishable characteristic in wine and soil samples for the Stellenbosch, Robertson, Swartland, and Walker Bay wine regions. The potential improvement of precision and accuracy was investigated specifically for ICP-QMS (quadrupole mass spectrometry) analysis of boron isotope ratios. Sample preparation methods for the matrices used in this work were developed and applied. The influence of the matrix components was investigated. Ion exchange separation procedures were developed for the separation of total B from the wine and soil matrices. Results were treated mathematically to minimize mass bias effects. It was found that combined matrix effects and TDS (total dissolved solids) deposition did have a pronounced effect on the 11B/10B isotope ratios of the samples. The possibility of boron isotope fractionation was investigated in vine plants. Hydroponic experiments were set up with test plants of two cultivars. A 10B enriched nutrient solution or growth solution with natural 11B/10B ratio was supplied to the plants during alternating periods of 5 weeks each. New growth leaves were harvested once every week during each of these time periods. All samples were carefully prepared and analyzed to determine the relationship of the 11B/10B ratio in the leaves compared to that of the supplied nutrient solution. It was observed that the 11B/10B isotope ratio of the growth solution had an influence on the 11B/10B stable isotope ratio in new growth leaves of vine plants.

Ph.D. (Geology) / The successions of the Cape- and Karoo Supergroups preserve an integrated history of sedimentation along the paleo-Pacific margin of Gondwana from the Paleozoic to the Early Mesozoic. The Cape- and Karoo Supergroups have been well studied with regard to stratigraphy, sedimentary facies and depositional environment. However, the nature and location of their source regions, especially for the changeover from deposition within an Atlantic-type continental margin basin for the successions of the Cape Supergroup to an Andean-type continental foreland basin for some of the units of the Karoo Supergroup, remains poorly understood. In order to shed light on the nature of these source regions, a comprehensive U-Pb detrital zircon study of the successions of the Cape- and lower Karoo Supergroups was launched. A representative number of samples from the upper and lower successions of the Table Mountain- Bokkeveld- and Witteberg Groups of the Cape Supergroup as well as the Dwyka and Ecca Groups of the Karoo Supergroup were collected throughout the western, southwestern and southern Cape region. A few samples of the Dwyka Group were also collected within the more eastern outcrop regions of the succession located in Kwazulu-Natal. The sedimentary rocks of the Natal Group and Msikaba Formation have long been regarded as coeval with the Cape Supergroup. Similar to the successions of the Cape- and Karoo Supergroups, very little is known about their sedimentary source regions. Also, their relative age of sedimentation remains poorly constrained. The U-Pb detrital zircon study of the successions of the Cape- and lower Karoo Supergroups was thus extended so as to include the successions of the Natal Group and Msikaba Formation. The detrital zircon age populations of the successions of the Natal Group and Msikaba Formation would not only improve the present understanding with regards to the sedimentary source regions to these units but would also facilitate the evaluation of possible correlations between these units and the stratigraphic units of the Cape Supergroup. Samples of both the lower Durban Formation and the upper Mariannhill Formation of the Natal Group and the Msikaba Formation (which is presently regarded as being part of the Cape Supergroup) were therefore collected within their respective outcrop regions in the Kwazulu-Natal area. The similarities in litho- and bio-stratigraphy between the successions of the Cape- and Karoo Supergroups and those of the Ordovician to Early Permian successions of the Ventania System and the Ordovician to Silurian successions of the Tandilia System in Argentina have long been recognized. Although the detrital zircon populations of some of the formations within these Systems have been evaluated in the past, it is yet to be determined whether these successions and those of the Cape- and lower Karoo Supergroups have certain source regions in common. In order to facilitate such a comparison, samples of selected units of the Ventania System were therefore collected near Sierra de la Ventania, while a sample of the Balcarce Formation of the Tandilia System was obtained near Mar del Plata. The detrital zircon age populations of the successions of the Ventania and Tandilia Systems were also further evaluated in the light of establishing or confirming a time-correlation between these formations and those of the Cape- and lower Karoo Supergroups. U-Pb age determination of the detrital zircons population of the samples was conducted by means of Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Although LA-ICP-MS is a routine, well-established technique where the U-Pb age determination of detrital zircons is concerned, it was yet to be established at the centralized analytical facility of the University of Johannesburg, SPECTRUM, using the instrumentation currently available (i.e. 213nm Nd:YAG laser coupled to Quadrupole-based ICP-MS). The U-Pb age determination of detrital zircons was therefore preceded by a fair amount of instrument optimization and method development. Well studied shortcomings of U-Pb detrital zircon dating by LA-ICP-MS such as laser induced elemental fractionation, mass discrimination effects and as well as the possible occurrence of minor common-Pb needs were addressed and corrected for. The detrital zircon populations of successions in the Cape Supergroup have a distinct major Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian age component, which can be attributed to an input of detritus from successions related to the Pan-African Orogeny in South Africa, such as the Gariep- and Saldania Belts located towards the north of the Cape Basin. A substantial amount of Mesoproterozoic detrital zircon grains is also present in all the samples from the successions of the Cape Supergroup. These grains of Mesoproterozoic age were probably derived from the Namaqua-Natal Metamorphic Province, which is also regarded as the source of some minor amounts of Paleoproterozoic detrital zircon grains. The near absence of Archean grains from the detrital zircon populations of the successions of the Cape Supergroup is notable, and is thought to be due to the Namaqua-Natal Metamorphic Province acting as a geomorphological barrier at the time of their deposition. The minor Paleozoic (Ordovician to Carboniferous) detrital zircon populations in the samples from the formations of the Cape Supergroup increase progressively upwards through the succession. ....

M.Sc. / The strontium isotope ratio 87Sr/86Sr in the wine and soil of four wine-producing regions in South Africa has been determined using quadrupole ICP-MS. Isotope ratio measurements with fairly good precision had been obtained and 87Sr/86Sr ratio values in wine and soil samples were statistically evaluated to determine whether the regions investigated could be distinguished. Statistical interpretation of data revealed that the Robertson wine-producing region could be distinguished from Stellenbosch, Swartland and Walker Bay wine regions on the basis of their 87Sr/86Sr ratio. By using a combination of 87Sr/86Sr and multielement data, canonical discriminant functions with very good classification abilities could be obtained to correctly distinguish between wine and soil samples originating from a specific production region. Due to the isobaric overlap of strontium and rubidium at mass 87, a very good strontium-rubidium separation method had to be developed. The chelating properties of EDTA and DCTA in combination with ion exchange chromatography were explored in order to achieve such a separation. Due to the advanced rubidium separation ability of the developed DCTA elution method, it has been employed in all wine and soil sample preparations. Since chromatographic ion exchange procedures are not capable of removing all the rubidium from the sample matrices, 87Sr/86Sr ratio values were mathematically corrected for residual rubidium using an 88Sr correction. Since strontium isotope ratio measurements require very good precision, it is traditionally determined using TIMS. However, due to the ease of operation, shorter analysis time and widespread availability of quadrupole ICP-MS, the technique was evaluated for its merit for determining strontium isotope ratios. The optimization of acquisition parameters for the determination of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in wine and soil samples with good precision of below 0.1% RSD has been conducted. Furthermore, selected sample matrix components were assessed as possible matrix interferences as well as for their ability to affect the precision of measurements. It was concluded that with adequate optimization of acquisition parameters, proper sample preparation and reliable mathematical correction of data, 87Sr/86Sr ratio measurements with reasonable precision could be obtained using quadrupole ICP-MS.