The aim of the master´s thesis is the topic of the treatability of surface water with the focus on the process of suspension formation. For this work I took water samples from five different places around the Brno Dam which has contended with water quality deterioration for a long period. With these water samples, the series of jar coagulation tests were done with the application of three different commonly used coagulants. In the theoretical part of the master´s thesis I deal with the composition and attributes of surface water and the technology of its treatment. Each process of treatment is briefly described here with the emphasis on the process of suspension formation. The experimental part of the master´s thesis summarizes and presents the results gained through the coagulation tests in the laboratory. I evaluate the influence of different parameters on final effectiveness of water treatment and I try to find an optimal amount of coagulant, pH and speed of fast or slow mixing. Finally I compare the suitability of each coagulant and the influence of the sampling site on the effectiveness of water treatment.

Electrocatalysis plays a prominent role in renewable energy conversion and storage, enabling a number of sustainable processes for future technologies. There are generally three strategies to improve the efficiency (or activity) of the electrocatalysts: (i) increasing the intrinsic activity of the catalyst itself; (ii) improving the exposure of active sites; and (iii) acceleratingmass transfer during catalysis (both reactants and products). These strategies are not mutually exclusive and can ideally be addressed simultaneously, leading to the largest improvements in activity. Aerogels, as featured by large surface area, high porosity, and self-supportability provide a platform that matches all the aforementioned criteria for the design of efficient electrocatalysts. The field of aerogel synthesis has seen much progress in recent years, mainly thanks to the rapid development of nanotechnology. Employing precursors with different properties enables the resulting aerogel with targeted catalytic properties and improved performances. This report demonstrates the design strategies of aerogel catalysts and reviews their performances for several electrochemical reactions. The common principles that govern electrocatalysis are further discussed for each category of reactions, thus serving as a guide to the development of future aerogel electrocatalysts.

В исследовании рассмотрены роль финансового сектора в создании эко-системы и методические подходы к оценке конкурентоспособности. Предложены рекомендации по совершенствованию модели эко-системы банка. / The study examines the role of the financial sector in creating an eco-system and methodological approaches to assessing competitiveness. Recommendations for improving the bank's eco-ecosystem model are proposed.

[pt] Inúmeros estudos têm sido realizados para melhor entender a formação e estabilidade de emulsões. Em algumas situações, é desejável ter emulsões estáveis; em outros, a separação de fases por coalescência de gotas é benéfica. Em ambos os casos, é importante entender os mecanismos associados ao processo de coalescência. O presente trabalho investiga a relação entre as propriedades reológicas das interfaces óleo-água e o tempo de drenagem de um filme fino de óleo entre duas gotas aquosas. A tensão interfacial e a reologia dilatacional interfacial foram medidas usando a análise axissimétrica da forma da gota. Foram avaliadas diferentes concentrações de um tensoativo não iônico (Span 80) dissolvido em óleo mineral (Primol 352). Os resultados indicam uma relação direta entre as propriedades da estrutura formada na interface óleo-água e a ausência de coalescência das gotas. Para concentrações de surfactante abaixo da concentração micelar crítica (CMC), a interface é fracamente elástica (fluid-like) e o processo de coalescência sempre ocorre; o tempo de drenagem não está relacionado ao tempo de envelhecimento da interface. Para concentrações de surfactante acima da CMC, os módulos elástico e viscoso mostraram mudanças significativas com o envelhecimento, levando à formação de um filme sólido na interface, impedindo a coalescência entre as gotas. Usamos experimentos de coalescência gota/gota para avaliar o efeito da reologia interfacial na dinâmica de coalescência. Para entender melhor o fenômeno da não coalescência, estudamos microscopicamente a estrutura do filme interfacial e observamos o aparecimento de pequenas gotas de água formadas na interface através de emulsificação espontânea. Descobrimos que a taxa de surgimento dessas microgotículas está diretamente relacionada à concentração de surfactante. À medida que a concentração de surfactante aumenta, mais rápido ocorre o processo de emulsificação espontânea, o que confirma os resultados obtidos com a reologia interfacial. Finalmente, um novo método para promover a desestabilização da emulsão impondo uma perturbação do filme interfacial pelo escoamento das gotas através de capilares constritos é proposto e testado. / [en] Several studies have been conducted to understand emulsions formation and stability. In some situations, it is desirable to have stable emulsions; in others, phase separation through drop coalescence is beneficial. In both cases, it is important to understand the mechanisms associated to the coalescence process. The present work investigates the relationship between rheological properties of oil-water interfaces and the drainage time of a thin oil film between two aqueous drops. Interfacial tension and dilatational rheology were measured using the axisymmetric drop shape analysis. We evaluated different concentrations of a nonionic surfactant (Span 80) dissolved in mineral oil (Primol 352) phase. The results indicate a direct relationship between the properties of the structure formed at the oil-water interface and the absence of droplet coalescence. For low surfactant concentrations, below the critical micelle concentration (CMC), the interface is weakly elastic (fluid-like) and the coalescence process always occurs; the draining time is not to related to the aging time of the interface. For surfactant concentrations above CMC, the elastic and viscous moduli showed significant changes with aging leading to the formation of a solid-like film at the interface preventing further coalescence. We used a drop/drop coalescence experiments to evaluate the effect of interfacial rheology on the coalescence dynamics. To better understand the phenomenon of non-coalescence, we study the structure of interfacial film microscopically and observe the appearance of small water droplets formed at the interface by spontaneous emulsification. We found that the emergence rate of these microdroplets is directly related to the surfactant concentration. As the surfactant concentration increases, faster the spontaneous emulsification process occurs, which confirms the results obtained with the interfacial rheology. Finally, a new method to promote emulsion destabilization by imposing a perturbation of the interfacial film by flowing the drops through constricted capillaries is proposed and tested.

Des émulsions particulièrement stables peuvent être formulées à l’aide de particules colloïdales (émulsions dites de Pickering). L’objectif de cette étude est d’accéder à la compréhension des mécanismes de stabilisation des interfaces, ainsi que du lien entre propriétés interfaciales et propriétés macroscopiques des émulsions. Dans ce cadre, la stratégie adoptée repose sur l’utilisation de particules colloïdales dont les caractéristiques peuvent être variées continûment à la fois en amont par la chimie de synthèse (variation de la mouillabilité, de la déformabilité) et in situ par un stimulus (pH, sel, température...). De plus,les émulsions stabilisées par de telles particules deviennent, elles aussi, sensibles aux stimuli et la déstabilisation des émulsions peut être déclenchée à la demande. Les mécanismes d’adsorption, les interactions entre particules aux interfaces et les propriétés résultantes des émulsions sont étudiés. L’établissement de concepts généraux régissant la stabilisation/déstabilisation des émulsions permet d’en contrôler, via la formulation ou le procédé (température, cisaillement), les propriétés d’usage. Enfin les émulsions stabilisées par des particules colloïdales peuvent être utilisées en tant que précurseurs dans la formulation de matériaux plus complexes : ceci est illustré par l’élaboration de capsules à libération thermostimulée / Highly stable emulsions can be formulated using colloidal particles as stabilizers (so-calledPickering emulsions). This study aims at understanding the interfacial stabilizationmechanisms as well as the links between the interfacial properties and the macroscopicproperties of emulsions. In this context, our strategy consists in using colloidal particles forwhich characteristics can be continuously tuned either during the synthesis (variation of theparticles’ wettability or deformability) or in situ by using a stimulus (pH, salt, temperature…).Emulsions stabilized by such particles are stimuli responsive and their destabilization can betriggered on demand. We study and report the mechanisms of particle adsorption, theinteractions between particles anchored at interfaces and the resulting properties of emulsions.Such study allows us to draw general concepts governing the emulsionsstabilization/destabilization and to control their end-use properties via formulation oremulsification process (temperature, shear). Colloidal particle stabilized-emulsions can beused as templates to synthesize more complex materials as illustrated by the elaboration ofcapsules allowing a thermally controlled delivery of their content.

The interaction of numerous sedimentary processes at key transition points along the depositional profile results in a complex heterogeneity in ancient basin margin successions. This complexity is generally well studied along depositional dip sections, but lateral (strike) variability and consequent implications for sediment distribution and stratigraphic architecture is commonly less well constrained. In the Karoo Basin, continuous NW-SE-oriented exposure over 80 km has been characterized by 53 logs with 9910 m of cumulative thickness, >2500 palaeocurrent measurements, and ground-, drone- and helicopter-based photo panels. Palaeoflow indicators suggest dominant sediment transport was to the N-NE, with E-W and NE-SW bidirectional components. These are consistent with a strike orientation of the outcrop belt relative to the NE-N margin progradation direction and a NE-SW reworking by waves orientation. In the south of the study area, upper slope and shelf edge parasequences (50-75 m-thick), show current ripples and inverse-to-normal grading in micaceous and organic-rich siltstones and sandstones. They are interpreted as river-dominated prodelta and mouth bar deposits, locally incised by distributary channels (100 m-thick, 1.5 km-wide). Overlying shelf parasequences are thinner (15-50 m) with symmetrical ripple tops, HCS and low angle cross bedding, interpreted as wave-influenced deltaic or shoreface deposits. They transition upward into erosive-based, fining-up sandstones and isolated sharp-based tabular climbing-rippled sandstones, interpreted as channels and crevasse splays within delta plain mudstones. Along strike to the north, upper slope parasequences show more wave reworking indicators and no evidence of gullying or incision. Overlying shelf parasequences are sandier, more amalgamated and strongly influenced by wave action. They are interpreted as offshore, shoreface, foreshore and strandplain deposits. Southern nearshore environments were therefore more river-dominated with bypass and sediment delivery to deeper parts of the basin across a steep, more erosive margin. Wave and storm current redistribution along strike to the northern, lower gradient margin resulted in higher net-to-gross and sand connectivity on a wider shelf, without major incision, bypass and sand supply to the upper slope. No evidence of major avulsions in the upstream tributary and distributary systems are interpreted because the bypass and fluvial-dominated characteristics are persistent in the southern areas through time, whereas the northern margin maintained a sand-starved upper slope and a wave dominated shelf succession. The overall thicker and delta- dominated succession in the south, and the thinner, more condensed and wave dominated stratigraphy in the north are interpreted to be controlled by a combination of basement and basin configuration and differential basin margin physiography. However, relative sea level fluctuations controlled the stacking patterns, with an overall shallowing-upward profile that can be subdivided into two prograding phases, separated by a transgressive phase. At parasequence scale, climate, autocyclicity and coastal processes influenced the equilibrium between sediment input, redistribution and compensational stacking. This study demonstrates that although basin margin successions may be consistently progradational, the interaction of mixed coastal processes and differential spatial configuration can result in a complex along-strike sedimentary architecture, with major implications for sediment distribution through time and space.

Submitted by Jamile Barbosa da Cruz (jamile.cruz@ucsal.br) on 2017-01-16T13:30:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LIMA JLS - 2014.pdf: 6327776 bytes, checksum: af0925ec6b8486d5c7e37f5952694ddc (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rosemary Magalhães (rosemary.magalhaes@ucsal.br) on 2017-01-16T18:36:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Josenaldo.pdf: 6327776 bytes, checksum: af0925ec6b8486d5c7e37f5952694ddc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-16T18:36:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Josenaldo.pdf: 6327776 bytes, checksum: af0925ec6b8486d5c7e37f5952694ddc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-27 / A pesquisa teve como objeto de estudo a dispensa de docentes com títulos de mestrado e de doutorado, contratados para cumprir requisito normativo indispensável ao credenciamento e recredenciamento deinstituições de ensino superior privadas de Salvadorjunto ao Ministério da Educação, ou para obtenção de autorização, reconhecimento e respectivas renovações de cursos superiores de graduação junto àquele Ministério, após a conclusão de tais procedimentos de aprovação. Esse fenômeno da dispensa de professores titulados foi analisado com base nos dados coletados em investigações instauradas pela Procuradoria Regional do Trabalho da 5ª Região, no período de 2006 a 2013. O referencial teórico foi embasado na literatura nacional relacionada ao neoliberalismo, ao capitalismo contemporâneo, à mercantilização da educação superior privada, à precarização do trabalho em geral e do docente do nível superior de educação em particular, ao Direito Constitucional, ao Direito do Trabalho e na legislação que rege a educação superior. A metodologia empregada foi exploratória, qualitativa e descritiva, com a utilização das técnicas de análises documental e de conteúdo. Os sujeitos investigados na pesquisa de campo foram: (01) dirigente sindical, (01) avaliadora do Ministério da Educação, (03) coordenadores de curso superior privado e (04) professores da educação superior privada, perfazendo um total de (09) participantes. Os instrumentos utilizados para a coleta de dados consistiram em entrevistas livres, pesquisas exploratória, bibliográfica e documental, bem como entrevistas semiestruturadas.Os resultados das análises dos dados coletados no decorrer da pesquisa evidenciaram que as dispensas investigadas neste trabalho se configuram como mais um elemento no processo de precarização do trabalho de docentes da educação superior privada de Salvador, que já atinge até a elite desses profissionais. Além disso, essas dispensas também se enquadram no conceito jurídico de discriminação. / The focus of the present study was the dismissal of faculty members holding masters and doctoral degrees, who had been previously hired to fulfill the regulatory requirements to accredit and reaccredit private universities in Salvador with the Ministry of Education or to obtain authorization, recognition and respective renovations of undergraduate courses at that Ministry, soon after the conclusion of the approval procedures. This phenomenon of dismissing professors with high academic degrees in the private universities of Salvador was analyzed from data collected during investigations made by the Fifth District Labor Relations Board between 2006 and 2013. The theoretical framework was based on the Brazilian literature on neoliberalism, contemporary capitalism, the commercialization of private university education, the instability of labor relations in general, and of higher education personnel in particular, and constitutional law, labor law and legislation governing higher education. The methodology used was exploratory, qualitative and descriptive, with the use of documental and content analysis techniques. The subjects investigated in the field research phase consisted of one union leader, one assessor from the Ministry of Education, and three university coordinators and four university professors, all from the private sector, making a total of nine participants. The instruments used for data collection consisted of free interviews and exploratory, bibliographic and documental research, as well as semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the data collected during the study period showed that the dismissals investigated in this study constitute one more element in the process of destabilizing the work of university professors in the private sector in Salvador, which is already affecting even those with the highest academic degrees. Furthermore, these dismissals also fit the juridical concept of discrimination.

L’encapsulation est une technique employée couramment par le milieu industriel, notamment dans le domaine du médical, de la parfumerie ou de la cosmétique. Afin de répondre aux attentes et de proposer des capsules modulables pour tous types d’applications, des capsules de type coeur-écorce ont été élaborées au cours de cette thèse. Elles sont obtenues à partir d’émulsion dont le coeur huileux est enrobé par une coque de silice, via la minéralisation de l’interface eau-huile. Les émulsions de Pickering, stabilisées par des particules colloïdales, sont particulièrement stables et intéressantes pour cette étude. Le but de cette thèse est de comprendre, dans un premier temps, les mécanismes fondamentaux impliqués dans le processus de fabrication. Cela a permis d’élaborer, par la suite, des matériaux hybrides complexes à différentes échelles, du micrométrique au nanométrique,mais également d’établir les mécanismes de libération par un stimulus externe. Enfin, une encapsulation maîtrisée permet d’allier stabilité au stockage et destruction rapide ou contrôlée à l’utilisation. Ainsi, par diverses méthodes définies dès la formulation de l’émulsion initiale, le contenu huileux des capsules peut être libéré de manière provoquée par une action mécanique ou par l’augmentation de la température (macroscopique ou local par hyperthermie magnétique). / Encapsulation is a technique used in the industry, in particular in the field of medical,perfumery or cosmetics. In order to meet the expectations and propose adaptable capsules for all types of applications, core-shell capsules type were developed during this thesis.There were based on emulsions science with an oily core coated by a silica shell,synthetized by sol-gel chemistry at the oil-water interface. Pickering emulsions, which are emulsions stabilized by colloidal particles, are particularly stable and interesting for this study. The aim of this thesis is to understand, at first, the fundamental mechanisms involved in the manufacturing process. This made it possible to develop complex hybrid materials at different scales, from micrometric to nanometric, but also to establish the releasing mechanisms by an external stimulus. Thanks to a controlled encapsulation, it is possible to combine stability (storage) and rapid or controlled destruction when used. Thus, by various method, defined from the formulation of the initial emulsion, the releasing of the oily contentcan be caused by mechanical action or by an temperature increased (macroscopically orlocally by magnetic hyperthermia).

The thesis poses the question of how one can stabilize a state through external intervention without destabilizing sovereignty. The study critically examines the justifications for international and regional interventions in the cases of Liberia and Burundi through a social constructivist framework. The main objective of the thesis is to enhance the understanding of how sovereignty is interpreted during non-aggressive interventions, both from a theoretical perspective through analysis of official discourses and from a practical perspective through interviews with external and internal actors in the field. The thesis argues that it may be more fruitful for future studies to question the aim of these interventions, rather than ask how to improve them. The study finds that rather than reinforce the sovereignty, these interventions neutralize states subject to external intervention in the sense that they become dependent on external capacity to maintain their stability, thereby maintaining peace and order in the international arena. The conclusion is that these interventions remain both controversial and paradoxical and the stated aim of reinforcing the state's sovereignty is questionable at best. / Doctorat en sciences politiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

L'un des principaux défis de la nanomédecine est la capacité à cibler sélectivement les sites pathologiques. Le ciblage repose généralement sur la réponse sélective à une ou certaines caractéristiques des tissus ciblés (stimuli endogènes). Cette thèse s’intéresse à l’étude de la réponse sélective des nanoparticules fonctionnelles à deux stimuli endogènes bien caractérisés : la densité surfacique élevée d’un récepteur biologique sur une membrane cellulaire et le milieu acide des endosomes. Dans un premier temps, nous démontrons que les nanoparticules peuvent s’adsorber sélectivement sur les surfaces présentant une densité de récepteurs supérieure à un certain seuil, en fonctionnalisant leur surface avec une monocouche de polymères bimodaux (un poly (éthylène glycol) non-fonctionnel et un PEG portant un ligand). Les paramètres de conception de la monocouche comme la longueur relative des chaînes, la densité surfacique globale de la monocouche ou la densité surfacique de ligands peuvent être modulées pour améliorer la sélectivité des nanoparticules. Dans un second temps, nous rapportons des nanoparticules lipidiques capables de déstabiliser des membranes lipidiques à pH acide grâce à un lipide bascule pH-sensible. Nous montrons que le changement de conformation du lipide bascule augmente son aire interfaciale et provoque une dynamique membranaire qui peut se traduire macroscopiquement par des changements morphologiques et relargage du contenu des nanoparticules lipidiques. En améliorant le ciblage sélectif pour les membranes cellulaires, d’une part, et la livraison intracellulaire, d’autre part, ce travail servira à concevoir des nanoparticules multifonctionnelles sélectives et ciblées, pour une meilleure efficacité de vectorisation de médicaments ou d’acides nucléiques. / One of the main challenges of nanomedicine is the ability to selectively target disease sites. Targeting efficiency is generally based on a selective response to characteristics (endogenous stimuli) of the targeted tissues. This thesis focuses on the selective response of functional nanoparticles to two endogenous stimuli: the cell surface over-expressing a specific receptor and the acid medium of endosome. First, we report that nanoparticles surface-functionalized with a bimodal monolayer of polymers containing nonfunctional polyethylene glycol (1) and ligand-functionalized PEG exhibit selective adsorption to receptor surface with a surface density of receptor above a certain threshold. We show that design parameters of the bimodal monolayer, including the relative length of two chains, the total surface density of the monolayer or the surface density of ligand can be modulated to enhance the selectivity of the nanoparticle adsorption. Secondly, we report lipid nanoparticles that induce membrane destabilization under acidic condition thanks to a pH-switchable lipid. We show that the conformational change of the pH-switchable lipid increases the area occupied at the interface, causing membrane dynamics phenomena, that result in morphological changes and release of the cargo from lipid nanoparticles. By improving the ability of nanoparticles to selectively target cell surfaces and escape endosomal membrane, the selective responses of functional nanoparticles reported in this thesis will potentially serve to design multifunctional nanoparticles for selective targeting and efficient delivery of drugs and genetic materials.