Soot aerosols are well known to be atmospheric constituents, but the hydrophobic nature of fresh soot likely prohibits them from encouraging cloud development. Soot aged through contact with oxygenated organic compounds may become hydrophilic enough to promote water uptake. In this study, the tandem differential mobility analyzer (TDMA) and differential mobility analyzer?aerosol particle mass analyzer (DMA?APM) were employed to measure the changes in morphology and hygroscopicity of soot aerosol particles upon coating with succinic and glutaric acids. The effective densities, fractal dimensions and dynamic shape factors of fresh and coated soot aerosol particles have been determined. Significant size-dependent increases of soot particle mobility diameter, mass, and effective density (?eff) were observed upon coating of aggregates with succinic acid. These properties were restored back to their initial states once the acid was removed by heating, suggesting no restructuring of the soot core had occurred. Coating of soot with glutaric acid, on the other hand, leads to a strong size shrinking with a diameter growth factor ~0.60, even after the acid has been removed by heating suggesting the strong restructuring of the soot agglomerate. The additional 90% RH cycle can evidently enhance the restructuring process. The extinction and scattering properties at 532 nm of soot particles internally mixed with dicarboxylic acids were investigated experimentally using a cavity ring-down spectrometer and an integrating nephelometer, respectively, and the absorption is derived as the difference between extinction and scattering. It was found that the organic coatings significantly affect the optical and microphysical properties of the soot aggregates. The size-dependent amplification factors of light scattering were as much as 3.8 and 1.7 with glutaric and succinic acids coatings, respectively. Additional measurements with soot particles that are first coated with glutaric acid and then heated to remove the coating show that both scattering and absorption are enhanced by irreversible restructuring of soot aggregates to more compact globules. These results reveal the microphysical state of soot aerosol with incomplete restructuring in the atmosphere, and advance the treatment of atmospheric aged soot aerosol in the Mie theory shell-and-core model.

Rhizobium meliloti mutants defective in C₄-dicarboxylic acid transport (Dct⁻) were previously isolated by Tn5 mutagenesis, and divided into two groups based on complementation of Dct- with cosmid clones. In this work further characterization was carried out on the two loci. Group I mutants were found to be defective in dicarboxylate transport (Dct⁻), nitrate utilization, and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Subcloning and complementation work confined the Group I mutations to a 3.5 kbp BamHI-EcoRI fragment containing the ntrA gene. Group V mutants were defective in dicarboxylate transport and demonstrated varying levels of nitrogen fixation. Complementation and site-directed Tn5 mutagenesis revealed three transcriptional units, corresponding to dctA, dctB, and dctD, localized within a 6 kbp HindIII fragment. The use of dctA::TnphoA fusions determined the expression of dctA to be ntrA, dctB, and dctD dependent. Dct+ revertants of dctB and dctD mutants were selected which carried second-site mutations responsible for restoring the Dct⁺ phenotype. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

Samouspořádání organických molekul je spontánní proces tvorby nanostruktur, při kterém je výsledná struktura určena mezimolekulárními and molekulárně-substrátovými interakcemi. Pochopení principů samouspořádávání je klíčem k přípravě funkčních nanostruktur s atomární přesností. Tato diplomová práce se zaměřuje na přípravu a studium samouspořádaných molekulárních struktur 4,4’-diphenyl dikarboxylové kyseliny na povrchu grafenu připraveného na Ir(111). Pro studium vlastností molekulárních struktur je využito rastrovací tunelovací mikroskopie a nízkoenergiové elektronové mikroskopie. Tato kombinace umožňuje získat informace z oblastí o velikosti v řádu nanometrů až milimetrů. V práci je popsána molekulární strukuktura stabilní při pokojové teplotě. Vazebný motiv této struktury je dán interakcí karboxylových skupin sousedních molekul.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第18094号 / 理博第3972号 / 新制||理||1573(附属図書館) / 30952 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科化学専攻 / (主査)教授 丸岡 啓二, 教授 時任 宣博, 教授 大須賀 篤弘 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

Phosphorus (P) is poorly soluble in most soils and, thus, has poor plant uptake efficiency. AVAIL® and Carbond P (CBP) are new fertilizer products shown to increase P use efficiency (PUE) and increase crop yields when grown in P limiting soils. Carbond P has specifically been seen to increases P uptake and crop yields in soils low in P, although effectiveness in regards to soil organic matter is unknown. The objectives of these studies were to determine if the mode of action for these products is related to physiological response, to determine if Carbond P is toxic to plant roots when in direct contact at high rates, and determine the limitations of Carbond P in regards to biomass (yield), P uptake and concentration. We used a hydroponic study to compare CBP to AVAIL in evaluating plant toxicity and plant philological response. AVAIL and CBP were also compared to ammonium polyphosphate (APP) at pH 6 or 8 for hydroponically grown maize (Zea mays L.). Additionally, a glasshouse study evaluated the PUE of CBP with soil in which maize was grown. Soils were moderate or high in organic matter, with 0, 5, 15, 45, or 135 kg P2O5 ha-1 applied as either APP or CBP. Both studies showed that CBP is a suitable PUE enhancing fertilizer. In the greenhouse study, the high organic matter soil revealed that both CBP and APP fertilization resulted in similar increases in biomass yield and P concentration and uptake. However, in the moderate organic matter soil, biomass and total P uptake was significantly greater for CBP than APP at the two lowest P rates of fertilization and significantly higher for APP than CBP at the highest P application rate. In the hydroponic study, neither AVAIL nor CBP had any positive or adverse effects on the plants as compared to APP. These results, coupled with this and previous soil-based greenhouse and field studies with AVAIL and CBP, show that the increase in PUE is not a physiological growth stimulant response, but rather likely the result of impacts on P solubility in the soil. However, the presence of high organic matter in the soil seemed to negate the effects of the organic acid bonded P used in Carbond P. We conclude that CBP, and possibly other organic acid based fertilizers, can assist in furthering agricultural goals, as well as environmental responsibility with these known limits.

Conscients de la raréfaction progressive et l’augmentation continue du coût du pétrole et aussi des volumes importants des tensioactifs produits et éliminés chaque année, l’industrie chimique s’intéresse de plus en plus aux ressources issues de la biomasse. Cependant, dans le marché européen des tensioactifs, la part des produits d’origine végétale par rapport aux dérivés pétrochimiques est estimée à seulement 20%. Compte-tenu de ces enjeux, de nouvelles stratégies de synthèse pour produire des tensioactifs ayant des structures originales issus d’agro-ressources sont nécessaires. Dans le cadre d’une collaboration de recherche, l’ITERG (Pessac) et l’ICBMS (équipe COB-INSA) de Lyon se sont associées pour développer la synthèse de nouveaux glycolipides amphiphiles obtenus par fonctionnalisation d’huiles végétales époxydées. Les enjeux synthétiques ont concerné la compétition entre les deux fonctions réactives des huiles époxydées (ester et époxyde) et la multifonctionnalité des sucres et autres polyols utilisés comme substrats nucléophiles. Plusieurs séries de composés originaux ont été préparées, et leurs propriétés physico-chimiques ont été évaluées en regard des applications industrielles visées. Parmi les produits synthétisés, quelques uns ont également été évalués en tant que monomères biosourcés. / Aware of the irreversible scarcity and graving increase in oil prices, as well as large amounts of surfactants produced and disposed of each year, the chemical industry more and more focuses on resources from biomass. However in Europe, plant derived from plants only represent 20%. New strategies to produce surfactants with novel structures derived produced of the surfactants from agricultural resources are thus synthetic challenges.. As part of a research collaboration, ITERG (Pessac) and ICBMS (COB-INSA in Lyon) have joined forces to develop the synthesis of new amphiphilic glycolipids obtained by functionalization of epoxidized vegetable oils. Synthetic issues concerned the competition between the two reactive groups of epoxidized oils (ester and oxirane) and multifunctionality of sugars and other polyols used as nucleophilic substrates. Several series of novel compounds were prepared and their physicochemical properties were assessed for targeted industrial applications. Among the synthesized products, some were also evaluated as biobased monomers.