Würzburg, Univ., Diss., 2009.

Im Jahre 2004 wurden in unserem Labor zwei Gene einer neuen Proteinfamilie kloniert, deren Charakterisierung seither im Gange ist. Das eine Protein, VKORC1, konnte durch Mutationsanalysen und biochemische Untersuchungen als eine zentrale Komponente des so genannten Vitamin K-Zyklus identifiziert werden. Vitamin K wird für die γ-Carboxylierung der Vitamin K-abhängigen Proteine wie z.B. der Gerinnungsfaktoren II, VII, IX und X als Cofaktor der γ-Glutamyl-Carboxylase benötigt. Da Vitamin K essentiell ist, wird seine Epoxidform vom Organismus wieder in eine physiologisch aktive Hydrochinon-Form überführt. Für diese Reaktion wird die Vitamin K-Epoxid-Reduktase (VKORC1) benötigt. Mutationen in VKORC1 führen einerseits zu einem erblich bedingten Mangel an Vitamin K-abhängigen Gerinnungsfaktoren vom Typ 2 (VKCFD2) mit starken Blutungen durch eine nicht oder nur unvollständig ablaufende Blutgerinnung. Das VKORC1 ist andererseits auch das Ziel von Medikamenten der Coumaringruppe, der sog. Vitamin K-Antagonisten, die zur Verhinderung einer unzeitigen Gerinnung eingesetzt werden. In höheren Dosen wird diese Substanzklasse als Rattenbekämpfungsmittel eingesetzt. Bei manchen Rattenpopulationen, aber auch bei einigen Patienten, ist die Wirksamkeit der Coumarine durch bestimmte Mutationen im VKORC1-Protein, welche eine Warfarinresistenz hervorrufen, erheblich eingeschränkt. Zu diesem VKORC1 existiert ein paraloges Protein, das Vitamin K-Epoxid-Reduktase Komplex 1-like 1 Protein (VKORC1L1), dessen Funktion bislang unbekannt ist und welches Gegenstand der vorliegenden Arbeit war. Es wurden unterschiedliche Methoden angewandt, um das VKORC1L1-Protein zu charakterisieren und seine mögliche Funktion(en) aufzuklären. Zum einen sollte die Herstellung einer Knockout-Maus dazu dienen, durch den erhaltenen Phänotyp Hinweise auf die mögliche physiologische Aufgabe zu erhalten. Allerdings gelangten die Versuche nur bis zur Generierung der Chimären, so dass dieses Teilprojekt nicht zum Abschluss gebracht werden konnte. Die biochemische Charakterisierung des Proteins zeigte eine Expression des VKORC1L1-Gens in allen untersuchten Geweben, wobei keine starke Expression für ein bestimmtes Gewebe ermittelt werden konnte. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass das Protein Vitamin K-Epoxid auf gleiche Weise wie das VKORC1 recyceln kann und durch Warfarin gehemmt wird. Einige der in eingeführten VKORC1L1 Mutationen vermitteln darüber hinaus eine Warfarinresistenz. Des Weiteren wurden Enzymkinetiken für die Spezies Maus und Ratte sowie für die Stachelmaus erstellt. Die erhaltenen Werte für die Michaelis-Menten-Konstante und die Maximalgeschwindigkeit sind untereinander sehr ähnlich und sprechen für eine Oxido-Reduktase-Aktivität des VKORC1L1-Proteins. Bioinformatische Analysen konzentrierten sich auf die Aufklärung von konservierten Aminosäureresten im VKORC1L1. Dadurch konnten funktionell wichtige Positionen des Proteins ermittelt werden. Ein evolutiver Stammbaum konnte weiterhin zeigen, dass die paralogen Proteine VKORC1 und VKORC1L1 sehr wahrscheinlich aus einem gemeinsamen Vorläuferprotein bei der Entwicklung der Wirbeltiere aus einer Duplikation entstanden sind und nach der Entstehung der Landwirbeltiere ihre spezifischen Funktionen ausgebildet haben. Ein Homologievergleich zwischen den humanen Chromosomen 7 und 16 und den jeweiligen Chromosomen verschiedener Spezies zeigte, dass sich nach der Duplikation die Gene für das VKORC1 und das VKORC1L1 bei fast allen betrachteten Spezies unabhängig voneinander auf verschiedenen Chromosomen evolutiv entwickelt haben. Dies ist ein weiteres Indiz dafür, dass die Duplikation schon sehr lange zurück liegt. / In 2004 two genes of a new protein family were cloned in our institute. Since then the characterization of this protein family is in progress. Through mutation and biochemical analyses one protein, VKORC1, could be identified as a central component of the so-called vitamin K cycle. Vitamin K is required as a cofactor of the γ-glutamyl carboxylase for the γ-carboxylation of the vitamin K-dependent proteins such as the coagulation factors II, VII, IX and X. As vitamin K is essential, the epoxide form is again transferred by the organism into a physiologically active hydrochinone form. For this reaction vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKORC1) is necessary. On the one hand mutations in VKORC1 lead to a hereditary combined deficiency of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors of type 2 (VKCFD2) with heavy bleedings because of missing or insufficient blood coagulation. On the other hand VKORC1 is also the target of medical treatment with the coumarin derivative group, the so-called vitamin K antagonists, which are used for preventing untimely coagulation. In higher doses this class of substances is used as rodenticides. In some rat populations as well as in case of some human patients the efficiency of the coumarins is considerably reduced through specific mutations in the VKORC1 protein leading to a warfarin resistance. There is a paralogue protein to VKORC1, the vitamin K epoxide reductase complex 1-like 1 protein (VKORC1L1), the function of which is not known so far and which is the subject of this study. Different methods have been applied in order to characterize the VKORC1L1-protein and to explain its potential functions. One the one hand, the creation of a knockout mouse was to give information on potential physiological tasks through its specific phenotype. The experiments, however, were only successful as far as the creation of chimeras was concerned. Thus, this part of the project could not be completed totally. The biochemical characterization showed an expression of the VKORC1L1-gene in all tissues examined. It was, however, not possible to find a strong expression for a specific tissue. We were able to show that the protein can recycle vitamin K epoxide in the same way as VKORC1 and that it is inhibited by warfarin. Some of the mutations within the VKORC1L1 lead to a warfarin resistance. Moreover, enzyme kinetics were applied for the mouse, rat and acomys species. The calculated values of the Michaelis-Menten constant and of the maximal speed Vmax are very similar to each other and support an oxido-reductase activity for the VKORC1L1-protein. Bioinformatic analyses were focused on the explanation of the conserved amino acids within VKORC1L1. So, functionally important positions could be determined. Moreover, an evolutionary life tree showed that the paralogue proteins VKORC1 and VKORC1L1 have probably been arisen from a common precursor protein by duplication when vertebrates developed and formed its specific functions after the tetrapod vertebrates came into being. A homological comparison between the human chromosomes 7 and 16 and the corresponding chromosomes of different species showed that the duplication of the genes for VKORC1 and VKORC1L1 evolved independently of each other on different chromosomes within all species examined. This is a further indication that the duplication took place a long time ago.

The diploma work is focused on the development and analysis of plywood material reinforced by means of synthetic fibers, namely on its mechanical properties in a three – point bend in compliance with the CSN EN 310 Standard in comparison with the conventional plywood. At first, the mechanical properties of the material were simulated with the aid of a computer-aided model on the basis of the classical laminate theory and then compared to the real measured values. In addition to it, the influence of preloaded fibers on the mechanical properties of the composite was examined. To preload the fibers, two simple fixtures were manufactured. The analysis of variance and the Tukey’s test of multiple comparison demonstrated important differences in the resistance and rigidity of the plywood material both with the reinforcement and without it. The highest resistance proved the plywood samples without any reinforcement (at an average of 153.9 MPa), the highest rigidity was achieved in samples with reinforcement without any preloading (at an average of 29374.4 MPa).

The diploma thesis deals with the analysis of suitable technologies to produce the switchgear door of product UniGear with a design of more efficient production technology. Thesis is divided into four main chapters, in which the first part describes the doors of individual switchgear compartments, design of door materials, technology for achieving desired shape of a base plate, possibilities of sheet metal forming and other technologies not linked with sheet metal processing. The second part of the thesis deals with study of the whole current production process of doors in ABB s.r.o. from sheet metal processing till powder coating. The thesis also contains proposal of innovated production technologies with a selection and evaluation of the final variant with technical and economic evaluation of current and proposed solutions.

Genom ringöppningssampolymerisation av utvalda epoxider och anhydrider möjliggjordes en enkel strategi för att syntetisera funktionella sampolymerer. Sampolymererna hade förmågan att bilda tvärbundna material, och var dessutom benägna för både hydrolytisk och enzymatisk nedbrytning. Användning av organokatalysatorn PPNCl gjorde det möjligt att bilda sampolymerer genom alternerande ringöppning av epoxider och anhydrider. Utbytet var högt, och polymererna nådde molekylvikter i intervallet 0,7–7,6 kg mol-1. De omättade bindningarna i sampolymerernas sidokedjor gav dem förmågan att bilda tvärbundna nätverk. Graden av tvärbindning dikterades av sampolymerernas molekylära struktur och molekylvikt. De termiska egenskaperna hos sampolymererna reglerades genom att variera anhydriden, där strukturella skillnader mellan de valda anhydriderna hade en inverkan Tg och T5%. Tvärbindningsreaktionen resulterade i en ökning av både Tg och T5% i förhållande till de ursprungliga linjära sampolymererna. De klyvbara estergrupperna i sampolymerkedjorna gjorde det möjligt för sampolymererna att genomgå både hydrolytisk och enzymatisk nedbrytning. De nedbrutna sampolymererna påvisade en förändring i molekylvikt och dispersitet, samt en ökad viktminskning. De nedbrutna tvärbundna materialen visade på större svällning och lägre gelinnehåll än de initiala värdena före nedbrytning. Dessa resultat ger en ökad förståelse kring hur strukturen hos epoxid/anhydrid-baserade sampolyestrar påverkar deras egenskaper, så som förmågan att bilda tvärbundna material samt deras nedbrytbarhet. Förhoppningen är att denna studie ska gynna utvecklingen av nya material inom denna klass av polyestrar, och vara till hjälp för att förutse deras potentiella tillämpningar. / The ring-opening copolymerization of selected epoxides and anhydrides enabled a simple strategy to synthesize functional copolymers with the ability to form crosslinked materials and prone to hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation pathways. The synthesis utilized PPNCl as an organocatalyst and allowed the formation of copolymer chains by alternating ring-opening of epoxides and anhydrides in high yield and molar mass in the range of 0.7-7.6 kg mol-1. The pendant unsaturated bonds in the copolymer chains endowed the copolymers with the ability to form crosslinking networks. The degree of crosslinking was dictated by the molecular structure and molar mass of the copolymers. The thermal properties of the copolymers were regulated by varying the anhydrides, the difference in the structure of each anhydride influence the Tg and T5%. Crosslinking reaction indeed increased the Tg and T5% from the native copolymers. The presence of ester as cleavable groups in the copolymer chains allowed the copolymers to undergo hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation. The degraded copolymers showed a change in molar mass and dispersity and increased mass loss. The degraded crosslinked materials showed higher swelling ratio and lower gel content than the initial values before degradation. These results deliver a better understanding of the structure-property relationships, the ability to form crosslinked materials, and the degradation behavior of epoxides/anhydrides-based copolyesters. They should favor the design of new materials belonging to this class of polyesters and to envisage their potential applications.

Fem metoder har använts för att modifiera barrvedslignin med syftet att öka reaktiviteten av ligninet mot epoxidgrupper. Ligninprover analyserades med NMR och FTIR medan reaktivitet var mätt genom reometri. Metoder som ökade mängden karboxylsyragrupper på ligninet minskade ligninets reaktivitet. Modifikation av lignin med resorcinol minskade reaktiviteten medan modifikation med fenol ökade reaktivitet mot epoxidgrupper. / Five different methods were used to modify softwood kraft lignin with the goal of increasing the reactivity of lignin towards epoxide groups. Lignin samples were characterized with NMR and FTIR while reactivity was measured through rheometry. Methods that increased carboxylic acid content in lignin decreased reactivity. Lignin modification with resorcinol decreased reactivity while lignin modified with phenol increased reactivity.

This Diploma Thesis presents results obtained by solution of two partial projects: a) Preparation of monomers from renewable sources using metathesis and tandem hydrogenation catalyzed with ruthenium compounds - project solved during my Erasmus stay at the Université de Rennes 1 in France; b) Preparation and properties of ,-bis(tpy)quarterthiophene oligomers carrying ionic side groups as oligomonomers for polyelectrolyte conjugated dynamers - project solved at the Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. Project a): Self-metathesis of 1,2-epoxyhex-5-ene (but-3-enyloxirane) and its cross-metathesis with methyl acrylate and acrylonitrile catalyzed with ruthenium compounds as well as tandem design of these metatheses and consecutive hydrogenation of their products by gaseous hydrogen have been optimized. The following influences have been studied and tuned: (i) type of the catalyst (Grubbs, Hoveyda, Zhan) and its concentration and method of dosing, (ii) concentration of reactants and additives, (iii) type of solvent, and (iv) reaction temperature. Reactions were monitored by the GC, GC and MS methods and the products were characterized by the NMR method. Methyl 6,7-epoxyheptanoate (methyl 5-oxiranylpentanoate) obtained by the tandem...

This diploma thesis has goal to find out possibility of substitution sand in polymer crete flooring system by recycling car glass. Polymer crete is made from sand and epoxy resin. Companies use it in industrial flooring system. Polymercrete industrial flooring systems are new types of floor surface. It aims to customers with high requirements to floor properties and short time of realisation. Polymercrete floors are 4-6 mm thin. They are waterproof, they has higher compressive strength then 60 MPa and tensile strength is more than 20 MPa. Polymercretes does not make dust. This study includes also suggestion of recycling process to make glass sand from car glass windows. The diploma thesis was prepared in cooperation with company Atemit, s.r.o.

The increasing propagation of power electronics technologies and the related operational equipment such as inverter-fed drives and solid-state transformers in electrical grids lead to growing harmonic distortion of the voltage waveform. Harmonics modify the shape of a voltage waveform but also affect the peak voltage despite constant RMS voltage. Resulting from this, it was previously found that harmonics not only have an influence on the partial discharge patterns and characteristics but also the lifetime of model insulations. The epoxy-mica main wall insulation of rotating electrical machines is partial discharge-resistant to certain extent. Nonetheless, severe production faults should be detected by partial discharge measurements as they may lead to accelerated ageing. The purpose of this contribution is to investigate the impact of harmonics on the partial discharge characteristics of the insulation system of rotating electrical machines in general and especially on a test object with an artificial void fault. An assessment of the partial discharge pattern and apparent charge measurement is given by analyzing the characteristics to harmonic waveform parameters that incoporate peak alteration and shape modification. It is shown that the voltage shape and gradients play a subordinate role compared to the voltage peak altering effect of harmonics. The effects are more pronounced with the test object with an artificially introduced fault.

Cytochrom P450 (CYP) Enzyme tragen zur Bioaktivierung von langkettigen mehrfach ungesättigten Fettsäuren bei. Die gebildeten Monoepoxy- und Monohydroxy-Metaboliten werden zusammenfassend als CYP-Eicosanoide bezeichnet und fungieren als Mediatoren bei der Regulation des Gefäßtonus, der Herz- und Nierenfunktion, sowie einer Vielzahl weiterer physiologischer Prozesse, wobei die biologische Aktivität oftmals abhängig von der Positions- und Stereoisomerie der Eicosanoide ist. Prominente Vertreter der CYP-Eicosanoid-Familie sind die aus der Arachidonsäure gebildeten Epoxyeicosatriensäuren (EETs) und 20-Hydroxyeicosatetraensäure (20-HETE). EETs und 20-HETE haben zum Teil gegensätzliche biologische Aktivitäten, die zur Aktivierung bzw. Inhibition antiinflammatorischer und weiterer Zell- und Organ-protektiver Signalwege beitragen. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, durch Analyse endogener Metabolitenprofile zum besseren Verständnis der Rolle von CYP-Eicosanoiden bei der Entstehung von Ischämie/Reperfusions (I/R)-bedingten Organschäden beizutragen. Als Hauptergebnisse ergaben sich (i) die Entdeckung und Charakterisierung einer protektiven Rolle von EETs in Tiermodellen der Initiationsphase des akuten Nierenversagens, sowie des therapeutischen Potentials stabiler EET-Analoga; (ii) die Identifizierung von 8,9-EET und 20-HETE als mögliche prädiktive Biomarker für das post-operative Auftreten von akutem Nierenversagen nach offener Herzoperation; und (iii) die Entwicklung und Validierung eines analytischen Verfahrens der chiralen Lipidomik (chiral-LC-ESI-MS/MS), das eine Analyse endogener Enantiomere sowohl von Monoepoxy- als auch Monohydroxy-Eicosanoiden in komplexen biologischen Proben erstmalig ermöglichte und dafür genutzt werden konnte, die stereospezifische Regulation der EETs durch Epoxid-Hydrolasen in vitro wie auch in vivo zu beschreiben. / Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes contribute to the bioactivation of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. The monoepoxy- and monohydroxy-metabolites generated by CYP enzymes are collectively termed CYP-eicosanoids. CYP-eicosanoids act as mediators in the regulation of vascular tone, heart- and kidney function and several further physiological processes, mostly in a regio- and stereospecific manner. Arachidonic acid-derived epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) and 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) are prominent members of the CYP-eicosanoid family. EETs and 20-HETE show partially opposing biological activities that contribute to the activation or inhibition of anti-inflammatory and other cell- and organ-protective mechanisms. The aim of the present work was to study the role of CYP-eicosanoids in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) related organ damage by analyses of endogenous metabolite profiles. The main results were (i) discovery and characterization of the EETs protective role in animal models of the initiation phase of acute kidney injury (AKI) and the therapeutic potential of stable EET-analogs, (ii) identification of 8,9-EET and 20-HETE as potential predictive biomarkers for AKI in patients who underwent open heart surgery, (iii) the development and validation of a novel analytical method for chiral lipidomics (chiral LC-ESI-MS/MS) that allows to study endogenous enantiomers of monohydroxy- and monoepoxy-eicosanoids in complex matrices of biological and clinical samples. Furthermore, the approach was applied to describe the stereospecific regulation of EETs by epoxide hydrolases in vitro and in vivo.