This thesis extends the work of Crimmins (1995) on the control of glycolytic flux in yeast by the enzymes 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase and pyruvate kinase (Pyk1p). This study also examines the influence of Pf1kp and Pyk1p upon yeast resistance to the weak acid preservative, benzoic acid. In <I>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</I>, Pyk1p is encoded by <I>PYK1</I>, and the α and β subunits of Pf1kp are encoded by <I>PFK1</I> and <I>PFK2</I>, respectively. To test the influence of these genes upon glycolytic control, an isogenic set of <I>S. cerevisiae</I> mutants were utilised in which <I>PYK1, PFK1</I> and <I>PFK2</I> expression is dependent on the <I>PGK1</I> promoter. Increased Pf1k levels had little effect upon rates of glucose utilisation or ethanol production during fermentative growth. However, overexpressing Pyk1p resulted in an increased growth rate and an increase in glycolytic flux. This suggests that Pyk1p, but not Pf1kp, exerts some degree of control over the glycolytic flux under these conditions. The effects of reducing Pf1kp and Pyk1p levels were also studied by placing <I>PYK1, PFK1</I> and <I>PFK2</I> under the control of the weak <I>PGK1Δuas</I> promoter. The double Pf1kp mutant showed no significant changes in doubling time, ethanol production or glucose consumption. However, a mutant with a 3-fold reduction ion Pyk1p levels displayed slower growth rates and reduced glycolytic flux. In addition, there was an imbalance in the carbon flow in this mutant, with reductions in ethanol and glycerol production evident, along with increased TCA cycle activity. Hence, while Pf1kp levels did not affect cell physiology significantly under the conditions studied, reduced Pyk1p levels seemed to disturb glycolytic flux and carbon flow. Decreased Pf1kp levels caused an increase in the sensitivity of yeast cells to benzoate, whereas the Pyk1p mutant was not affected. This confirmed that benzoic acid specifically inhibits Pf1kp rather than glycolysis in general.

<p>Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the formation of, and innovation in biochemical pathways is an important goal in evolutionary biology. The following work addresses the problem of biochemical pathway evolution in two ways. In the first chapter, I combine genetic manipulations and population genetic analyses to investigate the whether flux control in the aliphatic glucosinolate pathway of <italic> Arabidopsis thaliana</italic> drives evolutionary rate heterogeneity. My results indicate that the first enzyme in the pathway, CYP79F1, has majority flux control and is the only one to show convincing evidence for positive selection. The second chapter builds on the first by asking whether flux control is stable under a variety of environmental conditions. I find that flux control remains with CYP79F1, in all my environmental treatments. In the final chapter, I address the evolution of one enzyme in this pathway from <italic>Boechera stricta</italic> that is responsible for a gain-in-function polymorphism that results in increased fitness in nature. With molecular phylogenetic analysis, site-directed mutagenesis, structural biology and enzymatic assays, I determine what residues are under selection and test their functional effects. I find that just two mutations in this enzyme are responsible for the change in function, and discuss their position within the enzyme. Strikingly, the enzyme with majority flux control in <italic>A. thaliana</italic> is homologous to the enzyme responsible for the novel function in <italic>Boechera</italic>. Together these results suggest that selection may predictably exploit the same small subset of genes to optimize biochemical pathway output and for evolutionary innovation.</p> / Dissertation

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This work proposes a control methodology of luminous flux through independent sink temperature and current applied to red, green and blue LEDs. The main characteristics of solid-state lighting and LEDs themselves are presented, along an architectural approach trends in decorative lighting and artistic scope. Also are discussed the color theory and the history of regulation of colors through the standard CIE (International Commission on Illumination) since the creation of CIE 1931 to the CIE 1976 standard, creating an uniform space for the comparison of results of luminous sources. The constant flux system is proposed, using the equations for estimating the flux that is controlled by a microprocessor in practice, obtaining satisfactory results when compared with the open-loop dimmer system, resulting in a low chromatic variation Δu'v' regarding to studied set of colors, thus representing an imperceptible change to the human eye, taking into account the CIE 1976 standard. / Este trabalho propõe uma metodologia de controle de fluxo luminoso através da temperatura de dissipador e corrente, aplicada a diodos emissores de luz vermelhos, verdes e azuis. São apresentadas as principais características da iluminação em estado sólido e dos diodos emissores de luz propriamente ditos. Uma abordagem arquitetônica das tendências da iluminação decorativa em âmbito artístico é apresentada. É abordada também a teoria das cores. A história da regulamentação das cores através do padrao CIE (Comissão Internacional de Iluminação) é mostrada, desde a criação do padrão CIE 1931 até o padrão CIE 1976. Cria-se, assim, um espaço uniforme para a comparação de resultados de fontes luminosas. O sitema de fluxo constante é proposto, utilizando equações de estimação do fluxo. Este é controlado através de um microprocessador, obtendo-se resultados satisfatórios quando comparado com o sistema em malha aberta. Os resultados mostram uma variação cromática Δu v menor que 0.0035 para as cores ensaiadas, representando assim uma variação imperceptível pelo olho humano, levando-se em consideração o padrão CIE 1976.

Submitted by Johnny Rodrigues (johnnyrodrigues@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-04-20T22:15:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ADI NEVES ROCHA - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGEE 2014..pdf: 4213060 bytes, checksum: 41dbc9ec6203a02fc678bc1c878970dc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-20T22:15:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ADI NEVES ROCHA - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGEE 2014..pdf: 4213060 bytes, checksum: 41dbc9ec6203a02fc678bc1c878970dc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-08 / O objetivo do estudo apresentado nessa dissertação é analisar e comparar dois inversores fonte de tensão acionando uma máquina de indução hexafásica. as estruturas analisadas são: o conversor composto de seis braços possuindo dois dispositivos semicondutores por braço (12 chaves) e um conversor composto de três braços e nove dispositivos semicondutores (9 chaves). A estrutura composta por 12 chaves é a configuração padrão para acionamento de cargas hexafásicas . Analisando quanto ao aspecto da quantidade de chaves o conversor de 9 chaves apresenta uma evidente redução do número de componentes. Neste trabalho busca-se uma comparação mais fundamentada a partir da análise destas topologias com relação a outras características, tais como: (i) estrutura ou modo de conexão dos dispositivos com a descrição das limitações de cada estrutura; (ii) diferenças nas técnicas de modulação empregadas; (iii) níveis de corrente e tenção em cada um dos dispositivos que compõem a estrutura; (iv) análise do desempenho segundo a quantidade de perdas por condução e por chaveamento; (v) análise de desempenho quanto aos níveis de dispersão harmônica. Apesar da análise estar voltada para a comparação dos conversores, há uma descrição da máquina hexafásica modelada por decomposição vetorial e a aplicação de uma estratégia de controle no acionamento da máquina, utilzando a técnica de controle por fluxo rotórico. / The goal of the study presented in this thesis is to analyze and compare towo voltage source inverters driving a six-phase induction machine. The types of structures analyzed are: the converter of six legs having two semiconductor devices per leg (12 switches) and an inverter composed of three legs - (nine semiconductor devices 9 switches). The converter of 12 switches is the default configuration for driving six-phase loads. Analyzing the numbers of switches aspects, the 9 switches converter shows a clear reduction in the number of components. This paper seeks a more reasoned comparison from the analysis of these topologies with respect to other characteristics, such as: (i) structure or way of connecting devices to the description of the limitations of each structure; (ii) differences in the modulation techniques employed ; (iii) levels of current voltage in each of the devices of the structure; (iv) analysis of performance depending on the amount of conduction and switching losses; (v) performance analysis of the levels of harmonic distortion. Althought the analysis is focused on the comparison of the converters, there is a description of the six-phase machine modeled by vector decomposition and implementation of a control strategy to drive the machine using the rotor flux control technique.