There are two contributions of this thesis. The first contribution, described in chapters one through six, involves studing the relationship between the protein packing structure of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) and its function as a proton pump. In 2002, a novel crystallization method published by Bowie and Farham resulted in an unusual antiparallel monomeric packing structure of bicelle bacteriorhodopsin (bcbR) crystals, the spectroscopic properties of which had not been studied. In this thesis, these bicelle bR crystals are investigated to better understand how the changes in the protein tertiary structure affect the function. Specifically: Does the retinal Schiff base retain its ability to isomerize in this unusual protein packing structure of bR? How is the hydration of its binding pocket affected? Does the protein retain the ability to undergo the photocycle and pump protons? If so, how are the rates of the deprotonation/reprotonation of the Schiff base affected by the antiparallel monomer packing structure of the protein? Is Asp85 still the proton acceptor during the deprotonation process of the photocycle? The second contribution of the thesis, described in chapter seven, describes the surface attachment and growth of the biofilm formed by the pathogenic bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae using attenuated total reflection/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FTIR). This organism was chosen for its clinical significance; it is one of the organisms suspected in forming biofilms in individuals who develop otitis media, one of the most common causes of ear infections of childhood. In contrast to previous ATR/FTIR experiments examining the formation of biofilms on surfaces, this method is unique in that it combines two techniques - ATR/FTIR and Epifluorescence microscopy which when used together allow for the simultaneous monitoring of the IR spectrum of the S. pneumoniae biofilm as it develops and as provides a method for quantifying total and viable cell counts at various stages during the development.

An alkyl-containing self-assembled monolayer is grafted on the silicon surface by a nature process in solutions. The alkyl thin film was used as the lubricant for the silica interface, usually applied to the MEMS or NENS domains. The ability of reducing friction for silica device at room temperature was improved, but little was known as the thin films existed at higher temperature during device was working or operating. In this study, we used Hexyltrichlorosilane (C6), Dodecyltrichlorosilane (C12), and Octadecyltrichlorosilane (C18) molecules to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silicon, and these monolayers exhibited different molecular packing properties due to different interactions between the molecules. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that the short chain-length (C6) molecules exhibited poor packing on the surface at room temperature, and that the molecular packing of C6 was thermally stable up to 500 K. But the C12 and C18 monolayers exhibited abrupt blue shifts in FTIR at temperatures between 300 and 575 K, with stable packing observed over several temperature ranges. Furthermore, water contact angle measurements showed the C6, C12, and C18 molecular films changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic as the sample temperature was increased. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images revealed that pits had formed in the C18 monolayer after the temperature was increased to 460 K, which were caused by the molecular reorganization of C18 on the surface. This resulted in an abrupt change in the friction coefficient for the C18 monolayer at 460K as compared to the short C6 and C12 monolayers. However, the friction coefficients for all the SAM films still increased with temperature. Understanding the temperature-dependent behavior of SAM film molecules will assist in the design of better anti-wear monolayers to improve performance and increase lifetimes in modern MEMS and NEMS devices.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2009. / Quality control procedures are vital in the pharmaceutical industry to guarantee the authenticity and quality of products. A major challenge in quality assurance of herbal material is the vast variation of active constituents in plants from the same species. As a result of this variation, the selection of only a few compounds as criteria for quality control is inadequate. Pelargonium (P.) sidoides is indigenous to South Africa and highly valued by traditional healers as a remedy to treat coughs, upper respiratory tract irritations and gastrointestinal conditions. An ethanolic extract of P. sidoides is used in the proprietary herbal tincture known as Umckaloabo®. The composition and concentration of polyphenols are parameters which determine the quality of this herbal medicine because it provides several therapeutic benefits in the non-specific medicinal treatment of infectious diseases. Despite the commercial development of P. sidoides very few studies have been conducted to document the full phytochemical range of variation for natural populations and no study has been published on the development of a fast accurate quality control method for the validation of raw material.

Production of and demand for Canadian canola meal have been increased yearly. In order to improve the competitiveness of canola meal domestically and internationally, as well as to develop potential markets for canola meal, it is necessary to develop canola meal-based products that have high feed values and can be easily transported. The objectives of this research were: 1) to investigate the effects of temperature and time of conditioning during pelleting process on the nutritive values of canola meal in terms of chemical profiles, protein and carbohydrate subfractions, and energy values, using the AOAC procedures, CNCPS v6.1 and NRC (2001), respectively; 2) to detect the effects of temperature and time of conditioning during the pelleting process on rumen degradation and intestinal digestion characteristics and predicted protein supply of canola meal, using the in situ procedure, the three-step in vitro procedure, and the NRC 2001 model; and 3) to determine pelleting-induced changes in spectral characteristics of molecular structures of canola meal using Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) with univariate and multivariate analysis, and reveal the relationship between molecular structures of protein and carbohydrate and nutrient values, rumen degradation and intestinal digestion characteristics, and predicted protein supply of canola meal. Three different conditioning temperatures (70, 80 and 90ºC) and two different conditioning time (50 and 75 sec) were applied in this research. Two different batches of canola meal from a commercial feed company were selected. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 × 2 factorial arrangement was employed in this research. Molecular spectral functional groups related to protein, cellulosic compounds, and carbohydrates were used in the spectral study. This research indicated: 1) soluble crude protein (SCP) was decreased and neutral detergent insoluble CP (NDICP) was increased with increasing temperature; 2) the lowest protein rumen degradation of pellets was observed at conditioning temperature of 90 ºC and protein rumen degradation was increased by pelleting; 3) the amount of protein digested in the small intestine tended to increase with increasing conditioning temperature; 4) pelleting under different temperatures and time in the current study shifted the protein digestion site to the rumen, rather than to the small intestine; 5) with respect to predicted protein supply, based on the NRC 2001 model, increasing conditioning temperature tended to increase the metabolizable protein supply of canola meal pellets to dairy cattle; 6) changes in the molecular structure of canola meal induced by pelleting can be detected by ATR-FTIR; 7) not only protein molecular structure characteristics but also carbohydrate molecular structure characteristics play important roles in determining nutrient values, rumen degradation and intestinal digestion characteristics, and the predicted protein supply of canola meal.

Mémoire (M.Ress.Renouv.)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1993. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-07-10Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:53:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 rocha_rsf_me_ilha.pdf: 3590200 bytes, checksum: f6889570ef205e6b46a549584c70a872 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / As resinas compostas vêm sendo estudadas de longa data, sempre na procura de propiciar aos clínicos um melhor entendimento do seu processo de polimerização e a obtenção de melhores resultados nos procedimentos restauradores. A proposta deste trabalho foi determinar o grau de conversão, a microdureza e o coeficiente de expansão térmica das resinas restauradoras TPH Spectrum (Dentsply) e Filtek P60 (3M), em função da profundidade. Os materiais foram polimerizados por uma fonte de luz halógena durante 40 segundos em anéis de alumínio em diferentes espessuras (1, 2, 3 e 4 mm). O grau de conversão foi determinado através da espectroscopia no infravermelho próximo com transformada de Fourier, utilizando a razão entre bandas de absorção correspondentes às ligações duplas alifáticas e aromáticas. Para tanto, foram confeccionadas pastilhas contendo 20mg de resina e 150mg de KBr e os espectros foram obtidos em um espectrômetro Nexus 670 (Nicolet). As medidas de microdureza Vickers foram obtidas com um aparelho HMV 2000 (Shimadzu), utilizando uma amostra de cada espessura. A expansão térmica foi estudada através da técnica da extensometria. Os resultados mostraram que para as duas resinas ocorre uma diminuição no grau de conversão e na microdureza à medida que se aumenta a profundidade, como esperado. Para as medidas de expansão térmica, a resina Filtek P60 não apresentou diferenças significativas nas quatro profundidades, enquanto para a resina TPH Spectrum houve um aumento no coeficiente de expansão térmica com a profundidade. Não foi observada uma correlação entre o grau de conversão e a microdureza nas duas resinas estudadas. A determinação do grau de conversão através de espectros de absorção no infravermelho próximo mostrou-se mais preciso do que quando determinado a partir de espectros na região infravermelho médio. / The composite resins have been widely studied allowing a better understanding of the process of polymerization. As consequence, better results in the clinical procedures have been obtained. The purpose of this work was to study the degree of conversion, the hardness and the thermal expansion of the TPH Spectrum (Dentsply) and Filtek P60 (3M) resins in different depths. Samples were prepared for each resin using aluminum rings 10 mm in internal diameter and with different thickness (1, 2, 3, and 4 mm). Resin composites were cured with a halogen light curing unit for 40 s. The degree of conversion was determined from FTIR spectra by comparison of the aliphatic =CH2 bond at 4743 cm -1 with that of the aromatic component at 4623 cm -1 for the cured and uncured states. For that, pellets containing 20 mg of resin powder (cured or uncured) and 150 mg of KBr powder were made. The near infra-red spectra were obtained in a FT-IR spectrophotometer (model Nexus 670, Nicolet). The Vickers hardness was measured with a Micro Hardness Tester (model HMV 2000, Shimadzu). The thermal expansion was studied through the strain gauge technique. The results showed a decrease in the value of DC and hardness as increases the depth. For Filtek P60 resin, it was not observed significant difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion at different depths. On the other hand, an increase was observed in the coefficient as it increases the depth for the TPH Spectrum resin. There is not correlation between the conversion degree and the microhardness for the two studied resins. DC values more accurate were obtained from near infra-red spectra when compared with those obtained from medium infra-red spectra.

Orientadores: Cecília Amélia de Carvalho Zavaglia, Ana Beatriz Albino Almeida / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T02:56:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Feliciano_DanielleFerreira_M.pdf: 2215803 bytes, checksum: 78c936869613a6b313b028d4e7b84078 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Defeitos, doenças e acidentes que acometem a cartilagem articular para suportar às constantes solicitações mecânicas que estas regiões estão sujeitas, sendo indicada a utilização de estruturas viscoelástica resistente alto grau de atrito para preencher tais defeitos. Desta forma, foi selecionado o uso de hidrogéis para esta aplicação específica. Hidrogéis a base de poli(álcool vinilico) (PVAl) e polietileno glicol (PEG) apresentam propriedades mais adequadas, como biocompatibilidade, não estimulando reação imunológica ao organismo; baixa adesão de células sanguíneas, evitando coágulos; capacidade de absorção de água (intumecimento), proporcionando lubrificação do material e alto grau de transparência. O processo para obtenção desta blenda e formação de hidrogel foi realizado utilizando uma proporção de 1:9 (PEG:PVAl). O iniciador 2- hidroxi-4'-(2-hidroxietoxi)-2-metilpropiofenona foi adicionado à blenda, em 1% do volume total. È este iniciador, quando estimulado via temperatura, laser ou infravermelho, que irá desencadear as ligações intermacromoleculares de PEG-PVAl permitindo a formação de uma organização grafitizada da blenda dentro do hidrogel. Foi acompanhada a cinética de formação deste hidrogel através de reometria de placas, Espectroscopia de Infravermelho por Transformada de Fourier (FTIR) e Calorimetria Diferencial de Varredura (DSC). As amostras também foram devidamente caracterizadas quanto à condutividade térmica, densidade e absorção óptica. Observou-se que o iniciador ativou as ligações do grupo acetato do PVAl com as hidroxilas do PEG, resultando em formação de grupos ester. São estas ligações que caracterizam a formação do hidrogel grafitizado. Além disso, ocorreu a inversão do módulo viscoso em relação ao módulo de elasticidade, comprovando a reação de grafitização / Abstract: Defects, diseases and accidents that affect the articular cartilage can withstand constant mechanical stresses that they are subject, which indicated the use of viscoelastic structures resistant to high friction to fill these defects. In this way, the use was selected of hydrogels for this application it specifies. To base of I polished hydrogels polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) present more appropriate properties, biocompatibility, not stimulating reaction immunologically to the organism; low adhesion of blood cells, avoiding clots; capacity of absorption of water (swelling), providing lubrication of the material and high degree of transparency. The process for getting this blend and formation of hydrogel was carried out using a proportion of 1:9 (PEG:PVA). The initiator hidroxi 2-hidroxi-4 '-(2-hidroxietoxi)-2- metilpropiofenona was added to the blend, in 1 % of the total volume. This initiator, when stimulated he was seeing temperature, laser or infrared, what will be going to unleash the connections intermacromoleculares of PEG-PVA allowing the formation of an grafiting organization of the blend inside the hydrogel. There was accompanied the kinetic one of formation of this hydrogel through parallel plates rheometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The samples also were characterized property as for the thermal condutivity, density and optical absorption. It noticed to itself that the initiator activated the connections of the group acetate of the PVA with the hydroxyl group of PEG, when ester is turning in formation of groups. It is these connections that characterize the formation of the hydrogel grafiting. Besides, it took place to inversion of the viscous module regarding the module of elasticity, proving the reaction of grafiting / Mestrado / Materiais e Processos de Fabricação / Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

This thesis focuses on the utilisation of mid-infrared techniques in technological atmospheric pressure, non-thermal plasma (NTP) diagnostics. Two mid-infrared techniques were demonstrated in this work namely laser absorption and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The performance of external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL), a relatively new laser type with broad tuning capability was also demonstrated as potential diagnostics tool for technological NTP applications. A dual plate dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and a packed-bed NTP reactor were designed and fabricated to perform plasma process. Quantitative analysis of the laser absorption and FTIR spectroscopy techniques for gas detection were validated by using standard gas samples. Real-time CO monitoring by means of in-situ laser absorption spectroscopy measurements were performed for gas phase diagnostics in the decomposition of TEOS by means of plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PE-CVD) and in CO2 reforming of CH4 by means of NTP. In-line FTIR measurements simultaneously recorded the gas spectrum at the exhaust of the plasma reactors. Information from both measurements was found to provide useful information on the plasma processes and chemistry for the NTP applications. Finally, wavelength stability and linearity performance of a broad tuning range EC-QCL were evaluated by using the Allan variance technique. (LOD) at SNR = 1 was estimated to be ~ 2 ppm, achieved under atmospheric pressure, at the room temperature, and a path length of 41 cm for NO detection produced from the decomposition of dichloromethane (DCM) by means of NTP.

Introduction: Dupuytren's disease (DD) is an ill-defined fibroproliferative disorder affecting the palms of the hands of certain patient groups. Whether changes in DD fibroblasts are due to genetic alterations alone or related to metabolic dysregulation has not yet been investigated. Hypotheses: 1. DD is a disease of several networks rather than of a single gene. 2. DD may be investigated more effectively by employing systems biology. 3. Strict definition of cell passage number is important for the revelation of any DD phenotype. 4. Some of the differences between DD and healthy tissues reside in a difference in their respiratory metabolism. 5. Any such differences are akin the Warburg effect noted for tumour cells in the literature. Methods: We induced hypoxia in healthy and disease cells to test whether the difference in disease cell types and healthy is the same as the difference in control fibroblasts cultured in normoxia and hypoxia. We investigated both at the metabolic level (intracellular and extracellular) and at the transcript level. This study also employed Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to permit profiling of cells: (1) DD cords and nodules against the unaffected transverse palmar fascia (internal control), (2) those (1) with carpal ligamentous fascia (external controls) (3) those in (1) against DD fat surrounding the nodule, and skin overlying the nodule. We then compared metabolic profiles of the above to determine the effect of serial passaging by assessment of reproducibility. Subsequently, a novel protocol was employed in carefully controlled culture conditions for the parallel extraction of the metabolome and transcriptome of DD-derived fibroblasts and control at normoxic and hypoxic conditions to investigate this hypothesis. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with microarrays was employed to identify metabolites and transcript characteristic for DD tissue phenotypes. The extracellular metabolome was also studied for a selected subset. The metabolic and transcriptional changes were then integrated employing a network approach. Results: Carefully controlled culture conditions combined with multivariate statistical analyses demonstrated metabolic differences in DD and unaffected transverse palmar fascia, in addition to the external control. Differences between profiles of the four DD tissue phenotypes were also demonstrated. In addition early passage (0-3) metabolic differences were observed where a clear separation pattern in clusters was observed. Subsequent passages (4-6) displayed asynchrony, losing distinction between diseased and non-diseased sample phenotypes. A substantial number of dysregulated metabolites involved in amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and also metabolism of cofactors and vitamins including downregulated cysteine and aspartic acid have been identified from the integrative analyses. Metabolic and transcriptional differences were revealed between fibroblast cell samples (passage number 3) cultured in 1% and 21% oxygen. The hypothesis that the difference in disease and healthy cells maybe akin to the differences in healthy cells in normoxia and hypoxia was rejected as only a very small number of significant molecules from these studies coincided in perturbed fascia and disease samples. No lactic acid was observed and little difference in the pyruvate concentrations. Yet, upon perturbation several of these transcripts and metabolites involved in the afore-mentioned pathways were significantly dysregulated. Conclusion: Early, but not late, passage numbers of primary cells provide representative metabolic and transcript fingerprinting for investigating DD. A unique parallel analysis of transcript and metabolic profiles of DD fibroblasts and control, enabled a robust characterization of DD and correlation of parameters across the various levels of systemic description. The tools that should facilitate our understanding of these complex systems are immature, but the pleiotropy of the difference between healthy and DD tissue suggest the aetiology of a network-based disease.

Independent control of the surface and bulk properties is advantageous for many applications such as adhesives, release coatings, and antimicrobial films. Traditional methods for achieving independent control typically require multiple processing steps such as wet-on-wet or wet-on-dry coating methods. Independent control over the surface properties can achieved in a single step utilizing the temporal and spatial control inherent to photopolymerization. Specifically, a co-photopolymerization of monomers with different reactivities in the presence of a light gradient is capable of producing a polymer film with a surface chemistry that differs from the bulk chemistry. The light gradient, produced via the concentration of photoinitiator in the formulation, results in a reaction gradient through the film with the higher rates of reaction occurring in the high light intensity regions of the film. The preferentially reacting monomer adds at a greater rate in the high light intensity regions resulting in non-uniform consumption yielding a concentration gradient. Consequently, diffusion of the preferentially reacting monomer from the bulk to the surface of the film and a counter-diffusion of the other monomer from the surface to the bulk of the film occurs from the non-uniform monomer consumption thus producing a film with a concentration gradient through the depth of the film with the preferentially reacting monomer enriching the high light intensity regions. A variety of kinetic differences capable of producing a stratified film will be presented including inherent monomer reactivity, number of functional groups per monomer, oxygen inhibition, thiol-ene chemistry, and Norrish type two initiation. Additionally, parameters that control the degree of stratification, such as methods of varying polymerization rate and the light gradient, will be examined. Changes in surface properties (such as contact angle, surface hardness, adhesion) and bulk properties (such as mechanical properties measured by dynamic mechanical analysis and polymer swelling) are studied as a function of stratification. Finally, a mathematical model which describes and predicts the production of stratified films via photopolymerization is presented. Photopolymerization allows for a facile, single step method of generating stratified films with controllable surface chemistries.