Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physics, 1980.

BACKGROUND:The opaque2 mutant is valuable for producing maize varieties with enhanced nutritional value. However, the exact mechanisms by which it improves protein quality and creates a soft endosperm texture are unclear. Given the importance of improving nutritional quality in grain crops, a better understanding of the physiological basis for these traits is necessary.RESULTS:In this study, we combined transcript profiling and proteomic analysis to better understand which genes and proteins are altered by opaque2 in the W64A inbred line. These analyses showed that the accumulation of some lysine-rich proteins, such as sorbitol dehydrogenase and glyceraldehyde3-phosphate dehydrogenase, was increased in mature kernels and may contribute substantially to the lysine content of opaque2 endosperm. Some defense proteins such as beta-glucosidase aggregating factor were strongly down regulated and may be regulated directly by opaque2. The mutant also had altered expression of a number of starch biosynthesis genes and this was associated with a more highly crystalline starch.CONCLUSIONS:The results of these studies revealed specific target genes that can be investigated to further improve nutritional quality and agronomic performance of high lysine maize lines, particularly those based on the presence of the opaque2 mutation. Alteration of amylopectin branching patterns in opaque2 starch could contribute to generation of the soft, starchy endosperm.

Opaque phases from carbonatites of the Grønnedal-Íka alkaline complex (1299±17 Ma) of Southwest Greenland were analyzed in terms of their mineralogy and microstructure. The analysis demonstrates that a later intrusion by a 55 m wide dolerite dyke of unknown age has prompted the mineralization of magnetite by activating hydrothermal fluid convection. The fluid has interacted with the carbonatite, replacing siderite and ankerite by magnetite, which at places constitutes over half of the rock volume. Magnetite is shown to have become partly replaced by hematite at a later stage. A paragenetic sequence is suggested for the opaque phases that com- prise major magnetite and hematite, accessory pyrite and trace amounts of sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena. / Low-temperature geologic sequestration of carbon by ikaite formation

126 leaves : ill., graphs, photos., tables ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physics, 1980

A semente de milho, base da alimentação em muitos países na África, Ásia e América Latina, possui ~10% de proteína na semente. Por ser um cereal a proteína da semente de milho apresenta uma baixa concentração de aminoácidos essenciais como: lisina e triptofano. Com a descoberta do milho opaco-2, o qual apresenta um maior teor de lisina e triptofano em suas sementes, surgiu a oportunidade de se desenvolver milhos com qualidade protéica, aumentando o conteúdo de aminoácidos e a qualidade nutricional dos grãos. Assim, surgiu o milho QPM (quality protein maize), milho de alta qualidade protéica, melhorado pelo CIMMYT (México). O QPM possui duas vezes mais lisina que o milho normal mantendo a sua produtividade equivalente. A EMBRAPA, Milho e Sorgo, desenvolveu duas variedades QPM comercializadas: BR451 e BR473. A linhagem QPM 161 (EMBRAPA Milho e Sorgo) teve suas proteínas de reserva analisadas bioquimicamente neste trabalho, concluindo que o QPM 161, possui uma concentração maior de lisina em suas sementes, chegando a superar o BR 451 e a manter a mesma concentração de lisina que o BR 473. Em outra parte do trabalho, sementes imaturas (14, 20 e 14 DAP) das linhagens 161, assim como as do selvagem W22+ e de seus mutantes W22o10, W22o11 e W22o13, foram utilizadas para caracterizar a enzima homoserina quinase (HK). A HK faz parte da via de biossíntese do aminoácido essencial treonina. Constatou-se que uma alta atividade desta enzima está relacionada ao aumento de treonina na semente, porém, a alta atividade de HK foi observada nos menores estágios de maturação. Assim os resultados mostram que mais estudos sobre a regulação desta enzima devem ser realizados para que se possam desenvolver sementes ricas em lisina e também em treonina. / Maize which is the staple food in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, has ~10% of protein in the seeds. Maize seeds protein presents low contents of essential amino acids, such as lysine and tryptophan. Since the discovery of the opaque-2 maize, a recessive mutation that results in high concentrations of lysine and tryptophan, the major challenge has been to develop better quality protein maize to increase the rate of amino acids consumed by population. The QPM (quality protein maize), originally produced and breeded at CIMMYT in Mexico, came to solve the issue. The QPM protein has twice as much lysine and tryptophan, with the same yield of normal maize. The EMBRAPA, Maize and Sorghum, has bred two QPM varieties that are already commercialized (BR 451 and BR 473), but to increase the quality of the Brazilian QPM, EMBRAPA developed a new QPM line, the 161, whose storage proteins were biochemically analyzed in this study. Line 161 exhibited a higher lysine concentration than BR 451, but about the same concentration of that exhibited by BR 473. Further analyses conducted in this research involved the study of immature seeds (14, 20 and 24 DAP) of line 161, and the wild-type W22+ and its counterpart mutants W22o10, W22o11 and W22o13, and the characterization of the enzyme homoserine kinase (HK). HK is a key enzyme of the threonine biosynthetic pathway. The high HK activity was shown to be related to the increased threonine concentration in the maize seeds. HK activity was shown to reach the highest level in the first developmental stage, whereas in the last developmental stage the activity is lower and so is the rate of threonine. Therefore, it is necessary more studies on HK regulation to improve the mature maize seeds with the best rate of lysine and threonine.

The current study investigates the effect of auditory and visual speech information and orthographic information on second/foreign language (L2) acquisition. To test this, native speakers of Turkish (a language with a transparent orthography) and native speakers of Australian English (a language with an opaque orthography) were exposed to Spanish (transparent orthography) and Irish (opaque orthography) legal non-word items in four experimental conditions: auditory-only, auditory-visual, auditory-orthographic, and auditory-visual-orthographic. On each trial, Turkish and Australian English speakers were asked to produce each Spanish and Irish legal non-words. In terms of phoneme errors it was found that Turkish participants generally made less errors in Spanish than their Australian counterparts, and visual speech information generally facilitated performance. Orthographic information had an overriding effect such that there was no visual advantage once it was provided. In the orthographic conditions, Turkish speakers performed better than their Australian English counterparts with Spanish items and worse with Irish terms. In terms of native speakers' ratings of participants' productions, it was found that orthographic input improved accent. Overall the results confirm findings that visual information enhances speech production in L2 and additionally show the facilitative effects of orthographic input in L2 acquisition as a function of orthographic depth. Inter-rater reliability measures revealed that the native speaker rating procedure may be prone to individual and socio-cultural influences that may stem from internal criteria for native accents. This suggests that native speaker ratings should be treated with caution. / Master of Arts (Hons)

De nombreuses études ont été réalisées autour du problème du routage et de l'affectation de longueur d'onde dans les réseaux WDM transparents. La majorité de ces études néglige les effets physiques liés à la transmission sur fibre. En effet, le signal optique subit le long de son trajet plusieurs dégradations, à savoir les effets linéaires et les effets non-linéaires. Dans les réseaux WDM opaques, la qualité du signal optique est considérée comme toujours satisfaisante car le signal est régénéré à chaque nœud du réseau. Cependant, cette faculté de régénération coûte très cher à l'opérateur et rigidifie totalement la capacité du réseau. Les réseaux WDM translucides présentent une nouvelle alternative. Ils offrent la possibilité de régénérer le signal à un nœud intermédiaire dès que la qualité de celui-ci devient inadmissible par rapport aux contraintes imposées par l'opérateur. Dans cette thèse, on s'intéresse au problème de la planification des réseaux WDM translucides de façon à garantir une certaine qualité de transmission. Nous proposons un nouvel outil de dimensionnement, LERP (Lightpath Establishment and Regenerator Placement), dont l'objectif est de fournir une solution permettant d'optimiser à la fois l'utilisation des ressources du réseau et la qualité de transmission sur l'ensemble de connexions établies. Le facteur Q permettant d'évaluer la qualité du signal est calculé au moyen d'un outil que nous avons également développé : BER-Predictor. Cet outil tient compte de quatre dégradations liées à la transmission sur fibre, à savoir la dispersion chromatique, la dispersion modale de polarisation, la phase non-linéaire et l'émission spontanée amplifiée.

Orientador: Mauricio Roriz / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T13:02:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dornelles_KelenAlmeida_D.pdf: 6559934 bytes, checksum: 3966f1604b84180c07c07723d60bf746 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: A radiação solar é responsável por importante parcela da carga térmica dos edifícios e seu impacto sobre esta carga depende, principalmente, da absortância solar do envelope construtivo. A falta de dados precisos e atualizados de absortância solar para superfícies opacas faz com que pesquisadores e especialistas utilizem a percepção visual ou adotem tabelas baseadas em cores, consagrando-se o conceito de que a absortância seria crescente na medida em que as cores fossem mais escuras. Para comprovar que a visão humana não é instrumento adequado para indicar o quanto uma superfície absorve de energia solar, este trabalho apresenta dados de absortância solar para diferentes cores e tipos de tintas utilizadas em superfícies opacas de edificações no Brasil, a partir de medições de refletância em espectrofotômetro. Com base nesses dados, são propostos métodos de determinação da absortância solar de superfícies opacas, que podem ser utilizados por projetistas, pesquisadores e especialistas. Além do espectrofotômetro, apresenta-se um método que se baseia na digitalização de amostras em scanner comum e posterior classificação de suas cores a partir dos sistemas cromáticos digitais RGB e HSL. O segundo método utiliza dados de refletância obtidos através do espectrômetro ALTA II e o terceiro método baseia-se em medidas de temperaturas superficiais das amostras, a partir de absortâncias medidas para amostras de cores branca e preta, adotadas como referência. Os dados de absortância solar obtidos com o espectrofotômetro foram ajustados ao espectro solar padrão, considerando-se que a energia solar não é constante ao longo do espectro. Este ajuste indicou que a absortância diminui quando submetida às diferentes intensidades da radiação solar. Finalmente, analisou-se o efeito da rugosidade superficial sobre a absortância solar de amostras pintadas com diferentes cores de tintas, cujos resultados indicaram que a rugosidade aumenta linearmente a absortância das superfícies. As diversas análises e discussões apresentadas neste trabalho comprovam que apenas a cor não é fator determinante da absortância de uma superfície opaca. Além disso, os métodos propostos para sua quantificação são bastante precisos e confiáveis, cujos valores estimados através dos métodos do scanner, ALTA II e medida de temperaturas superficiais apresentaram diferenças inferiores a 10%, 6,8% e 3,7%, respectivamente, quando comparados com as absortâncias medidas em espectrofotômetro / Abstract: Solar radiation is the main responsible factor for the thermal load of buildings, and its impact over this load depends, mainly, on the solar absorptance of the building envelope. The lack of reliable and current data implies that researchers and specialists use visual perception or adopt tables based on surface colors to quantify the solar absorptance, which enhances the concept that absorptance increases as much as colors are darker. In order to show that the human eye is not reliable indicator of how much solar energy a surface absorbs, this work presents solar absorptance data for different paint colors, which are commonly used in Brazilian façades, measured with a spectrophotometer. Based on these data, determination methods of solar absorptance are proposed and can be used by designers, researchers, and specialists. Besides the spectrophotometer, it is presented a method based on samples digital images through a scanner, in which samples were classified according to the RGB and HSL digital chromatic systems. The second method uses the reflectances of samples measured with the ALTA II spectrometer, and the third method is based on the samples surface temperatures and the absorptances of black and white reference samples. Solar absorptance data measured with the spectrophotometer were adjusted to the standard solar spectrum, because the solar energy is not constant along the solar spectrum. This correction indicated solar absorptance diminishes when submitted to different solar radiation intensities. Finally, the influence of roughness on the solar absorptance was analyzed, whose results indicated roughness linearly increases surfaces solar absorptance. The several analysis and discussions presented in this work prove that only color is not a determinant factor of the solar absorptance. Furthermore, proposed methods are very reliable to identify the solar absorptance of opaque surfaces, whose estimated values with scanner, ALTA II, and surface temperature methods presented differences under 10%, 6,8%, and 3,7%, respectively, when compared to the absorptances measured with the spectrophotometer / Doutorado / Arquitetura e Construção / Doutor em Engenharia Civil

A semente de milho, base da alimentação em muitos países na África, Ásia e América Latina, possui ~10% de proteína na semente. Por ser um cereal a proteína da semente de milho apresenta uma baixa concentração de aminoácidos essenciais como: lisina e triptofano. Com a descoberta do milho opaco-2, o qual apresenta um maior teor de lisina e triptofano em suas sementes, surgiu a oportunidade de se desenvolver milhos com qualidade protéica, aumentando o conteúdo de aminoácidos e a qualidade nutricional dos grãos. Assim, surgiu o milho QPM (quality protein maize), milho de alta qualidade protéica, melhorado pelo CIMMYT (México). O QPM possui duas vezes mais lisina que o milho normal mantendo a sua produtividade equivalente. A EMBRAPA, Milho e Sorgo, desenvolveu duas variedades QPM comercializadas: BR451 e BR473. A linhagem QPM 161 (EMBRAPA Milho e Sorgo) teve suas proteínas de reserva analisadas bioquimicamente neste trabalho, concluindo que o QPM 161, possui uma concentração maior de lisina em suas sementes, chegando a superar o BR 451 e a manter a mesma concentração de lisina que o BR 473. Em outra parte do trabalho, sementes imaturas (14, 20 e 14 DAP) das linhagens 161, assim como as do selvagem W22+ e de seus mutantes W22o10, W22o11 e W22o13, foram utilizadas para caracterizar a enzima homoserina quinase (HK). A HK faz parte da via de biossíntese do aminoácido essencial treonina. Constatou-se que uma alta atividade desta enzima está relacionada ao aumento de treonina na semente, porém, a alta atividade de HK foi observada nos menores estágios de maturação. Assim os resultados mostram que mais estudos sobre a regulação desta enzima devem ser realizados para que se possam desenvolver sementes ricas em lisina e também em treonina. / Maize which is the staple food in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, has ~10% of protein in the seeds. Maize seeds protein presents low contents of essential amino acids, such as lysine and tryptophan. Since the discovery of the opaque-2 maize, a recessive mutation that results in high concentrations of lysine and tryptophan, the major challenge has been to develop better quality protein maize to increase the rate of amino acids consumed by population. The QPM (quality protein maize), originally produced and breeded at CIMMYT in Mexico, came to solve the issue. The QPM protein has twice as much lysine and tryptophan, with the same yield of normal maize. The EMBRAPA, Maize and Sorghum, has bred two QPM varieties that are already commercialized (BR 451 and BR 473), but to increase the quality of the Brazilian QPM, EMBRAPA developed a new QPM line, the 161, whose storage proteins were biochemically analyzed in this study. Line 161 exhibited a higher lysine concentration than BR 451, but about the same concentration of that exhibited by BR 473. Further analyses conducted in this research involved the study of immature seeds (14, 20 and 24 DAP) of line 161, and the wild-type W22+ and its counterpart mutants W22o10, W22o11 and W22o13, and the characterization of the enzyme homoserine kinase (HK). HK is a key enzyme of the threonine biosynthetic pathway. The high HK activity was shown to be related to the increased threonine concentration in the maize seeds. HK activity was shown to reach the highest level in the first developmental stage, whereas in the last developmental stage the activity is lower and so is the rate of threonine. Therefore, it is necessary more studies on HK regulation to improve the mature maize seeds with the best rate of lysine and threonine.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T14:30:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Cari_Maristela_Pieper.pdf: 422459 bytes, checksum: 06736de352d724ef840d5461683237cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-19 / The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of two ceramic opaque masking applied in different thicknesses in a metallic substrate. 80 Ni-Cr (High Bond) metalic discs were fabricated, each with 1.6 mm diameter and 1 mm thickness, by lost wax technique. After disks obtaining, they were divided into 8 groups (n = 10) and opaque ceramic (Noritake) "paste" (groups 1 to 4) and "powder" (groups 5 to 8) was applied with a camel hair brush and distilled water. The opaque layers were machined with aluminum oxide burs to achieve the following thickness: G1 = G5 and 0.10 mm thick; G2 and G6 = 0.15 mm; G3 and G7 = 0.20 mm and G4 and G8 = 0.30 mm thick. Than opaque dentin ceramic was applied (two sintering cicles, totaling 0.7 mm) and glazed. The color was evaluated with the aid of a portable spectrocolorimeter (Konica - Minolta CR-10), which registered the color of specimens in the CIE L*a*b* scale. The absolute values of L *, a * and b * were statistically analyzed as isolated variables.The &#916;E were also analyzed, considering the mean values of L * a * b * in the control group (G4) as reference values. Once data showed normality and homogeneity, it were applied 2-way ANOVA and Tukey s complementary test, when needed, with p < 5%. Results: Powder opaque presented statistically significant greater values in (L*) and (&#916;E) and the reverse happened to other two variables. Analysing opaque thickness, values may be grouped as followed: (L*) variable: (0,10mm = 0,15mm) < (0,20mm = 0,30mm); (a*) variable: (0,10mm) < (0,15mm = 0,20mm) < (0,30mm); (b*) variable showed no statistically significant differences; (&#916;E) variable: (0,10mm) < (0,15mm = 0,20mm = 0,30mms). It could be concluded that paste and powder opaque have different behavior and all thickness, except 0,10 mm, may be used without significant color change / O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a capacidade de mascaramento de duas cerâmicas opacas aplicadas em espessuras diferentes num substrato metálico. Para isso foram confeccionados 80 discos metálicos de Ni-Cr (High Bond) com 16 mm de diâmetro e 1mm de espessura, através da técnica da cera perdida. Após a obtenção dos discos estes foram divididos em 8 grupos (n=10) e foi aplicada a cerâmica opaca (Noritake) em pasta (grupos de 1 à 4) e em pó (grupos de 5 à 8) com pincel de pêlo de camelo e água destilada. As camadas opacas foram usinadas com pontas de óxido de alumínio até atingirem as seguintes espessuras: G1 e G5 = 0,10mm de espessura; G2 e G6 = 0,15mm; G3 e G7 = 0,20mm e G4 e G8 = 0,30mm de espessura. Após, foi aplicada cerâmica de dentina opaca (em dois ciclos de sinterização totalizando 0,7mm), e em seguida à sinterização foi realizado o glaze final.A avaliação da cor foi realizada com o auxílio do Espectrocolorímetro portátil (Konica - Minolta CR-10), que registrou a cor dos 80 corpos de prova metalocerâmicos nos eixos da escala CIE - L*, a* b* após o ciclo de glaze. Os valores absolutos de L*, a* e b* dos grupos foram analisados estatísticamente como variáveis isoladas. Também foi analisado o valor da variável &#916;E, sendo que os valores médios de L* a* e b* do grupo controle (G4) foram considerados como os valores de referência para os cálculos do &#916;a, &#916;b, &#916;L e &#916;E dos demais grupos. Após constatada normalidade e homogeneidade dos dados foi aplicada análise de variância para dois fatores de variação (2-way ANOVA) e teste complementar de Tukey ambos para p<5%. Resultados: O opaco em pó apresentou valores maiores estaticamente significantes nas variáveis (L*) e (&#916;E), ocorrendo o inverso nas outras duas variáveis.Quanto à espessura de opaco, os valores podem ser agrupados da seguinte forma, segundo os testes complementares aplicados: variável (L*): (0,10mm = 0,15mm) < (0,20mm = 0,30mm); variável (a*): (0,10mm) < (0,15mm = 0,20mm) < (0,30mm); variável (b*): não houveram diferenças estatisticamente significantes; variável (&#916;E): (0,10mm) < (0,15mm = 0,20mm = 0,30mm). Conclui-se que houve diferença entre os tipos de opaco em pasta e em pó e que todas as espessuras testadas, exceto a de 0,10 mm, podem ser usadas sem alteração significativa da cor