Orientador: Sergio Antonio De Bortoli / Resumo: Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner, 1808) e Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) são insetos cosmopolitas, polífagos e que causam danos tanto na fase vegetativa quanto na reprodutiva de vários cultivos. Entre os métodos disponíveis para controle, os mais utilizados são o químico e a utilização de plantas Bt, porém o uso incorreto resultou em diversos relatos de resistência a esses dois métodos. Deste modo, surgiu a necessidade de novas tecnologias e produtos para o controle desses insetos-praga, sendo que o controle biológico com bactérias e vírus, e extratos de plantas podem ser ferramentas importantes frente a esses problemas. Além da resistência, outro problema que o uso incorreto dos inseticidas pode causar é a toxicidade a organismos não alvo, como as abelhas Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), que vem sofrendo com a mortalidade causada por esses produtos. Para a realização de pesquisas que auxiliem e aprimorem os programas de Manejo Integrado de H. armigera e S. frugiperda, é essencial uma metodologia de criação que permita a obtenção de uma grande quantidade de indivíduos, sendo que dietas artificiais adequadas auxiliam a criação em grande escala. Neste sentido, o objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar o efeito de diferentes níveis proteicos na dieta artificial para criação destas espécies, o efeito agudo das concentrações letais e os efeitos subletais de inseticidas químicos, biológicos e de extrato da planta Piper cubeba Linnae... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner, 1808) and Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) are cosmopolitan, polyphagous insects that cause damage both in the vegetative and in the reproductive phase of several crops. Among the methods available for its control, the most used are the chemical and the use of Bt plants, however the incorrect use has resulted in several reports of resistance to both methods. Thus, there was a need to development of new technologies and products for the control of these pest insect, and biological control with bacteria and viruses, and plant extracts can be important tools in the face of these problems. In addition to resistance, another problem that the incorrect use of pesticides can cause is toxicity to non-target organisms, such as honey bees Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), which has been suffering from the mortality caused by these products. In order to carry out research that helps and improve the Integrated Management programs of H. armigera e S. frugiperda, a rearing methodology is essential that allows the obtaining of a large number of individuals, and adequate artificial diets assist the rearing on a large scale. In this sense, the aim of this research was to investigate the effect of diferente protein levels in the artificial diet for the rearing of these species, the acute effect of lethal concentrations and the sublethal effects of chemical and biological pesticides, and plant extract from the pla... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Background: Healthcare personnel (HCP) often experience undesirable working conditions. Risk behaviours for organism transmission can lead to healthcare associated infections and risk behaviours has been described to be influenced by working conditions. Research is lacking regarding HCPs working conditions and its relation to risk behaviours for organism transmission which this thesis aims to investigate.  Methods: Study I had a mixed-methods convergent design. Observations and interviews were performed with 79 HCP, i.e., registered nurses (RNs) and assistant nurses (ANs). First-line managers were interviewed about the unit´s overall working conditions. The qualitative and quantitative data were analysed separately and then merged. Study II was a cross-sectional study with 417 RNs and ANs. The questionnaire included: self-efficacy to aseptic care, structural empowerment (SE), work engagement (WE) and work-related stress (WRS). Correlational analysis and group comparisons were performed.  Results: In Study I risk behaviours frequently occurred regardless of measurable and perceived working conditions. The HCP described e.g. staffing levels and interruptions to influence risk behaviours. In the statistical analyses, risk behaviours were more frequent in interrupted activities and when the HCP worked together. In Study II the HCP rated high levels of self-efficacy to aseptic care. Differences were found between self-efficacy and some of the grouped working condition variables and definite but small relationships were found between self-efficacy to aseptic care and SE/WE/WRS.  Conclusion: The HCP rated high levels of self-efficacy to aseptic care, but on the other hand, risk behaviours frequently occurred irrespective of working conditions. Healthcare managers are responsible for HCPs work environment and should continuously work to promote sufficient working conditions and to increase HCPs understanding of risk behaviours, which consequently also promote patient safety.

The master thesis Equipment for electrotherapy treats of electropathic theraphy, which is one of the main physiotherapics metod. The paper contains two principal parts. In the first part are describe effects of electric current for human organism and the medical utilization of electric current in physiotherapy. The second part of the master thesis is address on the concept of the equipment for electrotheraphy. There is analysis of setting from which is coming out the proposal of connection to the particular packets. The full proposal of therapeutic equipment is complete with electric schemes and detailing of components for possibillitty of realization.

Brand value co-creation is an essential theme in Marketing research. The research aims to investigate the degree to which brand relationship quality on social media influences Generation Z’s motivation to co-create by applying the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework. The study was based on many theories of brand relationship quality, consumer engagement, brand satisfaction, brand loyalty, and brand value co-creation. In this study, survey method was utilized to collect 316 insights from Vietnamese League of Legends communities. Gathered data was further embedded into Structural Equation Modelling to analyze causal relationships between variables. The findings show that consumer engagement in online e-sport communities, which is positively impacted by brand relationship quality, has a major influence on brand satisfaction and brand loyalty. Brand satisfaction acts as a mediator between consumer engagement and brand loyalty. Consequently, brand loyalty positively influences brand value co-creation. E-sport organizations can use these findings to actively implement strategies that involve the e-sport communities in co-creating brand value.

With the rise of social media platforms and the increasing popularity of short-form video content, TikTok has emerged as one of the dominant platforms for entertainment, information sharing, and commerce. This thesis aims to examine the influence of community commerce TikTok content on adult users, exploring the impact it has on their purchasing behaviors, perceptions, and overall engagement. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods in an online survey. The quantitative analysis of results involves assessing demographic data in addition to establishing a clear, unambiguous understanding of the participants including their exposure to community commerce content, motivations for engagement, and existing purchase behavior. In the analysis of qualitative data, open-ended and narrative responses are analyzed. These responses speak to personal realities and provide insight on distinctive opinions. The theories deployed in the design of the study are Social Influence theory, the Stimulus-Organism-Response Model (SOR), and Word of Mouth (WOM). The findings of this research contribute to existing literature on social media marketing, digital commerce, and consumer behavior. The outcome of the study revealed that users feel more inclined to make a purchase in response to TikTok content (compared to traditional marketing) when the content feels catered to their interests and multiple users on the platform attest to a product's value. This category of content is referred to as community commerce, which intersects community, shopping, and entertainment. The elements that make this content unique were revealed to have the power to influence someone who has never made a purchase from TikTok before to be more inclined to do so if the content is relevant enough.  As such, the conclusions of this thesis also imply several implications for society at large. These include a more authentic approach to future influencer marketing, the democratization of trend-setting, and leveling the opportunities for small businesses that are up against larger brands.

This thesis examines literary texts that represent encounters with model organisms in ways that enact an interspecies ethics that turns the narrative of bodily relationality embedded within the model organism into a source of care, friendship, respect, and mourning. My project understands model organisms as material beings as well as semiotic and narrative entities; I suggest that the very ‘materiality’ of the model organism’s body is symbolic precisely because it is designed to refer to bodies other than its own. The model organism involves a double relationality between the categories of ‘animal’ and ‘human’ because it serves as a mediator between human nature and nature at large. This is not to say that that human biology is not part of ‘nature’ but rather that anthropocentric and human exceptionalist ideologies pervade discourses of human biology and thus the model organism provides a link to our biological and corporeal ‘selves’ in a way that maintains species divisions. The texts I analyze throughout this dissertation offer alternative ways of thinking about the model organism by exposing the multiple meanings and narratives that coexist within them both as representations and as living sentient beings. This project centers around two questions: How do cultural texts represent and negotiate disconnects between how model organisms signify within scientific discourses and their broader cultural identities? How does literature specifically engage with scientific knowledge in ways that both disrupt and affirm the status of the model organism as a scientific object? / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Biotechnologies potentially have significant benefits for developing countries but many countries lack complete regulatory processes to allow their release. In evaluating the potential benefits of genetically modified crops, one must be able to measure the true cost of regulations in addition to the other costs associated with bringing the crop to market. The objectives of this paper are to (1) identify the direct costs of the regulation of Bt eggplant, Bt rice, ringspot virus resistant (PRSV) papaya and virus resistant tomatoes in the Philippines, and (2) estimate the opportunity cost of time lost in the regulatory process. The study compares the cost of regulations as they differ by factors such as the existence of previous studies on the product or the intention for export or domestic use. It is hypothesized that the costs are greater for products that are intended for export or human consumption or are produced by the private sector. It is also hypothesized that these factors increase the time to complete the regulatory process, therefore increasing the opportunity cost of time. This study evaluates the economic impact of the GMO regulatory process on the change in producer surplus, the net present value and the internal rate return using an economic surplus model. Scientists and other experts in the field of GMOs and regulation were interviewed to obtain the necessary data on the regulatory process. The evaluation was carried out for four different commodities in the Philippines, Bt Rice, Bt Eggplant, PRSV Papaya and MVR Tomato. The results for the open economy model revealed a change in producer surplus, as a result of the GMO research, of $418.3 million for Bt Rice and $353.7 million for PRSV Papaya. The closed economy model of Bt Eggplant has a change in producer surplus of $25.1 million and a change in total surplus of $40.8 million while the result for the change in producer surplus for MVR Tomato is $19.3 million and the change in total surplus is $51.6 million. A sensitivity analysis of the results was then carried out in which the elasticity of supply, the cost of regulation, and the release date were each varied in order to show the welfare impact of such changes. The sensitivity analysis revealed limited changes in surplus when elasticity and regulatory costs were changed. However, changing the date of release or commercialization resulted in monumental changes in surplus. / Master of Science

Potential vegetative and reproductive increases in yield, as well as the biological efficacy against Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum causing ear and stem rot in maize crops of commercially-formulated micro-organism formulation T-Gro (Trichoderma harzianum isolate DB103 WP) combined with Spartacus (Beauveria bassiana isolate DB 105 WP), T-Gro combined with Armenius (Bacillus subtilis isolate DB 109 WP), T-Gro combined with Maximus (Bacillus subtilis isolate DB 108 WP), T-Gro combined with Shelter (Bacillus subtilis isolate DB 101), T-Gro combined with Bismarck (Microbacterium maritypicum isolate DB 107 WP), as well as individual treatments of T-Gro, Armenius, Bismarck, Maximus and Shelter, were investigated when applied to maize seed and soil under field conditions. All the micro-organism treatments were compared with Thiram 750WP (750g/kg thiram WP) and an untreated control. The micro-organism treatments showed an increase in vegetative as well as reproductive yields when compared to the reference product Thiram 750 WP and the untreated control. There were no observations of adverse effects on the germination of maize seed in all the treatments that were applied. The three isolates B. subtilis, T. harzianum, and M. maritypicum, showed a significant reduction in vascular tissue discolouration of the main and ear stems, indicating a potential to be used in the reduction and control of diseases caused by Fusarium spp. Results also showed poor to very good increases of stem and foliage biomass as well as cob yield per plant produced by the micro-organism treatments when compared to the untreated control. The highest cob yield per plant that differed significantly from the untreated control was produced by T-Gro and Shelter. No phytotoxicity of any kind was observed with the application of the micro-organism formulations and they could therefore be deemed suitable to be used for the treatment of maize seed. The micro-organism formulations containing fungal and bacterial biological control agents have the potential to be used in commercial maize production to increase vegetative and reproductive yields and reduce the severity of ear and stem rot in maize. / Agriculture Animal Health & Human Ecology / M.Sc. (Agriculture)

Cette thèse est dédiée aux développements méthodologiques et applications de la métabolomique par Résonance Magnétique Nucléaire (RMN) à très hauts champs. La première partie de ce manuscrit est dédiée à une présentation générale de la métabolomique par RMN. Nous décrivons ensuite les résultats obtenus concernant l’introduction d’une technique à dimensionnalité réduite pour la caractérisation des mélanges complexes, dénommée spectroscopie RMN par projections ciblées. La seconde partie de ce manuscrit décrit les résultats de trois études métabolomiques portant sur des populations humaines. La première analyse démontre que les échantillons de sérum collectés dans le cadre de la cohorte européenne prospective internationale EPIC sont appropriés pour une étude métabolomique. Les deux études suivantes recherchent une signature métabolique dans le sérum du cancer du sein métastatique et une signature plasmatique potentielle pour différentes pathologies hépatiques comme le carcinome hépatocellulaire. La troisième partie de cette thèse est dédiée à l’étude d’organismes modèles. La première étude caractérise les différences métaboliques systémiques entre quatre souches de rats couramment utilisées comme contrôles en génétique. Dans la seconde analyse, nous étudions les effets du vieillissement physiologique chez Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), observons que le processus de restriction alimentaire tamponne les modifications métaboliques associées au vieillissement et que des perturbations du métabolisme de la phosphocholine corrèlent avec l’espérance de vie. La troisième étude caractérise des modifications métaboliques importantes chez un mutant de C. elegans, pour le gène ahr-1, suggérant un rôle dans le développement et le vieillissement. Enfin, nous étudions les effets au niveau métabolique de l’interaction entre la protéine endogène E4F1 et la protéine virale HBx dans des cellules hépatiques infectées par le virus de l’hépatite B. / This thesis is dedicated to developments and applications of metabolomics, exploiting high field NMR spectroscopy. The first part is dedicated to a general presentation of metabolomics. We also report results about the introduction of reduced dimensionality techniques for the characterization of complex mixtures, coined targeted projection NMR spectroscopy. The second part of this manuscript reports results about three different metabolomic studies carried out in human populations. The first analysis demonstrates the suitability for metabolomics of serum samples collected in the framework of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The second study investigates a serum metabolic signature of metastatic breast cancer. The last analysis establishes potential plasma metabolic signatures for different liver pathologies, like hepatocellular carcinoma. The third part of this thesis is dedicated to the characterization of various model organisms. The first study presents a characterization of plasma and urine metabolic differences between four rat strains commonly used as controls in genetic studies. In the second study, we investigate the effects of physiological aging in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) and observe that dietary restriction buffers metabolic changes associated with aging. We further identify that perturbations in phosphocholine metabolism correlate with life expectancy. The third analysis of this part characterizes the ahr-1 C. elegans mutant, showing strong metabolic changes in ahr-1 mutants, which suggest an involvement in development and aging processes. We finally investigate in the last study the effects at the metabolic level of the interaction between an endogenous protein E4F1 and a viral protein HBx in liver cells infected by hepatitis B virus.

Master's thesis topic: Effects of the training with the krankcycle on wheelchair users Author: Bc. Ondřej Doubrava Branch of study: Physiotherapy Disertation Tutor: Mgr. Rostislav Čichoň, Ph.D. Year of Defense: 2014 This work was focused on training and strengthening of wheelchair users as a prevention of their health problems, a regulation of wrong physical and physiological mechanisms and an increase their fitness and motional skills. In this training the new instrument designed to strengthen the upper extremity and to improve the function of the cardiorespiratory system was used. This device is called krankcycle and its popularity has increased dramatically especially in the recent years. Therefore it became the main purpose of this work to determine whether completing a 12-week continuous training with krankcycle will lead to changes in monitored parameters evaluating physiological, physical and motional skills of subjects and thus identify the true value of its use. At the same time, we wanted to verify previously confirmed advantages and effectiveness of this exercise especifically for wheelchair users and reveal the krankcycle to them and the wider public as well. Values of body composition were measured in the biomedical laboratory of the UK FTVS by caliperation of four skinfolds method on...