過去十年，適婚年齡市場中的單身男女比率大幅成長，從1997年到2007年人口數共成長了10%，許多適婚未婚男女在茫茫人海中，希望運用不同的相親管道來找尋未來的伴侶。在所有選擇當中，婚友社是所有管道中最有效率的，透過婚友社媒合的平台，能快速拓展網絡效益，比較起網路交友、親朋好友介紹、其他不同型式的聯誼活動等等，如以找尋未來結婚伴侶為前提，婚友社是最好的選擇。 但是，最好的選擇並不等於最優先的選擇，許多人對於婚友社的印象，是比較負面的，認為它無法提供有品質的服務，能確實介紹適合自己的異性做為認識，甚至擔心付費後會員權益沒有保障，對婚友社運作流程沒有信心。市面上各式各樣規模的婚友社不少，但似乎還沒有一間夠穩定、可靠且擁有龐大的經濟規模，為整個產業的領導者，此篇研究，就是要建立起婚友社最重要的核心價值之一 - 標準化的配對機制，滿足顧客最根本的需求，創造差異化及提升競爭優勢，達到良好的口碑效益。 在研究中，與個案公司-中華民國佳緣婚友推廣協會配合，由資深紅娘蔡郁莉小姐做為公司代表，進行多次訪談，來了解公司整體運作狀況後，再深入探討既有配對流程和步驟。同時與佳緣會員及相關業者也安排了一對一訪談，了解整體產業內外部環境、競爭狀態和會員為滿足的需求等等，再透過外部資料，如:文獻探討、期刊、相關書籍等做彙整後，找出解決方案，制定出標準化的配對機制。 透過資料的彙整，最終找出兩性在找尋未來的伴侶，可從十個不同層面做擇偶條件設定，依照會員背景和需求的不同，也會影響到擇偶條件的設定。將這些條件設定的規則視為配對機制的主要因素，經過相互配對和條件篩選，進一步發展為標準化配對機制三大流程，能從龐大的會員資料庫中，有效率幫會員找出最合適的對象，成為在產業中首先建立客製化的配對機制的公司，提升配對效率及成功率，成為核心競爭價值之一，增加會員信賴度，和需求滿足，更重要的是，能將紅娘對會員了解的內隱知識外顯化，讓資訊不斷層，能完整的保留且傳承下去，維持一致的服務品質，創造佳緣專業的形象，扭轉外界原先對婚友社負面刻版印象，最終成為適婚未婚男女在尋找伴侶上，優先考量的管道之一，能招募更多新的會員。 美中不足的是，這套機制還未能實際在佳緣內部操作，無法了解實務上運作的效益及需改進之處，且也無法確定是否能套用在其他婚友社裡。在未來，除了要建立高效率的配對機制以外，還需要進一步探討如何來深耕與會員間的關係，提供其他未滿足的服務需求。 / Over the past decade, the rate of single man and woman in marriageable age in the market rise dramatically, it increased a total of 10% from 1997 to 2007. The unmarried man and woman searching different ways to meet new friends, and wishing they could become their future partner. In those different ways of meeting a possible future husband or wife, I would like to conclude that through organized one by one matchmaker platform would be the most efficient way. In this platform, people can expand their friend network quickly, compared to make friends online, introduced by relatives or close friends, or other different types of matchmaker activities. But if you want to find a future husband or wife, the one by one matchmaker organization will be the first and the best choice. However, the best choice does not necessary mean the most preferred choice, many people’s impression towards matchmaker organizations, is relatively negative, they think it is unable to provide good quality of service, cannot really introduce the specific right person for you to know, or some of them even worry that after they became a member, they will start to get less attentions. They simply have no faith in those matchmaker companies.They are all kinds of matchmaker companies, but none of them are known as the leader brand in this entire industry yet. This study, is to help this case company to develop it’s own differentiated advantage by establishing the most important core values system - standardize pairing mechanism. The purpose is to meet customers fundamental demands, which is help to find Mr or Ms Right for them quickly. It will also be able to achieve a good reputation for its effectiveness. In this study, the case company-Chiayuan , with the senior matchmaker representative, Ms. Tsai Yu-Lio were involved , provided many useful and valuable information. With several times of interviews, I have come to an understanding of how the company operates, and further more, to know their present process of pairing procedures.At the same time, I was arranged to have one by one interviews with the members of Chiayuan and also the people used to work for other matchmaker companies. From those interviews I get a closer look into the whole industry both internal and external environment situations, competitive status and member’s vital unsatisfied needs. Through the external data, such as: a literature discussion, periodicals, published books, etc., after I consolidated the information, I was able to work out the proper solutions to develop a standardized pairing mechanism.Through the data being deliberated, eventually I could find out the tracks on how the two sexes find their future partner. We can look at it from ten different required items, in accordance with the member’s different backgrounds and needs, can also affects how they set their requirements base on the those ten items and using those as the basic factors when processing the pairing mechanism. Through the filtering, we can develop three major steps for this pairing mechanism. The mechanism can help the matchmakers to identify the most appropriate member to match. There are no other companies has developed this kind of mechanism yet. This mechanism could enhance the matching process efficiency and improve the success rates, to become one of the core competitive value.It can increase the the dependability from members. More importantly, this mechanism can make the implicit knowledge into storable information, and stays in the company, maintaining consistent service quality, emphasize a professional brand image for Chiayuan. But this mechanism has not actually been used in Chiayuan as part of their internal procedure, therefore cannot be sure the practical benefits and necessary improvements. Addition to establishing the efficient pairing mechanism, we also need to explore further to know how to commit with the members, and provide them other unmet demand of services.

In low dimensional systems, electron correlation effects can often be enhanced. This can be vital since these effects not only play an important role in the study of many-electron physics, but are also useful in designing new materials for various applications. Since its isolation from graphite in 2004, graphene, a two dimensional sheet of carbon atoms, has drawn considerable interest due to its remarkable properties. In the past few years, research has moved on from single to bi-, dual- and multi-layer graphene systems, each displaying their own multitudes of intriguing properties. In particular, multi-layer systems that are electronically decoupled, but still coupled via the long-range Coulomb interaction, are very fascinating as they provide an opportunities to study phenomena like excitonic condensates, non-zero band gaps and van der Waals (vdW) interactions. In this thesis, I shall discuss our recent work on two different physical aspects of dual- layer graphene systems under uniaxial strain. Firstly, I shall present results on the vdW correlation energy evaluated, within the Random Phase Approximation, at zero temperature between two undoped graphene layers separated by a finite distance. The correlation energy is obtained for three anisotropic models with variations in the strength of the effective coupling constant. We find that the vdW interaction energy increases with increasing anisotropy and the many-body contributions to the correlation energy are non-negligible. In the second part, I shall talk about the formation of inter-layer electron-hole (excitonic) pairings, caused by the inter-layer Coulomb interaction between two uniaxially strained graphene sheets which are appropriately doped with electrons/holes and our studies of the dependence of strain on the effective interaction. We find that strain, in combination with precise control of the initial momentum can effectively overcome the suppression due to inter-layer screening effects.

Recentemente, os compostos não-centrossimétricos têm sido intensamente estudados devido à grande variedade de comportamentos magnéticos, os quais são induzidos pela ausência de centro de simetria na sua estrutura cristalográfica. Esta assimetria induz uma modificação na estrutura de bandas, causando um acoplamento spin-orbita antissimétrico quem é responsável por mecanismos de interação magnética inusuais. A supercondutividade em este tipo de compostos apresenta propriedades que divergem do comportamento esperado pela teoria BCS. Neste trabalho será apresentado um estudo sobre a investigação de supercondutividade em dois sistemas ternários, Y-Co-C e Lu-Ni-C particularmente nos compostos YCo1-xC2 e Lu1-xThNiC2. Estes compostos cristalizam na estrutura CeNiC2 de simetria ortorrômbica é do grupo espacial 38 Amm2 que não possui centro de inversão. As técnicas de caracterização usadas neste trabalho incluem medidas de magnetização, resistividade e calor especifico como funções da temperatura, assim como magnetização como função do campo magnético aplicado. O composto YCo0.7C2 é supercondutor com Tc = 4 K e exibe um comportamento que diverge da teoria BCS. As medidas realizadas neste trabalho sugerem que este material é um forte candidato como supercondutor não convencional, onde poderia existir uma mistura de contribuições nos canais singleto e tripleto. No caso do sistema Lu1-xThxNiC2 os resultados preliminares indicam claramente supercondutividade nos compostos dopados com Th, onde a composição Lu0.6Th0.4NiC2 apresenta uma Tc= 8 K. / In recent years, non-centrosymmetric compounds have attracted a great interest because of their wealth variety of topical behaviors, induced by the lack of the inversion center on the crystallographic structure. This asymmetry leads to a strong modification in the band structures, causing an antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling which is responsible for unusual magnetic interaction mechanisms. Superconductivity in compounds whose crystal structure lacks inversion symmetry are known to display intriguing properties that deviate from conventional BCS superconducting behavior. Here we report the analysis of the ternary systems Y-Co-C and Lu-Ni-C, We focused our analysis in the intermetallic compounds YCo1-xC2 and Lu1-xThxNiC2. Magnetization, resistivity, and heat capacity measurements on polycrystalline samples of noncentrosymmetric YCo0.7C2, showing clear evidence of bulk superconductivity with a critical temperature of Tc =4 K. Interestingly the specific heat of the superconducting state deviates from conventional exponential temperature dependence, which is suggestive of possible unconventional superconducting behavior in YCo0.7C2, similar to that seen in the isostructural and isoelectronic superconductor LaNiC2. Besides, these results strongly suggest that this material is a strong candidate of multiband superconductivity. In the case of the system Lu1- xThxNiC2 our results showed a clear superconducting signal in the Th doped samples, where the composition Lu0.6Th0.4NiC2 has a Tc= 8 K.

Thesis advisor: Hong Ding / Thesis advisor: Ziqiang Wang / The discovery of the high-T_c superconductivity in iron-arsenic materials in 2008 immediately became one of the hottest topics in the condensed matter physics. This dissertation presents a systematic study on the pairing symmetry and electronic structure on the hole doped materials of BaFe₂As₂ (so called &ldquo;122&rdquo;-system), by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). In the early ARPES studies on &ldquo;122&rdquo;-pnictides, we observed two hole-like Fermi surfaces (FSs) centered at the Brillouin zone (BZ) center, (&Gamma;), and two electron-like FSs centered at the zone corner (M), which is (&pi;, &pi;) in the BZ or (&pi;, 0) in the unfolded BZ. The size of these FS sheets can be changed by carrier doping, which causes change of the chemical potential. In the superconducting state, temperature (<italic>T</italic>) and momentum (<italic>k</italic>) dependence of ARPES measurements reveals the Fermi-surface-dependent nodeless superconducting gaps in this system and shows that an <italic>s</italic>-wave symmetry is the most natural interpretation for our findings in terms of the pairing order parameter. The ratio 2&Delta;/k_BT_c switches from weak to strong coupling on different FS sheets. Large superconducting gaps are observed with a strong coupling coefficient (2&Delta;/k_BT_c) on the near-nested FSs connected by the antiferromagnetic (AF) wave vector ((&pi;, &pi;) in the BZ or (&pi;, 0) in the unfolded BZ). When T_c is suppressed in the heavily overdoped materials, the near-nesting condition vanishes, or more precisely, the (&pi;, &pi;) inter-FS scattering disappears due to the absence of either the hole-like or the electron-like FS at the Fermi energy (E_F). We have also performed ARPES measurements on k_z-dependence of the superconducting gap and band structure of the optimally hole doped sample Ba_0.6K_0.4Fe₂As₂. By varying the photon energy, we can tune k_z continuously. While significant k_z dispersion of the superconducting gaps is observed on the hole-like bands, much weaker k_z dispersion of the superconducting gaps is observed on the electron-like bands. Remarkably, we find that a 3D gap function based on short-range pairing can fit the superconducting gaps on all the FS sheets. Moreover, an additional hole-like FS (referred as the &alpha;<super>&lsquo;</super> FS) predicted by local density approximation (LDA) calculations is observed around the Z point. The disappearance of intensity of the &alpha;<super>&lsquo;</super> band near E_F at k_z = &pi;/2 suggests that the &alpha;<super>&lsquo;</super> band could either sink below E_F or be degenerate with the inner hole (&alpha;) band. The studies on the &alpha;<super>&lsquo;</super> band in the superconducting state reveal a nearly isotropic superconducting gap on this FS sheet. Underdoped samples Ba_0.75K_0.25Fe₂As₂ are used to study how the AF fluctuations and superconductivity interplay in the underdoped regime that is closer to the AF phase. we observe that the superconducting gap of the underdoped pnictides scales linearly with T_c. A distinct pseudogap develops upon underdoping and coexists with the superconducting gap. Remarkably, this pseudogap occurs mainly on the FS sheets that are connected by the AF wave vector, where the superconducting pairing is stronger as well. This suggests that both the pseudogap and the superconducting gap are driven by the AF fluctuations, and the long-range AF ordering competes with the superconductivity. The observed dichotomic behaviour of the pseudogap and the SC gap on different FS sheets in the underdoped pnictides shares similarities with those observed in the underdoped copper oxide superconductors, providing a possible unifying picture for both families of high-temperature superconductors. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

Apesar da rápida expansão das aplicações da cromatografia líquida acoplada à espectrometria de massas em química clínica, a análise de metabólitos de baixo peso molecular e alta polaridade em matrizes biológicas ainda permanece como um grande desafio analítico. Dentre os compostos de grande importância no diagnóstico de doenças metabólicas que ainda carecem de melhores alternativas bioanalíticas destacam-se os aminoácidos. O presente estudo descreve o desenvolvimento e a validação de um novo método para a quantificação de 24 aminoácidos em plasma explorando a cromatografia líquida acoplada a espectrômetros de massas em tandem. Foi construído um método de detecção baseado em SRM (múltiplas reações selecionadas) com duas transições de massas para cada um dos 24 aminoácidos e os 19 padrões internos marcados com isótopos estáveis. Foram avaliadas três estratégias de separação cromatográfica e o melhor desempenho foi obtido com fase reversa com octadecilsilano (C18) com pareamento iônico com o ácido perfluoropentanoico. O método cromatográfico final permitiu a separação dos 24 aminoácidos, com resolução completa dos isômeros: leucina, isoleucina e allo-isoleucina, em 11 minutos incluindo o tempo de re-estabilização da coluna cromatográfica. Os limites de quantificação variaram em 113 fmol a 6 pmol injetados na coluna cromatográfica. A imprecisão obtida nos níveis testados para todos os aminoácidos foi inferior a 14%. O método apresentou linearidade para os intervalos testados chegando a 1,5 mmol.L-1 para vários compostos. Os ensaios de arraste mostraram que os limites máximos obtidos na linearidade não geram nenhuma interferência subsequente. A exatidão do método foi avaliada com amostras provenientes do programa de referência interlaboratorial European Research Network for evaluation and improvement of screening, Diagnosis and treatment of Inherited disorders of Metabolism (ERNDIM) e com o material de referência certificado do National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Todos os analitos mostraram equivalência estatística com o método desenvolvido. / Despite the widespread use of liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry applications in clinical chemistry, the analysis of low molecular weight and high polar metabolites in biological matrices remains as a major analytical challenge. Notwithstanding the key role played by amino acids in the diagnosis of metabolic diseases, there is still need for improvements in bioanalytical process of these analytes. The present study describes the development and validation of a new method for quantification of 24 amino acids in plasma based on liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Detection and quantification were achieved building a selected reaction monitoring method two mass transitions for each 24 amino acids and 19 stable isotope internal standards. Three chromatographic strategies for separation were evaluated, and best performance was achieved using reversed-phase octadecylsilane with perfluropentanoic acid as ion pairing agent. The separation method allowed separation of 24 amino acids with full resolution for isomers leucine, isoleucine and alloisoleucine in 11 minutes, including column equilibration time. The limits of quantification ranged from 113 fmol to 6 pmol (on column injection). Imprecisions for all evaluated levels and amino acids were less than 14%. The method is linear in all clinical intervals and extending up to 1.5 mmol.L-1. Carryover evaluation demonstrated absence of interference in the following injection throughout the analytical interval. Method accuracy was evaluated analyzing reference samples from European Research Network for evaluation and improvement of screening, Diagnosis and treatment of Inherited disorders of Metabolism (ERNDIM) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Statistical equivalence was demonstrated for all analytes using the present method.

A história de domesticação da cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.) é atípica. As variedades modernas derivam de um processo que inclui hibridações entre a espécie domesticada S. officinarum e a silvestre S. spontaneum, sucessivos retrocruzamentos, no sentido de recuperar o genoma de S. officinarum e a seleção de progênies superiores. Além disso, as genealogias contemplam cruzamentos entre genótipos e eventualmente espécies, todos com elevado grau de ploidia e número de cromossomos distintos, assim como aneuploidias. Frente ao exposto, este trabalho teve como objetivos estabelecer o número de cromossomos e avaliar o comportamento meiótico da cultivar IACSP93-3046, bem como, identificar as associações cromossômicas em meiose I dos genótipos IACSP93-3046, IACSP95-3018 e de um representante de S. officinarum, Caiana Fita, pela marcação dos centrômeros usando FISH. O número de cromossomos da cultivar IACSP93-3046 foi determinado a partir de preparações do meristema radicular, pré-tratado com 8-hidroxiquinolina (0,03%, 4h), e corado pelo método de Feulgen. As células metafásicas foram analisadas sob microscopia óptica, preferencialmente intactas e com o mínimo de sobreposição de cromossomos. Para a análise do comportamento meiótico utilizou-se a técnica de esmagamento, e as células foram coradas com carmim propiônico. Foram observadas as fases meióticas desde a metáfase I até a telófase II, bem como as tétrades. O pareamento cromossômico em meiose I foi analisado usando a técnica de hibridização in situ fluorescente (FISH). Para tanto, preparações dos genótipos IACSP93-3046, IACSP95-3018 e Caiana Fita foram realizadas pelo gotejamento de uma suspensão de células em diacinese. As sondas foram obtidas por PCR a partir da amplificação da região centromérica de cana-de-açúcar, marcadas com digoxigenina-11-dUTP, por nick translation, e detectadas com anti-digoxigenina-rodamina. As lâminas foram montadas em DAPI-Vectashield e analisadas sob microscopia de fluorescência. O número diplóide 2n = 112 foi observado para a cultivar IACSP93-3046, sendo caracterizado pela primeira vez neste estudo. A microsporogênese de IACSP93-3046 apresentou elevado percentual de irregularidades (68%). De modo geral, as anormalidades foram relativas à segregação dos cromossomos, e incluíram migração precoce para os polos em metáfase I e II, cromossomos retardatários em anáfase (I e II) e em telófase (I e II), cromossomos perdidos em prófase II, e micronúcleos nas tétrades. A análise dos sítios de hibridização permitiu comprovar que os cromossomos se associam predominantemente como bivalentes em IACSP93-3046, IACSP95-3018 e Caiana Fita. As irregularidades na segregação dos cromossomos conduzem a micrósporos aneuploides, como constatado em IACSP93-3046. Sugere-se que a assincronia do processo meiótico entre os genomas que compõem a cana-de-açúcar tem papel relevante na geração dessas irregularidades. / The history of the sugarcane domestication (Saccharum spp.) is atypical. Modern varieties are derived from a hybridization process between the domestic species S. officinarum and the wild species S. spontaneum, successive backcrossings to recover the genome of S. officinarum, and the selection of superior progenies. The genealogies include crossings among genotypes, and possibly Saccharum species, all with a high degree of ploidy and different numbers of chromosomes, as well as aneuploidies. The study aimed to establish the number of chromosomes and evaluate the meiotic behavior of cultivar IACSP93-3046, and identify chromosomal associations in meiosis I of genotypes IACSP93-3046, IACSP95-3018 and Caiana Fita (a representative of S. officinarum) by labeling centromeres using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The number of chromosomes in cultivar IACSP93-3046 was determined from the root meristem preparations, pretreated with 8-hydroxiquinoline and stained by the Feulgen method. Metaphasic cells, preferably intact and with minimum chromosome overlap, were analyzed under an optical microscope. Meiotic behavior was examined from the preparations by using squashing method and stained with propionic carmine. Meiotic phases were observed from metaphase I to telophase II, and tetrad stages. Chromosomal pairing in meiosis I was analyzed by using the FISH technique. The slides of genotypes IACSP93-3046, IACSP95-3018 and Caiana Fita were produced by dropping a suspension of meiocytes in diakinesis. The probes were obtained by PCR, with amplification of the centromere region, and labeled with digoxigenin-11-dUTP, by nick translation, and detected with anti-digoxigenin-rhodamine. The slides were mounted in DAPI-Vectashield and analyzed under a fluorescence microscope. The diploid number 2n = 112 was observed for cultivar IACSP93-3046 and characterized in this study for the first time. Microsporogenesis of IACSP93-3046 presented a high irregularity percentage regarding chromosome segregation, especially precocious migration to poles in metaphase I and II, laggard chromosomes in anaphase and telophase I and II, lost chromosomes in prophase II, and micronuclei in the tetrad stages. The analysis from the hybridization sites proved that the chromosomal pairing occurred predominantly as bivalents in IACSP93-3046, IACSP95-3018 and Caiana Fita. Chromosomal segregation irregularities led to aneuploid microspores, as confirmed in IACSP93-3046, suggesting the asynchrony in the meiotic process between the sugarcane genomes play an important role in producing these irregularities.

Esquistossomose é uma doença crônica e debilitante. Schistosoma representa a única classe de trematódeos com vida dióica. Um contínuo pareamento com o macho é essencial para a maturação sexual do sexo feminino. Fêmeas adultas provenientes de infecções uni-sexuadas são subdesenvolvidas, apresentam atrofia do tamanho e um sistema reprodutivo imaturo. Para estudar os mecanismos envolvidos no pareamento de vermes adultos foram utilizadas duas plataformas de microarranjos distintas: uma composta por 4 mil sondas de cDNA dupla fita produzida pelo nosso grupo de pesquisas e outra composta por 44 mil sondas de oligonucleotideos desenhadas pelo nosso grupo e produzida pela empresa Agilent Technologies. Com a plataforma de 4 mil sondas detectamos 113 transcritos diferencialmente expressos em fêmeas adultas mantidas separadas de seus respectivos pares durante 24 horas de cultivo in vitro quando comparadas com fêmeas adultas pareadas; para 10 destes genes obtivemos uma confirmação adicional da expressão diferencial por transcrição reversa fita específica seguida de PCR em Tempo Real. Observamos também os efeitos do pareamento no perfil de expressão gênica de machos adultos mantidos separados de seus respectivos pares durante 24 horas de cultivo in vitro; foram encontrados 152 transcritos diferencialmente expressos. Com a plataforma de 44 mil sondas foi detectada a expressão de 5.798 genes transcricionalmente ativos em verme adulto, em um conjunto de 19.907 genes únicos representados nesta plataforma. A análise do conjunto de genes \"no match\" mostrou que em 156 genes ocorria expressão senso e anti-senso; para 6 destes transcritos obtivemos uma confirmação adicional da expressão nas duas fitas por transcrição reversa fita específica seguida de PCR em Tempo Real. Adicionalmente foram identificados 2717 transcritos diferencialmente expressos em fêmeas separadas de seus respectivos pares durante 13 dias de cultivo in vitro, quando comparadas com fêmeas mantidas pareadas. Para as análises com machos separados durante 13 dias foram encontrados 243 transcritos diferencialmente expressos. Por fim, realizamos estudos com o objetivo de observar os genes que podem estar correlacionados com o contato físico do pareamento (macho e fêmea) e genes que podem ser regulados pela possível difusão de proteínas e hormônios secretados no meio, para os quais a mudança do nível de expressão não dependa da necessidade de contato entre o macho e a fêmea. Sabe-se que o contato direto da fêmea com o macho é necessário para manter a atividade reprodutiva feminina e observamos que o re-pareamento pode restabelecer o perfil de expressão gênica de fêmeas ou machos separados. Além disso, observamos que fêmeas separadas e depois mantidas na presença do macho, porém sem re-pareamento, apresentam uma expressão gênica diferente das fêmeas separadas e depois mantidas na ausência de machos, sugerindo que algum fator secretado pelo macho no meio regula a expressão. Este trabalho representa uma importante contribuição no entendimento da relação macho-fêmea em nível molecular. / Schistosomiasis is a chronic and debilitating disease. Schistosoma represents the only class of trematodes with a dioecious life. A continuous pairing with the male is essential for female sexual maturation. Adult females from uni-sexual infections are underdeveloped, have body atrophy and an immature reproductive system. To study the mechanisms involved in pairing of adult worms two microarray platforms were used: one comprised by 4000 cDNA probes and printed by our research group and another comprised by 44 000 oligonucleotide probes designed by our group and printed by Agilent Technologies Company. With the 4000-probes platform we detected 113 transcripts differentially expressed in adult females kept separated from their mates during 24 hours in vitro when compared with paired adult females; for 10 of these genes we obtained additional confirmation of differential expression by Real Time RT-PCR. We also observed the effects of pairing on the gene expression profile of adult males kept separate from their mates during 24 hours in vitro, where we found 152 differentially expressed transcripts. With the 44 000-probes platform we detected the expression of 5798 genes in adult worms, out of a set of 19 907 unique genes represented on this platform. Analysis of the \"no match\" genes showed that 156 have transcription from the sense and anti-sense strands; for 6 of them we obtained additional confirmation of expression by strand specific Real Time RT-PCR. Additionally, we identified 2717 differentially expressed transcripts in females separated from their mates during 13 days in vitro when compared to females that remained paired. In the analysis of males separated for 13 days we found 243 differentially expressed transcripts. Finally, we performed a study aimed at observing genes which might be correlated to physical contact pairing (male and female) and compared to genes that might be regulated by the possible diffusion of secreted proteins and hormones in the medium, for which the change of expression level does not depend on physical contact between male and female. It is known that direct female-male contact is needed to keep the female reproductively activity and we observed that repairing can restore the gene expression profile of females or males that were kept separated. Furthermore, we observed that females separated and then maintained in the presence of male, but without re-pairing, have a different gene expression from the separated females kept without males, suggesting that some male secreted factors might be involved in gene regulation. This work represents an important contribution to the understanding of male-female relation at the molecular level

Recentemente, os compostos não-centrossimétricos têm sido intensamente estudados devido à grande variedade de comportamentos magnéticos, os quais são induzidos pela ausência de centro de simetria na sua estrutura cristalográfica. Esta assimetria induz uma modificação na estrutura de bandas, causando um acoplamento spin-orbita antissimétrico quem é responsável por mecanismos de interação magnética inusuais. A supercondutividade em este tipo de compostos apresenta propriedades que divergem do comportamento esperado pela teoria BCS. Neste trabalho será apresentado um estudo sobre a investigação de supercondutividade em dois sistemas ternários, Y-Co-C e Lu-Ni-C particularmente nos compostos YCo1-xC2 e Lu1-xThNiC2. Estes compostos cristalizam na estrutura CeNiC2 de simetria ortorrômbica é do grupo espacial 38 Amm2 que não possui centro de inversão. As técnicas de caracterização usadas neste trabalho incluem medidas de magnetização, resistividade e calor especifico como funções da temperatura, assim como magnetização como função do campo magnético aplicado. O composto YCo0.7C2 é supercondutor com Tc = 4 K e exibe um comportamento que diverge da teoria BCS. As medidas realizadas neste trabalho sugerem que este material é um forte candidato como supercondutor não convencional, onde poderia existir uma mistura de contribuições nos canais singleto e tripleto. No caso do sistema Lu1-xThxNiC2 os resultados preliminares indicam claramente supercondutividade nos compostos dopados com Th, onde a composição Lu0.6Th0.4NiC2 apresenta uma Tc= 8 K. / In recent years, non-centrosymmetric compounds have attracted a great interest because of their wealth variety of topical behaviors, induced by the lack of the inversion center on the crystallographic structure. This asymmetry leads to a strong modification in the band structures, causing an antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling which is responsible for unusual magnetic interaction mechanisms. Superconductivity in compounds whose crystal structure lacks inversion symmetry are known to display intriguing properties that deviate from conventional BCS superconducting behavior. Here we report the analysis of the ternary systems Y-Co-C and Lu-Ni-C, We focused our analysis in the intermetallic compounds YCo1-xC2 and Lu1-xThxNiC2. Magnetization, resistivity, and heat capacity measurements on polycrystalline samples of noncentrosymmetric YCo0.7C2, showing clear evidence of bulk superconductivity with a critical temperature of Tc =4 K. Interestingly the specific heat of the superconducting state deviates from conventional exponential temperature dependence, which is suggestive of possible unconventional superconducting behavior in YCo0.7C2, similar to that seen in the isostructural and isoelectronic superconductor LaNiC2. Besides, these results strongly suggest that this material is a strong candidate of multiband superconductivity. In the case of the system Lu1- xThxNiC2 our results showed a clear superconducting signal in the Th doped samples, where the composition Lu0.6Th0.4NiC2 has a Tc= 8 K.

Let Mk(∞) (Gamma, nu) denote the space of weight k weakly holomorphic weight modular forms with poles only at the cusp (∞), and let widehat Mk(∞) (Gamma, nu) subseteq Mk(∞) (Gamma, nu) denote the space of weight k weakly holomorphic modular forms in Mk(∞) (Gamma, nu) which vanish at every cusp other than (∞). We construct canonical bases for these spaces in terms of Maass--Poincaré series, and show that the coefficients of these bases satisfy Zagier duality.

Dual-host combinations of cation and anion sensors have unique potential for selective detection of ion pairs, such as NH4NO3, via solvent extraction. Selective sensors for NH4+ and NO3- were synthesized and used together for ion-pair sensing of ammonium nitrate both in organic solvents (using Bu4N+NO3 - and NH4+PF6-) and in extraction of NH4NO3 from water into dichloromethane. A fluorescent sensor for NH4+ based on 1,3,5-triethylbenzene shows remarkable binding and sensing selectivity for NH4+ vs. K+. Fluorescence and 1H-NMR titrations reveal surprising differences in sensing properties and binding constants for the tris-(3,5-dimethyl)pyrazole vs. the tris(3,5-diphenyl)pyrazole. The role of ion pairing and solvation is revealed by X-ray and theoretical DFT studies. We have also demonstrated a unique dual-host extraction-based ion-pair sensing paradigm using Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET), showing selectivity for NH4NO3. The fluorescence emission of the NH4+ sensor tris-(3,5-dimethyl)pyrazole (305-340 nm), is compatible with the excitation wavelength of the dansyl fluorophore of the nitrate sensor 1,3,5-Tris-(5-dimethylamino-1-naphthalenesulfonamido)methyl]-2,4,6-triethylbenzene, thus resulting in FRET emission upon combined use of these two sensors for the NH4NO3 ion pair. Contact of dichloromethane solutions containing the two hosts with aqueous solutions of NH4NO3 (1 x 10-5 M to 1 x 10-4 M ), resulted in FRET fluorescence enhancements at 510 nm, with increasing concentrations of NH4NO3, while NaNO3, KNO3, NaCl and KCl showed only minimal fluorescence responses, under identical conditions. The ability of the tris-pyrazole to bind cations, such as NH4+, was also exploited in a detailed fluorescence and 1H-NMR Ln(III), binding study using tris-pyrazoles with varying substitution patterns. The dependence of fluorescence responses on pyrazole substitution that had been observed for NH4+ was also observed for different Ln(III), indicating the significant role of ion pairing for Ln(III) binding and fluorescence sensing. Likewise, the tris-dansyl nitrate receptor, in its deprotonated form, was also found to be an efficient Hg(II) fluorescent sensor. An X-ray crystal structure showed the ability of the trianionic version of this receptor to bind three Hg(II) atoms, also containing three CH3COO- counteranions. The X-ray crystal structure of the same receptor with HgCl2 gave a 2:1 complexation pattern, with one Hg atom complexed by two bis-deprotonated receptor molecules