Portland cement concrete (PCC) structures deteriorate with age and need to be maintained or replaced. Early detection of deterioration in PCC (e.g., alkali-silica reaction, freeze/thaw damage or chloride presence) can lead to significant reductions in maintenance costs. Portland cement concrete can be nondestructively evaluated by electrically characterizing its complex dielectric constant in a laboratory setting. A parallel-plate capacitor operating in the frequency range of 0.1 to 40.1 MHz was developed at Virginia Tech for this purpose. While useful in research, this approach is not practical for field implementation. In this study, a capacitor probe was designed and fabricated to determine the in-situ dielectric properties of PCC over a frequency range of 2.0 to 20.0 MHz. It is modeled after the parallel-plate capacitor in that it consists of two conducting plates with a known separation. The conducting plates are flexible, which allows them to conform to different geometric shapes. Prior to PCC testing, measurements were conducted to determine the validity of such a system by testing specimens possessing known dielectric properties (Teflon). Portland cement concrete specimens were cast (of sufficient size to prevent edge diffraction of the electromagnetic waves) having two different air contents, two void thicknesses, and two void depths (from the specimen's surface). Two specimens were cast for each parameter and their results were averaged. The dielectric properties over curing time were measured for all specimens, using the capacitor probe and the parallel-plate capacitor. The capacitor probe showed a decrease in dielectric constant with increasing curing time and/or air content. In addition to measuring dielectric properties accurately and monitoring the curing process, the capacitor probe was also found to detect the presence and relative depth of air voids, however, determining air void thickness was difficult. / Master of Science

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間・環境学) / 甲第18379号 / 人博第692号 / 新制||人||165(附属図書館) / 25||人博||692(吉田南総合図書館) / 31237 / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科相関環境学専攻 / (主査)准教授 土屋 徹, 教授 小松 賢志, 教授 宮下 英明 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間・環境学) / 甲第19069号 / 人博第722号 / 新制||人||173(附属図書館) / 26||人博||722(吉田南総合図書館) / 32020 / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科相関環境学専攻 / (主査)准教授 土屋 徹, 教授 宮下 英明, 教授 川本 卓男 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The global demand for nitrogen fertilizer was 12 million metric tonnes in 2014 and is expected to increase to 240 million metric tonnes by the year 2050, with the growth of the global population.  To meet the demand for nitrogen fertilizers, the Haber-Bosch process has primarily been used to produce the precursor of many nitrogen fertilizers - ammonia. The very energy-expensive Haber-Bosch process uses fossil fuels and, therefore, a renewable source of ammonia must be established. Some microorganisms can use atmospheric nitrogen to produce ammonia via the nitrogenase enzyme, a mechanism attractive for alternative ammonia production. In this thesis project, integrating vectors for the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7002 have been designed and generated to facilitate future heterotrophic nitrogenase integration and ammonia production. The vectors were designed for integration in seven neutral sites of the Synechococcus PCC 7002 genome. Five of the seven planned integrating vectors were successfully constructed and transformation was attempted into Synechococcus PCC 7002 to determine the transformation efficiency of the different neutral sites, however, the transformation results were inconclusive.

Eficácia, aperfeiçoar a produção, minimizar custos relativos e otimizar recursos disponíveis são desafios aos quais se deparam os serviços de alimentação coletiva no Brasil. Este estudo procurou avaliar os recursos disponíveis de uma unidade de alimentação e nutrição - UAN, visando subsidiar a implementação do sistema cook-chill. Para realização do estudo foram utilizados dois tipos de proteína animal, o lagarto (músculo semitendinosus) e o peito de frango (pectoralis major) com o emprego das técnicas cook-chill e convencional. O estudo foi divido em três etapas. A primeira avaliou a capacidade instalada a partir da observação dos recursos necessários, tais como, mão de obra empregada, estrutura física relacionada a equipamentos e custo. Os resultados evidenciaram um baixo índice de produtividade de mão de obra quando comparado a outras UAN. O custo total da preparação alimentícia aumentou 2,7% com o emprego da técnica cook-chill quando comparado à técnica convencional. Este aumento foi causado principalmente pelo maior tempo no emprego da mão de obra, de consumo de energia elétrica e no uso da capacidade instalada. Esta, por sua vez pode ser considerada suficiente para a implementação da técnica cook-chill. Na segunda etapa, identificou-se os pontos críticos de controle - PCC - de preparações com o emprego da técnica cook-chill. Testes preliminares definiram o tempo e temperatura do tratamento térmico empregado, devendo ser a temperatura de forno de 160°C até atingir 89°C no centro geométrico por 4 minutos para carne bovina (lagarto) e 2 minutos para carne a base de ave (peito de frango), respectivamente, num tempo total de processo de 2 horas e 25 minutos, binômios suficientes para reduzir 11D do microrganismo alvo do estudo, o Clostridium botulinun type E. Para o emprego da técnica cook-chill, identificou-se como pontos críticos de controle, a partir do método recomendado pelo Codex alimentarius, as etapas de cocção, armazenamento e regeneração, para as duas preparações. Na terceira etapa aplicou-se a técnica cook-chill visando comparar os resultados em relação aos aspectos sensoriais, físicos, químicos e microbiológicos com a técnica convencional. O rendimento total das preparações com o emprego da técnica convencional foi menor quando comparado ao cook-chill, para ambas as proteínas, exceto nas amostras de lagarto com cook-chill que tiveram um rendimento maior no armazenamento durante cinco dias, justificado pela influência da retenção de água provido pelo acondicionamento em saco a vácuo. O emprego da técnica cook-chill e o tempo de armazenamento não influenciaram nos resultados para pH, força de cisalhamento e cor objetiva, para nenhum dos tipos de carnes. As contagens microbiológicas revelaram-se satisfatórias, mesmo para as amostras armazenadas sob refrigeração no período mais longo. Quanto à análise sensorial as duas técnicas obtiveram uma aceitação acima de 60% nos atributos sensoriais avaliados. Concluiu-se que a UAN poderá substituir a técnica convencional, uma vez que obteve resultados satisfatórios de aceitação da técnica cook-chill, principalmente no tempo de armazenamento em até 5 dias a 3°C, e demais análises. Do mesmo modo, essa técnica apresentou-se vantajosa devido à maior facilidade operacional, sugerindo a redução do tempo de produção, a otimização da mão de obra e equipamentos disponíveis o favorecimento do aumento da produção. / Effectiveness, improving the production, minimize costs and optimize available resources are challenges which face the collective power services in Brazil. This study sought to evaluate the resources of a unit of foodservice, aiming to support the implementation of the cook-chill system. To conduct the study were used two types of animal protein, the semitendinosus beef and fillet of chicken breast (pectoralis major) with the use of cook-chill techniques (zero time and five days of storage) and conventional. The study was divided into three stages. First, it was evaluated the installed capacity from observing the necessary resources, such as labour, physical structure related to equipment and cost analysis. While using conventional techniques, the results showed a low labor productivity rate when compared to other foodservice units. The total cost increased to 2.7% with the use of cook-chill technique when compared to the conventional technique, caused mainly by higher use of labor, consumption of electricity and installed capacity, which may be considered sufficient for the implementation of the cook-chill technique. In the second stage, it was identified the critical control points - CCP - of preparations with the use of cook-chill technology. Preliminary tests defined time and temperature of cooking should be 160°C of oven temperature, up to reach 89°C at geometric center for 4 minutes, to semitendinosus beef, and 2 minutes for the chicken breast, respectively, in a total time process of 2 hours and 25 minutes, binomial of time enough to reduce 11D of the study target microorganism, Clostridium botulinun type E. For the implementation of the cook-chill technique it was identified, as critical control points from the method recommended by the Codex alimentarius, the steps of cooking, storage and regeneration, for both of preparations. The third stage applied the cook-chill technique in order to compare its results with the conventional technique, on the sensory, physical, chemical and microbiological aspects. The overall process yield with the conventional technique was lower than in the cook-chill technique for both proteins, except in the lizard samples cook-chill with time of storage of 5 days, that shown a higher process yield, that can be explained by the influence of water retention provided by storage in a vacuum bag. The use of cook-chill technique did not influence the results for pH, shear force, objective color, the storage time, for any of the types of meats, as well as microbiological counts proved to be satisfactory even for the preparations of meats under longer periods of refrigeration. The sensory analysis of two techniques gained acceptance over 60% in the sensory attributes evaluated. In conclusion, the foodservice unit can replace the conventional technique for cook-chill technique, according to satisfactory results of analyzed parameters, particularly for storage time up to 5 days at 3°C, also provides greater operational convenience, reduced production time, and labour optimization creating conditions for further production increase.

Les microorganismes photosynthétiques suscitent un intérêt biotechnologique grandissant pour la production de dihydrogène (H₂) à partir d'eau et d'énergie solaire en préservant l'eau douce et les terres cultivables sans ajout d'engrais. La cyanobactérie modèle Synechocystis PCC 6803 est capable de produire du H₂ de manière faible et transitoire grâce à une hydrogénase [NiFe] bidirectionnelle Hox. Cette enzyme possède 5 sous-unités protéiques (HoxEFUYH) qui catalysent la réaction réversible : 2H⁺ + 2e⁻ ↔ H₂. Le site actif [NiFe] de cette enzyme est assemblé par un complexe de six protéines HypABCDEF. L’hydrogénase est ensuite maturée par une protéase HoxW qui clive la sous-unité HoxH et active le site catalytique [NiFe]. L’ingénierie de cyanobactéries pour la photoproduction biologique d’H₂ passe par une meilleure compréhension du rôle de l'hydrogénase dans le métabolisme cyanobactérien. Au cours de ma thèse, j’ai construit et analysé 7 mutants sophistiqués de Synechocystis permettant la surexpression simultanée (constitutive ou régulée par la température de croissance) des gènes hoxEFUYHW et hypABCDEF. On a ainsi montré que la surproduction simultanée des protéines HoxEFUYHW et HypABCDEF combinée à une augmentation de la disponibilité de nickel dans le milieu conduit à une augmentation de l’activité hydrogénase d’un facteur 20. D’autre part, un mutant dépourvu de l'opéron hoxEFUYH a permis également de montrer que l'hydrogénase n'est pas indispensable à la croissance dans les conditions photoautotrophiques standard. La comparaison des phénotypes des divers mutants construits durant ce travail a permis également de montrer pour la première fois que l’hydrogénase joue un rôle dans la défense cellulaire contre le stress oxydant induit par le H₂O₂, par la présence de glucose ou de glycérol dans le milieu de culture. Par ailleurs, j'ai participé à la caractérisation d'un nouveau régulateur de l'expression de l’hydrogénase. Ce facteur de transcription (AbrB2) qui réprime l’opéron hoxEFUYH est impliqué dans la tolérance au stress induit par le diamide ou le nickel. Un contrôle redox de l'activité de ce régulateur par une modification post-traductionnelle de glutathionylation a été mise en évidence pour la première fois chez les cyanobactéries. L'ensemble de ces résultats démontre que l’on doit combiner plusieurs stratégies génétiques et physiologiques pour augmenter fortement la production d’hydrogène chez Synechocystis, et que nos mutants sont des outils très importants vers cet objectif. / Photosynthetic organisms are attractive organisms for hydrogen production using water and solar energy, while preserving fresh water and arable soils without adding fertilizers. The model cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 produces small and transitory amounts of H₂ thanks to its bidirectional [NiFe] hydrogenase Hox. The Hox complex with its 5 protein subunits (HoxEFUYH) catalyzes the reversible reaction 2H⁺ + 2e⁻ ↔ H₂. The [NiFe] catalytic site of the Hox enzyme is assembled using a six-subunits HypABCDEF complex and matured by the HoxW protease that cleaves HoxH and activates its [NiFe]-containing center. Engineering cyanobacteria for hydrogen production relies on a better understanding of the role of hydrogenase in the cyanobacterium metabolism. During my PhD, I have constructed and analyzed 7 sophisticated mutants of Synechocystis, allowing the simultaneous over-expression (constitutive or regulated by the growth temperature) of the hoxEFUYH and hypABCDEF genes. We demonstrated that the simultaneous over-production of the HoxEFUYH and HypABCDEF proteins, combined to an increase in nickel availability led to an approximately 20-fold increase of the active hydrogenase level. Moreover, using a deleted hox-operon mutant we showed that hydrogenase is dispensable in standard phototrophic growth conditions. Comparing the phenotypes of different mutants constructed in this study enables us to demonstrate for the first time that the hydrogenase operates in cell protection against oxidative stress (H₂O₂) and sugar stress (glucose or glycerol). Besides, I have also participated to the characterization of a new regulator (AbrB2) of the expression of the hydrogenase. This transcription factor represses the hoxEFUYH operon and is involved in the tolerance to stress induced by diamide or nickel. For the first time in cyanobacteria, a redox control of the activity of this regulator by a post-translational gluthathionylation was identified. Collectively, our findings showed that several genetic and physiological strategies should be combined in a single strain to strongly increase hydrogen production in Synechocystis. Meanwhile the presently constructed mutants proved to be very powerful tools to achieve this goal.