Le mouvement induit par la respiration dans la région thoraco-abdominale a été évalué à l'aide de séries d'images de tomodensitométrie en quatre dimensions (4DCT) pour un échantillon de 40 patients présentant principalement des tumeurs pulmonaires et gastro-intestinales. L'observation du déplacement des structures par rapport à leur position d'équilibre respective a révélé un déplacement en phase en supérieur-inférieur. L'amplitude est plus importante pour le diaphragme et les reins. Il n'y a pas de différences significatives entre les tumeurs pulmonaires et les autres sites étudiés. La méthodologie de planification dosimétrique actuelle (3D-CRT ou IMRT) s'est révélée adéquate en moyenne pour une population de 10 cas de tumeurs pulmonaires ayant une grande amplitude de déplacement. L'utilisation de la phase de mi-ventilation ne modifie pas significativement la couverture de dose, mais diminue les variable dosimétriques du poumon. La moyenne des phases du 4DCT n'apporte pas d'avantages par rapport à la méthodologie actuelle. / Respiration-induced motion in the thoracoabdominal region was studied with fourdimensional computed tomography (4DCT) for 40 patients mainly with lung and gastrointestinal tumours. Relative distance to mean amplitude position of internal structures showed an inphase motion in superior-inferior direction. Diaphragm and kidneys displayed in average the greatest amplitude. There were no significant amplitude differences between lung and other locations motion. The actual treatment planning method (3D-CRT or IMRT) turned out to be, in average, adequate for ten lung cases with large motion. The use of mid-ventilation phase for treatment planning does not change significantly dose coverage but lower lung dosimetric parameters. The use of 4DCT average showed not benefits over the actual procedure.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1978 C73 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 R516 / Master of Science

Le méthane (CH4 ) peut être oxydé en dioxyde de carbone (CO2 ) par les bactéries méthanotrophes présentes dans les recouvrements des sites d'enfouissement, en présence de l'oxygène. Il est possible de développer un recouvrement qui favorise la croissance des bactéries qui oxydent le méthane. On parle alors de biorecouvrement d'oxydation passive du méthane (BOPM). La mise en place d'un BOPM permet de réduire les émissions de CH 4 pendant et après la période de récupération active, où il n'est plus économiquement viable d'extraire le biogaz. Plus spécifiquement, le présent mémoire traite des essais d'oxydation en colonnes simulant un biorecouvrement d'un site d'enfouissement. Les taux d'oxydation ont été obtenus en faisant varier les substrats, les épaisseurs et les degrés de saturation de ceux-ci. Les sols utilisés provenaient des 2 BOPM construits sur le site d'enfouissement de Saint-Nicéphore (Québec, Canada). De plus, un sol contaminé a été testé. Les taux d'oxydation maximaux des essais de colonne ont varié entre 49 et 141 g CH 4 /m2 /j, représentant des efficacités variant entre 81 et 90 %. Les facteurs les plus susceptibles de faire varier le taux d'oxydation sont : le pas d'augmentation de l'alimentation en CH4 , l'épaisseur du substrat et le degré de saturation en eau. Des essais de respiration ont été réalisés et une méthode a été développée pour calculer les efficacités d'oxydation du CH4 en profil en prenant en compte la respiration. Des essais de caractérisation initiaux et finaux sur les substrats ont été faits pour évaluer les changements du pH, de la teneur en matière organique et du degré de saturation. La saturation est le seul paramètre qui a présenté une différence significative entre le début et la fin des essais d'oxydation. Une comparaison a été réalisée entre les taux d'oxydation du laboratoire et le taux au terrain. Pour le substrat du BOPM 3B, les taux au laboratoire ont été plus élevés, par contre, pour le substrat du BOPM 2 les taux au terrain ont été supérieurs grâce à la présence de végétation indigène.

Contamination of perchlorate and chlorate in nature is primarily the result of various industrial processes. The microbial respiration of these oxyanions of chlorine plays a major role in reducing the society’s impact on the environment. The focus with this thesis is to investigate the oxygen-dependent regulation of key components involved in the chlorate respiration in the gram‑negative bacterium Ideonella dechloratans. Chlorate metabolism is based on the action of the enzymes chlorate reductase and chlorite dismutase and results in the end products molecular oxygen and chloride ion. Up‑regulation of chlorite dismutase activity in the absence of oxygen is demonstrated to occur at the transcriptional level, with the participation of the transcriptional fumarate and nitrate reduction regulator (FNR). Also, the chlorate reductase enzyme was shown to be regulated at the transcriptional level with the possible involvement of additional regulating mechanisms as well. Interestingly, the corresponding chlorate reductase operon was found to be part of a polycistronic mRNA which also comprises the gene for a cytochrome c and a putative transcriptional regulator protein.

The study of larvae, their behaviour & physiology has gathered momentum in recent years due to the development of improved techniques of rearing during the past decade. Many marine larvae have been successfully reared in the laboratory (Shelbourne, 1964; Schumann, 1967; Blaxter, 1968,1969; Houde & Palko, 1970; Futch & Detwyler, 1970; Lasker, Feder, Theilacker & May, 1970). Fish larvae, in particular those of most marine species form an important tool for research in that at hatching they only possess the rudiments of most organs. Thus they are ideal material for ontogenetical studies. Although the respiratory mechanisms of adult fish have been the subject of a great deal of investigation from the point of view of gas exchange (see Randall 1970) gill structure (Hughes, 1966; Hughes & Grimstone, 1965; Newstead, 1967; to name a few) and dimensions (see Muir, 1969) gill ventilation and perfusion (see Shelton, 1970) circulatory systems (see Randall, 1970) bioenergetics, (see Brett, 1970) the respiratory systems of larvae have not been investigated in any great detail. Apart from a few studies on oxygen uptake (see Blaxter, 1969) and Harder (1954) on the development of branchial elements, no detailed study of the development of respiratory mechanisms have been made in marine fish larvae. The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of respiration in two species of marine larvae viz. the herring (Clupea harengus L.) and the plaice (Pleuronectes plates sa L.) These two species are well separated taxonomically and both adults and young have very different life histories. Herring lay demersal eggs, the plaice pelagic ones. The yolk-sac larvae of both species are planktonic, later feeding on diatoms and copepod nauplii and much later copepods. Adult herring are pelagic, living in mid water as juveniles and moving into deeper water with age, ranging from offshore to about 200m. They perform migrations partly caused by the distribution and density of food organisms. In contrast to this plaice at metamorphosis show an interesting asymmetry in that one eye migrates over the head and comes to lie against its opposite number. At this stage pelagic life ceases and the young fish assumes a bottom-living existence. Other features associated with asymmetry are secondary to the migration of the eye and follow on from the adoption of the benthic mode of life. They range from the shoreline when young to lOOOm feeding on bottom living organisms. During development the mechanism of respiration changes from a cutaneous one to gill respiration typical of the adult form. There is apparently no respiratory pigment in the early stages but the blood becomes pink at metamorphosis. The problem was approached from a morphological and a physiological viewpoint. The main parts of the study are as follows. (1) The survival times in water of low oxygen concentrations. (2) The oxygen uptake at normal oxygen concentrations. (3) The oxygen uptake at low oxygen concentrations. (4) Measurement of the body surface area as well as the gill area available for respiration. (5) The appearance of haemoglobin and its quantitative measurement.

An attempt was made to evaluate the applicability of a theorized model concerning plasma lactic acid kinetics to running performance assessment. This model incorporated two distinct lactate thresholds identified as the aerobic threshold (AerT) and the anaerobic threshold (AT). Two groups of males with different levels of fitness were tested. Group 1 (n = 5) consisted of recreational athletes (͞X VO₂ max = 49.3 ml/kg•min⁻¹) who ran less than 20 miles per week, while Group 2 (n = 6) were highly trained runners (͞X VO₂ max = 65.5 ml/kg•min⁻¹) who all ran at least 40 miles per week. All subjects participated in two incremental work load (IWL) and four constant work load (CWL) tests that consisted of horizontal treadmill running at different speeds. The IWL tests elicited linear increases in VO₂ and were highly correlated for both Group 1 (r = .986) and Group 2 (r = .999). However, three unbiased observers found the identification of both AerT and AT, using independent lactate and respiratory gas exchange "breakpoints," very subjective in nature. The test-retest reliablity was generally poor and varied considerably among both the observers and the individual predictor variables. The validity of the respiratory gas exchange predictors was then evaluated against the criterion lactate thresholds using the estimates of a fourth, more experienced observer. The resultant correlation coefficients were generally not high, while t-test evaluation demonstrated significant (p < .05) differences in fifty percent of the cases. This same observer then pooled all of the ventilatory predictors in an effort to better estimate both AerT and AT indirectly. These indirect ventilatory estimates consistently underpredicted the criterion lactate thresholds. This finding suggests that increases in running speeds may confound the normal associate between plasma lactate and ventilation at increasing work levels. Arbitrary lactate concentrations of 2mmol/2 and 4 mmol/L were further evaluated as threshold predictors. This methodology consistently overpredicted the criterion lactate thresholds in terms of VO₂. When any of these AerT and AT threshold estimates were compared to the lactate responses during the appropriate CWL test, no meaningful relationship were found. These observations question the physiological significance of both AerT and AT evaluation during treadmill running, as well as pointing out the difficulty in reliably detecting both plasma lactate thresholds regardless of the methodology.

Mitochondria were extracted from seedling radicles of Pima S-5 and Pima E-14 cottons and the state 3 respiration, state 4 respiration, ADP:O ratio and respiratory control (RC) ratio were measured in vitro over a range of temperatures from 6 to 18C. Mitochondria from E-14 seedlings exhibited a mean state 3 respiration rate of 13.42 μMO₂/min/gm tissue while mitochondria from S-5 seedlings showed a mean state 3 rate of 17.94 μMO₂/min/gm tissue. Mean state 4 respiration exhibited a similar trend with measurements of 73.4 μMO₂/min/gm tissue and 11.73 μMO₂/min/gm tissue for E-14 and S-5. Mitochondria from E-14 seedlings exhibited a mean ADP:O ratio of 3.73 compared to an ADP:O of 3.28 for S-5, across all assay temperatures. Mean respiratory control ratio was 1.79 for E-14 and 1.53 for S-5. These lower respiration rates of E-14 coupled with higher ADP:O ratios and RC ratios support a greater respiratory efficiency at low temperatures of this variety compared to S-5. Additionally, the E-14 mitochondrial membranes exhibited an ability to remain in a fluid state to a lower temperature than Pima S-5 mitochondrial membranes as judged by Arrhenius plots of respiration. Since mitochondrial respiration is considered to be regulated by membrane-bound enzymes, any change in membrane fluidity would conceivably affect mitochondrial enzyme activity and thus alter respiration rates. Changes in respiration rates will be reflected as a break in an Arrhenius plot. The mean break point temperature of state 3 respiration was 10.7C for E-14 and 13.4C for S-5. The mean break point temperature for state 4 respiration was 10.9C for E-14 and 13.6C for S-5. The ability of E-14 to withstand a greater degree of chilling under field conditions can be attributed, in part, to the greater fluidity of seedling mitochondrial membranes at low temperatures and concomitant conservation of respiratory energy through a lower rate of respiration. Assays of mitochondrial respiration and Arrhenius plots of mitochondrial respiration versus temperatures could be used to select cotton lines more tolerant to chilling temperatures.

Soil carbon (C) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool. While inputs to this system are fairly well constrained, the diverse factors driving soil C efflux remain poorly understood. Carbon in surface soils is mobilized via two distinct pathways: CO₂ gas flux and dissolved C flux. The goal of this study was to quantify the role of hydrologic variability in mobilizing carbon as gaseous and dissolved fluxes from near-surface soils, and to determine their relative magnitudes. Data were collected through 2010 and 2011 from two subalpine sites in Arizona and New Mexico. I observed no significant variability in dissolved fluxes, and these values were low at all sites. In contrast, CO₂ fluxes were large (from 0.22 g C m⁻² d⁻¹ to 5.27 g C m⁻² d⁻¹) and varied between sites and between years. My results suggest that in arid montane forests soil carbon flux is critically linked to water availability.

No description available.