In recognition of the shortcomings inherent to the operating temperature ranges of current fuel cell systems, namely the“temperature gap" between 200C and 600C, an effort to develop an intermediate-temperature molten-salt electrolyte fuel cell (IT-MSFC) was undertaken. In this type of fuel cell, the molten salt electrolyte is supported on a porous support, in a planar or other geometry similar to that used in existing fuel cell technologies, such as phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) and molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC). Such a fuel cell using a molten hydroxide electrolyte and Pt/C catalyst was constructed and tested using hydrogen and oxygen as fuel. The performance was comparable to that which has been obtained from PEM fuel cells at the low end of the voltage range, reaching 950ma/cm2 at 0.4 V in the highest performing test. Performance was superior to PEM fuel cells at the high end of the voltage range, due to the more favorable kinetics at the higher temperatures, with an open circuit voltage (OCV) of 1.0 V with a linear performance curve between 1.0 V and 0.6 V, which is characteristic of fuel cells with low kinetic overpotentials. Longevity of the fuel cell was very poor, however a number of experiments were undertaken to improve it, enabling extension of operating life from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, which is still far too low for practical use. The key problem was identified as electrolyte retention by the support matrix and possible degradation of the gas diffusion layer and catalyst. Experiments were also conducted using methanol vapor as fuel, and it was found to provide performance close to that recorded with pure hydrogen. Experiments were also conducted using several alternative molten salts, including nitrate and chloride eutectics. Combinations of nitrates with hydroxides added to act as a charge carrier produced a working fuel cell, however performance was greatly reduced. Though preliminary, the work described herein demonstrates the great potential of IT-MSFC, and outlines the work needed to make this type of fuel cell practical.

"Abstract. Urbanization has a significant impact on water quality. Urban drainage systems and impervious surfaces accelerate the delivery of pollutants from land areas in watersheds to streams and rivers. The harmful pollutants include sodium and chloride associated with the application of road salts during the winter, metals and oils associated with vehicles and impervious surface. The goal of this project was to access impacts of urbanization on River Meadow Brook and validate a chloride assessment tool. The first phase of this research was a part of a chloride study sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). The second phase of the projects included flow and water quality monitoring. The first phase of the project involved the development of a linear regression equation to validate a chloride assessment tool that MassDEP had developed and implemented based on historical data. River Meadow Brook, a Massachusetts stream that flows from a non-urban, rural area with relatively low pollutant concentrations to highly urbanized area in Lowell, MA, was chosen for that purpose because of the area’s large concentration of roadways and highways and historically high concentrations of chloride. Water samples and continuous conductivity data were collected for a 7-month period. Using 24 grab samples analyzed at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) laboratory in Chelmsford, MA, the model was validated with 99.37% confidence using a linear regression equation. Therefore, the relationship between conductivity and chloride was validated. Calculated chloride was used to identify chloride violations of ambient water quality standards in River Meadow Brook. In addition to MassDEP study, the relationship between the percent of imperviousness and various trace metals, anions and total suspended solids was developed to show impacts of urbanization on the stream. The research approach included collection of both water samples and flows to calculate daily pollutant loads. Water monitoring included grab samples and unattended continuous conductivity with a 30-minute recording intervals. Discharge monitoring included collection of flows in River Meadow Brook using a brad- crested dam and the area- velocity technique. A wide variety of cations from a sampling of 5 sites along River Meadow Brook were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Cl, sulfate and nitrate were analyzed using the Dionex ICS-2100 Ion Chromatography System. Laboratory results of water quality parameters showed that pollutants associated with impervious surface increase as the stream flows from its headwaters to downstream. The result from the Pearson correlation analysis revealed that sodium, chloride, potassium, vanadium, nickel, copper, arsenic, TSs and pH had a positive relationship with imperviousness while DO and nitrate had negative relationship. The combination of laboratory and field analysis helped to assess the impacts of urbanization and checked against ambient water quality standards. "

Pays meurtri par les premières guerres de Religion, le Cotentin est partagé entre la nécessité de panser ses plaies et celle d'en finir avec le péril huguenot. Loin de tout et enclin à la panique, le pays s'imagine menacé par une nouvelle invasion anglaise et l'érection d'une république protestante à Carentan. Éreintée par les guerres, privée très vite de ses chefs, la mobilisation de la noblesse locale doit composer avec ces officiers de bailliage et ce bas-clergé, qui ont leurs entrées à Paris, cultivent la rancune à l'égard de la Couronne, et considèrent que l'ancienne aristocratie n'est plus à la hauteur des enjeux.Ce travail prosopographique s'attache à lever le voile sur les composantes populaires de la Ligue rurale. Petits curés du Val de Saire avec hallebardes, chanoines coutançais portant arquebuses, seigneurs pillards, pirates et naufrageurs, contrebandiers et fermiers d'impôts, sergents véreux, potiers-défricheurs et gentilshommes-verriers de la Forêt de Brix, marchands de drap, foulons et teinturiers de Valognes, soit près d'un millier de fauteurs d'émeutes, composant une faune méconnue, picaresque et souvent interlope dont le dénominateur commun ne se réduit pas à l'anglophobie et l'anti-protestantisme primaires. Mais au lieu de se contenter d'une prosopographie passive, cette recherche se fait histoire politique, persuadée qu'au plus bas de l'échelle sociale, il y a aussi une opinion. dans une presqu'île où rien n'est plus compliqué que de prendre position publiquement et de s'entretuer entre gens de connaissance. Quitte à oublier le passé ou le travestir. / Harmed by the first Wars of Religion, the Cotentin region is torn between the need to mend its wounds and the need to put an end to the huguenot threat. Far away from everything and prone to panic, the region believes that it is threatened by a new english invasion or even worse, by the erection of a Protestant Republic in Carentan. However, the nobility is not leading the fight: exhausted by wars, quickly deprived from its leaders, it must deal with a small circle of bailiffs and lower clergymen with their own contacts in Paris, a small world which nurtures a rancor against the Crown and thinks that the aristocracy will not measure up to the issues at stake.This work focuses on the popular components of the rural League. Priests wielding halberds, canons carrying arquebuses, robber lords, pirates and shipwrecks looters, smugglers and farmer-generals taxing salt and beverages, corrupt sergeants, woodcutter-potters and glassmakers from the Brix forest, drapers, fullers and dyers, that make up to a thousand leaders and troublemakers, part of a an unknown, picaresque and often suspicious fauna whose common denominator is not reduced to primary anglophobia and anti-protestantism.This research is also a political story, convinced that at the bottom of the social scale, there is an opinion, even in Normandy. Hence the necessity to find new documents and confront the individual to the group, his words to his actions, his present to his past, in a peninsula where nothing is more complicated than taking a public stance and killing each other among acquaintances, Then forget about it or lie.

Salt marshes are some of the most productive and valuable landscapes on earth, but they are vulnerable to the effects of sea-level rise, erosion and eutrophication. These processes act on a wide range of temporal and spatial scales, which complicate assessments of the health and stability of marsh ecosystems. High-frequency monitoring using in situ sensors captures the complete range of these dynamics, but extracting meaningful physical and ecological information from these signals requires process-based models coupled with statistical techniques. I develop and apply such methods to study two coastal landscapes, a coastal pine forest on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and a mesotidal salt marsh complex in the Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts. Observations from groundwater wells in the Virginia pine forest indicate that storms are the dominant controls on the hydrology of the forest and that tidal influence is nonexistent. This forest exhibits a distinct spatial pattern in age structure in which young trees do not grow at low elevations. This pattern can be explained by a model that includes the interaction of sea-level rise, storms and the age-dependent variation in tree stress response, which predicts that the long-term evolution of the boundary is an ecological ratchet. Stresses due to sea-level rise slowly push the boundary at which young trees can survive upslope. Powerful storms then kill the mature, persistent forest at low elevations, which quickly pushes the forest boundary up to the regeneration boundary. Salt marshes need to accumulate sediment to replenish material lost as sea-level rises and creek banks erode. Fluxes of sediment can be monitored with simultaneous high-frequency observations of flow from acoustic Doppler current profilers and turbidity from optical backscattering sensors. I first investigate the relationship between water level and flow in marsh channels and develop predictive stage-discharge models to simplify the monitoring of fluxes. I then construct sediment budgets for eleven salt marshes in the Plum Island Estuary. The observed budgets depend strongly on the unique hydrodynamic conditions of each marsh channel. Variability in these conditions leads to the observed spatial and temporal variability in sediment fluxes from these marshes.

Pyroprocessing, via electrorefining in a molten salt bath, is a promising treatment route for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. In order to implement such a technology and ensure its safe operation it is vital to develop on-line techniques to understand and monitor the molten salt and its contents. These tools are technically challenging because of the high temperatures and corrosive environment experienced in molten salt media. Electrochemical, spectroscopic and spectroelectrochemical methods were developed and used to study actinide and fission product behaviour in molten LiCl-KCl eutectic. A spectroscopic furnace was designed and supporting methodology developed in order to allow the acquisition of reproducible quantitative data. The apparatus monitored the precipitation of NdCl3 by the addition of Li2CO3 and PrCl3 by the addition of Li2O in LiCl-KCl eutectic. The precipitates formed were identified as the respective LnOCl. In order to probe actinide behaviour in this hygroscopic medium, dry actinides chlorides were synthesised. The oxidation of uranium metal by BiCl3 in LiCl-KCl eutectic yielded UCl3 while neptunium and plutonium were prepared as Cs2AnCl6 via precipitation in concentrated aqueous HCl by addition of CsCl. The molar extinction coefficients for U(III), U(IV), Np(IV) and Pu(III) were obtained in LiCl-KCl eutectic at 450 áμ’C. The study of the Np(IV)/Np(III) couple via spectroelectrochemical techniques, enabled the determination of the Np(III) molar extinction coefficients. Uranium was studied in LiCl-KCl eutectic using square wave voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry and chronoabsorptometry. The electrochemical techniques benchmarked the results obtained by spectroelectrochemistry. The results from the different techniques were compared to and explained by determining the Gibbs energy and activation energy of U(III) and U(IV). It was concluded that all the mentioned techniques are suitable for the study of high temperature molten chlorides. Because of its capacity to gather numerous data parameters while minimising the number of experiments required and the quantity of material needed, spectroelectrochemical methods were highlighted as the most promising technique for future studies of radionuclides in high temperature melts.

Chang Pui Sze. / Thesis submitted in: October 2004. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 204-227). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgement --- p.i / Abstract (In English) --- p.ii / Abstract (In Chinese) --- p.iv / List of Tables --- p.vi / List of Figures --- p.x / Contents --- p.xii / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Historical Background of Sufu --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Nutritional Benefits of Sufu --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Production Steps --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Preparation of Tofu --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Preparation of Pehtze --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Salting or Brining --- p.8 / Chapter 1.3.4 --- Aging --- p.9 / Chapter 1.4 --- Local Varieties of Sufu --- p.9 / Chapter 1.5 --- Other Types of Sufu Fermentation --- p.10 / Chapter 1.6 --- Biochemical Changes during Sufu Production --- p.11 / Chapter 1.6.1 --- Protein Faction --- p.12 / Chapter 1.6.2 --- Lipid Fraction --- p.14 / Chapter 1.6.3 --- Carbohydrate fraction --- p.14 / Chapter 1.7 --- Sufu Flavor --- p.14 / Chapter 1.7.1 --- "Water-soluble Peptides, Free Amino Acids and Tasty Oligopeptides" --- p.14 / Chapter 1.7.2 --- Nucleotide Contents in the Taste of Sufu --- p.15 / Chapter 1.7.3 --- Effects of Ethanol on Flavor Development --- p.15 / Chapter 1.7.4 --- Volatile Components in Sufu --- p.16 / Chapter 1.8 --- Microbiological Safety of Sufu --- p.18 / Chapter 1.9 --- Existing Problems in Sufu Production --- p.19 / Chapter 1.10 --- Acceleration of Sufu Maturation by Adding Exogenous Lipase --- p.20 / Chapter 1.10.1 --- Proteases --- p.22 / Chapter 1.10.2 --- Problems with Proteases --- p.24 / Chapter 1.10.3 --- Lipases --- p.25 / Chapter 1.10.4 --- Problems with Lipases --- p.26 / Chapter 1.11 --- Replacement of Sodium Salt in Food with Alternative Salts --- p.29 / Chapter 1.12 --- Objectives --- p.33 / Chapter 2 --- Development of Volatile Compounds in Sufu --- p.35 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2 --- Materials and Method --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Sufu Production --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.1.1 --- Preparation of Tofu --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.1.2 --- Inoculation of Tofu --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.1.2.1 --- The Mold Strain --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.1.2.2 --- Spore Suspension --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.1.2.3 --- Spore Count in Spore Suspension --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.1.3 --- Preparation of Pehtze --- p.39 / Chapter 2.2.1.4 --- Brining and Aging --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Sampling of Sufu --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Flavor Analysis --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.3.1 --- Simultaneous Steam Distillation-Solvent Extraction (SDE) --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.3.2 --- Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) Conditions --- p.43 / Chapter 2.2.3.3 --- Compound Identification and Quantification --- p.44 / Chapter 2.3 --- Results --- p.45 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Evolution of Volatiles During Sufu Aging --- p.45 / Chapter 2.3.1.1 --- Esters --- p.46 / Chapter 2.3.1.2 --- Alcohols --- p.51 / Chapter 2.3.1.3 --- Aldehydes --- p.55 / Chapter 2.3.1.4 --- Ketones --- p.55 / Chapter 2.3.1.5 --- Other Nitrogen-containing Compounds --- p.59 / Chapter 2.3.1.6 --- Sulfur (S)-containing and Oxygen (O)-containing Compounds --- p.51 / Chapter 2.3.1.7 --- Pyrazines --- p.61 / Chapter 2.3.1.8 --- Miscellaneous Compounds --- p.63 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Change in the Concentrations of Sufu Odorous Compounds with Time --- p.65 / Chapter 2.4 --- Discussion --- p.67 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Quantitatively Important Volatile Components of Sufu --- p.67 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Esters --- p.59 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Alcohols --- p.72 / Chapter 2.4.3.1 --- 1-Hexanol --- p.72 / Chapter 2.4.3.2 --- Phenol and 2-Methoxyphenol --- p.74 / Chapter 2.4.4 --- Aldehydes --- p.75 / Chapter 2.4.4.1 --- Hexanal --- p.75 / Chapter 2.4.4.2 --- "(E,E)-2,4-Heptadienal" --- p.77 / Chapter 2.4.4.3 --- (E)-2-Heptenal --- p.78 / Chapter 2.4.4.4 --- Benzeneacetaldehyde --- p.79 / Chapter 2.4.5 --- Ketones --- p.80 / Chapter 2.4.5.1 --- 3-Hydroxy-2-Butanone --- p.81 / Chapter 2.4.6 --- Sulfur-Containing Compounds --- p.82 / Chapter 2.4.6.1 --- 3-(Methylthio)propanal --- p.82 / Chapter 2.4.7 --- Pentylfuran --- p.84 / Chapter 2.4.8 --- Naphthalene --- p.86 / Chapter 2.4.9 --- Contaminants and artifacts generated by A-SDE --- p.87 / Chapter 2.5 --- Conclusion --- p.92 / Chapter 3 --- Acceleration of Sufu Production with Exogenous Lipase Effect on Flavor Development --- p.95 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.95 / Chapter 3.2 --- Materials and Method --- p.96 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Sufu Production --- p.96 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- The Addition of Lipases --- p.96 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Sampling of Sufu --- p.97 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Flavor Analysis --- p.97 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- Statistical Analysis of Sufu Flavor Compounds --- p.98 / Chapter 3.2.6 --- Proximate Analysis --- p.98 / Chapter 3.2.7 --- Freeze-Drying --- p.99 / Chapter 3.2.8 --- Statistical Analysis of Sufu Proximate Contents --- p.99 / Chapter 3.2.9 --- Sensory Evaluation of Experimental Sufu --- p.100 / Chapter 3.3 --- Results --- p.102 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Experiment I ´ؤ Adding 0.01% (w/w) Lipase from Porcine Pancreas and Candida rugosa --- p.102 / Chapter 3.3.1.1 --- Esters --- p.104 / Chapter 3.3.1.2 --- Alcohols --- p.108 / Chapter 3.3.1.3 --- Aldehydes --- p.110 / Chapter 3.3.1.4 --- 3-Hydroxy-2-Butanone --- p.113 / Chapter 3.3.1.5 --- 3-(Methylthio)propanal --- p.114 / Chapter 3.3.1.6 --- 2-Pentylfuran --- p.115 / Chapter 3.3.1.7 --- Naphthalene --- p.115 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Experiment II - Adding 0.02% Lipase from Porcine Pancreas and Candida rugosa --- p.117 / Chapter 3.3.2.1 --- Esters --- p.118 / Chapter 3.3.2.2 --- Alcohols --- p.123 / Chapter 3.3.2.3 --- Aldehydes --- p.125 / Chapter 3.3.2.4 --- 3-Hydroxy-2 -Butanone --- p.129 / Chapter 3.3.2.5 --- 3-(Methylthio)propanal --- p.129 / Chapter 3.3.2.6 --- 2-Pentylfuran --- p.131 / Chapter 3.3.2.7 --- Naphthalene --- p.131 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Sensory Evaluation of Lipase-treated Sufu --- p.132 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- Proximate Composition of Sufu at Different Ages from the 3 Treatments --- p.134 / Chapter 3.3.4.1 --- Addition of 0.01%(w/w) Lipase to Sufu Aging Solution --- p.134 / Chapter 3.3.4.1.1 --- Crude Protein --- p.134 / Chapter 3.3.4.1.2 --- Crude Lipid --- p.135 / Chapter 3.3.4.1.3 --- Moisture --- p.138 / Chapter 3.3.4.1.4 --- Ash --- p.138 / Chapter 3.3.4.2 --- Addition of 0.02% (w/w) Lipase to Sufu Aging Solution --- p.141 / Chapter 3.3.4.2.1 --- Crude Protein --- p.141 / Chapter 3.3.4.2.2 --- Crude Lipid --- p.141 / Chapter 3.3.4.2.3 --- Moisture --- p.144 / Chapter 3.3.4.2.4 --- Ash --- p.144 / Chapter 3.4 --- Discussion --- p.147 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Adding 0.01 % Lipase from Porcine Pancreas and Candida rugosa --- p.147 / Chapter 3.4.1.1 --- Comparison of Total Odorous Content --- p.147 / Chapter 3.4.1.2 --- Sensory Evaluation of Experimental Sufu --- p.147 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Adding 0.02% Lipase from Porcine Pancreas and Candida rugosai --- p.150 / Chapter 3.4.2.1 --- Comparison of Total Odorous Content --- p.150 / Chapter 3.4.2.2 --- Sensory Evaluation of Experimental Sufu --- p.151 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Summary of Sensory and TOC Results of Lipase Experiments --- p.153 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- Impact of Lipase Addition on Different Odorous Volatile Compounds --- p.153 / Chapter 3.4.4.1 --- Esters --- p.154 / Chapter 3.4.4.2 --- Alcohols --- p.155 / Chapter 3.4.4.3 --- Aldehydes --- p.157 / Chapter 3.4.4.4 --- 3-Hydroxy-2-Butanone --- p.159 / Chapter 3.4.4.5 --- 3-(Methylthio)propanal --- p.160 / Chapter 3.4.4.6 --- 2-Pentylfuran and Naphthalene --- p.161 / Chapter 3.4.5 --- Effect of Aging on Chemical Composition of Sufu --- p.161 / Chapter 3.4.5.1 --- Crude Protein --- p.161 / Chapter 3.4.5.2 --- Crude Lipid --- p.162 / Chapter 3.4.5.3 --- Ash --- p.163 / Chapter 3.4.6 --- Effect of Lipase Addition on Chemical Composition of Sufu --- p.163 / Chapter 3.4.7 --- Effect of Lipase Addition on Free Fatty Acid (FFA) Profiles --- p.164 / Chapter 3.4.8 --- Generation of Different Classes of Esters from Animal and Fungal Lipases --- p.168 / Chapter 3.5 --- Conclusion --- p.171 / Chapter 4 --- "Partial Substitution of Sodium Chloride with Potassium Chloride in Sufu Aging Solution - Effect on Proteolysis, Bacterial Growth and Flavor" --- p.174 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.174 / Chapter 4.2 --- Materials and Method --- p.175 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Sufu Production --- p.175 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Partial Substitution of NaCl with KC1 --- p.176 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Sampling of Sufu --- p.176 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Bacterial Count --- p.176 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Total and Amino Nitrogen Contents in Sufu --- p.177 / Chapter 4.2.6 --- Sensory Evaluation of Experimental Sufu --- p.177 / Chapter 4.3 --- Results --- p.179 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Microbial Growth --- p.179 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Proteolysis --- p.181 / Chapter 4.3.2.1 --- Total Nitrogen Content (TN) --- p.181 / Chapter 4.3.2.2 --- Amino Nitrogen Content (AN) --- p.184 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Sensory Evalutaion of Control and KCl-Substituted Sufu --- p.186 / Chapter 4.4 --- Discussion --- p.187 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Microbial Growth --- p.187 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Proteolysis --- p.189 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Sensory Tests --- p.194 / Chapter 4.5 --- Conclusion --- p.198 / Chapter 5 --- Overal Conclusion --- p.199 / References --- p.204 / Appendix I --- p.228 / Appendix II --- p.229

Wong, Tak Hong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-104). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Thesis Committee --- p.i / Statement --- p.ii / Abstract --- p.iii / Chinese Abstract --- p.v / Acknowledgements --- p.vii / Abbreviation --- p.ix / Table of Content --- p.xi / List of figures --- p.xiv / List of tables --- p.xv / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Problem of soil salinization and sodification: reducing crop productivity --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Effects of high salinity on plant growth --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Ion toxicity --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Osmotic stress --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Oxidative stress --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Overview of salt tolerance mechanisms in plant --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Maintenance of ion homeostasis --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Maintaining osmotic homeostasis --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Detoxification of Reactive oxygen species --- p.5 / Chapter 1.4 --- The important role of CI- in plant salt stress tolerance research --- p.6 / Chapter 1.5 --- Introduction to chloride channel (CLC) family --- p.7 / Chapter 1.6 --- E. coli CLC-ecl: The first CLC member found to function as antiporter --- p.8 / Chapter 1.7 --- Yeast GEF1: eukaryotic model for early plant CLC complementation studies --- p.9 / Chapter 1.8 --- Mammalian CLC family: 4 channels and 5 antiporters --- p.10 / Chapter 1.8.1 --- CLC-4 and -5: First eukaryotic CLC member found to be function as antiporter --- p.13 / Chapter 1.8.2 --- CLC-7 function as antiporter and regulate lysosomal acidification --- p.13 / Chapter 1.8.3 --- "CLC-6 select nitrate over chloride, unlike other mammalian CLC members" --- p.14 / Chapter 1.9 --- Introduction to Plant CLC members --- p.14 / Chapter 1.10 --- Tobacco CLC-Ntl co-localized with mitochondrial markers in plant and may cause current on Xenopus oocytes membrane --- p.15 / Chapter 1.11 --- Rice CLCs may involved in salt tolerenace and growth regulation --- p.16 / Chapter 1.12 --- Arabidopsis CLC members are extensively studied --- p.18 / Chapter 1.12.1 --- AtCLCa regulates nitrate accumulation --- p.20 / Chapter 1.12.2 --- "AtCLCb, a nitrate/proton antiporter with unclear physiological role" --- p.22 / Chapter 1.12.3 --- "AtCLCc selective chloride over nitrate, involved in salt tolerance" --- p.23 / Chapter 1.12.4 --- AtCLCd and AtCLCf both localized on Golgi network --- p.25 / Chapter 1.12.5 --- AtCLCe may regulate ionic strength of chloroplast thylakoid membrane --- p.26 / Chapter 1.13 --- Previous work in Prof. Lam's laboratory --- p.26 / Chapter 1.14 --- "Reason, Hypothesis, Objective and long term significance" --- p.28 / Chapter 2. --- Materials and Methods --- p.30 / Chapter 2.1 --- Materials --- p.30 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- "Bacterial strains, animals, plants and plasmid vectors" --- p.30 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Chemicals and Enzymes --- p.33 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Commercial kits --- p.33 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- Primers --- p.35 / Chapter 2.1.5 --- Equipments and facilities used --- p.36 / Chapter 2.1.6 --- "Buffer, solution, gel and medium" --- p.36 / Chapter 2.1.7 --- Software --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2 --- Methods --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Growth and treatment of soybean seedling --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- RNA extraction from root tissue --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- RNA denaturing gel electrophoresis --- p.39 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Generation and testing of single-stranded DIG-labeled PCR probes --- p.39 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Northern blot analysis --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Transformation of V7/GmCLCl electro-competent Agrobacterium tumefaciens --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.7 --- PCR screening of transformed Agrobacterium tumefaciens colonies --- p.43 / Chapter 2.2.8 --- DNA gel electrophoresis --- p.43 / Chapter 2.2.9 --- Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of tobacco BY-2 cells --- p.44 / Chapter 2.2.10 --- Verifying the expression of GmCLCl in transgenic tobacco BY-2 cells --- p.45 / Chapter 2.2.11 --- Salt treatment of tobacco BY-2 cells and cell viability assay --- p.46 / Chapter 2.2.12 --- Subcloning of GmCLCl cDNA into pgh21 vector --- p.47 / Chapter 2.2.13 --- In vitro synthesis of GmCLCl cRNA --- p.51 / Chapter 2.2.14 --- Obtaining oocyte from Xenopus laevis ovaries --- p.52 / Chapter 2.2.15 --- Microinjection of GmCLCl cRNA into Xenopus oocyte and oocyte incubation --- p.53 / Chapter 2.2.16 --- Two electrode voltage clamp of Xenopus oocytes --- p.54 / Chapter 3. --- Results --- p.56 / Chapter 3.1 --- Phylogenetic analysis of GmCLCl --- p.56 / Chapter 3.2 --- Expression of GmCLCl in root was induced by NaCl and alkaline condition --- p.60 / Chapter 3.3 --- Construction of GmCLCl transgenic tobacco BY-2 cell line --- p.62 / Chapter 3.4 --- GmCLCl improve NaCl stress tolerance of transgenic tobacco BY-2 cells in a pH dependent manner --- p.67 / Chapter 3.5 --- Subcloning of GmCLCl into pgh21 --- p.70 / Chapter 3.6 --- GmCLCl cRNA synthesis by in vitro transcription --- p.72 / Chapter 3.7 --- Two electrode voltage clamp (TEVC) of GmCLCl cRNA injected Xenopus oocytes --- p.75 / Chapter 4. --- Discussion --- p.81 / Chapter 4.1 --- Implications from phylogenetic and sequence analysis on the function of GmCLCl --- p.81 / Chapter 4.2 --- Electrophysiological characterization of GmCLC 1 by Xenopus oocytes --- p.82 / Chapter 4.3 --- Some plant CLCs contributed in salt tolerance response --- p.84 / Chapter 4.4 --- Relationship between pH and physiological function of plant CLCs --- p.85 / Chapter 5. --- Conclusion and Perspectives --- p.88 / Chapter 6. --- Appendices --- p.90 / Chapter Appendix I: --- Major Chemicals and reagents used in this research --- p.90 / Chapter Appendix II: --- Enzymes used in this research --- p.92 / Chapter Appendix III: --- Major equipment and facilities used in this research --- p.93 / Chapter Appendix IV: --- "Buffer, solution, gel and medium formulation" --- p.94 / Chapter 7. --- References --- p.96

Histone modifications and histone variants are of importance in many biological processes. Whether they play some roles in regulating soybean salinity stress response is unknown. Previously, no study of histone modifications and histone variants in soybean were reported. In this study, I elucidated that in soybean leaves, mono-, di- and tri-methylation at Lysine (K) 4, 27 and 36, and acetylation at Lysine 14, 18 and 23 were present in histone H3. Moreover, H3K27 methylation and H3K36 methylation usually excluded each other. Although H3K79 methylation was not reported in Arabidopsis, they were detected in soybean. In soybean histone H4, Lysine 8 and 12 were acetylated. In addition, the variants of histone H3 and H4 and their modifications were also determined. The variants of histone H3 were different at positions of A31F41S87S90 (histone variant H3.1) and T31Y41H87 L90 (histone variant H3.2), respectively. Lysine 4 and 36 methylation were only detected in histone H3.2, suggesting that histone variant H3.2 might associate with actively transcribing genes. The two variants of histone H4 (H4.1 and H4.2) were different at amino acid 60. Moreover, I also found that the abundance of most of the histone modifications and histone variants did not change under the salinity stress except that H3K79 methylation would be up-regulated by the salinity stress. / In a parallel study, a PHD (plant homeodomain) finger domain containing protein, GmPHD1, was able to decipher the 'code' underlying H3K4 methylation. GmPHD1 was ubiquitously expressed in soybean and its expression increased upon salinity stress. GmPHD1 could bind to histone H3K4 methylation, with the preference to H3K4 dimethylation. It could then recruit several proteins, which were GmGNAT1, GmElongin A, and GmISWI. The interaction between GmPHD1 and GmGNAT1 was regulated by the self-acetylation of GmGNAT1. GmGNAT1 could also acetylate histone H3; GmElongin A was a transcription elongation factor; and GmISWI was a chromatin remodeling protein. Our data also indicated that the GmPHD1 located at the promoter of several soybean salt stress inducible genes. Therefore, the GmPHD1 recruited proteins to remodel the chromatin structure and facilitate the transcription of those salt stress inducible genes. Moreover, GmGNAT1 exhibited the preference to acetylate histone H3K14, therefore representing a kind of histone crosstalk between H3K4 methylation and H3K14 acetylation. / Proteomics studies with 2-DE revealed that salt treatment may affect soybean photosynthesis and chloroplast formation. Comparison between the proteomic profiles of salt tolerant soybean variety (wild type) and salt sensitive soybean variety (cultivated, Union) indicated that protein levels in the detoxification and defense pathway as well as energy metabolism were higher in the wild type soybean, while the process of protein metabolism was less active. In addition, proteomic profiles of the cultivated soybean roots at different developmental stages were also compared to identify proteins related to soybean development. The expression of proteins which play critical roles in detoxification and defense pathways were higher at the seedling stage, especially the proteins which regulated the formation of ROS. / Soybean is an important economic crop and its production can be severely affected by salinity stress. At present, the soybean response to salinity stress is not clear. In my studies, I tried to understand this process from the perspective of proteomics and epigenetics, especially histone modifications. / Wu, Tao. / Advisers: Njai Sai Ming; Lam Hon Ming. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-02, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-151). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

Introduction: Lacunar strokes are both common and disabling; they cause up to 52 strokes per 100,000 people per year and 29-46% of survivors are disabled. Lacunar stroke is part of the spectrum of small vessel disease (SVD) which also causes cognitive impairment and gait disturbance; together these lead to dementia, falls and disability. Current evidence suggests that SVD is caused by a separate aetiology from large vessel stroke, which may be mediated by blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability and may affect organs other than the brain. We set out to establish whether SVD is a multi-system disorder of primary endothelial function, with leakage of blood-brain barrier leading to lacunar stroke, disability, and cognitive impairment. Methods: We recruited 264 patients with a lacunar or cortical stroke (118 lacunar, 146 cortical). All patients received baseline assessment of clinical features, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), renal function, and assessment of dietary salt. At 1-3 months post-stroke we carried out cognitive testing and contrast MRI to assess blood-brain barrier integrity. We followed patients up at 12 months post-stroke with repeat cognitive testing, MRI, and assessment of disability and recurrent stroke. Results: We established that lacunar stroke has a different risk factor profile to cortical stroke, confirming findings from previous cohorts, but adding dietary salt as a risk factor for lacunar stroke and other SVD features. We confirmed that patients with a clinical stroke who did not have a lesion on diffusion-weighted MRI had the same clinical outcomes at 1 year post-stroke as those patients who did have a lesion. We established that patients who have a lacunar stroke are at as high a risk of post-stroke cognitive impairment as those with a cortical stroke. We found that blood brain barrier leakage predicted cognitive impairment at one year after lacunar and cortical stroke. We established the rates of disability and cognitive impairment at one-year post-lacunar stroke to estimate the required sample size for future trials. Conclusions: Taken together these findings confirm that lacunar stroke is part of a syndrome separate to large vessel stroke and may be mediated through blood brain barrier leakage. Dietary salt is an additional risk factor. The findings support further randomised controlled trials of treatments aimed specifically at lacunar stroke and lifestyle interventions including dietary salt reduction.

Dans cette thèse, la dynamique d'évaporation de gouttes sessiles de solutions salines sur des surfaces planes inertes et métalliques a été étudiée et le phénomène de corrosion pour les surfaces ferriques caractérisé. En premier lieu, nous nous sommes intéressés à la dynamique d'évaporation de gouttes sessiles salées sur des surfaces inertes pour une large gamme de concentrations en sel, d'humidité relatives, de tailles de goutte et d'angles de contact. Notre étude révèle les domaines de validité du modèle classique d'évaporation, processus contrôlé par la diffusion de la vapeur dans l'air et met en évidence l'impact de flux (de Marangoni) induits par des gradients de concentration (tension de surface) en sel sur la dynamique d'évaporation et les dépôts salins obtenus après évaporation de la goutte. De plus, nous nous sommes consacrés à l'évolution spatio-temporelle de gouttes sessiles de solutions salines sur des surfaces métalliques. Contrairement au modèle simplifié de la goutte d'Evans, nous avons montré que le processus de corrosion s'étend aux abords de la ligne de contact, avec la formation d'un film périphérique. La ligne triple est déstabilisée par des gradients de tension de surface induits par des variations de composition ionique au cours du processus de corrosion et la migration des cations vers la périphérie de la goutte. Enfin nous avons étudié le phénomène de corrosion du métal induit par l'évaporation de gouttes sessiles salées. Le processus de corrosion, en particulier la localisation des réactions anodiques et cathodiques sur la surface métallique en contact avec la goutte est corrélée à la distribution spatiale du sel au sein de la goutte s'évaporant. / In this thesis we investigate the evaporation behaviour of sessile droplets of aqueous saline solutions on planar inert and metallic surfaces and characterise the corrosion phenomenon for iron surfaces. First we study the evaporation behaviour of sessile salty droplets on inert surfaces for a wide range of salt concentrations, relative humidities, droplet sizes and contact angles. Our study reveals the range of validity of the well-accepted diffusion-controlled evaporation model and highlights the impact of salt concentration (surface tension) gradients driven Marangoni flows on the evaporation behaviour and the subsequent salt deposit patterns. Furthermore we study the spatial-temporal evolution of sessile droplets from saline solutions on metallic surfaces. In contrast to the simple, generally accepted Evans droplet model, we show that the corrosion spreads ahead of the macroscopic contact line with a peripheral film. The three-phase contact line is destabilized by surface tension gradients induced by ionic composition change during the course of the corrosion process and migrations of cations towards the droplet perimeter. Finally we investigate the corrosion behaviour under drying salty sessile droplets on metallic surfaces. The corrosion process, in particular the location of anodic and cathodic activities over the footprint droplet area is correlated to the spatial distribution of the salt inside the drying droplet.